Go BIG (38" tires) or go home cost?

[The Driving Viking]

So I'm ordering the Base + Sasquatch for the all the upgraded goodies that matter. The lockers, gears, stronger axles, the works.

I'll drive the 35 inch tires for the first year until they go bald with the plans to upgrade too a much bigger size. Hopefully.

I'm thinking of going to 38 inch tires. And since the Bronco and Sasquatch package comes pretty built from the factory im thinking a 2 or 3 inch extra lift to fit them would work.

Whats your best guess on how much a lift would cost+ 38" tires installed. Im thinking $3,000 at the most.

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[Broncocito]

Just get it over with a SAS Dana Ultimate 60s for $15K. I would not lift this with the current IFS. Just my two cents.

Edit: tires and wheels additional $3K

 

[Felix808]

So I'm ordering the Base + Sasquatch for the all the upgraded goodies that matter. The lockers, gears, stronger axles, the works.

I'll drive the 35 inch tires for the first year until they go bald with the plans to upgrade too a much bigger size. Hopefully.

I'm thinking of going to 38 inch tires. And since the Bronco and Sasquatch package comes pretty built from the factory im thinking a 2 or 3 inch extra lift to fit them would work.

Whats your best guess on how much a lift would cost+ 38" tires installed. Im thinking $3,000 at the most.

Better add at least another $1500+. A quality lift will run you $2500+ uninstalled. Are you getting new rims? $$$$. Tires will be about $1600+ uninstalled.

 

[The Driving Viking]

Better add at least another $1500+. A quality lift will run you $2500+ uninstalled. Are you getting new rims? $$$$. Tires will be about $800+ uninstalled.

No new wheels. Keeping the stock Sasquatch wheels. So just need the lift and bigger tires as long as it would work with the IFS as mentioned above.

 

[The Driving Viking]

Just get it over with a SAS Dana Ultimate 60s for $15K. I would not lift this with the current IFS. Just my two cents.

Edit: tires and wheels additional $3K

I don't see why the IFS would be a problem? Ford built this system pretty well. I mean the Wart Hog will come with 37s right from the factory with this IFS system. I don't see why 38s would be a problem.

 

[Broncocito]

I don't see why the IFS would be a problem? Ford built this system pretty well. I mean the Wart Hog will come with 37s right from the factory with this IFS system. I don't see why 38s would be a problem.

This is true, but realize you will probably have to add body panels going the Wart Hog route, which may run another $3K plus paint. I am not trying to discourage, but you will be at $7K minimum. You are half there to build an ultimate crawler.

 

[ekim]

I don't see why the IFS would be a problem? Ford built this system pretty well. I mean the Wart Hog will come with 37s right from the factory with this IFS system. I don't see why 38s would be a problem.

I don't believe that Ford will ship a truck with 37"+ tires and Dana 44 running gear. My guess is that such a truck would require 17" rim (minimum) to support larger brake rotors and would have axles with 35 splines as well as front and rear ring gears of at least 9".

The cost to get the existing Bronco from 35 -> 37" tires, **if done right**, is probably well north of $20,000.

 

[The Driving Viking]

I'm thinking we'll have a clearer picture once the Bronco's are out in the Wild and the aftermarket geta hold of them.

I may just go up to 37s which should be doable.

 

[Broncocito]

I'm thinking we'll have a clearer picture once the Bronco's are out in the Wild and the aftermarket geta hold of them.

I may just go up to 37s which should be doable.

I would not go over 35s with the upgraded Bronco Sasquatch axles; they simply are not robust enough for going over 35s. I have blown diffs, broke axles and busted up just about every part of a suspension. I recommend going bigger than Dana 44s too; they are relatively weak unless you upgrade the axle spline count.

 

[The Driving Viking]

I would not go over 35s with the upgraded Bronco Sasquatch axles; they simply are not robust enough for going over 35s. I have blown diffs, broke axles and busted up just about every part of a suspension. I recommend going bigger than Dana 44s too; they are relatively weak unless you upgrade the axle spline count.

Even for 37s? Either way I'm thinking a 2 inch lift with the 35s would look good as well. Better then the stock Sasquatch. Stock the 35s looked cramped in the wheel wells. Im hoping its just because there demo preproduction Broncos.

 

[Krztoff2202]

Just thinking out loud, but when you strap a 38" spare to the rear of the truck, aside from looking silly, its going to block almost all visibility. The 35" hanging off the rear seems like it inhibits a considerable amount of the visibility as is. Also, you need to ensure the spare tire support is robust enough to hold it, with the Jeeps they had an option for upgrading that if I recall correctly.

The 37" tire Warthog package will likely have upgraded components, Ford already said it is a different setup. Whats in question is how different and the cost of purchasing a Warthog versus upgrading a standard Bronco to support 38" tires.

 

[MadMan4BamaNATL]

I don't see why the IFS would be a problem? Ford built this system pretty well. I mean the Wart Hog will come with 37s right from the factory with this IFS system. I don't see why 38s would be a problem.

Lifting an IFS another 2-3 inches, if even reasonably possible with the Bronco within the first 2 years is an entirely new suspension.

Dana 44s really aren't strong enough to take 37" or larger tires with any expectation of going off road.

All told, you're looking at maybe $12K on the low end. You're not even getting a Badlands to build off of, but since you'll need an entirely new suspension, may not matter.

Your target cost is likely somewhere between $12K-$16K with parts and labor. Now if you can wrench yourself and you know how to weld or have a buddy, maybe $7K.

I am of course not talking cut rate parts, but decent set up here for these guesstimates. Sure others can share some opinions on doing something similar on a 4 runner or Tacoma, but I don't know many who would even try to lift their IFS enough to fit tires that big. 35" is as big as I see most guys even try who will actually wheel their rigs.

 

[ramblinwreck]

man, I seriously wonder if any of you have ever upgraded an off-road vehicle. No way the jump from 35s to 37s requires $15k in work. Hell you could probably put a 1” spacer lift on and the tires and be totally fine.
Either way, you can bet Ford isn’t going to put axles that work fine for 35s but totally become unreliable for 37s. You will only need 1” of extra lift to maintain factory clearances.

 

[lowmpg]

So I'm ordering the Base + Sasquatch for the all the upgraded goodies that matter. The lockers, gears, stronger axles, the works.

I'll drive the 35 inch tires for the first year until they go bald with the plans to upgrade too a much bigger size. Hopefully.

I'm thinking of going to 38 inch tires. And since the Bronco and Sasquatch package comes pretty built from the factory im thinking a 2 or 3 inch extra lift to fit them would work.

Whats your best guess on how much a lift would cost+ 38" tires installed. Im thinking $3,000 at the most.

$3,000?
38x13.5x17's will run around $400-$500 each, not mounted not to mention tire selection is very limited.
A cheap lift (say EZ ride 3") probably around $300-$400 [definitely wouldn't recommend this lift]
Install costs on an IDS in the front, probably looking at 6-8hrs in labor
Think 3k is probably low, especially if you get a legit lift

6" lift on my F350 still required cutting of the bumper to put on 38x13.5's and even with all that, at lock would rub if you hit a bump. Not many lifts are made to easily accommodate 38s. Hell most Jeep kits don't recommend 38's without cutting. All that adds time to an install. You'd probably want new rims instead of the 17's as 17's significantly limit tires available over 35". So add 18" rims to this whole event.

 

[Broncocito]

man, I seriously wonder if any of you have ever upgraded an off-road vehicle. No way the jump from 35s to 37s requires $15k in work. Hell you could probably put a 1” spacer lift on and the tires and be totally fine.
Either way, you can bet Ford isn’t going to put axles that work fine for 35s but totally become unreliable for 37s. You will only need 1” of extra lift to maintain factory clearances.

Sure, the OP can put on 38s if not taking it off road and nothing more than light trails. If he is putting on three inches of meat under the rig to maintain performance requires re-gearing. Furthermore, tires put immense stress on axles and Ford has perfectly selected the SAS axle to work well with dependability on their selected axles, but honestly through lots of experience any larger than 35s pushes reliability. Do not get me wrong, I love the Bronco and will be getting one, but "Go big or go home" is just that and doing it right. Sure the OP can some spring spacers or other leveling kit to clear 37s, but with an inexpensive 2" kit may put a lot of stress on the front suspension and most know with the inexpensive lift kits one would be pushing suspension geometry. As mentioned lifting a Superduty is less expensive because it has a straight axle (I had one on 39x15.5s) and with a 4 inch lift and some trimming was fine. In closure sure if one lifts their Bronco, maintains the IFS and not do any aggressive off tarmac wheeling will be fine. Just my two cents...

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