The Lumpskie Build - '96 5-speed

Phase I Complete.

 

Here's a quick driveway test.

Lifted the back tire: Not anywhere near flexed out


I'm starting to see significant spring separation if the back tire is lifted. If the front tire is lifted, the spring still binds like before. (I'm hoping Orbit Eyes solve this problem)



Does this seem like too much separation? I'm considering shortening the keeper a bit.

 

holy shit! haha yea id guess thats a tad too much..mine don't do that..and i have no keepers at all..haha

 

^Haha! Yeah, I jacked the truck up and was pretty surprised by what I saw back there! I talked with Bill, from Alcan, today. He said that I should cut that separation in half for safety's sake. So, I think I'll drill a hole about half way down my extension and see how that goes.

 

I got a call from Alcan. Turns out that they built my new leafs to the wrong spec, so they have start over. It should take another week for them to get the springs turned around. Bummer.

 

Hey Lumpskie, ya got any more words about those Duratracs?
I should be picking mine up today so I'll be trimming the pinch weld/hammering the firewall a bit

 

Hey SeattleCoug,

Yeah I've got some impressions for ya. FYI, I'm running the Load C 33x12.5s, so remember that if you get a different size/load rating

On-road:
Good Grip - I drive the truck like I drive my Evo. The lateral g is decent out of the tire and they howl way before the side wall buckles. I've heard folks complain that the E rated tires feel "squishy" if not fully inflated. My C rated tires feel solid and predictable. As far as noise goes, they have more of a "hum" than the "howl" of my KM2s. Overall, they are pretty quite, no complaints here.

Off-road:
Coming from KM2s, the Duratracs are not quite as sticky on the rocks. I notice just a little more wheel spin when the tire is pressed into a verticle rock surface... they just don't bite quite as hard. That being said, they still work very well off road. They bag nicely when aired down and I haven't had any problems with the sidewalls... yet. I've slid on the sidewall down rock surfaces and driven on them pretty hard already, though. In mud, they work well too. They eject mud pretty well (especially for an AT). I haven't had them in snow yet, but everything I've read tells me that they should be awesome. (that's one main reason I bought them)

One more note: These tires seem to wear really well. I've driven about 5000 miles and there isn't any measurable wear on my set. Also, I've got a friend who is on his 5th year on his set and he is just below half tread.

Overall, I really like these tires. If the side wall hold out for my 4 years of expected use, these may be a tire I stick with for good.

Let me know if you have any specific questions and I hope this helps.

 

Small Update: I drilled my spring keeper's about half way up my extension and put the through bolt in there. Hopefully this will limit me enough to keep me from breaking the main leaf. I'll get some pics when I get time.

 

Some quick pics from Mosquito Pass, altitude 13,186.





My Jeep buddy needed a little help





And... (I'm on the other end of the strap)

 

Here's a couple more

 

Mine Pictures:

 

Here's a rental jeep that slid off the trail a bit. A couple inches more and he would have fallen at least 150 feet.



He had a "tow" on the way. I took this picture from a half mile away a few hours later:




Here's another random pic

 

Nice trip. You are right, looks like less snow than I ran into a bit west.

Although this looks like driver error, this is why I am not afraid to call it and turn around if shit is getting sketchy, falling off the side of a mountain miles from everywhere is not a good place to be!

 

You are right on both counts. The jeep was a rental and it seemed like the driver was from out of state and totally inexperienced in wheeling. The rental company told him that the pass was easy so he went for it.

And I totally agree on turning around without regret. I could have passed this jeep, but decided it wasn't worth the risk. Better to live to wheel another day!


In other news, I got my orbit eye leafs in yesterday... they made them to the wrong lengths... again! Hopefully, we get this sorted out today so I can, eventually, get more flex out of my rear. Frustrating.

 

Hopefully, the springs will be picked up from my front door today. Once Alcan gets them, they'll make me a new set. For my trouble, they are giving me new u-bolts and centering pins.

 

So, in case anyone is interested, here's what the Orbit Eye setup looks like. Still waiting for them to fab me up a set that actually fits.



Here's a close up of the Orbit Eye itself. The bushings are really really tight in there

 

Did you have to get them pressed in?

 

They came from Alcan already installed in the leafs, so I'm not exactly sure. It looks like they install the spherical portion and the associated teflon-like bushings first, then use a lock ring on the outside to seat everything.

Now that I think of it, I really should ask Alcan how that all works! I don't even know if I can service them at home or not. MapleMoose, you may have saved me a LOT of trouble in the future!

 

So, the springs are finally gone from the front porch. I'm just playing the waiting game for the new springs to come in.

In the mean time, I went wheeling again. SteezMcQueen and some others from RM4x4 came along. We ended up running Hackett Gulch.