Can You Fit 35s On a 3 Inch Lift 4Runner?

If you’re into offroading and want to give your 4Runner a boost, you’ve probably considered putting a lift on your truck. 

Lifts will give your truck more ground clearance, which means you’ll be able to cover more terrain than you would normally.

When you lift your truck, you might consider upping your tire size, too. 

So that begs the question, can you put 35s on your 4Runner after putting a 3-inch lift on? 

Can You Fit 35s On a 3 Inch Lift 4Runner?

You can fit 35-inch tires on your 3-inch lifted Toyota 4Runner, but you’ll need to make some additional alterations to accommodate the larger tires. You’ll also need to keep your wheel size in mind, but if you already have a 3-inch lifted 4Runner, 35s are just a few changes away.

Adding a 3-inch suspension lift is an excellent start to modifying your 4Runner to accommodate 35-inch tires.

However, you’ll need to do a bit more work in order to get them to fit just right without worrying about your tires rubbing against your pinch welds, pinch seams, bumpers, and body mounts. 

Whether you can fit 35s with a lift will also depend on the wheel size. 

Rim sizes for 4Runners range from 15-20 inches, depending on model year. 

Earlier model years had 15″ rims, and those in the mid-nineties and early 2000s offered 16-18″. 

Anything after 2010 only offers 17 or 20-inch tires. 

The main thing to keep in mind with wheel size is even with a lift, you’ll likely end up with gearing issues. 

Lifting your truck might give you the clearance you need, but you might also have to re-gear your vehicle if you want to add 35s to maintain decent performance.

Add a Body Lift

One way you can get more out of your suspension lift is to add a 2-2.5-inch body lift to your truck. 

A body lift will give you the extra clearance you need to put 35s on your 4Runner, which will be especially beneficial offroad. 

You don’t have to do a body lift if you already have a suspension lift on your 4Runner. 

That said, it might help you out if you need a little more clearance to compensate for your 35s. 

However, adding a body lift might require a steering shaft spacer to compensate for the increase in body height. 

You’ll also need to do some trimming, so if you were hoping to avoid that part, unfortunately, you’re out of luck.

Trim It Up

To prevent your tires from rubbing, you’ll need to trim a few areas of your truck. 

Specifically, I’d suggest taking a look at the following areas when your truck is at full compression to make 35s work with a 3-inch lift:

• Front and rear of wheel wells
• Pinch welds
• Fenders
• Front and rear bumpers

Trimming these areas will keep your tires from rubbing when you turn, extending the life of your tires. 

If you don’t want to trim your fenders, you could always extend them out to give your tires more room to move on turns and ruts. 

That said, you’ll likely still need to take on the bumpers and other areas.

However, be aware that trimming opens you up to rust issues.

So once you’ve done your cuts, make sure to seal up any open areas or new welds with rust-proof paint.

Extend Your Bump Stops

Adding a body lift is a lot of work and can change the look of your truck. 

If you’re not crazy about how a 4Runner looks with a combined body and suspension lift, you’ll need to extend your bump stops to avoid lifting the body. 

Bump stops are meant to protect your truck when your suspension is fully compressed. 

You’ll need more protection when you add a bigger tire because the tire is now taking up space that otherwise would have cushioned your truck from the wheel.

Upgrade Your Suspension

35s are big, to put it mildly. They’re taller, wider, heavier, and overall bulkier than stock tires. 

Why does that matter?

Well, for one, it’ll put a lot more strain on your stock suspension. 

Shocks meant for 31-inch tires won’t hold up as well with 35-inch tires, especially considering you’ll likely put quite a beating on them when you go off-road.

Why Put a Lift Kit On Your 4Runner?

I can definitely attest to the benefit of more ground clearance when you go offroading. 

A lift kit gives your truck a lot more capabilities offroad. 

If you spend a lot of time rock crawling or jumping roots, a 3″ lift can give you a bit more clearance when driving. 

A lift kit will also give you room for bigger tires. 

Since 4Runners come standard with 31-inch tires, a lift can give you a couple of extra inches that’ll let you put larger off-road tires on.

However, an extra 3-inches of lift doesn’t necessarily mean you can add another 3 inches worth of tire without issues. 

As you go up in tire size, you’ll need more room for the tires to bounce. 

So even though you might get more flexibility in terms of where you can take your truck offroading, you’ll still be limited as to what size tires you can use.

What Size Tires Will Fit With a 3-Inch Lift?

If you don’t want to mess with the added mods required to put 35s on your 3-inch lift 4Runner, you can still go bigger without too many changes.

A 3-inch suspension lift will easily allow you to move up to a 32-inch tire without the risk of rubbing your pinch welds and bumper. 

You could also give 33s a try, although you might run the risk of some rubbing, depending on what kind of driving you do. 

Personally, I wouldn’t go above 33s with a 3-inch lift. That doesn’t mean it’s not possible, though. 

In order to get 35s to fit on your 4Runner with a 3-inch lift, you’ll need to do the modifications I described above. 

Warranty Concerns

If you’re still up for modifying your 4Runner, there’s one thing you need to consider before taking the plunge, though, and that’s your truck’s warranty.

A suspension lift won’t void your warranty on its own. 

However, if you get into a crash and there’s damage that Toyota can prove was the result of the lift or any other modifications, you might be out of luck. 

In other words, if your lift and larger tires allowed you to go into an area where a stock 4Runner shouldn’t go, Toyota might not be willing to fork over cash for repairs.

For example, suppose your lifted truck gives you enough height to ford 36 inches of water. 

In that case, you could be looking at hefty repairs out of pocket if your truck was only intended to ford 30 inches.

This type of stipulation is generally true of all modifications, so keep it in mind when you’re changing fenders, upgrading your suspension, and changing your bump stops.

Wrapping Up

Putting 35s on your lifted 4Runner can be a great option if you want to change the look of your truck or increase its off-road capabilities. 

You’ll get more ground clearance, which is excellent in rocky areas, and the lift will help protect your vehicle.

Just make sure to consider everything mentioned here before making your final decision.