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If I'm being honest, all the bfg loyalists that get their tires at my work praise the km2, and dog the km....not many were fond of them...one of our local clubs even have a "rule" that they will not allow new jk users that still have them on to join haha...they aren't one of bfgs best imo.
People were outraged nationwide when the KM was discontinued. Maybe it has to do with the way people wheel their brand new Jeeps, or maybe BFG changed the rubber compound for the JK tires, but the original KM is venerable
People were outraged nationwide when the KM was discontinued. Maybe it has to do with the way people wheel their brand new Jeeps, or maybe BFG changed the rubber compound for the JK tires, but the original KM is venerable
I'm talking specifically about the km on the jk. That compound was changed to be able to mass produce as an OE tire. Yes the original was good, but this"new" one is not. It's pretty decent yes, just not up to the their other products. If Tfitz is talking about finding the originals for 700, jump all over it...i just assumed they are jk take offs because they are for sale everywhere now haha.
I'm talking specifically about the km on the jk. That compound was changed to be able to mass produce as an OE tire. Yes the original was good, but this"new" one is not. It's pretty decent yes, just not up to the their other products. If Tfitz is talking about finding the originals for 700, jump all over it...i just assumed they are jk take offs because they are for sale everywhere now haha.
Not I! No mud tires for me. I thought about it, but it doesn't make sense. Gonna stick with the Duratracs I have in the garage (31's) unless I just go and buy 33's, but they'll still be Duratracs.
Not I! No mud tires for me. I thought about it, but it doesn't make sense. Gonna stick with the Duratracs I have in the garage (31's) unless I just go and buy 33's, but they'll still be Duratracs.
Think Spydie is the one looking at those KM's.
ah crap lol i was one post name too late haha. Carry on
Not I! No mud tires for me. I thought about it, but it doesn't make sense. Gonna stick with the Duratracs I have in the garage (31's) unless I just go and buy 33's, but they'll still be Duratracs.
Think Spydie is the one looking at those KM's.
Yes it was me, thank you guys for always steering me in the right direction. After shopping around, I can't find any 17" wheels i actually really like and none have the correct backspacing/offset either. The only ones that did were almost $500 for a set. At that price I'd rather just buy some KM2's like I originally wanted with a 15" wheel like i wanted and get exactly what I had in my head. I thought the KM's might be a cheap option but in the end they're really not.
1997 5-speed manual
200k miles
30" BFG KM2
New Stock springs all around (Dorman 929-301 rear, OMIX ADA front)
Bilstein 4600s all around
Fenders trimed and edge painted with bedliner
Black rubber coating on wheel wells
waxed
Smittybilt XRC rear tire carrier, with full size spare
all new Fel-pro gaskets. 100% no leaks
Redline MT90 transmission fluid, shifts like butter
Magnaflow universal 2.5" muffler. New pipes from muffler shop.
Best of all. Front and rear axel swap from an automatic XJ. I got both axels for $100, swapped them in, thereby upgrading the gears from stock 3.07 to 3.55. Perfect gear for the 30" tires. Its actually a bit quicker than stock at that ratio, slightly slower crawling. It sounds subtle, but is a very noticeable improvement in drivability both on and off road.
I got most of the parts from 4wheelonline, I just like that I can order online and pickup locally, plus the prices seem competitive. Also craigslist, junkyards.
I do like the rear tire carrier, now that it is installed. It was a small pita to install. Had to remove the stock gas tank skidplate. Not cool. Am working on a work-around. I like that this carrier allows me to put the tire low enough so as to not obstruct my rear view at all. This is another advantage of sticking with a more or less stock tire size, though all the other carriers seemed to still carry the tire too high.
Magnaflow muffler is probably louder than I would prefer. A fair bit of drone in the cabin at 2800 rpm. Added some sound deadener to deal with this, but still perfecting the issue. Thats probably my least favorite mod. Might go back to stock or just something a bit more quiet, but its welded in, so... Might live with it. It does sound good when you want good growl. Its just, sometimes you dont, and you have no choice.
1997 5-speed manual
200k miles
30" BFG KM2
New Stock springs all around (Dorman 929-301 rear, OMIX ADA front)
Bilstein 4600s all around
Fenders trimed and edge painted with bedliner
Black rubber coating on wheel wells
waxed
Smittybilt XRC rear tire carrier, with full size spare
all new Fel-pro gaskets. 100% no leaks
Redline MT90 transmission fluid, shifts like butter
Magnaflow universal 2.5" muffler. New pipes from muffler shop.
Best of all. Front and rear axel swap from an automatic XJ. I got both axels for $100, swapped them in, thereby upgrading the gears from stock 3.07 to 3.55. Perfect gear for the 30" tires. Its actually a bit quicker than stock at that ratio, slightly slower crawling. It sounds subtle, but is a very noticeable improvement in drivability both on and off road.
I got most of the parts from 4wheelonline, I just like that I can order online and pickup locally, plus the prices seem competitive. Also craigslist, junkyards.
I do like the rear tire carrier, now that it is installed. It was a small pita to install. Had to remove the stock gas tank skidplate. Not cool. Am working on a work-around. I like that this carrier allows me to put the tire low enough so as to not obstruct my rear view at all. This is another advantage of sticking with a more or less stock tire size, though all the other carriers seemed to still carry the tire too high.
Magnaflow muffler is probably louder than I would prefer. A fair bit of drone in the cabin at 2800 rpm. Added some sound deadener to deal with this, but still perfecting the issue. Thats probably my least favorite mod. Might go back to stock or just something a bit more quiet, but its welded in, so... Might live with it. It does sound good when you want good growl. Its just, sometimes you dont, and you have no choice.
Bilsteins are fantastic.
thats great and all
but is there a reason you posted a mini build thread here? Haha
So I got my jeep back today, after 6 months, have to take it back since the crossmember fell off but anyway. Question, my grandpa who looked at it said a lift wouldn't work because I have a straight axle, said I couldn't do the lower arms and all that because of it. Is this true? (He's been working on cars for over 50 years and a master mechanic at Lexus for 47 but jeep is not Japanese). Also said shackles wouldn't lift the back at all or minimal and it'd make the leaf hang weird, is that also true or no?
Last edited by Ethan94; 03-30-2017 at 11:30 PM.
Reason: More info
Question, my grandpa who looked at it said a lift wouldn't work because I have a straight axle, said I couldn't do the lower arms and all that because of it. Is this true?
That doesn't make any sense whatsoever. In fact, you *need* to replace the control arms if you lift high enough *because of* the straight axle
Originally Posted by Ethan94
Also said shackles wouldn't lift the back at all or minimal and it'd make the leaf hang weird, is that also true or no?
Using shackles alone will cause issues in the rear, yes. They will increase the stress on your leaf springs, which isn't good for factory leafs. If the shackles are long enough, it can even throw off your pinion angle
So he was right about that. And wrong in saying I couldn't. I figured he was wrong I just didn't want to say that to him, they sale kits to lift them so I figured you could. It was probably his way of keeping me from doing something he didn't think was a good idea, him helping me with my jeep kinda turned into building the jeep he sees, not my vision. And for due dilagence asked probably the most asinine question ever posted here. And for the transfer drop kit he said it'd fix one thing but change the angle of where it goes into the motor and bind, is that true or no? Thank you for answering these dumb questions.
And for the transfer drop kit he said it'd fix one thing but change the angle of where it goes into the motor and bind, is that true or no? Thank you for answering these dumb questions.
These are simple questions, but I don't consider them dumb until you ask the same question four different times on the same day. We all start learning somewhere.
He's right about the TC drop. They're very common because they're a cheaper fix than doing an SYE. The problem with a TC drop is it increases wear on the motor mounts and moves the bottom of the fan awfully close to the radiator
Last edited by NewKindOfClown; 03-31-2017 at 10:40 AM.
09-21-2015, 02:17 PM
Its just, sometimes you dont, and you have no choice. 
