How big is too big?

[RSR]

I have recently put some 37" tires on an old 82 chevy 1ton SRW 4x4 truck I use aroung the farm (see "Rotten Tires" thread in Whatever). With no other changes, this truck rides dramatically better than ever. This is not a "go fast" truck, but these larger tires make it ride so that it can go much faster over same terrain as before and ride better. I know that an 82 1 ton is not a Bronco, but why wouldn't this size tire do the same for a Bronco. I can under stand that bigger tires can be harder on other parts. What are the advantages and disadvantages of 37"s on a Bronco. Just looking for someone else's experience since I have none.

[philofab]

I have recently put some 37" tires on an old 82 chevy 1ton SRW 4x4 truck I use aroung the farm (see "Rotten Tires" thread in Whatever). With no other changes, this truck rides dramatically better than ever. This is not a "go fast" truck, but these larger tires make it ride so that it can go much faster over same terrain as before and ride better. I know that an 82 1 ton is not a Bronco, but why wouldn't this size tire do the same for a Bronco. I can under stand that bigger tires can be harder on other parts. What are the advantages and disadvantages of 37"s on a Bronco. Just looking for someone else's experience since I have none.

The parts on a TTB front end can't reliably handle the stress of 37" tires, that coupled with clearance issues on the front (ECM wiring & heater box) make them a bad choice for most Broncos. Other than that you get more traction, more ground clearance, more unsprung weight to heat the shocks faster, and a better ride due to the tire not falling into smaller holes.

[PaulW]

All true Philofab,
Having said that there are quite a few out there that successfully run 37s. My issue is I don't want a cast 17" wheel so I stick with 35s on Alcoas (and to cheap to buy forged 17s). The Sandman Bronco seems to overcome the issues. The serious prerunners usually have the TTB beefed up pretty good. Avoiding 4wd helps a lot, just save it for those special situations.
Conclusion is that running 37s will require lot more expense for the performance you mention. The fuel economy will sure suffer as well.
This discussion applies to the go fast Broncos. The lift kit Broncos use huge tires for rock crawling and tearing up the mechanical parts. They usually give up on the TTB and do a solid axle swap.
PaulW
===========

The parts on a TTB front end can't reliably handle the stress of 37" tires, that coupled with clearance issues on the front (ECM wiring & heater box) make them a bad choice for most Broncos. Other than that you get more traction, more ground clearance, more unsprung weight to heat the shocks faster, and a better ride due to the tire not falling into smaller holes.

.

[magic carpet XLT]

i ran 37s for a while, now 40s. in reality, had i known then what i know now about shock tuning, proper suspension setup, gearing and other ways to gain ground clearance (shaving diffs, raising gas tanks etc) i should never have gone past 37s, even for a rock crawler. the full body is far more of a limiting factor as to where you can go than tires. at the time all my buddies were doing the big tire thing and i just got carried away.
yes, big tires do ride smoother, but i feel like they are exponentially harder on components the bigger you go. they make street driving a lot less enjoyable too, they are big, squishy, slow (even with proper gearing) and fucking expensive to replace when they wear out if you buy new.
like PaulW said, the performance gains aren't really worth the added expense and engineering required, especially if you are trying to go fast and not drag big heavy axles over rocks too. my bronco did everything i wanted of it even when it was on 35" tires.

[KBL]

A Dana 50 TTB should be able to handle 37's.

I don't see why anyone would put 37's on a Dana 44 TTB if that tire size relegates 4WD to occasional use only.

[Kyles95]

I ran 38x15.5 Ground Hawg II's on my F350 with tha D50 TTB and if never had a problem, I wheeled it hard too

[philofab]

A Dana 50 TTB should be able to handle 37's.

I don't see why anyone would put 37's on a Dana 44 TTB if that tire size relegates 4WD to occasional use only.

Many of us only use 4wd to put around... we use 2wd when going fast.