[HammerDown]

I am a new blazer owner, I just got a '73. I have a healthy 350, th400, np205, front d60, rear 14 bolt, all of which are going into the blazer. This is going to be a wheeler and summertime cruiser. Will see mud, trails, and maybe some mud drag races plus driving around town and to the trail. It will not be a daily driver.

I cant decide what size tires I want to run, and I need to figure it out so I can order gears. On one hand I want to get some 39.5's or 42's but on the other hand some 37s or 36's might be more practical. I am not going to go sky high with the lift I want to keep it low and cut to fit. My running gear should be up for any normal size tire.

What do you think is the ideal tires size and what gear ratio would you run with it. Interested to hear peoples opinions.

-Mark

 

[Motornoggin]

Tire size is totally up to you. I run 39.5s on my 72 with 4.56 gears and personally, I wouldn't go any bigger on the tires. I think 37's would be a good size though. If you are going to swap gears, for 37's and below, I would run 4.56. Above that, I would go with 4.88 or 5.13.

 

[indysand]

Since it sounds like mostly mud, I'd go with the larger tires 39.5 to 42 and run some 5.13's. Dont forget to put some power into that 350.
Phil

 

[sw99]

37's and 4.88's! Good combo and you shoulen't have to worry about breaking axles every week.

 

[NE-RokToy]

I wouldnt run anything smaller then a 38 on one ton axles, expecially a 14 bolt rear. I would run 4.88's or 5.13's and 39.5's

 

[MikeW]

I would just begin by running 37" Goodyear MT/Rs for a starter with 4.10 gears or a little bigger but less than 4.56.

 

[pitter]

you can only gear 14 bolts so low... i would look into this when you are deciding what gears to run.. sorry i don;t know the cut off. anyway go with bigger than 37;s on a mud truck.. go with some 40+" swampers. and like 5:13's

 

[stumpjumper]

the cut off point for the corp 14 bolt is 5.13.i would run no smaller than a 38 inch tire on your blazer.i run a similar set up with a dana60 front and 14 bolt rear and i have 38.5x14.5 sx's i love them,but in the mub even the alxe centers drag mostly in the rear though.my advice if you aren't going to drive it on the street a whole lot is to gear it pretty low,go the 5.13 gears.i fit my 38's on my blazer with 4 inches of lift.good luck

 

[lefthand]

I have 36" Swampers on 1-ton drivetrain w/ 4.10 gears. To me that is a good ratio for my rig's DD/trail duties. However, I have an OD tranny so I can use (and wish) I had more gear. Like the others said 38's at a minimum. My 36's drag the pig over everything. I will be upgrading to 39.5's when the shoes wear out along with 4.88's.

For comparison, my buddy has a similarly equipped truck w/o OD and runs 4.56's and 38's and his RPM's at highway speed are similar to mine, but with the extra gear (and larger tires) the true difference shows up on the trail.

 

[uglyscout]

I run 35's with 4.27 gears - If I had to do it over I'd have gone 4.56.

Now when I get the 38.5's I am dreaming about I am going to 4.56 or lower for sure.

Decide on one then decide on the other - you can't really make the two decisons without making one first - they are far to interrelated.