Hey guys, I'm planning a lift sometime in the future for my X, but right now I need to get new tires.

I want to know:

If I get a 3" - 5" lift for my X, will I be safe with tires of stock size? Are they wide enough?

Thanks!

i know drake has a 2 inch bl and a pml and i believe he runs stock size - 31 and he gets pretty crazy on some trails so im going you say yes and no if you go 5 inchs i would def get bigger tires. more people will post on this soon. youll get lots of answers

yes

With a 2nd gen, you can go up to a 32" tire and with the "melt mod" I've read that you can clear 33's on a stock setup with the 2nd gens. They have a much larger wheel well and more flare to the quarter panels so they have lots of room for bigger shoes.

Check out the X of the month "Unclehardrock" and read his mod list. His rig has a very kickass stance and looks awesome.

I didnt feel safe with 5" of lift and stock wheels and tires, once I put on the my 33"X11.5" tires plus 16x8 w/ 5" BS wheels I felt very stable, more stable that stock actually....

2.5" up and still running the same "size" tires on stock wheels. No issues.

So I should be fine on a 3" lift and under, but 5" lift might be a good idea to get better tires? How's the performance/MPG loss on the 33" tires?

its really up to you its kinda the same thing as the sway bar some people feel comfortable and some dont

So I should be fine on a 3" lift and under, but 5" lift might be a good idea to get better tires? How's the performance/MPG loss on the 33" tires?

the 2nd gen has a lot of power, so the power loss isn't that noticeable. off the line my x is still just about the same as stock. climbing up a big hill at speed, it'll slow down a little, i usually just drop it into 5th to compensate. you will loose some mpg though. i'm currently getting about 17-19 on average. but, i've also got the lift on there as well. before all that, i was getting around 21-23 stock on the highway.

-john

its really up to you its kinda the same thing as the sway bar some people feel comfortable and some dont

JD hit's on a good point. If you're worried about being top heavy (flipping the rig), then I would be more concerned about your suspension plus your sway bar (which would affect your sway and flex of the rig). Those components, IMO, will affect the performance of a lifted rig over the size of your wheel/tires.

Two reasons to look into tires are for their traction (grip plus stopping capability) and clearance.

I would choose wheel size on two premises: either looks or functionality. For the most part, you'll find people with smaller wheels/larger tires if they want to go off road and lower their tire pressure to get better traction. The added thickness of the tire is needed to prevent any damage to your beads.

Larger wheels tend to be flashy and more for those who like to have street tires for their rigs.

Note: If you want to keep 31" on your rig, you can get an 18" wheel, but you won't be able to get a wide sidewall tire (more lower profile) = no room for error when going off road. Not to forget that the closer the wheel/rim is to the rocks, the easier they get damaged...

The other thing about larger tires, is that the bigger they are, the more material you need. 33" will be a lot heavier than 31". Furthermore, depending on the tread style, you will get different kind of grip = M/T is slippery on wet asphalt, while A/T will give you better traction.

The 2nd generation rigs have enough power to move the 33", however you will still see a drop in MPG trying to rotate the larger wheel/tires. A rule of thumb is that raising the getting larger tires/wheels will affect MPG...just like if you were to lower your rig and get street tires (most likely get a little better than stock).