What size tire can I stuff under my Gen 5 Bronco

paul rondelli
Feb 23, 2021

Rank VI

Feb 23, 2021

This topic has been discussed endlessly … but a picture is worth a 1,000 posts.

The generally accepted standard is as follows

31" tire for stock ride height Bronco
33" tire with a 4 inch suspension lift
35" tires with a 6 inch suspension lift

These standards should be considered if the Bronco is taken off -road. The amount of flex your suspension travels without rubbing also depends on how hard you wheel it. If you launch your Bronco skyward and catch massive air no amount of tire clearance will prevent you bottoming out.

For mall crawlers and light wheeling the lines become a little blurry. I have both a play rig and a daily driver Bronco. The play toy has a 6 inch lift/ 4:56 gears/ and a full Detroit locker in the rear. The daily driver is totally stock. My issue is that the tranny in the off-road Bronco is toast ( Go figure). Which is a direct result of playing with it. Just before the tranny went out I had purchased 4 brand new 35" BFG mud terrain radials. It is going to be a while longer before I drop 3,000 on a rebuilt E4OD so I have these 35" mud terrains just setting there and the daily driver needs new tires.

I don't really want another 6 inch monster Bronco. So I'm going to figure out a way to get those 35's under my daily driver ( cheaply). I have just replaced both radius arm mounts and bushings … So I'm not looking at a 4 or 6 inch suspension lift because they replace the radius arm mounts completely … and they are new. I'm going to try and stay away from the body lift because I have a manual tranny and don't want to mess with the height of the shifter. Looks like a 2.5 suspension lift from Rough country. As soon as Biden sends me a stimulus check I will install the 2.5 lift and let you know if the tires clear... if not maybe a 2inch body lift.

https://www.roughcountry.com/ford-s...MI3ce4xLeA7wIVzOh3Ch0aJwtnEAQYAyABEgIs7_D_BwE


In the pictures below you can see that the rear is no problem. The 35" mud terrains fill out the back wheel wells … I'm not jumping curbs ...but so far no issues running a 35" tire on the rear of a stock Bronco. I trimmed the front bumper about 3 inches and can clear the front end with 35" … but in the back I'm hitting the wheel wells .. so I just put my 31" BFG all terrains back on. It doesn't have that bad of a rake.. considering the 4 inch difference in tires from the front and rear. I have the unique ability to play with both a stock and a lifted Bronco . If anyone else has pictures of their Bronco with larger tires / with or without / body lift... or suspension lift. Feel free of post away.. maybe it will help a new owner decide what tire to run.

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Bronc96

Rank 0

Jan 04, 2022

#1
I have 3 Full Size, my 92 is stock, 94 has 33” on stock wheels with a front leveling spacer, and my 89 has ProComp long arms and 2” Skyjacker front springs with 35” tires on stock wheels. So it’s interesting to be able to compare them. My goal with my 89 is to build a very competent trail rig that has a low center of gravity. 35” tires on stock wheels creates a few problems when you don’t have a 4 or 6 inch lift that restricts up travel. First the tires will hit things at full compression. The fenders first and then the frame in the front when you turn to full steering lock. In the rear the fenders need to be trimmed and when you articulate the tire will touch the inner fender too. I added 1 1/2” wheel spacers to correct tires rub on the frame and inner fenders. Trimmed the sheet metal to stop them from tearing chunks out of the tires. The result is I can get full suspension travel (13” in the front and 14” in the rear) while maintaining a low center of gravity to be very stable off road. Also, I built my own off road bumpers, skid plate and rock sliders to give the best approach, break over and departure angles at the lower ride height a big lift gives. Here’s a pictures for reference.

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