What tires can I fit?
 

Naturally there is tons of interest in what size tires fit on the 4x4 S10-Blazers. How big can I go? What size did my truck come with? How much air (psi) should I put in my tires? Plus a whole host of other questions related to tires. I will only attempt to answer the specific question, how big can I go?

Some basic info.
All S10-Blazers come with 5on4.75" lug bolt pattern.
Stock factory wheels are 15"x7" with roughly 6" of backspacing.

Typically you don't want to go any wider then 4-4.5" tire then the rim. On the factory 15x7 that means you want to keep the tire narrower then 11.5". 7+4.5"=11.5". Anything bigger and the tire will wear goofy.

The factory size tires on most S10-Blazers are the following.
205/75R15, 215/75R15, 235/70R15, and 235/75R15.
The drivers side door will have a sticker in it, this sticker will have the size tires your truck came from the factory with. This sticker will also give the recommended psi for each tire.
Why does the tire size vary so much, all depends on the suspension option your truck came with. To find out which option your truck came with you can contact the dealer and request a VIN print out. The VIN number has all the critical info in it, and the dealer can print out all the options your truck came with. Another place to look is in the glove box, see all those alpha-numeric codes. Each one has a specific meaning.

I know for a fact that 30" tires will fit on both the old and new body style S10-Blazers without fender rubbing. That is the largest size tire you can put on without modifying your truck. One caveat, your torsion bars may need to be cranked up a smidge to get back to factory ride height. I give you some example pics.
The pics have my BFG 30/9.5R15 BFG All-Terrain KO tires mounted on my stock '00 S10-blazer wheels. Notice the tires/wheels are the same on both trucks. I have tested both trucks with the 30" tires while wheeling, and can honestly say they do not rub. Some come say the 30" tire will rub on the anti-sway bar at full crank. I say no need to turn the steering wheel that far, and I haven't noticed the rub myself.



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What tires can I fit?
 

Well, what about 31" tires? What will it take to fit 31" tires on a 4x4?
2" of body or suspension lift is what you need to do to fit 31" tires without rubbing on the fender, provided you are using the factory wheels.
What if I just put on 31" tires. Where will they rub?
The tires will rub at the rear of the front fender well. It will rub on the outside edge of the inner wheel well next to the chrome trim ring.
Attached is a pic of a stock '91 S10-Blazer with 31" tires. He rubs all the time, even going in and out of parking lots.

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What tires can I fit?
 

So what about this trimming?
How much did you have to trim and where from?

Good questions.
I trimmed a wedge/pie shaped piece from the front and back of each fender well. I measured in about 2" and cut up to the body line. I removed the front inner fender wells before I did any cutting. I also had to beat the firewall back about a 1/2" to match the newly cut fender. See the white box in the pic below, that is the area I beat back with a long handled #10 sledge hammer. Real easy to do and only took a minute. I installed some homemade gap guards to keep the mud out of the engine and off the gas tank. Attached them to the front inner fender wells while I had them out. To get the front inner fender wells in place I used 1" long bolt and screwed it to the firewall.



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What tires can I fit?
 

What about 32" tires on a 4x4. TrailMaster makes a 5" suspension lift that sells for roughly $1300, plus the cost of installation. The recommended tire size is 32" on the factory wheels. Is it worth $1300 bucks plus installation costs to go from a 31" tire to a 32" tire? The 32" tire is only a 1/2" more ground clearance. Whole lot of money for a 1/2".

There must be a more practical way? 2" Suspension lift and fender trimming, or 2"/3" body lift and fender trimming. I figured since I was going to install a body lift so I could work on my tranny and other things much easier, I might as well put on some bigger tires. Took me 6 months to collect everything I needed for what I wanted to pay. Which isn't much.

33" tires.
What will it take to fit 33" tires? Good question. 5" suspension lift and 2" body lift should get it done. I didn't want to spend the money on a suspension lift when I will be doing a solid axle swap next year. So I installed a 3" body lift and trimmed my fenders to fit 285/75R16 Cooper Discovery S/T tires. 285/75R16 tiress are roughly 33"x11.5" on 16 rims. I had to find 16x8" rims that fit the stock 5 on 4.75" lug nut pattern and had roughly 6" of backspacing. Fortunately GM made that happen on several vehicles. Extreme Blazers, Firebirds, and Camaros came from teh factory with 16x8" wheels. Not all years.

The first pic is a comparision of the stock 235 on the left, 30" on the truck and the 33" I wanted to fit on the truck. Long way to go huh?
Second pic is another comparison of the 33" and 235 tire.

The third pic is the 30" after the 3" body lift install. Lots of space, huh.



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What tires can I fit?
 

Last post.
Time for the finishing touches.
So how did it turn out? I'l let you be the judge.


Fisrt pic- the inner fender well is back in place along with the gap gaurd and trim ring.
2nd pic is with the tire installed.
Last pic is my '00 S10-Blazer on the 30" BFG KO sitting next to the '87 sitting on the 285/75R16 Cooper Discovery S/T tires and a 3" body lift. Only place the tires rub is on the frame at full crank. I just dont turn the wheel all the way. So far, NO fender rubbing.

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