Builds Dharma Dude's Build (1 Viewer)

[Dharma Dude]

After four months of getting to know my rig, it's time to build it up. Here are some pictures of my GX in Excited new owner of 2005 GX470. I decided to build it up fast and start having fun with it instead of dragging it over two or more years. Carpe Diem! So she is going to the shop to have the following installed by in time for summer road trips (camping, moderate off-roading, no rock-crawling).

• Ironman 2" lift with Light Racing UCA, Metaltech rear spring eliminator kit.
• MetalTech OPOR Rock sliders
• RCI Aluminum Skid plates (bare metal)
• MetalTech Front Bumper with Fog light (stage 3)
• MetalTech Pegasus Rear Bumper (stage 6)
• Front and Rear Lockers ARB RD121; ARB RD132; ARB CKMA12
• Re-gearing Nitro (4.11 or 4.56?)
• Engo 9000 lb winch synthetic rope
• 33" wheels, 285/70R17 on stock rims.

I'm appealing to the combined wisdom of Mud. Am I missing anything?

• Which should I go with 4.11 or 4.56? I am not sure I want to make the mpg any worse with 4.56
• Should I go with Total Chaos instead of SPC Light Racing? I have heard the Light Racing has problems with durability.
• Will I need spacers or new rims to get the 285/70R17 to not rub?

 

[JLee]

That's an excellent list! I would consider the Ironman Foam Cell Pro's if you aren't already. Total Chaos is generally regarded as being higher quality than Light Racing, but I think LR's new ball joint design is better than their old one.

Most feedback I've seen about gearing is that it doesn't change fuel economy a whole lot. 4.56's should be fine with 35's, if you decided to upsize your tires later.

I'm not sure if stock wheels will work well with those tires or not; I'm sure someone else will chime in with more information shortly. FN offers several wheels that are not listed on their website, btw -- so if you're considering wheels, there are more options designed for Toyota (properly hubcentric and better offset than stock) than are readily apparent.

 

[Arailt]

Awesome list!

Light Racing UCAs are ball joint like the factory UCAs. Total Chaos are uniball. Uniballs handle better, but they can also be loud (squeaky) and require frequent maintenance to keep them in good working condition. Additionally, if you plan to do a lot of winter driving, uniballs are generally not recommended due to the increased chance of debris like salt and cinders.

I know tons of guys who run (and wheel) LR UCAs on their Tacomas and love them. However, Camburg and JBA also make ball joint UCAs that some might say are higher quality than Light Racing.

 

[Dharma Dude]

After some research. I'm thinking I might go with the 3" lift for 4th gen 4runner from slee, rather than the ironman. I'm a newbie to lifts so I am thinking that 3" lift as opposed to the 2" lift Ironman might make it easier to fit in 285/70R16. A comment on GX 470 Lift Kit: Old Man Emu GX470 Lift Kit suggests that I'll need a 1.25" spacer to make everything work for a 2.5" lift.

Any experience or advice from folks here?

 

[AWilson013]

After some research. I'm thinking I might go with the 3" lift for 4th gen 4runner from slee, rather than the ironman. I'm a newbie to lifts so I am thinking that 3" lift as opposed to the 2" lift Ironman might make it easier to fit in 285/70R16. A comment on GX 470 Lift Kit: Old Man Emu GX470 Lift Kit suggests that I'll need a 1.25" spacer to make everything work for a 2.5" lift.

Any experience or advice from folks here?

Unless you've got a money tree, I'd do the lift, tires and armor first. Drive it like that for awhile and see if you actually need any of the rest of the stuff. Judging by your description of use, I'd be willing to bet that you don't.

But, if you're casually dropping that kind of cash I'd recommend a higher quality winch and the Total Chaos (or any other well-known brand) uniball UCAs. My Light Racing UCAs lasted a whopping 6 months before the ball joints had so much play Firestone wouldn't align my vehicle. Granted, that 6 months had over 1000 miles of FAST offroad travel while doing the WABDR. My engo winch was only used once before it was stolen and it was disturbingly loud and incredibly slow. I didn't mind the speed as I was never in a hurry and I liked the sense of control it provided.

I'd lean to 4.56 gears with all that weight, but it may be a bit much for 33s. I'd rather be slighty over geared than under, however, and would do the 4.56 if I had the need/want.

Throw enough money at any project or vehicle and it's going to be great.

 

[GXO]

Lift wont affect tire rub due to the stock wheels being +25mm offset. It puts that wide of a tire right up on the upper control arm. If you do the lift with UCAs you won't hit the UCA with stock wheels. Regardless you may need to pound the body seam and chop the body mount to make them not rub on full lock.

 

[JLee]

Unless you've got a money tree, I'd do the lift, tires and armor first. Drive it like that for awhile and see if you actually need any of the rest of the stuff. Judging by your description of use, I'd be willing to bet that you don't.

But, if you're casually dropping that kind of cash I'd recommend a higher quality winch and the Total Chaos (or any other well-known brand) uniball UCAs. My Light Racing UCAs lasted a whopping 6 months before the ball joints had so much play Firestone wouldn't align my vehicle. Granted, that 6 months had over 1000 miles of FAST offroad travel while doing the WABDR. My engo winch was only used once before it was stolen and it was disturbingly loud and incredibly slow. I didn't mind the speed as I was never in a hurry and I liked the sense of control it provided.

I'd lean to 4.56 gears with all that weight, but it may be a bit much for 33s. I'd rather be slighty over geared than under, however, and would do the 4.56 if I had the need/want.

Throw enough money at any project or vehicle and it's going to be great.

Were they the old ball joints or the redesigned ones (IIRC February 2016 and later)?

 

[AWilson013]

Were they the old ball joints or the redesigned ones (IIRC February 2016 and later)?

I bought them in 2012 I believe. They were not greasable, so I imagine the old style.

 

[Dharma Dude]

Lift wont affect tire rub due to the stock wheels being +25mm offset. It puts that wide of a tire right up on the upper control arm. If you do the lift with UCAs you won't hit the UCA with stock wheels. Regardless you may need to pound the body seam and chop the body mount to make them not rub on full lock.

Hey Dan,

I probably don't understand completely but here is what I gather from your reply: you're saying that the with or without the lift, I will get rubbing with 285/70R16 because it will hit the UCA. But it also sounds like you're saying that if I get rims with 0 or negative offset I could avoid rubbing.

 

[JLee]

Hey Dan,

I probably don't understand completely but here is what I gather from your reply: you're saying that the with or without the lift, I will get rubbing with 285/70R16 because it will hit the UCA. But it also sounds like you're saying that if I get rims with 0 or negative offset I could avoid rubbing.

Yep. A lower offset will push the wheel farther away from the UCA. You'll want a 17" tire, though.

 

[Dharma Dude]

Yep. A lower offset will push the wheel farther away from the UCA. You'll want a 17" tire, though.

Thanks. Got it. Make sense. Negative offset pulls the wheel away from the body.

But it also seems the spacer or negative offset will not eliminate rubbing on the body seam or the body mount. And I'll have to grind or cut something, spacer or not. Oh well.....I was hoping to not do any of that.

 

[JLee]

Thanks. Got it. Make sense. Negative offset pulls the wheel away from the body.

But it also seems the spacer or negative offset will not eliminate rubbing on the body seam or the body mount. And I'll have to grind or cut something, spacer or not. Oh well.....I was hoping to not do any of that.

Either stay nearly-stock on tire size or embrace the hammers and sawzalls.

I found this site to be helpful when I was deciding what wheels to get: Wheel Offset Calculator | 1010Tires.com Discount Online Tire and Wheel Store

 

[Dharma Dude]

The Rocky road folks (GX 470 Lift Kit: Old Man Emu GX470 Lift Kit) assures me that with their OME kit, 285/70R17 on stock rims with 1.25 inch spacer will fit without any cutting. I think the spacer with stock rims is equivalent to same width rim (7.5") with -8mm offset.

 

[Dharma Dude]

Unless you've got a money tree, I'd do the lift, tires and armor first. Drive it like that for awhile and see if you actually need any of the rest of the stuff. Judging by your description of use, I'd be willing to bet that you don't.

But, if you're casually dropping that kind of cash I'd recommend a higher quality winch and the Total Chaos (or any other well-known brand) uniball UCAs. My Light Racing UCAs lasted a whopping 6 months before the ball joints had so much play Firestone wouldn't align my vehicle. Granted, that 6 months had over 1000 miles of FAST offroad travel while doing the WABDR. My engo winch was only used once before it was stolen and it was disturbingly loud and incredibly slow. I didn't mind the speed as I was never in a hurry and I liked the sense of control it provided.

I'd lean to 4.56 gears with all that weight, but it may be a bit much for 33s. I'd rather be slighty over geared than under, however, and would do the 4.56 if I had the need/want.

Throw enough money at any project or vehicle and it's going to be great.

Thanks for the tips. I'm still considering a 4.11 re-gear instead of a 4.56. I think the consensus seems to be Light Racing UCAs are not good as heavy duty but is fine if you're doing racing or jumping. I'm also considering a better warn winch as well. I'm working with Gary at Mudrak Cruisers in Sonoma to do the work. I'll see what he says on UCAs.

As for throwing money at this.....well, at my age, I'm getting impatient. I want to enjoy my time on the trails, camping, hiking and not mess with multiple trips to installers. I work hard and when the weekend comes I just want to get in my truck and not worry. Still so many places to see before I run out of weekends.

 

[Scat Adams]

As others have said, you're going to rub and will need to trim the body mount and work the fenders, especially if you plan to go off road- hell Rocky Road's white gx is practically rubbing on that link you posted.

 

[scparrish]

Just do the math for gearing. 4.56 is going to be pretty low with just a 285, unless you plan to be really heavy all the time. 4.10s will get you back to stock. I would go 4.30s before 4.56, jmo.

Formula:
RPM=(speed x transmission gear (OD on the GX is .72) x axle ratio (Factory is 3.73) x 336) / tire diameter

Example (My rig currently):
(70 x .72 x 3.73 x 336) / 33.5 = 1885
So I am turning 1885 RPMs going 70. You will want to use actual tire diameter and not advertised tire diameter. I used 33.5 for my 34x10.50r17 BFG KO2s as that is their actual diameter.

Hopefully that helps with selecting gearing.

 

[Dharma Dude]

As others have said, you're going to rub and will need to trim the body mount and work the fenders, especially if you plan to go off road- hell Rocky Road's white gx is practically rubbing on that link you posted.

Got it. I am now resigned to having to do a bit of chopping, and cutting to get those 285/70R17 to fit.

 

[Dharma Dude]

Just do the math for gearing. 4.56 is going to be pretty low with just a 285, unless you plan to be really heavy all the time. 4.10s will get you back to stock. I would go 4.30s before 4.56, jmo.

Formula:
RPM=(speed x transmission gear (OD on the GX is .72) x axle ratio (Factory is 3.73) x 336) / tire diameter

Example (My rig currently):
(70 x .72 x 3.73 x 336) / 33.5 = 1885
So I am turning 1885 RPMs going 70. You will want to use actual tire diameter and not advertised tire diameter. I used 33.5 for my 34x10.50r17 BFG KO2s as that is their actual diameter.

Hopefully that helps with selecting gearing.

Yeah I did the calculations before and it looks like 4.11 to 4.56 is a reasonable range for me. May stick with 4.11 since I don't really need the extra torque; the GX seems to have plenty. But some buddies of mine thinks I should go for the torque. My indecision is that I don't really want to have to do this again.

 

[tampacruiser95]

Yeah I did the calculations before and it looks like 4.11 to 4.56 is a reasonable range for me. May stick with 4.11 since I don't really need the extra torque; the GX seems to have plenty. But some buddies of mine thinks I should go for the torque. My indecision is that I don't really want to have to do this again.

I have 4.88s in my 80, after everyone told me it was overkill for 33s. Calculator says range for 33s is 4.56 and a stretch for 4.88s. I love the 4.88s on 33s! My recommendation is 4.56, because when will you regret more torque? Really.

 

[Dharma Dude]

Just do the math for gearing. 4.56 is going to be pretty low with just a 285, unless you plan to be really heavy all the time. 4.10s will get you back to stock. I would go 4.30s before 4.56, jmo.

Formula:
RPM=(speed x transmission gear (OD on the GX is .72) x axle ratio (Factory is 3.73) x 336) / tire diameter

Example (My rig currently):
(70 x .72 x 3.73 x 336) / 33.5 = 1885
So I am turning 1885 RPMs going 70. You will want to use actual tire diameter and not advertised tire diameter. I used 33.5 for my 34x10.50r17 BFG KO2s as that is their actual diameter.

Hopefully that helps with selecting gearing.

Nitro doesn't make a 4.30 AFAICT. Is there another recommended manufacturer?