Thoughts on 37s

We have gone completely into left field here

***Edit*** After rereading we have gone into left field and are circling our way back. Carry on.

FWIW I've seen many 6" DB guys on the Facebook page running 37s. I've even seen two here in town. As far as I know those lifts use the stock CVs and hubs. I think the parts breakage and wear is probably overestimated. I could be wrong.

But I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is so to speak. The 37s will be on in a few weeks and we'll see what happens. Truck is over 200k miles almost completely stock front end. Inner and outer tie rods were replaced last year and one wheel bearing. Everything else is factory. I bought the truck at 60k miles in 06 so I know it's service history well.

Its my DD and my only vehicle. We'll see what happens.

I may post a new picture thread when the fitting starts. I'll call it, "Y'all hold my beer and watch this".

 

Just got shipping notice on my wheels. Might be here this weekend. Step 1 is get the tires mounted on them

 

Wow I missed a lot in a day. Where do I start. Yes I'm building the truck for the trails. I don't wheel a lot now because I'm 100% stock and I want to wheel a lot, thus the build. Why would I do 37's before 4x4 swap? Instant gratification. 5.29. Y'all have talked me back into them. SAS. That would be great but everyone know how that goes. It's hard and expensive. I think that's everything.

 

Yeah the main point between all this is sas is by far the most expensive and intensive plan. 37s and 4wd for taco nation will put him only 3k in the hole and he will have a much more capable truck then he does now.

 

Well I just pulled the trigger on some all pro standard leaf springs. Deal was too good to pass up and I've been wanting some for a while. So 37's while have to wait for a little while longer.

 

Kinda need the lift first anyhow. I'm carrying so much weight these days I'm considering swapping my expos for 63" Chevy lift springs

 

I don't plan on carrying much more then a spare. Maybe some recovery gear that weighs next to nothing. Have you thought about Firestone airbags with day star cradles. I think they are day star at least.

 

Yes. I could grenade a stock rear diff three miles off the lot very easily. The trick to blowing up a lot of diffs is full throttle shifts. I just keep it pinned and row through the gears. I understand most people don't do this. That said, my front end has held up fine. I don't engage 4wd unless I can no longer make forward progress in 2wd. It might surprise most people how far that really is.

 

I'm more worried about stress from the added weight I carry. My 3 tool boxes are full of tools and camping gear. Not to mention my actual "camping bag", water, kitchen items, guns, ammo ect that go out with me. That's not including water, cooler, RTT/Rack. Its possible that I have 700lbs worth of gear in the truck. Even with me slow and easy driving style that's a lot of stress on the ring and pinion.

I'm much more likely to swap the rear diff for something stronger than LT/SAS

 

I call dibs on your expos. PM me if you are serious about swapping them out

 

Be a while till I get to the new springs.

Had some set backs today but also got a little inspiration



Had to buy a Cheetah for $200 just to seat the beads. There's grease inside the tires that is a bitch to clean out but will prevent balance beads from working properly. The extended studs I ordered, aren't extended and the lugs nuts only catch about 2 threads. Even with the 1/4" spacer I think I'm going to have to grind on the caliper. Eddy trimmed my rear bumper back 3" which I wasn't expecting him to stop working to do. Probably saved me 3hrs of cutting and grinding with a wheel.

 

Progress!

 

Ok screw anything performance related OP's truck looks great.

 

255s are on while I sort this mess out

 

Looks like a good start.

 

No wheel studs locally. Gonna order them and install this weekend. I guess today I'll scrub grease out of these tires so the balancing powder won't stick to it. That should be a fun way to kill a couple hours

 

IF anyone decides to follow me down this path here's some advice learned from todays experience

Surplus tires are going to be full of grease. Apperently it has something to do with lubricating the runflat inserts. Not important why it's there, just that it needs to come out. Balance beads, powder, whatever will stick to it and never work.

I tried brake cleaner the other day. Used two cans on two tires and a crapload of paper towels and newspaper. Didn't work worth a shit.

Today I went to the local Family Dollar and bought about 5 $1 stiff nylon scrub brushes and a big bottle of blue Dawn dish washing detergent. THAT SHIT IS AMAZING!!!

I scrubbed the inside of all the tires and they came out MUCH better with less work and less money in cleaning products. The Dawn cuts right through the grease. THe only thing that sucks is getting the water back out of the tires afterwards. I ended up doing tire flips and slams up and down my driveway to get the majority of it out and then a sponge to finish it off.

Also the $5 tire bar from Harbor Freight is worth its weight in gold. Get TWO. You can mount the tires with just one but you really need a second to dismount them. I only have one so I had to use a prybar as a supplement. It worked but another tire bar would have been much better.

Also expect a bruised forearm after you finish all the scrubbing. You slam and rub it back and forth against the tire bead the whole time you're scrubbing. Took me a while to figure out where this big ass bruise came from, but that's it

Thus concludes todays lesson. Now you're smarter than I am. Which isn't saying much

 

Truck looks bad ass!

I left the grease in there and figured it would work like balancing media, and might help with a puncture. I can't tell the difference between the new set of BFG's with no bb's and the old set of goodyears with bb's. Whatever that's worth. Also as far as seating the bead goes...use some lube on the rim and wrap a ratchet strap around the tire. The 'ol starter fluid trick works too, but with beadlocks it's not required.

 

Thank you, that's a hell of a compliment from you. Your truck was the biggest inspiration in my decision to go 37s

I'm going to get a big ratchet strap and try seating one tire with it just so I have a plan if I need it on the trail. I can't find real ether starting fluid around here and the craps I did find just lit the tire on fire. When I track some down, it's going in the tool box. I'm thinking I may need a CO2, tank for the truck. I don't think a little 12v compressor is gonna be much good if I lose a bead.

Beadlocks are in my plans though. After seeing what a pain these are to seat the last thing I want to do is lose a bead on a trail.

 

You may already know this but make sure you wrap the strap around the circumference of the tire, not over the face of the rim. And either works great, when it works. I've done both numerous times and have never had a problem getting my 35s to seat back with the middle size arb air compressor. I doubt a 37 will be much more difficult. Although if you don't get a compressor stout enough to air up 37s then you got a whole different problem