As long as you've never abused your TC, a hack n tape work great however if you're gonna do 35s and wheel hard, you may need to do a full SYE. Others will chime in on that though.

 

Haven't heard of anyone breaking a hack n tap, but then again I haven't searched. If you're going to do a hack n tap get the IRO yoke style. You can use a plain front driveshaft with it and it bolts right up. Where as with a Rubicon express hack n tap which is a flange style you need to have the front driveshaft rebuilt so it can adapt to the flange.

 

Biggest tire it will get will probably be a 33X12.5. Currently running 32X11.5

That's the plan.

 

Quick question about rims and tires.
Will have a 2 1/2 lift and that is as high as I want but would like to replace rims and tires.
What back spacing would be adequate and what tires would be best for a DD.
I am most concerned with rain and snow but also with being able to do some light trails. I have zero interest in mudding.
Thanks in advance for tire recommendations.

 

A good option would be 4" backspaced alloy wheels, with 31" Goodyear Duratracs. Maybe even 235/75 R15 Duratracs, however those might be a little small with the 2.5" lift. They will give you better mileage than a 31" tire. I've found the Duratracs to be better in snow than most all-terrains out there, plus you can stud them for winter if you really want.

 

Duratracs, cooper at/3, red letters. Some good tires. There's so many different choices. Duratracs are top choice for a DD. People complain the side walls are thin. I've also heard of new mastercraft mtx tires suppose to be something good. Never seen em yet in person

 

Thanks. Did this today with a floor jack and shocks turned loose. Jacked one wheel until the other just came off the floor and measured. I'm convinced this is the only way to pick the right shocks. The measurements revealed that I needed a shock that was shorter than 14.5" when fully compressed and 18.5" (or longer) when fully extended. Shock manufacturers/dealers try to sell shocks saying "good for 2" - 6" lift". That's insane. This experience has taught me that there's no way in heck that the same shock that works at 2" will work at 6" and vice versa or at least not optimally.

Going by the measurements I got, I need what the manufacturer sells as a 2" lift shock even though it's got 5" of lift (maybe a little more).

Compressed length 13.42" so when that wheel is stuffed there's still 1.08" of shaft showing and it's a long way from bottomed out.

Extended length is 21". Even though I only need 18.5" when fully drooped, the extra here won't hurt me.

No more guessing or going by the manufacturers recommendations for me. This is the only way I'll buy shocks from here on out.

Thanks for the help on this one.

 

Do you actually have 5" of lift, or did the height increase by 5" over where it was with the original suspension?

 

I'll be honest I didn't measure the lift as was discussed earlier. I just used the compression vs extension numbers to get the shock length needed. I don't really care what the lift is and the point is moot when it comes to shock length in this case. That was my lesson learned in this fiasco.

If you go by what RC says, it's got 5".

3" from the AAL and 2" from the extended shackles.

 

[QUOTE=danimal;2791706

If you go by what RC says, it's got 5".

3" from the AAL and 2" from the extended shackles.[/QUOTE]

It really does not work like that.
Also, if the leaf packs had a couple inches of sag in them before the add-a-leafs, then subtract that from the lift height.
If the 2" shackle is angled as it should be, than it's effective 'liift' is also reduced.

 

I don't trust RC or AALs, so I believe it.

 

Again. Don't really care what the lift is. My goal was to fit 32 (maybe 33's someday) without rubbing even at full flex and with minimum fender trimming.

One thing's for sure whatever the lift is the old RC shocks were bottoming out on compression. The new ones won't and that's just gotta help things out.

I've done two of these things now. Stepson has the white one in avatar which is a 92 RC 3" lift and 31X10.5. I didn't have to do much with that one because it was only a 3". This one has been a different story and learning experience. We did it budget style buying lift components as birthday and xmas presents and piecing it together. 3" here, 2" there, track bar kits, axle swap, hack n tap, adjustable lower control arms etc. etc.

One of these days I'm doing to do one for myself because I'm so impressed with what these little trucks can do. I'll go right for the 4.5" kit with everything included. Buy once and cry once. I'm slow...........but I do learn eventually.

 

Lift height does matter, though. It determines which parts do need to be upgraded and determines proper suspension angles. As for tire rub, read up on bumpstopping. It's the proper way to limit uptravel and prevent unwanted contact.

 

While I appreciate your attempts to educate me, I think we're just mincing words now.


I don't care how much lift it has as long as it works the way I want it to.


Thanks

 

Fair enough. We're here to help if you have any other questions. Take care