Loco's "Brack Burrito Build" BS Thread...with some build...mostly BS.

#buystiresforlooks

 

I have no clue what I'm talking about so feel free to dump these opinions in the toilet, but........

Tires. I've been driving/wheeling an 80 series for the last 15 years and have tried some different stuff over the years. First off with tire size. 37's look awesome on an 80, no question. But like with most vehicles it takes some work to get them to fit correctly. It's not impossible, but it's tough to get them to fit if you want to keep the fender flares. If you don't want any rubbing you either have a massive lift (which introduces a bunch of other problems) or you end up trimming the fenders. In reality on these trucks the 35's (315s) are big enough to get you through just about anything especially with triple lockers, but obviously a bit of an improvement in under axle clearance with the 37's. One other issue to consider is that as the truck is lifted the rear axle gets closer to the front since it travels in an arc with the rear 5-link. 315's don't really have a problem fitting, but a lot of 37's will rub at the front of the rear wheel wells because of how the axle moves. There's not much room to trim the fender there because of the rear doors. The better option is to actually lengthen the lower rear control arms to push the axle back to the correct location (this will depend on the amount of lift). This step will also change the angle of the ujoint at the pinion side of the driveshaft so if you have been getting driveline vibes because of the lift, this could help correct the driveshaft angle at the joints. It's all trade-offs, just realize there are some extra steps to getting 37's to fit really well assuming you want to actually wheel the truck.

For me personally I really want 37's but didn't want to worry about all that stuff just yet so I stayed with 315's for now. Now the holy grail of tire sizes IMO is the 345! Those are typically just shorter than a 37's and will get you just about all the same advantages without all the custom work to get them to fit (in most cases). It's a size that's hard to find. I'd have 345 KM2s on my 80 right now if I could have found them, but there was not a single set of them in the whole country when I was looking.

Now for tire type......I've enjoyed reading all the different suggestions from people, some of which are good, others not so much. Preferred tire type/brand/tread is different for just about everyone and there are too many factors to say one is the best for everyone. But I will say this. One particular tire on a HEAVY 80 series cruiser will behave dramatically different than that same tire will behave on a much lighter Tacoma. I can say that from experience. Someone mentioned the TOYO MT and suggested not getting them because of their weight and that the sidewalls were so stiff. True on both counts. However, it's an apples to oranges comparison. 15psi in a set of Toyos on a Tacoma will probably have no discernible sidewall bulge. But that same set of Toyos at 15psi on a Land Cruiser will have quite a bit of sidewall bulge and actually work really well. There's still the issue of the weight because it is a heavy tire, but a good friend of mine had Toyos on his 80 series for a trip he took from Banff to Ushuaia at the southern tip of Argentina. I think there is enough varied terrain and miles covered in that trip that he can make an educated recommendation. He has continued to say that the Toyo was the best tire he ever had on his 80. Take that for what it's worth.

Bottom line is sidewalls are key on an 80. The trucks are heavy and sidewalls are going to take a beating as a result. If you have thin sidewalls like you would with Duracraps you're asking for headaches IMO. The sidewall is the reason I went back to the MTR on my current 80. There are other options out there. My second choice was the Maxis Trepador. They are wildly aggressive and tough as nails but I needed something with slightly better road manners. But I still may end up with these before too long unless a set of 345 KM2 show up.


Good luck Phil. This bunch will definitely help you spend your money.

 

In all honesty a duratrac is an awesome tire for looks. When I have a tow pig someday I'm gonna run duratracs cause they look sweet and handle snow amazingly. But yes, stupid for the rocks. Anyone want to buy my 285s? Only "slight" scuffing on the side wall I swear

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The duratrac is one of the ugliest tires out there IMO. To each his own. The Duratrac has clearly been popular so I'm sure I'm in the minority with my opinion.

 

Lol this is true. The reason for its success is the "aggressive looking" sidewall but still being an AT

 

mmmmm...37" Trepadors.

 

Well here's what's gonna happen...

I am getting my old duratracs back for 100 less than I sold them for and they haven't been mounted since I removed them from my tacoma. It is too good of a deal to pass up for 5 nearly new tires. I am going to live with them until the STT Pro is out and readily available and some real world testing goes into them in which case I will pull the duratracs back off and sell them...for what I am paying for them right now...so duratracs it is. Good news is the 315s in a load range e are a 3 ply sidewall... if I blow one I guess I'll get new tiars sooner. Until then they are the right size and give me some more time on the STT Pros. Win win.

 

Also Box Rocket if you could snag me the pics of the sliders/legs I'd appreciate that! Looking at options now...

 

Sure thing. Forgot about that. I drove the 80 to work today so I'll snap a couple.

 

Adam what flares are those??? I haven't been able to find a set of bushwhacker style flares...looks good.

 

So a question for you @Box Rocket.. So the same would apply to my 100 series when it comes to weight and side walls not sure how heavy the 80 is compared to the 100... I wanted the KM2s just for that reason... Debating about the SST's as the other... And the tire size goes i want to go with is the 285/75/16.
If you want me to be honest... I think my Favorite tire of all time were the true 33inch BFG mud terrain.... I literally beat the crap out of them in the rubicon almost every weekend during the summer... Plus I ended up getting like 60k miles out of them... With that said... Should I just go with a true 33 BFG MT... Or will whole quarter inch or what it is make that big of a difference... Thanks again... Love to pick your brain about this things...

 

.5" isn't going to matter much IMO. As for weight the 100 series is about the same as the 80 IIRC. I think the chassis is slightly heavier but the V8 is lighter than the I-6 in the 80 so it's pretty much a wash.

I'm not sure which ones those are but I think they're some fiberglass Chinese ones. I think you can find them on ebay, or do a search for pocket flares on MUD and you can probably find some info.

 

Hey Box, any info on that sweet LC???

 

Sorry for the crappy phone pics but here's a few of my slider legs. These are the 67" TG ones. The provided legs (6 of them) work fine except for the front 2 which are not long enough. So you'll need to make your own front legs. The driverside is really straight forward with nothing in the way behind the rocker panel. Just weld some frame plates, and weld the sliders on. The passenger side is trickier since the exhaust and cats are in the way of the front leg. You'll need to either bend a custom leg (this is what I did) or fab a plate style skid type leg to support the front of the slider and protect the cats. But with your diesel conversion you may not have this issue and it will be as simple as the driver side. I'm rebuilding my cat protection so it's not in the pics.

The passenger side has a small heat shield at the bottom of the rocker. If that's still there you'll probably need to notch it for the leg. Also, the rocker panel pinch weld is lower than the frame so you'll need to notch the pinch weld, and the legs will probably need to be welded flush with the base of the frame and also be angle down a bit to fit.

I had some hunks of 3/8" plate that I used for the gussets on top of the legs. The longer down the leg the gusset the better.

driverside


notched pinch weld


passenger side with leg between the cats


Little draw over to explain it since the pics suck

 

I have no info. If you look at the trees etc in the photo its from somewhere pretty tropical (I'm guessing S. America or Asia).

 

Perfect info! I don't have any cats and the exhaust runs under the truck now 100% tucked up so it should be pretty straight forward. Was more concerned about the downward angles on the legs but looks like it will be fun with some Gussets so I guess I get some of these drummed up.

 

Dis showed up today!!! Big snorkel...way bigger than the Airflow snorkel on the Taco. Maybe install this weekend if I finish up the rim cleaning/painting.

 

TMI