Builds Blender, My LX450/FZJ80 + FJ45esk + GM + Land Rover crazy concoction (1 Viewer)

[matzell]

Gearing- I think 4:88's in the axles will help with the torque lean and not hurt you too bad on the highway, It will keep it in lock up more in overdrive. I am running 5:38's with 37's for racing and 40's for tail riding with a 2.0 case. It does fine.

Steering- I am sure you are used to a Saginaw box, the Toyota stuff just does not do the same. I tried pump mods, PSC pumps and stil could not get the same feel that I do with a Saginaw box. The Toyota boxes are also slow, higher ratio boxes that just do not work the same as a quicker turning box. You might be able to get a Scout box to bolt up in the same are as the Toyota box with a few mods to the mounts. I was out this weekend with two FJ40's, one had 60 series box (almost the same as 80) and the other with a Scout box. The Scout box was much stronger feeling while turning at a stop and engine at idle.

I think you did a great Job on this build and worked out a lot of little details. Go out and enjoy it!

Rob

 

[Mieser]

Gearing- I think 4:88's in the axles will help with the torque lean and not hurt you too bad on the highway, It will keep it in lock up more in overdrive. I am running 5:38's with 37's for racing and 40's for tail riding with a 2.0 case. It does fine.

Steering- I am sure you are used to a Saginaw box, the Toyota stuff just does not do the same. I tried pump mods, PSC pumps and stil could not get the same feel that I do with a Saginaw box. The Toyota boxes are also slow, higher ratio boxes that just do not work the same as a quicker turning box. You might be able to get a Scout box to bolt up in the same are as the Toyota box with a few mods to the mounts. I was out this weekend with two FJ40's, one had 60 series box (almost the same as 80) and the other with a Scout box. The Scout box was much stronger feeling while turning at a stop and engine at idle.

I think you did a great Job on this build and worked out a lot of little details. Go out and enjoy it!

Rob

I used a LT230 transfer case in this build, this version has a 1.22 high range ( and 3.32 low range ). I can't really go lower in the axles without throwing a ton of stuff out of wack. The engine/trans thinks it has 5.00 ( 1.22 x 4.10 ) gears in it already in high range. That is just about right for the 40" tire, but anything deeper in the axles makes a lot of things go out of wack. If the durability in the 3rds becomes an issue, I may go down to 4.30 gears to get the big pinion front gearset and the later 100 series 32 spline pinion 3rd in the rear axle. In the future, if I build another car with a 6L, or 8L or 10L, I will use more downstream gearing ( axle gearing ). I'd honestly like to mess with 6-7:1 gearing in the axles and less gearing in the t-case. For this thing, the LT230 was a really good option as it fit the chassis pretty well and offset the cost of regearing the axles. Most people wouldn't notice the torque lean honestly, i've been in a LOT of rigs that did it WAY worse.

I have hydro assist on the FJ80 steering box. I think it is just a bit of a pressue/flow issue at idle with the GM stock pump. I may try a slightly smaller pulley on it.....or see if I can pump up idle flow/pressure internally a little bit. It's not really far off, it just needs tweaking.

 

[cody c]

Great build, the patagonia's look good, a little on the skinny side maybe? How are they singing along on the highway?

 

[Mieser]

Great build, the patagonia's look good, a little on the skinny side maybe? How are they singing along on the highway?

They are a touch skinny, but not a deal breaker in my opinion. They also look a lot better in person.

The tires go down the road excellent. I didn't think 80mph on 40s with two fingers was possible.....it is....

 

[RAYJON]

Just a question, on the map gas torch trick do you have a pencil tip for the map gas, ???

Love this thread as i have really added to my fab skills, the painters tape trick works great..

 

[Mieser]

Just a question, on the map gas torch trick do you have a pencil tip for the map gas, ???

Love this thread as i have really added to my fab skills, the painters tape trick works great..

Nope, just a cheap regular head on the torch for shrinking out oil can.

 

[RAYJON]

Thanks, i used it the other day on shrinking a spot , works great. Just a little different than using a torch, heats a bigger area, works great for heating then a little hammer and dolly on thick land cruiser metal..

 

[Mieser]

Some tech.....lets see what this thing weighs.....



Honestly, this was a little hard to swallow. I was expecting a smaller number, BUT this included me and all the gear I had in the vehicle for the 2400 mile trip to the Rubicon and Off Road Expo.

I decided to tear down the vehicle to see what I had going on....





This is what I was able to strip out of the truck to weigh, including myself. All combined that is nearly 500lbs. That bring the total down to 4400lbs and that includes a full tank of 25 gallons of fuel.

I'm not unhappy for a 112" wheelbase rig with a V8, modern 6spd auto, LT230 transfer case, 40" tires, Warn 8274 winch, 3/16" thick steel bumpers and rockers, a 1/4" thick 6061 belly pan, 1/4" thick aluminum gas tank skid, a full top, glass windows, thick rubber floor mats, etc.

The scale doesn't lie.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I weigh just over 4500 lbs with a full tank and all my gear (including recovery, search and rescue, water and medical). With my dog and I we are just over 4900 lbs. It surprised me, I figured I'd be mid 5s....

 

[Mieser]

Playing around with a few things...



I swapped the 'old' ProComp MT2's and Trail-Gear Creeper Bead-locks back on to do some comparative testing. I needed another viewpoint to give better feedback on the Milestar Patagonia MTs. Overall, so far so good. With no balancing they will run 70mph down the highway. This combo is about 24lbs per corner heavier which adds up. I can't really feel any difference in power. I do appreciate the extra insurance off-road that comes with a bead-lock, not only for bead retention, but also how durable the outer edge of the wheel is. I will admit, I like the stance and look of this combo more. It looks fatter and wider for sure with the broader tread face and less backspacing on the wheels.

These tires do feel a little more 'squirmy' at speed than the Pat's. I think it is because of the taller tread blocks spaced further apart. They don't seem to make anymore noise 0-50mph. Once I get past that speed, the wind noise and exhaust starts to take over. I still want ear plugs, or some kind of hearing protection, past 60mph for longer duration trips.





This was my other mini-project. I really wanted a simple clean solution to hold my phone in the vehicle when I use it for media or navigation. I was able to re-purpose this little aluminum phone holder for the bike world that I found on Amazon.

A little bracket I made can be removed in about 10 seconds. It is just a small piece of aluminum that I drilled and tapped for the mounting hardware that the holder needed.

The icing on the cake was the short little cord I found with the proper 90 ends on both sides to eliminate a lot of the cable cluttler on the dash when using the phone this way.

The next part of the project is going to be building some micro speaker pods for the stereo system. I think I will have those 3d printed....

 

[RAYJON]

any update on how its working out...

 

[Mieser]

any update on how its working out...

I've almost got 5000 miles on it now. All systems normal. I have been using it for my winter DD.
As soon as it warms up I will be tinkering on it again.

 

[Mieser]

It is almost time for the 10,000 mile review.

What do you want to see and hear about?

 

[afraptor22]

What parameters did you end up changing for your 6l80? Did you program it to lock in first gear with one of the other shifter positions or just let the trans shift while you were on the trail?

 

[Mieser]

What parameters did you end up changing for your 6l80? Did you program it to lock in first gear with one of the other shifter positions or just let the trans shift while you were on the trail?

We are on tune #6 now I think. Generally we kept lowering the shift tables and made things MUCH more linear on the low end of things. Under light throttle ( and especially in low range ) that seems to be the only way to calm the transmission down and prevent it from getting 'gear selection ADAH' generally. 1st gear is so deep in high range you only really need it to get moving, I like to get into 2nd gear much sooner than normal under light throttle.

I am still working on the integration of the BCM module back into the harness to have 'tap-shift' available ( and cruise ). Right now I have a D and M position. This actually works way better than I thought. You can limit top gear by shifting into M-position when you are in the gear you want. If you are stopped it is 1st gear. I use it to lock out 6th or 5th running around town in the 45-50 stuff sometimes.

In general, once the tune is 'right' you don't need to do much. The transmission just does it's thing.

The overall gearing plan with the 6L80E is pretty interesting. The transmission is SOOO broad that you have to fight issues on both ends in some ways. In my case, the 5.00 effective axle gears, 40" tires, and 60s brick aerodynamics make the car fight between 5th and 6th gear on the interstate above 75mph. You end up needing a little too much throttle/power in 6th to go about 80mph, and it gets more sensitive to head and front cornering winds. On the other side, around town, 5.00 gears with 40s feels PLENTY deep. You need to get out of 1st pretty quick . In low range, it is really easy to over-gear one also. I have effectively a 2.7 low range and that is PLENTY. That puts me at 54:1 in low range with 40s and that is a sweet spot with the stock converter generally...maybe a touch low. On the next project, I think I am going to do a 6L80E with 2:1 low range and 6.17 gears with a 42 inch tire. This should be a little lower in high range at speed on the interstate at 80mph+, but a touch higher crawler ratio in low range. It is all a compromise.

 

[matzell]

Did you ever set up tow haul mode? It is nice to have when driving in the mountains, helps hold the gears and locks up TC when going down hill for compression braking.

Worried about any axle breakage? Did you ever upgrade the shafts?

Milestars or Pro comps?

I am lazy...factory elec lockers or ?

 

[Ronny Grady]

How has the under bed storage usage evolved?

Is the cab louder than you expected?

 

[Mieser]

Great build, the patagonia's look good, a little on the skinny side maybe? How are they singing along on the highway?

They look a little narrow, and I agree that they would look better if they where 'fatter', but they are within about 3/8" of overall width when mounted to the ProComp MT2. Most of the difference is that the Patagonia don't have large square overhanging outer tread blocks.

The Patagonia MT goes down the highway fantastic. I run them at 80+mph for hours and hours. These are also the 'Black Label' version that is a softer tread. I have about 7500miles on them now and they are down to 14/32 ( new is 19/32nd ).

 

[Mieser]

Did you ever set up tow haul mode? It is nice to have when driving in the mountains, helps hold the gears and locks up TC when going down hill for compression braking.

Worried about any axle breakage? Did you ever upgrade the shafts?

Milestars or Pro comps?

I am lazy...factory elec lockers or ?

The tow haul mode requires the use of the BCM module in the harness. I am working on that, but it is not easy. My tuner has integrated a mild form of the tow haul mode into the primary D position tune. I have compression braking down to about 25mph in high range and 2.7 times less than that in low range. It works pretty well all in all.

I guess on some levels I am a bit nervous about the axles with a 40" half-sticky tire and a V8, but it has worked out really well overall. I did upgrade to RCV axle shafts front and rear. I am using their 300m material front axle package and a semi-custom 300m full float rear axle package with 4340 drive flanges on both ends and upgraded studs and pins.

I have settled on the Patagonia MT. I swapped them over onto the beadlocks. They are a fantastic tire all around for me.

Yes. This chassis has the factory Toyota E-lockers in it. I rewired them to have simple controller switches so I can use them independently. To be honest, selectable front and rear lockers are not my favorite combo. I much prefer an automatic front locker with a selectable rear locker along with a normal RWD/4wd transfer case ( vs full time 4wd with center diff lock )

 

[Mieser]

How has the under bed storage usage evolved?

Is the cab louder than you expected?

The underbed storage is the same. I will be changing up some things soon. Stay tuned.

The cab is actually pretty nice for noise.....right up to about 60mph and then wind noise start to be an issue. At 80-85mph the wind noise requires ear plugs for extended periods. These things just don't have that good of aerodynamics....