Stock LT Wheel and stock suspension - tire help

[cardershack]

I'm sure this topic has been talked about plenty on this forum but I wasn't finding any posts that actually answered my question.

I have a 2020 Tahoe LT 4wd that has stock suspension and stock wheels. What is the biggest size tire I could run without a leveling kit or new wheels? I've seen some comments about the positive offset of the stock wheels making it tougher to fit a larger tire. I don't know much about wheel offset so I guess that is what I'm looking for guidance one. I don't really care to put aftermarket wheels on my trucks and I'm not doing a leveling kit until my extended warranty runs out in 57k miles. Thanks for the help

 

[Jeff_]

To go any much bigger than the stock tires, you're going to want to do a front level.
I have a 1.75" front level (achieved with Bilstein 5100's) and run a 275/70/18 BFG K02 tire on stock wheels, and it looks great and I have no rubbing here.

 

[Sparksalot]

What is the stock tire size?

Mine already had 285/65/18 KO2s on 18x9 wheels when I bought it. I later discovered a small leveling kit had been installed.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Regarding wheel/tire combinations that will fit your truck without rubbing, no 2 trucks and their suspensions are exactly alike, due to a number of factors including accumulated wear on the suspension components and different wheel widths and offsets, so there is no guarantee that what fits with no rubbing on one truck will automatically fit with no rubbing on your truck. Other folks' experiences can guide you in one direction or another, but the final test will be when you mount the wheel/tire combination on your own truck.

To assist you in getting a good idea on whether or not specific alternate wheel/tire combinations 'may' fit your truck with no rubbing, I recommend that you use the wheel/tire comparison app at the URL listed below. You can use this app starting with your existing wheel/tire combination as a benchmark, assuming that there are currently no rubbing issues with it, and measure the actual critical fender and suspension component clearances as directed by this app. Then, you can enter alternate wheel/tire combinations, and this app will give you the projected changes in these critical fender and suspension component clearances.

https://www.wheel-size.com/calc/

I used this app for determining whether on not I could use my current alternate wheel/tire combination, and it accurately projected the changes in critical clearances. Again, the use of this app in not an absolute guarantee that an alternate wheel/tire combination will fit without rubbing, but it provides a much better assessment, or projection, than simply an educated guess on your part, or a statement from others that it worked on a truck other than yours.

 

[cardershack]

To go any much bigger than the stock tires, you're going to want to do a front level.
I have a 1.75" front level (achieved with Bilstein 5100's) and run a 275/70/18 BFG K02 tire on stock wheels, and it looks great and I have no rubbing here.
View attachment 386315

This looks good. I'm still considering a level however my only hold up is that I bought an extended warranty and I don't want a leveling kit to void a warranty claim since I paid a good amount of money for it. I got the ext. war. because I know transmissions can go out in these GM trucks and I didn't want to pay $5K+ for a transmission after spending good money on the truck in the first place. I have done some research and the little info I found suggested that leveling kits won't void a warranty unless whatever I'm claiming is messed up as a result of the leveling kit. But if I have a leveling kit and a suspension component breaks I will fix that. I just want the motor and powertrain covered mainly.

So, my question is how are the Bilsteins? I don't really want to do front/rear level. I'd prefer to just lift the front enough to be level with the rear. I do some off roading in hunting season but bought the tahoe since we just had a kid and needed a full size suv.

Its also kinda weird to me the different types of leveling kits for these Tahoes. I've seen coil overs, coil spring spacers, and then the bilstiens. not sure what is best or easiest to install or pros and cons. I know I just detoured from my original question but your rig is setup how I would like mine to be. I also want to keep stock LT wheels. I appreciate any input.

 

[Jeff_]

This looks good. I'm still considering a level however my only hold up is that I bought an extended warranty and I don't want a leveling kit to void a warranty claim since I paid a good amount of money for it. I got the ext. war. because I know transmissions can go out in these GM trucks and I didn't want to pay $5K+ for a transmission after spending good money on the truck in the first place. I have done some research and the little info I found suggested that leveling kits won't void a warranty unless whatever I'm claiming is messed up as a result of the leveling kit. But if I have a leveling kit and a suspension component breaks I will fix that. I just want the motor and powertrain covered mainly.

So, my question is how are the Bilsteins? I don't really want to do front/rear level. I'd prefer to just lift the front enough to be level with the rear. I do some off roading in hunting season but bought the tahoe since we just had a kid and needed a full size suv.

It’s also kinda weird to me the different types of leveling kits for these Tahoes. I've seen coil overs, coil spring spacers, and then the bilstiens. not sure what is best or easiest to install or pros and cons. I know I just detoured from my original question but your rig is setup how I would like mine to be. I also want to keep stock LT wheels. I appreciate any input.

I hear your concern but you’re not going to void any power train warranty by leveling the front of your Tahoe 1-2 inches.

I like the bilsteins. They ride very very smooth. Much better than stock - which is to be expected for their price compared to the stock GM struts.
I daily drive my Tahoe and also take it on road trips and to the mountains in summer and winter. I appreciate the added front clearance with the bigger tires, the level, and the trimming of the air dam.

As far as spacers and coilovers vs the bilsteins… the spacers will be the quickest and easiest to add and remove as you please. The bilsteins will level the front almost perfectly with the back and for the price they’re great. Coilovers cost much more and from my understanding will come with a much more tunable ride. Aka they probably can be softer and smoother etc
There’s no right way to go about it. Just think about what works best for you.
And change your trans fluid often to keep it healthy.

 

[cardershack]

I hear your concern but you’re not going to void any power train warranty by leveling the front of your Tahoe 1-2 inches.

I like the bilsteins. They ride very very smooth. Much better than stock - which is to be expected for their price compared to the stock GM struts.
I daily drive my Tahoe and also take it on road trips and to the mountains in summer and winter. I appreciate the added front clearance with the bigger tires, the level, and the trimming of the air dam.

As far as spacers and coilovers vs the bilsteins… the spacers will be the quickest and easiest to add and remove as you please. The bilsteins will level the front almost perfectly with the back and for the price they’re great. Coilovers cost much more and from my understanding will come with a much more tunable ride. Aka they probably can be softer and smoother etc
There’s no right way to go about it. Just think about what works best for you.
And change your trans fluid often to keep it healthy.

I appreciate the help. I’ve seen several on this forum say the Motofab 1.5” spacer is great and gives you the most lift compared to other 1.5” kits. Also looks pretty straightforward as far as installing. I’m not sure I want to get in to doing a 2-2.5”/1”. I don’t need this to be too rugged as I drive it for work travel as well. I think doing the Motofab 1.5” and then when I need new tires go up to a 275/70/18 and I’ll be happy. I added tow hooks and going to trim the air dam at some point soon. Think I’m going to take a good bit off of it.

Thanks for the advice on the warranty as well. I agree I don’t think a level should void other components from my warranty. The longer I’ve had it the more I’ve eased off of worrying about that.

 

[cardershack]

To go any much bigger than the stock tires, you're going to want to do a front level.
I have a 1.75" front level (achieved with Bilstein 5100's) and run a 275/70/18 BFG K02 tire on stock wheels, and it looks great and I have no rubbing here.
View attachment 386315

Do you have more pictures or other angles of your Tahoe?

 

[Jeff_]

Do you have more pictures or other angles of your Tahoe?

Sure do.

 

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