Just took over Wife's 100 - What next???

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KBrummer-KY

KBrummer-KY

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
May 18, 2006
Threads
13
Messages
62
Location
Northern Kentucky
Just removed the steps. Say it with me... AAAAAhhhhh that's better.

Okay here's the deal. I don't have a ton of extra cash to throw at this, but I want to gradually improve it. I would love bigger tires, but I don't want to go enormous (1"-2" with 33's - prob not mudders, I'm more in the A/T camp). I want to put on a roof rack, but still want to fit into my garage. I'd hate to leave this outside. She has 166,000 so I'm sure I'm looking at a manifold in the near future (go headers?). Hell I'm coming around to the second timing belt job. At the end of the day, this thing is still going to be 90% mall crawler.

Sooo, long story short, I'm looking for any tips, advice, tricks, opinions, accessory reviews you guys have that will improve my ride without totally defacing it.

Thanks!
Kevin in Northern Kentucky
Cruiser_Quarry.webp
Cruiser_Street_SML.webp
 
Thank the wife and crank the torsion bars! As far as tires go you will get all kinds of opinions. I really like my Falken Rocky Mountain ATS tires in 285/75/16, they were under $1000 for 5 of em mounted and balanced. You might consider replacing the low beams and fogs with HID lights, cheap upgrade available from DDM Tuning. Might also consider some OPOR sliders, new on the market, priced well, and double as a step.

Have Fun!
 
Nice looking truck.

You and I are probably in the same camp as far as wish list/use. I occassionally go offroad, but nothing major. However, I still want my truck to look the part, without going overboard.

I've added 33" tires, sliders, and a 1.5" lift (via AHC), on board air, drawer system, fridge, etc.

First two pics is at the dealership, last one is current.

Welcome to the addiction!
Dealership front.webp
dealership rear.webp
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First thing....buy her something so she does not regret handing you the keys.


Then:

1- remove running boards -CHECK
2- get some larger tires suitable for offroad without going big enough to require suspension upgrade at first if money is tight
3- get some rock sliders from WKOR, BIOR, SLEE, MetalTech, etc....my opinion, the best money you will spend on your rig whether you only go through Best Buy parking lot or actually offroad. I use mine for tying my canoe on rack...protection against baby-mommas and their brats in parking lots...steps for getting in and out for wife or friends not used to a taller rig

after that you can work on the other more expensive items as you need them but can do 90% of what you want with these mods...then when you rip off tupperware bumper you will know your next mod. :)
 
considering you are on a budget, unless you hear a tick, you don't need to do anything with the exhaust manifold/headers. you just saved $1500!

285/75-16 AT tires are good and affordable all-arounders. Most folks use BFGs which are a great choice. I prefer Revo2s. You will shortly get 20 more recommendations for AT tires.

Bilstien shocks improve the ride quality quite a bit IMO.

If your 10% offroading will put your rocker panel in jeopardy, then you should also get some sliders.

Congrats :cheers:
 
Same boat here. Driven very little....driven off road even less! Not by choice, mostly due to work schedule and not getting to play during the daytime on weekends like most normal folks.

Added Slee 30mm spacers, and re-indexed the OEM torsion bars to bring the front up after adding the ARB (which was purchased courtesy of my insurance company after a fender bender, otherwise I wouldn't even have it!).

All told I'm sitting at about 1.5" rear, 2" front (maybe a touch less now as the t-bars probably settled some). With the 285 DTs the stance is pretty good. I have OME 865 springs sitting here waiting to go on, but I need to reboot my CV's before going any higher in the front. Diff drop would probably be a good investment too.

Pic from last summer when I still had 305s....*sigh*.
IMG_20110824_170707.jpg


More recent (285s):
IMG_20111214_154707.jpg
 
Good looking Cruiser, off to a nice start! I'd say first off crank up your torsion bars and get an alignment. Then slap some 285's on there, and you've got an extremely capable rig already! Personally, next I would tint the windows, and do other minor mods along those lines. Anything that is going to make it a more enjoyable daily driver (new stereo, reverse lighting, etc...), considering most of its time will be spent on the road. First off road modification I would suggest is sliders for sure. I didn't take off my running boards when I first got my Cruiser :doh:, and you should see how bent up and beat to tar they are...
And as far as tires goes, what sort of off-roading do you do? A lot of people run BFG's, which are amazing in the sand, but if you do a lot of muddin, cake really badly. Cooper AT3's are pretty sweet, aggressive with low road noise. And it doesn't seem like you could ever go wrong with Nitto's. All in all, it's personal opinion, and which you get the best deal on
 
Just turn up the torsion bars a little and go with some 295s. :) You will me mall ready in no time!
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coveboy said:
Personally, next I would tint the windows, and do other minor mods along those lines. Anything that is going to make it a more enjoyable daily driver (new stereo, reverse lighting, etc...)
Click to expand...

tinted windows and a good stereo is a must do first upgrade on every car/truck!;)
 
You guys are awesome! Thank you for all the info! Didn't think of the torsion bars. Starting there. I will probably try to sell my Michelin 265/75/16 since they only have 15,000 miles on them. That opens the door to some 285s or so. I ran Firestone Destination A/T's on my Tundra and really liked them.

Also, I'm getting a Yakima Load Warrior tomorrow. If my measurements are correct, I'll still have 2" of clearance to get in my garage. Pics will follow!
 
KBrummer-KY said:
You guys are awesome! Thank you for all the info! Didn't think of the torsion bars. Starting there. I will probably try to sell my Michelin 265/75/16 since they only have 15,000 miles on them. That opens the door to some 285s or so. I ran Firestone Destination A/T's on my Tundra and really liked them.

Also, I'm getting a Yakima Load Warrior tomorrow. If my measurements are correct, I'll still have 2" of clearance to get in my garage. Pics will follow!
Click to expand...

Make sure your measurements take in to account for torsion bar cranking and 285's!!!

Nice ride and color by the way. ;)
 
KBrummer-KY said:
You guys are awesome! Thank you for all the info! Didn't think of the torsion bars. Starting there. I will probably try to sell my Michelin 265/75/16 since they only have 15,000 miles on them. That opens the door to some 285s or so. I ran Firestone Destination A/T's on my Tundra and really liked them.

Also, I'm getting a Yakima Load Warrior tomorrow. If my measurements are correct, I'll still have 2" of clearance to get in my garage. Pics will follow!
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good start! Uncle has those on his Heep, and he seems to love them! His job requires him doing a lot of power line trails, which are always deeply rutted out, and I've seen those tires conquer some intense mud.
 
KBrummer-KY said:
Quick question. What does cranking up the torsion bars do to the ride. Not that I'm worried about it, just curious.
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Cranking the torsion bars changes ride height only. Most think it stiffens the ride, this is not true since diameter of the torsion bar dictates the ride quality. The change in ride quality is due to the control arms sitting at a more horizontal position. When going over expansion joints and small bumps they have to push further outwards before they can travel upwards. If that makes any sense.
 
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