Magical. Mystical. Erroneously regarded as pedal response and gas mileage killers. I'm here to tell you, 35's are here to stay. Especially 10 wides. Follow along as I showcase a part of what it took to clear 35's on my '17 Limited 4Runner.
Let's start with some backstory, and it does involve pizza. I've always ran narrower meats on 4runners. As we all know, the mighty 4.0 doesn't like to "go" like some of it's eight cylinder friends. By shaving a few inches of rubber off the width of a tire, not only do you have less overall mass, but have a narrower contact patch. All aspects of "skinnies" improve general drive-ability, tracking, fitment, and winter traction (which is pertinent here in WI). Best of all - gas mileage does not significantly reduce when increasing tire size!
I was previously running 33" Falken Wildpeak A/T3W in the 255/80/17 LT size. These are fantastic tires and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them in a heartbeat. There's a reason why they are so well regarded. But when you need (want) more meat, the options narrow down significantly.
Which brings me to the mighty Mickeys. Here's the new Baja Boss A/T in 255/85/17 - stepping up to nearly 35" in diameter.
Comparison in tire size:
(left) 255/85/17 Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T on 17x8.5 -10 Black Rhino Etosha
(right) 255/80/17 Falken Wildpeak AT3W on 17x8.5 SCS Ray10
With the front CBI bumper, 2.5" Icon Stage 7 lift, and CBI sliders, I had all the clearance in the world for the 33's. This wasn't the case for the 35's, even only being 10" wide. I also run a 1.25" Spidertrax Spacer to gain clearance at the UCA.
Enter, the "Body Mount Chop". This is the easiest and most common way to gain the necessary clearance for running over 3" larger diameter tires than OE spec. While there are many different ways to perform this procedure, I decided to do a simple pizza slice chop (I must be hungry).
Before it all went down:
Start by trimming a bit of the fender liner (you will remove one attachment clip):
Next up - start the angle grinder up and carefully take a slice of the crossmember out (not pictured, I recommend you remove the lower body mount rubber block first).
With a little help from your friends Mr. Mallet and C. Clamp Sr., re-work the frame wall to it's new home, about 5/8" back at the tip.
Time to throw some sparks.
I obtained a structural weld over a pretty one...
After a little clean-up, rust converter, primer, and paint, you can barely tell it's not OEM.
Last step - reinstall the wheel, check clearance throughout articulation to full lock, and enjoy the increased capabilities 35's have to offer.
I'm a fan.
Check out the Black Rhino Etosha's here:
LINK
Have any questions about the build? Drop a comment below.
Want a set just like these? We can get you them!
Send me an email at anton@nvmos.com.
Thanks for following along 🤘
