TacoSTIG: PNW MT Build

Can't wait t see it all man!! Gonna be sick. Don't know if I asked you get but what tires you going with for your 35's?

Yeah bro I hear you! It's not a cheap decision! Definitely weigh your options. One of the biggest things that lead me to regearing was just wanting to show some love to my transmission so it wasn't working so hard to pull those big tires around.

 

Under a layer of dust hidden in the depths of the garage....among other things...

 

Yeah ~2400 is a steep investment thats for sure! I just dont know enough about gearing to really make a choice.

My understanding is basically if i move up to 4.56's it will give more power at lower speeds but on the highway would be higher rpm. I do a fair amount of highway driving

 

Dammit I just came

 

haha!

 

Niiiiice!!!! MT/R's twinsies!!

Yeah it will definitely give you low end power. It's putting your truck back in its "stock power range" . Your transmission with the larger tires might struggle a little especially with hills and stuff if you stay with stock gears. Totally up to you. All I know is that I love my gears especially going up hills. Basically pulls my truck right up!!

 

I do travel in the mountains a fair bit. So regearing would be easier on the tranny but would result in higher rpms correct? Or would it be about the same? I figure with my 285s on stock gear I saw (random number) a 300 rpm increase. Rehearing would keep that same 300 rpm (again made up number) but would use less power to get to it?

Is my understanding correct?

I have heard you don't want to use the front locker to much as well. Cause of our cv axles. Which makes sense to begin with and I haven't had to lock my rear all that much to begin with.

Plus the front isn't a "drop in" like the rear is it? Thought I remember there being a lot more to it when I'd looked ages ago.

So tacostig....want to post pictures of the actual items and not just boxes lol



Ps right now I'd fall into the "tire kicker" sort of buyer. Ie looking into it but not sure yet. So if you decided to just keep them it wouldn't break my heart

 

Sorry... late reply. Holidays were awesome minus a stomach flu. But I'm getting caught back up where we left off.

I may still be wrong on this but from what I've gathered in my digging when you bumped up to 285's you lost a pinch or power and your rpms should have gone down. Running 4.56's on 285's would bring back the power and rpms you lost while giving you a little extra at the same time. That said 4.56's would be the most aggressive gear I'd run on 285's.

Regarding the front locker you'd want to engage right before you enter a technical spot and disengage it when you're clear. You'd be fine running it longer if the ground you're on is very loose but I'll likely only use it when needed. It's a night and day difference running locked F+R, it's expensive, but worth it for the peace of mind that you'll have a greater chance of getting the truck out of a tough spot. Or better yet, avoiding getting stuck in the first place.

The front looks to be just as simple as the rear. The only part that makes it a bit more of a pain is dealing with the CV's and the tucked up location of the Clamshell vs the 3rd which is easy pickings.
http://eastcoastgearsupply.com/files/PDF Files/clamshell-removal.pdf

I've honestly yet to open the boxes, didn't want to do that until I knew I was keeping them.

No worries about being a tire kicker, I had been fighting regret and indecision. At this point I'm going to run them. I figured that these gears gives me the option to run a smaller tire down the line once I get tired of the dirty five MTR coolaid points. I can see picking up some 285 or 295 KO2's to run as dailies and run the MTR's on wheelin trips. If I jumped for 4.88's a smaller tire wouldnt be practical at those rpms.

 

Couldn't have said it better myself

 

Build update: I'll be smelling like gnarly gear oil tomorrow, 4.56's are going in!

In other news I got an unexpected christmas gift from one of my good buds. Guess I'm now part of the Trasharoo crew! It'll be nice keeping trash out of my sleeping area and it's big enough to haul a ton of litter off the trails. I've heard these things fade fast, does anyone happen to have UV protection spray suggestions? Reviews seem to suck on most products I've found.

I also bought @bobsuruncle's factor55 1.5" fairlead being that it didn't fit on his ARB bumper.

 

C303 protectant has worked in my past but best thing is just to keep it out of the weather.

$17 303 (30306) Marine UV Protectant Trigger Sprayer, 32 fl. Oz

http://www.amazon.com/303-30306-Protectant-Trigger-Sprayer/dp/B000XBCURW

 

Right on, that stuff has much better reviews than the other products I was looking at. I don't plan on leaving it on the truck longer than weekend outings so I'm sure it'll hold up. Just wanted to be proactive about it being that fading is inevitable.

 

I bet. Ill try and stop by tomorrow after im done at Mule

 

Right on, it's gonna be a longgg day.

 

Yeah it will for sure, depending on what time I get out I may be able to spend a little time there.

 

Had back surgery yesterday so I'll have to get creative lifting things but it'll all work out. That's what drugs are for right? Lookin forward to see ya if timing pans out.

 

The start of an endless battle.

 

Nice work on the CMC

 

Thanks bro! It came out better than I expected, but all the credit goes to the sawzall. Sliced through it like butter! Gotta revisit it with the grinder to clean up a few parts and possibly taper it further back.
How much did you chop off?

 

Nice! Wouldn't have thought to do it with the sawzall but that's awesome that it worked like it did! Looks good! I did probably just a little more than you did. Kinda took some off of the end towards the outside of the cab mount.