NJ B.S. Thread

Hey Guys! New here.. Does anyone have a trusted technician in NNJ? I run a performance euro shop and while the basic stuff I can do myself I will most likely come across a couple things I'll need someone with experience and tooling to do for me. Thank you! Glad to be part of the NJ clan.

 

Can’t say I know anybody up north but maybe someone will chime in, welcome to TW.

 

Thank you, happy to be here. I can indeed make a trip if not too far.

 

Ok4WD does work on modified trucks. Not sure what you're looking for specifically, but it's an awesome crew of people there.
https://ok4wd.com/service-departmen...SpsvwBFj8LzDqFnTBilgnssSav3PnAk6TYlFFTe598oKB

 

Awesome, they are about 1.5 hours from me. Maybe I'll use them when I switch over to the SSO slimline full plate but honestly looks like I can do that myself. Does anyone here do CMC w/ welding plates? I have a set of Gram Lites 57DR-X wheels coming today and will be throwing on 285/70/17 tires. The truck already has 5.29's and tune. I don't know if I want to just go straight to 35" and do a CMR. I could probably get away with 34" and do a 285/75 but I don't know if its worth the difference.

 

What are you doing that you want 35s? Not much terrain around here that justifies tires that size but doesn't risk tearing your truck up on rocks and trees. Understandable if it's just for looks but even then it's a lot of work just for looks. I'd try the 33s for a while first then reweigh the pros cons

Cab mount chop ain't bad. A few of us here that could do that. A relocate is proper fab work and that takes a fair amount of time and money

 

To be honest, I drive about 5K miles per year and have a 1&2 year old right now. My wife and I love camping and want to start bringing the boys out in the next couple years. Reason I mention the 5K miles per year is it will take me quite a bit of time to go through a set of tires and don't want to have buyers remorse on the size I choose. Past that, no I won't be doing any wheeling or anything serious off road and I DO love the look of 35s. No I will not need 35s for any type of driving I will be doing. I've done quite a bit of digging through TW on the subject and I guess i'm just at a toss up between the 285/70, 285/75, 305/70. I know those aren't 35s. I'm not worried about doing the chop myself, its the welding the cover plates in that I cannot do. Anyway, before I order tires for these wheels anyone somewhat local who would be willing to help me out with the CMC and welding the plates in? Not looking for a handout, would happily pay & get a chance to meet one of the locals in the process.

 

If you're not going to really wheel much or drive on sand, try skinnys:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-skinny-on-skinny-tires.529656/

 

I did think about pizza cutters, maybe i'm wrong but aren't the skinnys better for wheeling than wider? I guess maybe it depends on the condition (mud, sand) vs (rock, inclines).

 

Yeah there's pros and cons. I don't rock crawl but I do beach drive at Island beach and Brigantine. Fatties are the way to go in those scenarios because you don't want to dig down, you want to float over. The compacted sand that a skinny would dig you down to is deep enough to frame a vehicle. Seen it happen.
Mud holes and rock crawling favor a bit narrower profile. However I would argue that around here where mudholes are usually sand, you still want either a tall tire to air down, or a wider standard height tire to distribute weight better and not dig in. I run 285/75/16s and barely ever air down when hitting the beach. I just throw it in 4 and I'm good to go.

Point being, if you want tall tires for looks then go with skinnies. Less chance of rub, not as terrible of a hit on mpg. You could also air down and still get the benefits of a wide tire when offroading. I'm just lazy and hate airing down.

 

I would love to make it down the shore more than I have the past few years (I grew up in Red Bank). Talking more about it, Id say its 90% looks vs 10% function. I already have the 5.29 gears, not worried about MPG as I drive 7 miles to and from works, just need to figure out how far I want to go cutting / modifying to get the look I want. I think something like a K03 which seems to have a more narrow tread width than other AT tires in 285/75 might be the ticket. I get a tick under 34s and pay less than $300 a tire. I think I can get away with some liner trimming and cmc to clear without issues. Its pretty much the reason I went with a 0 offset since I'm not a fan of the poke look.

 

I know alot of guys including myself that ran 255/80/17 and rock crawled they are good tires just too heavy in my opinion. I've actually downsized in tires after long drives and killing my mpgs. 295/70/17 are also a option if you want big but not to big.

 

Gotcha. For whatever reason it's a your mileage may vary scenario when it comes to large tires and mods needed. Some guys claim zero rub with 33s and 35s if you have aftermarket UCA's that allow enough adjustment. No CMC needed. I would think that would only apply if you're not actually flexing out the suspension. That said I had a CMC done just as a precaution. I was lucky to have a local friend with a small shop who did it for a case a beer and $50.

 

My brother did my cmc and it looks like shit but it got the job done. Lol me questioning myself why I let him weld and actually believing he knew what he was doing.

 

I've spoken to a few guys on here about their setups and yea, you are spot on with for some reason most having different setups or needs to clear. I won't be flexing anything lol so for me I should come out just fine. I do need to choose an UCA, I like the SPC with the adjustability and the new style ball joint they have but part of me wants to save cash, grab freedom UCAs and call it a day. I would think I can max out the LCA caster, use the UCA to correct the camber. The SPC would for sure give me piece of mind though with the extra caster adjustability.

 

LOL I probably could convince one of the guys at my shop to do it for me. Might take a little more than a case of beer in my situation.

 

Ive hear alot of bad thing about the spc as of late. But I guess that's hearsay. I've had spc over 10years but the are the first generation control arms. I'm going over to jba now. Plus they are somewhat local just across the river in pa.

 

I read the SPC thread on here, from my past experience they were always great. I think people just expect more for the price you pay for them. With their new ball joint I think they alleviated some of the complaints.

 

I may be able to do a CMC if my free time opens up and the Tacoma is out of the garage soon.

I'm not a professional by any means but I do okay.

Untitled by MJH Creations, on Flickr
Untitled by MJH Creations, on Flickr

 

Yea, that looks damn good to me! Where are you located? Id be happy to come to you when you have the time.