Wheel and Tire Package
This 1st gen Frontier received a new set of wheels and 33" tires, and if you've ever tried to decide which set of shoes to go with, you know it can be a hard decision.
9/5/20203 min read
Installed
If there were two things that I wish I could try before I bought them, it would be tires and mufflers. Hopefully this can provide some guidance if you are looking to invest in bigger tires soon.
This is a v6 3.3L, and it came stock with 15" wheels and 30" tires.
I had 31" tires on my previous Frontier, so I wanted to try out something a little taller and went with 16x8" Mickey Thompsons (-12 offset), and Thunderer Trac Grip M/T R408 285/75R16 (33"x12.5").
The Frontier lug spacing is 6x5.5 or 139.7 and if you need to buy thinner lug nuts to like I had to, to fit in these Mickey Thompsons, you're looking for M12x1.25 thread nuts.
Currently averaging 16mpg.
Inner Fender Trimming
Due to the extra backspacing of the Mickey Thompsons, and the 33" tires, these definitely did not fit without some trimming.
I started with cutting an inch off at the bottom, and tapered it up to be an even curve ending at the fender tab, as pictured.
The internal fender seam was cut down to be flush.
Outer Fender Trimming
The outer fender was trimmed to match the inner fender.
I used a dremel tool to cut about halfway through the plastic, in line with the trimmed metal, then used a standard soldering iron to put some heat along the cut and fold it inwards. After it was bent into shape, I melted some of the extra plastic that was trimmed off, back in to strengthen the seam. I'll sand it down before I paint the whole fender, and I would guess that you'd have a hard time noticing that it wasn't stock.
Before and After
The top photo is with the stock 30" tires and the 3" suspension lift. The bottom is the same lift with the 33" tires and trimmed fenders.
It's recommended to also install an idler arm brace, as well as upgrade the center link and tie rods to heavy duty components due to the oversize tires. I'll have more on that upgrade in a future post.
The complete list of items used can be found in the Parts List below.
In Action
Here's a quick shot of them in action. Feel free to checkout the @four.x.fab instagram account for more pictures and videos.
Would I Change Anything?
Stock setup was 55lbs per set, and the current setup is 80lbs, with the wheels being an extra 5lbs, and the tires an extra 20lbs per set. Primarily because of the weight, I'll look for a lighter 32" tire when replacement time comes around, because I'm not really interested in regearing. Knowing what I know now, I would have probably gone with either closer to a -7 offset rim or a 10.5" wide tire, which would reduce the amount of trimming required, as the more wheel sticking out, the farther into the fender it will rub once you start turning.
Parts List
Total Cost = $808
Mickey Thompson Classic Lock
$175
Sourced from a local seller on Craigslist.
16x8" -12 offset
