H2 Take-off rims & Tires Fitment

[Catalina455]

I know the subject has been covered but even searching through the archives, I remain unclear. The standard H2 rims carry BFG 315/70/17 tires. Will these tires fit a 4x4 2500 HD? Hoot says that the 305/70/17 equivalent will fit if the torsion bars in front are cranked up. If the 315/70/17 tires won't fit, what is required in order to get them to fit? I ask because I can get take-off rims with factory tires for under $800, plus get about $200 for the GMC polished rims on credit. Changing the tires to a 285/305 raises the total bill by close to $300.

[hoot]

One fellow said a 3" body lift will do it.

[ski]

a search would yield that a member here (Elowe65) had in fact done this with cranking and trimming of hte air dam with good results. I am looking to do the same thing once I receive and install my new bumper from road armor !! bottom line is that they fit his rig.

[Catalina455]

Hoot, what brand of 3" lift did you buy and where was it purchased?
I reread the Elowe65 posts and it looks like he used some leveling keys, and still had problems with scraping in reverse. The board says that he hasn't visited in some time, so SKI, can you do you have additional information?

[ski]

I installed the levelling kit and crnaked to just over 2" inches and installed new (stock height) rancho shocks. There is really not much to installing the keys, takes about an hour with a 5+ ton gear puller and the front end on jack stands. I am also beginning the prepping to run the 34/35" tires by tying back areas on the fender well in addition brake cables and such. I also think the lower couple of inches on the rear fender liner must be trimmed (versus tied) back or remolded with a heat gun. Also, staying with the stock 4 3/4 back space is a must without a lift. I am not adventerous enough to attempt a body lift on the diesel, too much to worry about. The front bumper must also be moved forward for most trucks, or on the 03 GMC trimmed a good 1+ inches. My bumper replacement will help me immensely so I am not worried about the trimming.

I am going to try to fit 315/75s on the stock rims first (this has been done on another board on the HD) and if not then look to the H2 wheel and tire setup. It still may rub in the rear but according to some, only very minorly in reverse under articulation of the suspension. Not to worried......I can report more in the next few weeks.

Marc

[Elowe65]

Mine just has the factory torsions with 9 turns on the bolt. I've had it like that now for about 2.5 months I can't get it to rub when going forward (even up curbs or driveways), but it will rub a bit when backing up and cranking the wheel.

Trimming was done on the airdam, and front potion of the inner fenderwell. The rear part of the inner fenderwell was stuffed behind the lower corner metal that it was attached to.

We just put a set of the fords keys in my buddies

[LMorse]

I have a six inch Fabtech lift and the fenders still required a little trimming in the front for the 35's.. I run a 10 inch wide rim though.. I'm considering running a set of H2 rims and tires for daily use in the very near future.. I did meet a guy that had a body lift on a duramax this past friday.. He bought a kit for a gasser and he said the only modification he had to do is add a spacer to the fan shroud to seperate, yet hold it together.. It seemed pretty simple.. Diva's truck looks great.. She has a 6 inch with 37's.. I'd like to know how..

[Catalina455]

H2 Take off rims and 315/70/17 Tires installed today. Many thanks to Elowe65 for the advice. For those of you concerned about any clearance or rubbing issues; fear not. I took the tires down to the custom body shop and in less than three hours we were done. I wish we had taken pictures, but the process is easy to describe. We first installed the two rear tires. On the front, we removed the stock rims/tires and then proceeded to take the front bumper off and remove the lower air dam from it. There are approximately 8 bumper bolts, including two on the bottom of the bumper, plus the frame to bumper support bracket (left braket on frame). On the two lower bumper bolts, we used a air saw and notched the bolt holes completely out (cut clear back). On the upper bolt holes, we notched them back approximately 1 inch (not cut clear back, about 3/16 of material left). We flattened the top bolt holes using an anvil and dead blow hammer. We used two body shims for each side of the lower brackets to shim it to the bumper. The torsion bars were at the factory setting. We cranked the PS up 8 turns, and then ended up backing that down to approximately 6 turns. In order to get equal height, believe it or not, only 4 turns were required on the drivers side. The bottom of the fender lips sit equal. After installation of the bumper, we had an inch of extra clearance up front, plus the bumper lined up much better than the factory fit. On the inner fender wells, both of the back sections were tucked behind (just two clips) and the lip reformed with a mallet. On the front, we had to use a DA with a 180 grit pad and grind out about 3/4 of an inch, to allow proper clearance. After confirming that nothing rubbed on the ground, we took it for a high speed jaunt around a cloverleaf, with both left, right and up/down articulation. I did not trim the lower air dam! There is zero rubbing. As far as center caps go, one minute with a Da and grinding pad removed the three small tabs and the centers fit perfect. The truck definetely looks lifted and even rides better than the stock 265 Bridgestone V-Steels. My bump stops have about an inch of clearance now, so you can feel the suspension working. All that is left to do is to go back to the shop next week and pull out the Snap-On FE alignment tools and put the caster where I want it. If anyone needs additional information, contact me. I can also be reached at canam77@earthlink.net

[Jimmy O]

So what is the biggest OD tire a guy can run and not make any mods to the bumper. I was considering 17" wheels with 275 70 r17 tirw at 32.5 inches of OD. How much trouble will this cause me ? Thanks in advance for the help.

[Catalina455]

Two small items that I didn't mention in the install notes earlier. On the drivers side rear inner fender liner, I used a tie wrap to tie back the emergeNcy cable and then used a heat gun to mold the plastic just a bit.After four plus days of driving (including a left U-turn), no problems to report. The 3 hours of labor was well worth the effort. Pictures to follow after developing.