The Build

Great build, I am looking to do a very similar build myself....that handyman mount is great!!

 

Had some Tahuya fun today

 

Updated pic for the Cobra CB install (finally)

 

Junkyard Leaf Spring Lift

I stumbled across this thread. The idea is that you hop down to your local auto wrecker, find a donor vehicle for a leaf spring pack, then do some swapping on that poor saggy rear end. The result is an excellent lift that is comparable to the big money leaf packs for a fraction of the cost.
There's a good list of pleased modders, so I decided to give it a go. A scary project for me since I don't know a damn thing about this, but the financial impact is fairly low and I can reverse things, so the screw up factor is nil.


First off, the before pics. As previously mentioned in my build, I have the TSB plus a Wheeler's Offroad AAL. The big problem you notice here is that you can see daylight between my springs. They should be completely flat against each other!






Here's the donor vehicle I found





And here they are ready for the next step




more to come.... I don't have any powertools here where I live, so I need to wait on a mod day or a trip to my parents to visit my tools

 

Looks good. What did you do about a speaker

 

It works ok so far, but I'm thinking about doing the same as you... I just need the motivation to go to Radio Shack tonight... but I want to play video games really bad

 

Mike what are the rear Chevy springs gonna replace? Dakars or AAL?

 

I have TSB + AAL. Everything gets ripped out except my top spring. My instruction manual, as it were:

Also added some 'before' pics.

 

When I finally lift mine. I might have you do that for me for a rear setup

 

Relentless Fabrication Front and Mid skids

Could have used these quite some time ago. Glad to have the protection now.




Photo courtesy of nevetsteven

 

Had some fun at Tillamook State Forest over the weekend

 

A few updates...

I am possibly abandoning the junkyard leaf idea. With this being my only vehicle and the procedure being quite experimental and lengthy, I don't think I can get it done and make sure I get to work regularly. Instead, I am looking into having custom leafs made. Initial estimate was cheaper than Dakar expos!

However, that is going to have to wait...

Over the weekend, I got a 2" gash in the sidewall of one of my Maxxis Bighorns, making it non-fixable. A replacement from my dealer would cost $380 - forget that!!
I have also learned that on 4x4 vehicles, all tires need to be identical in terms of make, depth, rims, everything, otherwise it puts unnatural wear on the diff during 4x4 operation.
So, I've made the decision to buy 5 new tires, and this time I will be rotating in my spare.
I currently have:
-Stock TRD rims (4)
-Stock steel rim (1)
-Ultra 168 rims (4) which have my Maxxis on them
-Wheeler's steel rim (1) which has a Treadwright Guard Dog (Toyo side/Wrangler MTZ tread)

The Ultras were never a really good fit on the truck (I foolishly shaved the caliper to make it fit - but got lucky), so I plan on selling those off.
The Treadwright I plan on selling since I will not need it

This leaves me with three choices:
-New rims and 285/75/16 tires, most likely Duratrac or KM/2
- Buy 4 more Wheeler's steelies, new 285/75/16 tires
- Buy 255/85/16 KM/2s and put them on the stock alloys, then buy an extra stock alloy for the spare

Lots to think about.
Choice 1 costs the most, but gives the widest options.
Choice 2 I'm worried about fuel economy, plus I think I'm ruling it out because lips on steel rims get bent up offroad pretty regularly.
Choice 3 limits my tire choice to pretty much a single tire model, and I have to find a spare used rim. However, the cost is really low.

So far thinking about the last option....

 

Mike, sorry to hear about the tire dilemma...

what size is the treadwright? Wouldnt happen to be a 285/70/17 would it? Probably a 16, but thought I'd ask since I need 1.

 

Nope, it's a 16. Not a prob, Benson X might be grabbing it since he has regular MTZs and it would make a good spare.

 

BFG KM/2 in 255/85/16

Due to the dilemma I mentioned here, I needed new tires. I decided 255s would be my cheapest option, and I was very curious about this size. Member 4runner316, who already had this installed, was kind enough to let me do a test drive, and it felt great!

255/85R16 are sort of a rarity, and you have limited choices:
Maxxis (too damn expensive, as I mentioned)
Cooper (I don't have much faith in Cooper)
BFG KM/2

The choice was obvious. The KM/2 is a tried and true tire, and most any offroader has owned a set or known a close friend riding on them. They only come in a 10 ply E rating for this size - a bit more than we need (Tacomas are fine on C rated), but it will stand up nicely to the offroad abuse.

I was lucky enough to pick up a 5th TRD alloy, so I can rotate in my spare easily. This time, if there is a serious flat - rotate in the spare, only buy one tire! Another good thing is that these BFGs are

i don't have pictures of the truck just yet, but I wanted to do a full visual comparison of tire sizes. Below, I have the following:
265/70R16 factory BFG Rugged Trail on a factory steel rim, about 500 mi or less usage
285/75R16 Treadwright (Toyo Open Country side/Goodyear MTZ tread) on a Wheeler's Offroad steel rim, about 500 mi or less usage
255/85R16 BFG KM/2 on a factory TRD Offroad alloy, no mileage

Since all of these are pretty much new, I had the unique ability to size them all up pretty accurately.

First, here is all three on their sides. I tried getting the camera pretty low, and i think you can see how width goes up from 255 (right), 265 (left), 285 (rear).


Here is a 265 in front of the 285. I apparently forgot a side shot, but you can see the difference. It's actually quite significant in person.


Here is the 265 in front of the 255


265 vs 255, side profile. the 255 is so skinny that I had to prop it at a slight angle against the wall - the other two tires are wide enough to stand on their own.


255 in front of the 285 (I had to turn the rim towards the 285 for stability so the tire would fall that direction instead of flopping down during the pic)


285 in front of the 255


And both side by side (255 with white lettering on tread), Note that this is a REALLY tall 285, possibly because of it being a retread. While I had it mounted, it would rub when my Maxxis 285/75/16 would not. You might say that the 285 looks bigger in the pictures, but in reality, a 255 should be taller by a smidge.

As a result, my main impressions:
-285 vs 255 height is minimal or dependent on tire brand
-tire width is the most noticeable difference. If you want to go up in size and not worry about the rub, the 255 is an incredibly ideal size. Granted, I have the cab mount chop and some flare trimming, but that 285 still rubs on speed bumps.
In comparison, there's no rubs with standard rims for the 255s, and better space next to suspension components. I feel my turning radius is better and I am assuming that my flexed tires will have more room as well than a 285.









Vehicle pictures. I tried adding a lot since this is an unconventional mod. Note that my driveway is sloped downward a bit.

 

Those 255s are so skinny. I wonder if that will effect off road performance since it will be a smaller footprint

 

it's a skinnier footprint, but much longer. The best example I can think of is skis instead of snowshoes.
The expedition guys seem to think it's the best there is, but I heard one good argument against - a skinnier tire means it fits in the wheel well more, meaning the tire is no longer 'armor' by sticking out and becoming an initial point of contact.
However, I'm not ripping up my door paint on-road as much

 

Great thread.

It seems to me that you're referring to 255 and 285 as the height of the tire when in fact it is the width in millimeters. The next number is the aspect ratio, or the sidewall height. It is expressed as a percentage of the width. Taking that number twice gives you the total sidewall height (beneath and above the rim). The last number is of course the rim size in inches.

Doing the math on the sizes you listed above makes it easy to see what the differences are:

255/85R16 = 33.07" tall by 10.0" wide

265/70R16 = 30.61" tall by 10.4" wide

285/75R16 = 32.83" tall by 11.2" wide

I hope that helps clear up any confusion regarding tire sizes. I'm not sure about the metric sizes but the 'regular' sizes (35x12.5x15) vary a little depending on the manufacturer or even the style.

 

I'm using 255, 285 as a label to identify what tire I'm talking about, otherwise yes, your math is on the ball and a good addition of information

I also have the Tire & Wheel Size calcs in my signature for additional calculations

 

Added pics of the truck with its new tires