Opinions on Rig Direction

[Spawn 93]

So..
After wheeling my rig for the first time since I got home, I am lookin for a new direction.

Not so much that I don't enjoy it, but that I want more:eeks1:.


Specs: 32s,D30 front 3.55s Aussie had ABS not sure of ujoint size.
8.25 rear 3.55s Aussie disc swapped
4.5 Rusty Coils, 3.5 Rusty AAL on saggin springs, 2in shackles
Rusty's Steering w/Trackbar and longer LCA's
K&N Rustys Intake
Ripped off Flowmaster 40 series at Flog
Also crunched the D/S rocker at Flog.
Front TNT winch bumper
Smittybuilt 8k winch
Stock rear bumper

I have a plan of sorts, but mainly lookin for suggestions here from my Jeep brethren!:conceited

 

[mbogosia]

What about some body armor. Sliders, rear bumper, tc skid, etc...

 

[JeepAddict85]

i agree with matt...but since u already crunched a rocker, go with 2x6 rockers...and armor it if you want it to stay streetable.

how big you looking to go? is that a 29 or 27 spline 8.25 rear? 35's on a xj work very well, but will require some upgrades. you could swap an 8.8 in the rear, regear to 4.56 or 4.88, etc. also, i would keep it around 4.5" of lift, and bumpstop/trim the fenders up high.

 

[Spawn 93]

it is a 29 spline rear. not really concerned with it being streetable, unless I have to. I was looking at 4.56s just because I know 4.88s would eliminate any chance I have of running stock shafts.

Thanks, Keep 'em Coming guys!

 

[wingnutooa]

4.56's are good but don't run them with anything smaller than a 35.

it drives fine and you get lots of power/torque but your engine will send you hate mail if you drive it long distances on the freeway.



if i had it to do again (and the money) i would go with rubicon drivetrain. from the air locker d44's to the 6spd manual and the roctrac t-case.

that way i can get my low crawling but still have lower 1st,2nd,3rd etc for taking off around town. 6th gear is essentially the same as 5th or drive in an auto but the rest of the gears are lower with closer ratio's to make up for it.

and of course you can't go wrong with rubi axles.

 

[jeepgeek2002]

Gears, lockers, lift, tires the top 4 money mods you can do..
Armor, bumpers, skids for keeping her pretty..
Cages, cuts and bruises when you re done with pretty..

 

[The Hard Struggler]

Pretty much what jeepgeek said.

The only thing I would put high on the list with lockers,gears, is install a set of frame stiffeners.
Do it BEFORE your framerails are destroyed, once they are mangled the frame stiffeners will be rather difficult to install.

 

[Ghost]

Gears, lockers, lift, tires the top 4 money mods you can do..
Armor, bumpers, skids for keeping her pretty..
Cages, cuts and bruises when you re done with pretty..

Disagree: recovery points, lift tires, armor, gears lockers.

Should be in this order IMHO. lift and tires and gears and lockers should be done together to save money and time. :wave1:

 

[shaggybob]

Disagree: recovery points, lift tires, armor, gears lockers.

Should be in this order IMHO. lift and tires and gears and lockers should be done together to save money and time. :wave1:

Doing lockers separately from the gears isn't a big deal if you are going lunchbox and do it yourself.

Before you do gears make sure you are clear on your tire size or you may be doing gears again like me.

Have a good plan for steering before doing your lift. Some may disagree but I hate the stock steering, especially ofter lifting.

Don't cheap out on your lift kit. Get a good, well designed lift and you'll be more happy in the long run. Much better to spend a little more now then have headaches later.

 

[Ghost]

Doing lockers separately from the gears isn't a big deal if you are going lunchbox and do it yourself.

Before you do gears make sure you are clear on your tire size or you may be doing gears again like me.

Have a good plan for steering before doing your lift. Some may disagree but I hate the stock steering, especially ofter lifting.

Don't cheap out on your lift kit. Get a good, well designed lift and you'll be more happy in the long run. Much better to spend a little more now then have headaches later.

Good point.

 

[PacificEd]

Here is the formula I'm working with to plan future mods to my XJ.

1. You need to decide what size of tire you ultimately want to run.

2. Next choose the lift/modifications that will work best for the size tire you have decided to run.

3. Next choose the gearing that works best with the tire size. If tire size dictates a drivetrain change, this is the time to figure those upgrades.

4. Definately add some HD Offroad mid stiffners as suggested.

Here is how it all works out. You decide you want to run 35" tires to do the terrain you like to wheel most. Then you modify your lift with a new spring packs in the rear along with HDOR shackle boxes (since yours are somewhat boogered up after GM), ACOS in the front to get more height to fit 35's. Trim the fenders a bit, rocker replacements since you like rocks a lot, and do a cut and fold on the rear quarters for clearance.

You then determine that 4.56 gears are required to turn the 35's and not be too weak with your D30 axle. Add your lockers to the combo for traction duties. 35's can be rough on stock shafts so upgrading to alloy may be in order.

And the story can go on and on but ultimately to get the best value for your money, that is the way I'd plan it out.

Since the Flog, I'm wishing for larger tires than what I originally planned. My new 4.10's won't do as well with 35's as they would have with 33's so 33's may be where I stay for a while.

Food for thought.

 

[shaggybob]

With a 29 spline 8.25, 33's won't be much of an issue for giving good ground clearance. A lot of guys here are running an 8.8, which is much stronger, but much larger.

Ed has run in to the same thing I have. Originally I was going to stop at 33's but then got greedy and went 8.8. 33's just don't give the ground clearance needed with the 8.8 cause it's HUGE.

4.56's of course put you at stock final drive with 35's but are not too low for use with 33's. In fact it's only about a 10% difference so it won't be over revving the engine at speed by any means. So if you thought there was a chance you'd end up on 35's but wanted to start with 33's, jumping to 4.56 wouldn't hurt a thing.

4.88's in a D30 aren't such a good idea. A good friend of mine is about to be running them in his with 33's and they should hold up, but 35's might be pushing it. The problem with 4.88 in a D30 is the gears are getting very thin at that point to accommodate the lower ratio.

 

[wingnutooa]

Here is the formula I'm working with to plan future mods to my XJ.

1. You need to decide what size of tire you ultimately want to run. then add 2 inches...

2. Next choose the lift/modifications that will work best for the size tire you have decided to run. then add 2 inches

3. Next choose the gearing that works best with the tire size. If tire size dictates a drivetrain change, this is the time to figure those upgrades.

4. Definately add some HD Offroad mid stiffners as suggested.

Here is how it all works out. You decide you want to run 35" tires to do the terrain you like to wheel most. Then you modify your lift with a new spring packs in the rear along with HDOR shackle boxes (since yours are somewhat boogered up after GM), ACOS in the front to get more height to fit 35's. Trim the fenders a bit, rocker replacements since you like rocks a lot, and do a cut and fold on the rear quarters for clearance.

You then determine that 4.56 gears are required to turn the 35's and not be too weak with your D30 axle. Add your lockers to the combo for traction duties. 35's can be rough on stock shafts so upgrading to alloy may be in order.

And the story can go on and on but ultimately to get the best value for your money, that is the way I'd plan it out.

Since the Flog, I'm wishing for larger tires than what I originally planned. My new 4.10's won't do as well with 35's as they would have with 33's so 33's may be where I stay for a while.

Food for thought.

FIXED!!!!

and the thought that 4.56's with 35's puts you at a stock final drive ration is a bunch of hooak

i've got that setup with a 5spd and its only slightly lower final drive that an auto.

3500 RPM at 70 mph isnt stock.

 

[shaggybob]

FIXED!!!!

and the thought that 4.56's with 35's puts you at a stock final drive ration is a bunch of hooak

i've got that setup with a 5spd and its only slightly lower final drive that an auto.

3500 RPM at 70 mph isnt stock.

With a 5 speed, 4.56 is significantly lower than stock but do the math starting with an auto and 3.55's then 4.56 is stock with 35's. I think to get stock final drive on a 5 speed it's either 3.73 or 4.10 with 35's, but it has been a while since I ran the numbers on the manual shift.

It is however dead on with an auto.

 

[Ghost]

With a 29 spline 8.25, 33's won't be much of an issue for giving good ground clearance. A lot of guys here are running an 8.8, which is much stronger, but much larger.

Ed has run in to the same thing I have. Originally I was going to stop at 33's but then got greedy and went 8.8. 33's just don't give the ground clearance needed with the 8.8 cause it's HUGE.

4.56's of course put you at stock final drive with 35's but are not too low for use with 33's. In fact it's only about a 10% difference so it won't be over revving the engine at speed by any means. So if you thought there was a chance you'd end up on 35's but wanted to start with 33's, jumping to 4.56 wouldn't hurt a thing.

4.88's in a D30 aren't such a good idea. A good friend of mine is about to be running them in his with 33's and they should hold up, but 35's might be pushing it. The problem with 4.88 in a D30 is the gears are getting very thin at that point to accommodate the lower ratio.

Hmm another reason to NOT do the 8.8 over the 8.25. :roll: :conceited

 

[shaggybob]

Brian and anyone else who may be interested,

So you don't have to go digging for it here's the gear ratio and tire info, if the desired outcome is to keep the factory final drive ratio on your larger tires. If you don't care about driving around on the street and being close to factory final then just run what you want.

If you jeep is automatic:
28" Stock 3.55
31" 3.73(a little high) or 4.10(a little low)
33" 4.10
35" 4.56
37" 4.56(a little high) or 4.88(a little low)

If your jeep is manual shift:
28" Stock 3.07
31" 3.55(a little high)
33" 3.55(a little high) or 3.73(a little low)
35" 3.73(a little high) or 4.10(a little low)
37" 4.10

If you want to do the numbers yourself it's pretty simple, determine the percentage difference in diameter versus stock and apply that percentage difference to the stock ratio.
Example: a 33" tire is about 17% larger than stock. Multiply 3.55x1.17 you get 4.18. 4.10 is the closest available ratio to that number and given that 33s are really 33 but closer to 32.5 then 4.10 gets you dang close.

Most of the calculations give you numbers that aren't actually available but if you get close you're good.

Where the actual calculation falls in between, I listed 2 ratios. Personally if it were me I would choose the lower ratio in that situation.

 

[JeepAddict85]

you guys complaining of ground clearance on the 8.8....you can always shave the bottom lip off....easy fix.

 

[shaggybob]

you guys complaining of ground clearance on the 8.8....you can always shave the bottom lip off....easy fix.

I'm good with my 8.8, I have no fear what so ever that it will hold up, just a little large.

May shave it some but I think 35's will fix me up.

 

[Jamescad04]

Brian and anyone else who may be interested,

So you don't have to go digging for it here's the gear ratio and tire info, if the desired outcome is to keep the factory final drive ratio on your larger tires. If you don't care about driving around on the street and being close to factory final then just run what you want.

If you jeep is automatic:
28" Stock 3.55
31" 3.73(a little high) or 4.10(a little low)
33" 4.10
35" 4.56
37" 4.56(a little high) or 4.88(a little low)

If your jeep is manual shift:
28" Stock 3.07
31" 3.55(a little high)
33" 3.55(a little high) or 3.73(a little low)
35" 3.73(a little high) or 4.10(a little low)
37" 4.10

If you want to do the numbers yourself it's pretty simple, determine the percentage difference in diameter versus stock and apply that percentage difference to the stock ratio.
Example: a 33" tire is about 17% larger than stock. Multiply 3.55x1.17 you get 4.18. 4.10 is the closest available ratio to that number and given that 33s are really 33 but closer to 32.5 then 4.10 gets you dang close.

Most of the calculations give you numbers that aren't actually available but if you get close you're good.

Where the actual calculation falls in between, I listed 2 ratios. Personally if it were me I would choose the lower ratio in that situation.

You know i was just digging around for this today, it gave me a hard time and I stopped looking then i came in here just browsing and wala there it was. Funny how that works sometimes.

 

[Spawn 93]

I really appreciate all of the input guys!

I think I am looking to run 34 LTB's. Thought about going to the 35's, but not really sure about prices at this point. What they are now, might not be when I am ready.

I know that probably the first thing I am gonna do is get the gears. Going 4.56's is the plan, planning to run the stock shafts for now.

I know since doing a little more inspection that I need to replace the Rusty's lift shocks on the front due to apparently cross threading the nut on the top.

I have a set of coil spacers layin in the shop if I need more room. Short term project is to fix P/S spring hanger due to the captured nut being broken.
This will envolve removing the rear bumper, which has at least two of the mount bolts broken off. Time to extract!

Then it will be on to the rocker replacements and a cage. Hopefully will be looking to get RSOR involved here with an interior cage setup and the rockers tied in together.

More opinions????