# 06 2500HD Clearance



## Seabee15 (Aug 22, 2007)

Well back in April I bought a 2006 2500HD Crew Cab with a 7.5 Ultramount. The truck came with a nice set of 265 HT's on it....great for everyday driving but terrible for the snow. So i already had a set of almost brand new 285/75R16 BFG A/T's layin around in the garage so I decided to swap them out. In order to put 285's on, I know I had to do a little cranking, so installed some 1.5" longer Procomp ES9000 shocks for all four corners and went to crank up the T-bars and to my surprise they were already cranked up! Oh man.... 
Now my 285's rub even with out the plow. I plan to do some trimming this weekend to cure the unloaded rubbing problem but when I put the plow on...holy crap. It rubs like a son of gun. So i need to lift the front of the truck up a little more. But! I want to get a somewhat of a nice ride out of it seeing its a also a family truck. Right now it rides much stiffer than before, maybe its due to the load range E tires. 

So far my options are Leveling Keys, timbrens, or something i really dont want to do, but get the congnito control arms. And body lift would look awful. 

Let me know what you guys think.


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## MikeRi24 (Dec 21, 2007)

I have 285s on my truck, I take them off for the winter however. I had to trim the plastic lower valence of the front bumper a little bit. I have my torsion bars cranked up a little but not much only a couple turns. I have never had my plow on with the 285s, but my truck doesnt really drop much with the plow so I would think between trimming the lower valence and maybe adding a couple cranks you would be ok. However, with a 7.5 foot plow, you're going to hate plowing with 285s. When you angle the plow, you actually lose quite a bit of width. So when you have the plow angled, you're tires are going to be driving over unplowed snow, ESPECIALLY with that wide of a tire. I have a 7.5 foot plow and run 245s in the winter and already have that problem a little bit, so with 285s I would imagine it would be much worse. If you can get a set of like 245s of maybe even 255s to run in the winter, I would say that would be your best bet overall.


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## mossman381 (Nov 17, 2009)

Your t-bars are cranked up all the way and you can't clear 285's on factory rims? Something doesn't sound right.


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## MikeRi24 (Dec 21, 2007)

mossman381;1323310 said:


> Your t-bars are cranked up all the way and you can't clear 285's on factory rims? Something doesn't sound right.


Yeah...after my first post I thought about it, you're sure the bars are up all the way and they are just not frozen up? Also you have to make sure the front wheels are off the ground or those bolts will not move either.


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## chevyzrule810 (Oct 5, 2010)

This is my 2006 2500HD with 285s on it.The torsion bars have only been turned five times,and I haven't trimmed the front valance.Here are some pictures.

With plow off

















with plow on


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## brad96z28 (Aug 21, 2005)

I run 285 and a v plow no problems.


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## BlizzardBeater (Aug 29, 2010)

mossman381;1323310 said:


> Your t-bars are cranked up all the way and you can't clear 285's on factory rims? Something doesn't sound right.


This was my immediate first thought. You should be able to run 285/75r16's on that. Are the torsion key bolts bottomed all the way out? You should be able to run them without the torsion bars turned all the way up.


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## cjoverma (Jan 19, 2009)

Look into nor cal truck's platinum package, did a great job for me. Call nick, very smart and helpful. Rides better than ever.


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## quicknova (Feb 1, 2011)

Anyone running 285/70/17s w/ plow? I picked up some Hummer H2 wheels cheap and getting them powder coated black and want to run these for looks but also to gain some plow frame height. I have bars cranked and firestone air shocks.


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## chevyzrule810 (Oct 5, 2010)

Leave the rims the way they are don't paint them they look great all nice and shiny in the summer time.I would put 285s on your stock wheels and run those during plowing season.I know a guy who put 285s on his stock 16" and he had to trim the front valance and trim up the mudflaps with no plow on the truck.


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## quicknova (Feb 1, 2011)

chevyzrule810;1325589 said:


> Leave the rims the way they are don't paint them they look great all nice and shiny in the summer time.I would put 285s on your stock wheels and run those during plowing season.I know a guy who put 285s on his stock 16" and he had to trim the front valance and trim up the mudflaps with no plow on the truck.


Too late, already started stripping them, guess I'll find out how they work, will post pics in a few weeks..


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## woodchuck2 (Dec 4, 2010)

The 06 D-Max that i just sold had 285's on it since i bought it and all i trimmed was the lower valance. These were also on the stock alloy wheels. The aftermarket wheels on my other 06 came with 285 BFG AT's when i bought them used and the did rub quite a bit but i believe it was due to the wider offset of the wheels. I had to trim the lower valance, crank the T-bars another 3 turns on top of the 5 turns i did when the truck was new. I also had to beat back the cab a little so the tire would stop rubbing on the wheel well. I still have some room left for cranking but i am going to go with the green keys. Another local kid here just bought an 05 D-max with the same wheels/tires as mine but his T-bars are maxxed out. The truck sits nice but has a harsh ride up front. He too has a Fisher plow like i do.


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## 7_below (Dec 9, 2009)

The stiffer ride is from the tbars being so cranked up. And if it's rubbing going forward, wait Til your turning in reverse. The 285's are 2 sizes bigger than stock and about an inch taller and just under an inch wider than 265's. I have the same truck with an 8' western pro and went through the same thing. If you like to do the right thing and not half ass it, you have to put the newer heavier timbrens in that will decrease front end sag and then install torsion keys(leveling kit) that will raise the front 1.5" to 2". Then you can turn the torsion bars down for a smoother ride. Make sure you get an alignment done after the torsion keys are installed. If you have it done in a shop, you might be about $650. Good luck.


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## mossman381 (Nov 17, 2009)

I think you will get a harsher ride with timbrens than with cranking up the t-bars. With timbrens you are riding on a big bumpstop the whole time. The spring rate does not increase when you turn your t-bars up. If you have a harsh ride after you crank up your t-bars your shocks are probably max out.


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## 7_below (Dec 9, 2009)

mossman381;1327989 said:


> I think you will get a harsher ride with timbrens than with cranking up the t-bars. With timbrens you are riding on a big bumpstop the whole time. The spring rate does not increase when you turn your t-bars up. If you have a harsh ride after you crank up your t-bars your shocks are probably max out.


Sorry, but I beg to differ. Harsher ride with tbars cranked up. Ive done both. The timbrens will not compress until your front end bounces or weight is put on it. The after market timbren is just made up of denser rubber than what's on your truck now.


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## kevlars (Feb 11, 2011)

How does the spring rate not increase if you crank your t bars? That is what holds up the front end of the truck, and makes it ride higher. Kinda like putting heavier coils or leafs on a Dodge or Ford. So, if it is riding higher, then the springs/t-bars are pushing down harder on the axles to get the extra height. 

Of course, this is just my opinion, but sounds logical to me. I also don't feel that the Timbrens affect the ride. I have them on my Dodge. I don't ride on them unless the plow is on.

kevlars


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## mossman381 (Nov 17, 2009)

7_below;1328001 said:


> Sorry, but I beg to differ. Harsher ride with tbars cranked up. Ive done both. The timbrens will not compress until your front end bounces or weight is put on it. The after market timbren is just made up of denser rubber than what's on your truck now.





kevlars;1328024 said:


> How does the spring rate not increase if you crank your t bars? That is what holds up the front end of the truck, and makes it ride higher. Kinda like putting heavier coils or leafs on a Dodge or Ford. So, if it is riding higher, then the springs/t-bars are pushing down harder on the axles to get the extra height.
> 
> Of course, this is just my opinion, but sounds logical to me. I also don't feel that the Timbrens affect the ride. I have them on my Dodge. I don't ride on them unless the plow is on.


The weight of the truck is already on the t-bars. By turning the bar you are just forcing the lower control arm down more. You are not increasing the spring rate of the bars. They only twist so far.

But what do I know, I have only owned one truck in my life and never modified it.


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## ss502gmc (Sep 12, 2008)

I have never touched my T bars on my 01 2500hd and have never had any rubbing issues with my 285 bfg AT I know my truck came with the 2" body lift from the factory according to the rpo code I think because of the allison tranny but Im on my 2nd set of 285's and have never had them rub. Maybe my tbars were cranked up some at the factory? Not sure but its got me thinking now. When I had my 94 Gmc i cranked the bars up on that and even with an alignment i always had uneven tire wearing problems which is why i refused to crank them on this truck.


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## mossman381 (Nov 17, 2009)

ss502gmc;1328049 said:


> I have never touched my T bars on my 01 2500hd and have never had any rubbing issues with my 285 bfg AT I know my truck came with the 2" body lift from the factory according to the rpo code I think because of the allison tranny but Im on my 2nd set of 285's and have never had them rub. Maybe my tbars were cranked up some at the factory? Not sure but its got me thinking now. When I had my 94 Gmc i cranked the bars up on that and even with an alignment i always had uneven tire wearing problems which is why i refused to crank them on this truck.


I put a cognito leveling kit with their upper control arms on my 08. Cranked the t-bars all the way and had it aligned with specs from cognito. Truck drove strait down the road and couldn't tell the ride from factory. I did get the longer bilstien shocks too.


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## ed39 (Oct 9, 2007)

note.. 2inch body lift from the factory came on the hds cause the frame is two inches taller than a 1500 thats the reason for the lift all hds have it except maybe the nnbs. your going to get a harder ride cranking the bars up no way to avoid that.. your best bet is to crank the bars up when the plow is on and if you dont like that ride back them back down. personally id find a set of torsion bar keys and blocks and give the truck a solid 2inch lift all around youll clear everything then and gain some height for getting over those curbs. i have a 1500 with 3 inch crank 1.5 body lift clearing 35s havent trired the plow yet tho


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## 7_below (Dec 9, 2009)

Seabee15;1323016 said:


> Well back in April I bought a 2006 2500HD Crew Cab with a 7.5 Ultramount. The truck came with a nice set of 265 HT's on it....great for everyday driving but terrible for the snow. So i already had a set of almost brand new 285/75R16 BFG A/T's layin around in the garage so I decided to swap them out. In order to put 285's on, I know I had to do a little cranking, so installed some 1.5" longer Procomp ES9000 shocks for all four corners and went to crank up the T-bars and to my surprise they were already cranked up! Oh man....
> Now my 285's rub even with out the plow. I plan to do some trimming this weekend to cure the unloaded rubbing problem but when I put the plow on...holy crap. It rubs like a son of gun. So i need to lift the front of the truck up a little more. But! I want to get a somewhat of a nice ride out of it seeing its a also a family truck. Right now it rides much stiffer than before, maybe its due to the load range E tires.
> 
> So far my options are Leveling Keys, timbrens, or something i really dont want to do, but get the congnito control arms. And body lift would look awful.
> ...


How's all that working out for ya??


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