200 suspension advice

[SQRRRL]

"Have" implying free?!?! lol

Yes

 

[afgman786]

Yes

Sent you a PM

 

[DecreedIt]

Following -will be going down this path next spring/summer and planning now (yeah it takes that long plus budget demands the wait!). New to us, in family since new 2008 bone stock 160k (now) mall cruised miles.

I'm looking for a goldilocks build - not a maxed out wheeler - but capable - and being realistic will still see 90% of its miles on pavement. That other 10% anything from forest service gravel to, I'd love this, Uwharrie's Daniel, outer banks sand, Carolina mountain mud. Yeah I know it's a lot to ask. I want to do it once, and do it right.

What I'm picking up is - do bumpers, sliders, skids and suspension at the same time, built to match. Wheels and tires can be first; run those while they wait for the rest of the kit.

Don't want an aggressive lift, 2" max probably. Adjustable is a huge bonus but curious what the level of effort would be on the adjustments, would UCAs be necessary, so forth and so on.

Also - do any of you run two sets of wheels/tires? I've got a brand new set of Michelin Defender LTXs on the stock wheels, perfect for mall cruising/road trips. Could see swapping them for wheeling weekends - quickish job on a Thursday night before the weekend - wheel all weekend - swap em back Sun/Mon kind of thing for the weekly commute. Seems like adjustable coilovers like the BP51s would enable this scenario - I just don't know how much effort is involved in adjusting for wheeling vs street. Would that require alignment, or control arm adjustments every time. If yes, then it is not a realistic expectation.


Edit: I should Google more and type less, rules for life, right? Anyway - I went down the BP 51 vs ICON vs King rabbit hole, hope this benefits others looking at this thread:

OME BP51 gimmicky?

forum.ih8mud.com

OME BP51 or ICON Stage 2

forum.ih8mud.com

ICON vs KING (My Experience)

forum.ih8mud.com

ARB Bp-51 vs. King 2.5 BP

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Fisher23]

I picked this info up from others on here prior to doing my lift, which is a bp51 set at 2". anything above 2" you need UCA's to be able to align the vehicle. i put a set of toyo r/t which are between an m/t and an a/t, so i do not need to swap tires. unless you need boggers it's just a waste of wheeling time swapping tires imho. If you are going over sized tires, you need the lift first for clearance. i would sell the tires or give them to someone who really needs them.

 

[Willy beamin]

Following -will be going down this path next spring/summer and planning now (yeah it takes that long plus budget demands the wait!). New to us, in family since new 2008 bone stock 160k (now) mall cruised miles.

I'm looking for a goldilocks build - not a maxed out wheeler - but capable - and being realistic will still see 90% of its miles on pavement. That other 10% anything from forest service gravel to, I'd love this, Uwharrie's Daniel, outer banks sand, Carolina mountain mud. Yeah I know it's a lot to ask. I want to do it once, and do it right.

What I'm picking up is - do bumpers, sliders, skids and suspension at the same time, built to match. Wheels and tires can be first; run those while they wait for the rest of the kit.

Don't want an aggressive lift, 2" max probably. Adjustable is a huge bonus but curious what the level of effort would be on the adjustments, would UCAs be necessary, so forth and so on.

Also - do any of you run two sets of wheels/tires? I've got a brand new set of Michelin Defender LTXs on the stock wheels, perfect for mall cruising/road trips. Could see swapping them for wheeling weekends - quickish job on a Thursday night before the weekend - wheel all weekend - swap em back Sun/Mon kind of thing for the weekly commute. Seems like adjustable coilovers like the BP51s would enable this scenario - I just don't know how much effort is involved in adjusting for wheeling vs street. Would that require alignment, or control arm adjustments every time. If yes, then it is not a realistic expectation.


Edit: I should Google more and type less, rules for life, right? Anyway - I went down the BP 51 vs ICON vs King rabbit hole, hope this benefits others looking at this thread:

OME BP51 gimmicky?

forum.ih8mud.com

OME BP51 or ICON Stage 2

forum.ih8mud.com

ICON vs KING (My Experience)

forum.ih8mud.com

ARB Bp-51 vs. King 2.5 BP

forum.ih8mud.com

I run two sets of wheels. Cooper STT PRO's for when its a muddy mess and Nitto Ridge grapplers for everything else. I would keep both sets if you don't need the proceeds from the sale. Swapping Wheel sets / tires is a cake walk. Doing so will help your MT's last longer. You and I live in similar mud / clay conditions. Toyo RT's are not going to be worth squat in these conditions. Good luck deciding

 

[Fisher23]

? There is little difference between a Toyo RT and a nitto Ridge grappler other than the ridge grappler are not going to be worth squat in these conditions

M/T or a mudder are better in mud/clay, and anything else is just going to load up.

 

[Markuson]

I run two sets of wheels. Cooper STT PRO's for when its a muddy mess and Nitto Ridge grapplers for everything else. I would keep both sets if you don't need the proceeds from the sale. Swapping Wheel sets / tires is a cake walk. Doing so will help your MT's last longer. You and I live in similar mud / clay conditions. Toyo RT's are not going to be worth squat in these conditions. Good luck deciding

? There is little difference between a Toyo RT and a nitto Ridge grappler other than the ridge grappler are not going to be worth squat in these conditions

I believe he was saying he uses his Ridge Grapplers in stuff OTHER than mud...so was not claiming otherwise.

 

[Fisher23]

Got it.

Carolina is similar to Florida .. the heat gets intense, and tires will just dry out and crack on the side walls after a few years. Tire life is not good, used ot not, 3 to 4 years max, as the side walls start to get dry rot. I've found swapping tire to not be much of a gain $$ wise. I'm in the soft sand, mud and deep swamp muck weekly, and these R/T have been OK compared with M/T's. They are not that great in the mud, but they are better in the sand and on wet roads than the M/T's.

 

[Eric Sarjeant]

A lot of this is going to be subjective based on your wife's likes and tastes.

If I were doing this for my wife and wanted to retain a modicum of lift, added coolness, and measurable more capability than stock; while retaining as much of the stock NVH and ride qualities as possible:

1) Back to stock suspension including springs and shocks
2) Add OEM coil spacer to the front and 20mm spring spacer to the rear for a mild lift (without added ride stiffness)
3) Revert back to OEM upper control arm for the better NVH qualities and long term durability (don't need adjustability of aftermarket UCA with only a mild lift)
4) Michelin LTX A/T 2 tires in 285/65r18

Probably wouldn't even cost much if anything if you get takeoffs from people on this site, and sold your aftermarket goodies. Perhaps contact @Eric Sarjeant for factory new takeoffs from his dealer modified LCs.

Hit me up soon if you want factory suspension take off parts. No charge- Shipping only. I was just going to throw a set in the dumpster today actually.