Wheels & Tires parts 1 and 2

[rabskyline]

ok will do ! i will leave the tyres till i arrive and get some time to mess about with it. (i am in uk and van is in oz ! )

[docsavage]

Thought I'd test these out for size:

36 x 13.5 x 15" IROC's the actually measure out to 37 inches diameter.

That's a long ways down



Reminds me of the old days of tractor pulls...



Top of the front wheel well



She pulls a little hard to the left though



James

[rabskyline]

what lift was needed for these tyres etc ?

[jessef]

One speed bump and you'll rip the whole side off !

[rabskyline]

looks nuts though ! so 33 inch would be ok ??

[jessef]

looks nuts though ! so 33 inch would be ok ??

1.5-2" lift = 31's

4-5" lift = 33's

Going to 31's I had to play around with my shifts points and they're not quite 'perfect'.

Going to 33's I'm guessing your shift points would be all over the place but I haven't/won't try 'em. Too much $$$.

[rabskyline]

cheers jesse, thats enough for me...it will be 31x10.5 for a while until it isnt the daily drive and becomes a project..thanks again... good info !

[jrman]

I think 31" are the way to go.
You can see by my signature photo - I'm running 31" with American Racing Wheels - more neg offset than the typical Toyota Rims that most Deli guys run from mid 1990's vintage here in BC. Means i've got the T-Bars maxed out, full alignment done by Westcoast, and had to do more trimming than most on the front wheel arches (on the rearward side of wheel arch only). In fact, when I've got my 260 Lb buddy and both our mountain bikes strapped to the front end, I've still got occasional rubbing issue so now going to the extreme of taking off the side bottom moldings (same as Josh has done), doing more trimming, then going down to the Rhino Lining shop (againi) and going to have the area along the rockers all done in dark grey Rubber...Yum! Will post when done...probably 6 weeks away.

Agree staying with max 31" for your sanity!
Good luck.

[docsavage]

I would love to try driving these tires, but the consequences to the van would have been severe. While I was sitting in the truck some really bad inspiration came to me and suggested this:

1 - remove all suspension front and rear.
2 - secure 8 inch I beams to existing unibody frame rails
3 - weld some axles to the beams front and rear
4 - run insanely large tires with low air pressure for suspension

This would be something like a skidder or loader which use the tires for suspension. Would be rough and bouncy as all hell but would be fun in a mud pit.

Shortly after this thought I snapped back to reality. As Jesse said for tire size - without spending a lot of money on a lift do it Canadian style (copyright Mystery Machine) - 31's, cranked torsion bars, offset rims, and some grinding.

James

[rabskyline]

so, a set of bruces 2" lift shackles, wind up bars at front to max and thats it ? 31x10.5x15 tyres...i have an 1988 so no side mouldings on her..

[delicat]

Might need to re-index your torsion bar... try and error I guess.

[rabskyline]

re index ? what does that mean?

[jessef]

Looking at the torsion bars from the rear to the front.

Left/right turn clockwise/counterclockwise one notch (one spline count).

Put back. Crank up.

[rabskyline]

thats what i meant by winding them up.. just lost in vocabulary differences between uk and canada.

[docsavage]

Finally have my own tires on. A spin off brand of Bridgestone called Widetrack Baja MT's. They are 265/75 R 16's on zero offset white spokes. Measure out to about 32 by 10.5 inches. A little different than plan, but the price was right. $250 per corner rim and tire.







They are noisy on the highway, decrease acceleration (from turtle to slug speed), but the look good, are 10 ply for pounding the logging roads, and give me plenty of clearance. One final adjusting of the torsion bars to level it off, another alignment, and I'm ready to roll. Now to get a proper spare, and paint my rear bumper, finish the front bumper, put on shielding, move air and tranny coolers, finish interior.....all after Josh's roof rack

James