Critique or criticize my first mod plans, please.

you can still weld on bolt-on sliders

 

Ok, so I went with the Falken Wildpeaks A/T3W 265/75/16 as recommended, 4xinnovation weld-ons with a kick out and planning on a 20 deg angle (found what seems to be a very good welder who'll do the work) and the Eibach Pro Truck kit.

Now my wallet is in pain. Please no "but you should have's" - I really don't want any buyer's remorse!

One thing I am a bit leery about is that the weld will void the frame warranty of the brand new truck. But I guess I'll deal with that in the very unlikely case that it becomes an issue.

One last time - thank you all for your input and opinions! I feel a tiny bit less ignorant now.

 

They've never said anything about my cut bumpers, welded on sliders or cut bed sides whenever I took mine in for service or when my diff was leaking. You're good!

 

Congrats! Good choice on the bigger tires. You won't regret it.

 

Just joining in. You made a good choice. Love my Wildpeaks and I have purchased some things from 4xinnovation and they make quality stuff. Add pics when you get everything on.

 

I'm back - confused and starting to get very frustrated with this modding business.

I am trying hard not to do anything stupid with my truck and just have it perform better. So I got the Eibach Pro Truck lift kit (the springs and shocks for the front and shocks for the rear.) I wrongly assumed, due to my ignorance, that that's all I need to lift 2" in the front and 1" in the back - to make sure there's a bit of rake left or at least no chance of the front being higher if i put some weight in the back.
When I realized that shocks don't add lift (probably a very basic concept) and that I either needed another leaf, a new leaf spring or a lift block to get that 1" in the back I called Eibach, tried to explain my situation and was assured that the block would be a good match and ok for my use, then ordered one.

After that, I kept googling and THEN learned about axle wrap and how lift blocks are very bad for off-roading. I am getting tired of this. Seems like every time after I make a decision a whole slew of things that should have been taken into consideration pops up.

What should I do? Is the 1" block ok? Should I go without any lift in the rear? Cancel the order and get an added leaf?

Can anybody please shed some light on this in a way that won't confuse me even more?

Edit - also, I talked to another welder and he flat out refused to put sliders on. Said the steel of the frame was heat treated and welding on it would crack the frame. When I googled about THAT it seemed to turn out his opinion was bullshit. And that coming from a licensed welder. Sigh.

 

I think you mean critique not criticize. The 3rd gen forum needs no encouragement.

 

As mentioned before, either works as long as it is helpful. And as far as my forum experience goes, this is a pretty tame place.

 

Sounds like ur on the right track OP
Skids were my first mod, sliders are ordered and will be here soon.
I disagree that u NEED gears, thats more of a down the road, driving experience improvement.
Better tires will improve your experience greatly, i just bought 5 duratracs in 265/75

Good luck and trust your intuition

 

Sure we do. There's always room for improvement

 

Yup.

 

Don't rule out a good welders opinion. There are also other things to consider when welding on a frame, insurance, liability if you do crack the frame after having it welded on. I have refused to do this for these reasons. Hitches are bolted on and bridges are riveted together for a reason.

 

Taller tire will give you an 1"+ more ground clearance at your Diffs. No lift will do that.

Stock tires are a Highway tire, not an Off Road tire.

 

Already got Wildpeaks 265/75/16 and am pretty happy with them. I can stay in 2WD in a lot of places where I'd slip before.

I am going to talk to the original welder I contacted before on Monday and see what he has to say.

Not going to mess with gears for now. Once I have the lift and the sliders sorted out there will be a long break before I'll voluntarily pour more money into this hole.

 

I might have missed it but did you already buy a set of weld on sliders and are just trying to get them installed?

 

Yes, 4xinnovation with kickout. If I could do it over again I would go with bolt on now as I originally intended to do. Would have been less of a headache.

Oh, and as you said, the speed with the 265/75/16 tires still matches GPS and traffic radar, good call.

 

You can just get a set of the bolt on part of some bolt on sliders and have the sliders welded to that. Then like magic you have bolt on sliders.

When I was looking at sliders a while back, DCLB were so expensive to ship I was going to get them without the bolt on plates welded on yet. It was enough cheaper to cover the welding cost and it would have allowed me to set the angle however I wanted.

 

That's an pretty good idea, Navigator! I'll wait and see what Mr. Welder has to say Monday and may go that way if he too won't want to weld on the frame. Then I'm fresh out of welder options...

As for the 1" Eibach rear lift block - I called up Eibach to hear what they had to say. Not surprisingly I was told that none of their testing had shown any problems with using the block for not-so-extreme off-roading. Be that as it may, it at least seems to be a high quality block.

I do understand that it's not the preferable way to lift.

After doing a lot more googling than I wanted to do I decided that I'll get that block installed, because:

- Yes, there will be more axle wrap, but with the 1" block it most likely will not cause any problem except for wearing out the leaf springs quicker
- Which, being stock, apparently aren't the hottest item anyway and most likely will be upgraded way before the worn out stock springs become a problem.
- The blocks are billet aluminum, so pretty god material
- Lots of problems with the blocks come from the U bolts not getting retorqued some time after installation.

Do I have that more or less right? (I am at the point where a little less than more starts to sound acceptable.)

 

Ok, I changed my mind again, cancelled the order for the 1" block lift and looked into AAL solutions. I just couldn't get used to the idea of having a mediocre solution.

Would the Headstrong 1.5" lift 3 leaf AAL work well with the Eibach kit, despite the rear shock being specified as only supporting 1" lift? If not, what's better?

Anything else needed?

 

Literally my plans exactly. Unsure about getting AAL vs full leaf pack. I would like to get the full leaf pack but worried it will provide too much lift and make the tires look small.