Slodgetto's Green Dragon 4x4 Conversion Build

Sooooo a lot of good advise and wisdom in there form guys with first-hand experience. I think I'm going to stick with 35's for now (maybe move up to TRUE 35s instead of 315s though..) and wait on 37s until I find afford some aluminum rims and some lightly used 37" tires (BFGs or a similarly light tire). At least this will allow me to rethink my rim size...... probably stay with 17"... but not sure on the width.

 

why in god's name do you need 37s with an ifs? I really can't imagine the 35s aren't doing the job well.

 

because rock crawler.

 

what did you do to lift the front 3in? eibach lift coils?

 

After reading those PM's I feel so sorry for IFS. I think a wise choice would be to stay with a 35. Just because a tire is 1" bigger (diff clearance) doesn't mean you will be able to outwheel everyone and their favorite bag of potato chips. I realized that with the 39's I went up too. I should of stay 37's. But guess what?

Anyway after reading some of the not giving it skinny pedal when full lock or flex (Ahem... I BOUNCE the truck full lock full flex like a MOFO) yay SAS! I am full throttle and bumping it when necessary. I feel bad for the IFS guys

Good luck

Oh, and I am heavy.. 4,750# trail ready. (Truck only weights 2,000#)











































































I am just fat

 

Because since 33 < 35, therefore 35 < 37. duh

But no seriously... It's amazing what 2" more inches of rubber and annother inch of clearance can do... (Remember axle hill and Lurry's drivesahft? He was on 34s at that time and he told me he's pretty sure that hill could be made with a Tacoma on 37s, and clear the driveshaft if not barely scratch it instead of completely bending it like he did...)

Also because

correct. I paired them with adjustable Bilstein 5100s (set to the lowest setting) I LOVE this set-up and highly reccomend it. The coils are a bit stiff since they're 600lbs coils but I liked the stablity up front on corners and they've softened with adge and extra weight on the front end.

 

Yeah......... I'll just stick with the 35s for a while.... (unless I find a screaming deal on Craigslist or something. ) haha

And I'm not tryin to "outwheel" everybody.... lol I simply like challenges and overcoming them--and then going back next time better prepared to overcome the even BIGGER challenges. That's what wheeling is all about. And yeah.... if I could SAS it now, I would! But that's going to have to wait a few years.... and in the mean time, I'd like to have as much fun as I can and learn as much as I can from guys like you that have a lot of experience. It is kind of silly trying to wheel on the crazy stuff with an IFS truck.... but that's what I have for now, and I'm going to make it as formidable as I can!

 

Here you go
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=20644255&cat=&lpid=1&search=super swampers

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=20590765&cat=&lpid=2&search=super swampers

There was a set of the same tires I'm running on Boise CL but it looks like they are gone now however I did find these 37's but they are on a 15.

http://boise.craigslist.org/pts/3023978625.html

 

You're awesome JW! Are you saying I should go with 16" wheels? 36" would be a good compromise...

 

I like my 36's.....and they seemed to do pretty well in Moab, Its funny a year ago I was looking at getting rid of my 16's based on availability of sizes but now you couldn't make me switch after finding 36's that fit a Toyota wheel.

I have been helping out STravis with his truck following your lead we took 2" out of his fenders with a plasma cutter and a BFH to fit my old 315/75r16 MTR kevlars on his truck. I'm not sure if he snapped any pics but we did test fit my swampers on it as well and it looked awesome.

 

nice, man! I'm sure they did!!! That's what I've been finding as well..... I wanted a radial 36" tire that was skinnier than 1350 for a 17" rim and my search proved empty. but the 36/whateverr/16s are everywhere! a first gen on ttora has some 36" TSLs on his rig and they do look sweet!

 

Thats the same tire I was going to run Q78r16 I have one sitting in the backyard but with the issues Interco had it was no longer available. I kept looking at the 36-12.50r16's but didn't want a wide tire it took seeing them in person to realize how f'ed up Swampers sizing is but it worked out just fine.

 

I've heard different things on the sizing of Interco tires... are they bigger? smaller? or just different??? I've heard they're a lot bigger than the same sized tire in a different brand but if seen a TINY 31/150r15 swamper that was the same size as a 30/9.50r15 Falken Rocky Mountain...

 

I think the guy that measures the tires for Interco is crosseyed and has one leg that is shorter than the other maybe...

 

ah... that explains it.... ? lol

 

so did you have to buy shocks that were a little bit longer than the stock ones? and i know your a master mechanic and all but how hard are they to install compared to installing the stock coil/shock set up (for a normal person to install)

 

Just uploaded all my tubbing and fender cutting pictures and posted them with all the info...
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1s...-dragon-4x4-conversion-build.html#post4824080

Also updated the 4x4 coversion section:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1s...gettos-green-dragon-4x4-conversion-build.html

ARB locker install and front diff regear pictures/info will come after i get home from work.

 

I think they've got a bit more travel.... but I don't know what the numbers are.

And EL OH EL at the "master mechanic" comment. I appreciate the compliment but I didn't even know how to change the oil or spark plugs in my truck (and barely knew how to put on the spare...) before a joined TW and a few other forums... lol! Everything I know was learned from the interwebz! hahahahahaha (so don't think that counts as master mechanic )

As to the strut installation... I found it to be pretty easy (after figuring out how to do it.) lol It really was a piece of cake. The trick is to use something to push the control arms down in order to to line up the bottom bolt. The first time I installed them, I used my bottle jack (from the toyota spare tire tool kit) to press it down. The second time, I just used a long metal bar to push them down. I just put the end underneath the long UCA mounting bolt in the back... and over the top of the arm and put weight on it. Worked like a charm.

 

Found some decent shoes to replace my freebie-chunked up-tread separating-aligment worn- all terrain 315s.


35/1250r17 KM2s with about 40% tread left for $200. Not bad i think? The plan is to replace these with 37s when they wear out in about a year... (Also, i found those 2nd gen wheels in the "throw away" pile at work and I snagged em up... I may end up using them when I go to 37s, or I may sell them... we'll see.)

 

Soo... one of my crazy, sfa toyota buddies is trying to convince me to just dovetail a few inches when I bob the bed since I'll be cutting into it anyway... I definately don't want to take as much out as GOT COPE? did his.... but I'm thinking 3-4" off each side might be nice with the 12" bob? What do you guys think, am I nuts?