Firewall Tubing

I don't think that concept is "dumb" by any means. At the end of the day everyone's application and expectations are different. As long as you really think through the process and are comfortable with any of the compromises that you make then nothing else matters.

 

I never had to tub for 35’s but likely beat everything back with a hammer to the point it would have been easier. I ran high offset wheels with 0.75” spacers on reg travel so I went overboard with clearing them. The LT kit made a world of difference pushing it forward, too. Will have to do a bit up front for 37’s but the swampers are 12” wide and my backspacing is 0.25” more with the new wheels. Will likely just beat it back unless it’s too much for a hammer. Not opposed to cutting and welding, just depends on the situation. Will know soon enough

 

overthinking is my middle name.. lol Makes me good at my job.. and torture everywhere else.

My main goals are to get more clearance and stop the rubbing when we wheel.. and I'm ok with knowing it might not be the perfect/ideal setup. Then I can adjust my coilovers/ride height accordingly finally. Possibly play with the 650 coils again.. idk. Last will be some shock tuning. I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row.. first is all this cycle and tub/clearance.. then maybe adjust/change up coils, install rear hangers and shock relocate, then shock tune.

Now to really start getting a mindset on tubbing...

 

Did you run 35s before the LT kit?

 

Yeah for almost a year. Fully cleared stuffed, locked, reverse hard hits etc. no uptravel limited

 

the key to just wheeling is run the skinny, nobody likes a fat chick even if she's tall.

 

Might as well post it here, too. Looks like I’ll clear 37s with just some more sledgehammer. So far no tubbing for any tire just sledge massages.

 

My 37 job, no bump/shock in, stopped where my Uca hits the inner fender and trimmed a little excess from there. Stock width stuff, 17x9 -12 wheels with 1.25" spacers.






And got 1 of my new tires last night so mounted that up. Still need to tub the drivers side inner fender, but got the drivers firewall done the other night. To truly not rub, I need to move the body mount bolt itself back, as I've already trimmed through almost half of my body mount bushing, or do LT to get the steering axis out/cut down on scrub radius.

 

COOL!! I had the same wheel/tire setup on my Tundra. Can't beat beadlocks with Swampers.

 

Very cool! I love these tires. Every other mud terrain just looks like a road tire after having these.

 

How many of you guys are LT vs not? I’m going to tackle this in the next couple weeks (my 38’s don’t even really fit on the street) and I swear I’m not going to have to cut close to what some of you did.

Mine is 4.5 wider per side. I’m going to cut a notch for the upper arm to go up a bit more but even then I don’t really have to much at all with the very top of the wheel well. Just a bunch into the cab and a little of the front piece. I don’t think I’m even going to have to do anything with the intake. Possibly even the battery (which I’m going to move anyway).

 

This thread is pretty much dead, but I’m going to post my progress anyway because I think the pics help.

Mine is a daily so I think I might do mine in two sections, two sides, so four weekends. I’m going to hit the firewall first - maybe tackle both sides in one weekend. Reason being is my tires rub on the street (only at the firewall) and I’m getting sick of three point turns everywhere. I’m going to cut that pretty much to the hinge. Plus I need to relocate my battery, washer fluid, intake etc before I tackle the wheel wells.

For the rest I’ve marked it before but I’m going to cut way more to make it future proof. Also I’m limiting the up travel since my uppers currently hit the wheel well as well.

I’m thinking of cutting something like this. Hack straight across, weld in some square tubing, tabs for various things, then some rubber sheet to seal it up. That might be easier as well. Plus I’ll have all the room in the world that way.



That might not work after looking at pic again because there are a few things mounted way in the very inside like the power steering. Anyway, firewall first, then clean up engine bay, cut maximum.

 

I run 35s on mid travel -25 wheel and a 1.25 spacer as my rears were rubbing the shock body flexed. My lower firewall is about 5 inches back and 7-8 inches up, maybe 6 inches over. Everything else has been massaged with an 8 pound sledge up and back. Kinda wish I had a lefty in the family I could trust swinging an 8lbs sledge for the driver side. I have a very slight rub on the front at full bump on the upper front inner fenders. Very slight. I run Summu Springs in the front with a DK spacer and a mix of thicker rubber and large washers to get the bumps just right.

Please correct me if I'm wrong. Under the limitations of IFS in our vehicles, you will get to a point where there will be no more benefit from upward wheel travel in the front. So full bump in the front could be adjusted for minor inner fender work as opposed to redoing the inner fender. Which is a little less intimidating for newer wheelers. Don't get me wrong, full stuffage looks amazing and you guys in the thread have done some real nice work. I see it as more necessary with a straight axle in order to maximize bump and drop.

I'm interested in getting your thoughts on the matter. As I'm setting up for the JD Fab lower pivots and running larger tires.

Pics, cause we all love pics.

 

I would disagree with that and argue that when travel numbers are so small, every little bit matters, regardless if it’s bump or droop. 10” vs 11” is a 10% difference and isn’t insignificant (random ballpark numbers). Especially if you can do the work yourself and it costs you nothing more than time.

 

I kinda agree, with Ifs the clearance is junk when flexed out, both fronts bottoming out, etc. Pretty annoying in my opinion, as when you're coming down steep stuff like this you now have half the ground clearance and the front is way more likely to bottom out with the weight transfer.


Travel wise, I dont think it matters unless you are limiting the 8-9" by several inches, my truck wont go anywhere new with longtravel/an extra 2-3" of travel in the front so thats why I'm still stock until I cut it all off.

 

Took some initial measurements today. Based on lock to lock and how much uptravel I have I’m going to be cutting @desertjunkie760 style. Not sure if that tube wheel well idea is going to work because I have to so much off the front I’ll the attachment to front core support stuff.

 

This is one reason of why not a lot of people run 38s on these trucks. At least if you want to retain your up travel.

 

Yep. Good news I’ll actually get another inch or so uptravel because previously the upper arm hit the wheel well before the shocks bottomed out.

It’s going to be a project that’s for sure.

 

Not a 2nd gen but I have tubbed my firewall, I wasn't under the impression 2nd gens needed more than a sledge for 35s though, looks like you guys can free up a ton of room.

 

Chopping it all out and just doing tube is easier/quicker than dealing with the sheet metal and trying to make it look nice