[Dougie Fresh]

Whats up? I have a 1996 Chevrolet S-10 4.3L V6 4x4. For now this is my daily driver, but I want to put a little into it to go play. I'm new to all the off roading, so I appreciate any answers/comments. For now I want to Put new tires on, upgrade the suspension, and a cold air intake to get a little more power. I really don't know anything about tires. Whats a good size/tire for just going out and playing every once and awhile? Next is suspension, I really only want a 2-3 in lift. I don't need to be 10ft in the air, I just want some clearance. What is a good suspension package? Will there being any other mods i'll have to do when I get new tires/ suspension? Last, a cold air intake. Basically same question as all those, whats a good one fore the money and will there be any other mods? Thanks again.

 

[blowns10]

You can have tons of fun with stock 235/75R15 tires, but you can upgrade to 30" tires; they are only about 1/2 an inch taller than stock, but you should be fine. BF Goodrich AT would be a good choice for a rig that sees double duty, as a daily driver/off-roader.

Suspension, depends upon the type of wheeling that you do. If you do mild wheeling that a stock vehicle can handle there is no need to upgrade, however, if you really like to push your ride, you need a lift kit. I DO NOT suggest doing a mild lift kit (1-2.5"), because those type of lifts, increase CV angles, and cause accelerated wear of the suspension components!!. If you want a lift kit the only suggestion is the BDS 5" kit, Superlift 6"; but not the Trailmaster kit, it's not all that great, but BDS is the one I suggest!!.

You can go ahead and add clearance, by replacing the fenders and bedsides with fiberglass components, which will add width and increase clearance for larger sized tires, without affecting suspension geometry, and you can fit 31"-32" tires on a stock rig. Search for Hannemann fiberglass, they have stuff for the s-series. Or you could keep the steel body panels and add a 3" body lift, I don't like them, but it's entirely up to you!. Lastly, you can keep the vehicle stock, no fiberglass or suspension lift, and you could bite the bullet and trim the fenders, then you could fit up to 35" tires on a low center of gravity!!.

As for the air intake, I'd suggest K&N they have the second generation intake kit for the 4.3 it comes with a heat shield, if I remember correctly. There are several, you just need to choose which one YOU want or can afford. Some other kits are the following: SB filters, Green filters, Airaid, AEM, K&N, and several more. You can get one at your local auto parts store chain; one of the larger ones, such as Kragen, Schucks, O'reilly, Pep Boys, Autozone, etc.

Those are my suggestions, ultimately the end decision is up to you because it's your money and your vehicle!!. Hope that helps you out a bit, there are tons of websites that are dedicated to the modifying the s-series!!. Late.

 

[Dougie Fresh]

I really don't get how tires are measured. So if i wanted 30" tires what would it look like if i wanted to order them?

 

[blowns10]

What do you mean?; are you saying, how would they look like installed on the vehicle?. You can view the specs, wherever you are buying the tires from, they should be able to show you the tire specifications, if you ask them. Look at the O.D. which is the overall diameter of the tire. A stock S10 passenger car tire is as follows :

EXAMPLE OF THE TIRE SIZE OF A STOCK S10 OF P235/75R15 BREAKDOWN

P = Passenger Car Type Tire (LT = Light Truck Type Tire)
235 = Section width of the tires (the tread)
75 = Aspect Ratio of the tires (sidewall)
R = Radial tire construction
15 = Rim Diameter

So if you want to know the overall diameter of a tire you do the following:
For example, taking the P235/75R15 size to know the overall diameter, do this, 235 times .75 times 2 divided by 25.4 add 15 = 28.877953, this translates into an overall diameter of 28.87"; this is not exact, but will get you in the ballpark. Hope this helps. Late.

 

[Dougie Fresh]

Alright thanks that helped a lot. So I'm kind of DIY kind of guy, because i'm cheap. So if i buy new tires can I put them on the rim? If so how? I want to do it right. Or do I have to have someone else do it? If so would u know a normal price range? Thanks.

 

[stump runner]

It can be done, if you are truly; cheep/ broke/stubborn/ stupid (like me). I spent a full afternoon swapping used 35" tires on 15" wheels. (dismount 8, mount 6) First, remove the valve stem. I used a high lift and a motor home to break the beads. Next, with plenty of soapy water and box end wrenches I was able to walk the bead off the rim. Reverse the process to mount the tires. Again with soapy water and an air compressor fill the tire to seat the beads. I did not spin balance the mounted tires because that isn't something you can do yourself. The vibrations later shook stuff apart and ate my shocks.

A couple months later a friend bought a Ford Escort cheep. somehow there was about a quart of water in one tire. It was pretty easy to break the bead but we were unable to get the bead outside the 13"(?) wheel. ended up sticking a small shop vac hose in and sucked out the water.

I think the large tires were easier because of the large soft sidewalls compared to the relatively stiff, short sidewalls on the escort.

I will not be doing this again because it only costs about $12 ea. to have a tire store mount and balance your tires, although I am glad to have the experience to draw on in the future if needed.

P.S.It would be very easy to mangle aluminum on powder coated wheels. The ones I did were on steelies.

 

[c_rock]

I really don't get how tires are measured. So if i wanted 30" tires what would it look like if i wanted to order them?

If you want 30" tall tires for your truck, you'll probably be looking for 30x9.50-15. Those are 30" tall (nominally, not exactly) and 9.5" wide at the tread, for 15" rims.

You can mount your own tires, but it is quite a job without the right tools. I always just fess up the $10 per tire and get them mounted and balanced at the shop. Plus they take care of my old tires, so I don't need to worry about how to dispose of them.

C

 

[texas sub]

tires

honestly, i have the tools to do it. i pay to have it done. and the water in the tire is a cheep fix a flat. water is a larger particle than air and stops some leaks or slows it enough to get some where that there is help. o and just incase your wondering thetire machine went to a yard sale. its 5 toget them swapped.

 

[Dougie Fresh]

So i looked up the fiber glass fenders. They r a little pricey for me. Do they make cheaper ones from another company or material? I don't want a big lift so ill just go with out. I want to put like 30in tires on. The BF A/T tires seem to be good and the Mud-Terrain T/A® KM and KM 2. I've read reports about them in a few mags. So really the only thing that is stopping me is money and new fenders.

 

[Dougie Fresh]

ok i googled for off roading parts. I found fender flares. From my understanding they replace ur stock fenders and add space for larger tires. This is exactly what i'm wanting, but is that what they really are? thanks for all the help.

 

[blowns10]

If all you want is 30" tires; they should be able to fit without any problems!!. I've got 30" BFG A/T's on my 1986 Chevy T10 blazer and it's stock, no mods, no probs; they work great for my application. If you wanted to put on 31"-32" tires, then I would recommend fiberglass fenders without a lift; they would be able to fit.....depends on what you need and/or want. I'm happy without a lift kit and it takes me where I want to go without worry. The BFG's have great traction for almost everything except deep soupy mud; that's their weak point; hence the BFG M/T tires.....you can always break out the sawzall and cut up the fenders until you fit 35" tires on your rig!!...:grin: Late.

 

[Dougie Fresh]

Ya all i want is 30's. But i wrecked it awhile back putting a big dent in the passenger side door and fender. I'm going to try and find some at the junk yard. But is there a difference between the 1996 ls 4.3 sidestep s-10 door and fender compared to the zr2? Does the Zr2 have more clerence and will it fit on the ls s-10?

 

[blowns10]

But is there a difference between the 1996 ls 4.3 sidestep s-10 door and fender compared to the zr2? Does the Zr2 have more clerence and will it fit on the ls s-10?

Sux 2 hear man!!.
Are you talking about the front fenders?
All S/T series utilize the same design for the front fenders, hood, doors (fronts on 4 doors), they all interchange. In otherwords, a 1992 4 door front door will fit a 1984 S10, and a 1996 will fit a 2000. Just remember, 1st gen parts interchange with 1st gens, same thing with 2nd gens.

Check around, search for s-series related websites, there's lot's of useful information and great pepole out there!!.

Take it easy man. Late.