New Tires/Powdercoated Wheels and a few questions.

[mogili222]

While getting my tires rotated and balanced recently, I found out that one of the tires was coming apart from the inside. So thought it was a good time to buy new tires.

Got the the Nitto Terra Grapplers in 275/70/18s. Also thought it would be the best time to refinish the wheels as the factory paint was chipping off at some places.

I initially thought I'd clean and spray paint them myself but found somebody local here who said he would strip the wheel, clean and then powder coat it for $50 a wheel.. All said and done, I figured it was was worth it for me and also having it powder coated would last a little bit longer than me doing it.

For now just got two of the wheels completed and the new tires mounted. I will have the remaining two complete in another couple days.

Here is a teaser. The color I chose for the wheels is the Gunmetal Grey. I wanted a darker gray than my truck but did not want to go completely black. I will also be painting the center caps to match.

I personally hate anything chrome on a vehicle. So I plan on painting the front grill, the rear chrome surrounds and the lettering the same color as the wheels and the center caps.

Any suggestions on how to remove the chrome surrounds in the below picture and also the thin chrome strip that goes around the vehicle?

Finally a few questions.

1. Right now I have the 275/70/18 on the rear and the stock tires on the front. Is it ok to drive this way for a couple days? Or would I be inviting trouble doing so?

2. The guy at discount tire said that the Nitto TGs work best at 50 PSI? Is this a good PSI for comfort and mpg?

3. What brand spray paint should I be looking for to get the best Gunmetal grey color for painting the remaining parts? I looked in Walmart but could not find a Gunmetal color

 

[arbetrader]

Man, No-one, I mean NO-ONE will do those for that cheap around here (PNW, Southern BC). The cheapest I found was $120-140/wheel

I love that color combo, I was going to do that gunmetal look on my wheels too, but I thought I'd save the cash up front. Anyway, looks good!

 

[Copenhagen1]

1st off, the wheels and tires look excellent. I think they did a great job.

2nd... I am no expert and some others will surely chime in but...
right now you have a 31" tire on the front and a 33" tire on the back. I have heard all my life not to mix gear ratios on 4 wheel drive vehicles. In other words, you cant have 4.11 gears in the rear differential and have 4.88 gears in the front differential.

Basically, with different diameter tires on front and back of your vehicle, you have effectively done that to a full time 4 wheel drive vehicle. I personally would not drive it this way, you are libel to tear some stuff up. That is strictly my opinion but I dont think I am far off.

 

[agaisin]

2nd... I am no expert and some others will surely chime in but...
right now you have a 31" tire on the front and a 33" tire on the back. I have heard all my life not to mix gear ratios on 4 wheel drive vehicles. In other words, you cant have 4.11 gears in the rear differential and have 4.88 gears in the front differential.

Basically, with different diameter tires on front and back of your vehicle, you have effectively done that to a full time 4 wheel drive vehicle. I personally would not drive it this way, you are libel to tear some stuff up. That is strictly my opinion but I dont think I am far off.

Topic was addressed for 100s in the following link (same basic question applies to this scenario):
https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/399544-differing-tread-depth-problems.html

Not sure if there is a consensus, but when looking back at that thread, Trunk Monkey's suggestion in post #2 seems reasonable:
"Keep the new tires on the same axle and the worn tires on the other, you won't have any problems."

 

[mogili222]

Thank you for pitching in.

My understanding from what I have read here on the forums is that the LX and the LC (at least the 100 series) has a open center differential and having different size tires in the front and rear should not hurt as long as I dont lock the differential.

The only time we would have issues is if we have different diameter tires on the same axle or if the center differential in the viscous coupling kind.

On the other hand, this is my first 4WD vehicle and I might be completely off on this issue.

1st off, the wheels and tires look excellent. I think they did a great job.

2nd... I am no expert and some others will surely chime in but...
right now you have a 31" tire on the front and a 33" tire on the back. I have heard all my life not to mix gear ratios on 4 wheel drive vehicles. In other words, you cant have 4.11 gears in the rear differential and have 4.88 gears in the front differential.

Basically, with different diameter tires on front and back of your vehicle, you have effectively done that to a full time 4 wheel drive vehicle. I personally would not drive it this way, you are libel to tear some stuff up. That is strictly my opinion but I dont think I am far off.

 

[Copenhagen1]

Topic was addressed for 100s in the following link (same basic question applies to this scenario):
https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/399544-differing-tread-depth-problems.html

I looked back at that thread and it is talking about an 1/8" of difference in tire diameter, NOT 2" of tire diameter....

I looked up tirerack.com recommendations on 4 wheel drive and all wheel drive vehicles and they said this...

Four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles are equipped with additional differentials and/or viscous couplings that are designed to allow momentary differences in wheel speeds when the vehicle turns a corner or temporarily spins a tire. However, if the differentials or viscous couplings are forced to operate 100% of the time because of mismatched tires, they will experience excessive heat and unwarranted wear until they fail.
This necessitates that four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles use tires that are very closely matched. This is because different diameter tires roll a different number of times each mile as a result of the variations in their circumferences. Tire diameter variations can be caused by accidentally using different sized tires, tires with different tread designs, tires made by different manufacturers, different inflation pressures or even tires worn to different tread depths.
As an example of different tire diameters resulting from tires worn to different tread depths, we'll compare two 225/45R17-sized tires, a new tire with its original tread depth of 10/32-inch and a second tire worn to 8/32-inch of remaining tread depth. The new 225/45R17-sized tire has a calculated diameter of 24.97", a circumference of 78.44" and will roll 835 times each mile. The same tire worn to 8/32-inch of remaining tread depth is calculated to be 1/8" shorter with a diameter of 24.84", have a circumference of 78.04" and will roll 839 times per mile. While the difference of 1/8" in overall diameter doesn't seem excessive, the resulting 4 revolutions per mile difference can place a continuous strain on the tires and vehicle's driveline. Obviously, the greater the difference in the tires' circumferences, the greater the resulting strain.

They dont recommend it with a 4 revolution per mile distance. The difference in a 275/70-18 and a 275/60-18 is about 50 revolutions per mile. I sure as heck dont want that strain on my very expensive transfer case. Again, just my humble opinion.

 

[agaisin]

Thank you for pitching in.

My understanding from what I have read here on the forums is that the LX and the LC (at least the 100 series) has a open center differential and having different size tires in the front and rear should not hurt as long as I dont lock the differential.

The only time we would have issues is if we have different diameter tires on the same axle or if the center differential in the viscous coupling kind.

On the other hand, this is my first 4WD vehicle and I might be completely off on this issue.

Mechanically speaking I believe you're correct which is why I quoted Trunk Monkey about keeping same size on each axle.

However now I'm wondering if different sized tires would throw off VSC and ABS?

I posted the question on the other thread as well, but if anything it would be more of an issue in your case - going from 275/60/18 to 275/70/18 takes you from 31" diameter to 33.2 which translates into ~43 revolutions per mile which is ~4.2 mph difference b/w the front and rear axle (stock tires will be 60 mph and the new tires will be going 64.2 mph) according to Tire size calculator

Not certain how big a deal it really is though...

 

[agaisin]

Four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles are equipped with additional differentials and/or viscous couplings that are designed to allow momentary differences in wheel speeds when the vehicle turns a corner or temporarily spins a tire. However, if the differentials or viscous couplings are forced to operate 100% of the time because of mismatched tires, they will experience excessive heat and unwarranted wear until they fail.
...
I sure as heck dont want that strain on my very expensive transfer case. Again, just my humble opinion.

Someone with more knowledge feel free to set me straight but based on my current (limited) understanding...

The whole paragraph hinges on their broad assumption that 4wd and AWD vehicles are equipped with differentials and or viscous couplings that are designed to allow (only) momentary differences in wheel speeds.

At least later model 100s (2000+ ?) have open center diffs so I don't think this is a driveline strain issue for our vehicles, although it seems like it could theoretically be a VSC/ABS issue.

 

[TheFuzz]

I think Art hit it on the head here...with an open center diff you should TECHNICALLY be ok. Problem is, we have very little (read: none) empiracle evidence to prove either side correct. Personally I would really think hard about running your car with 2" of difference in tire diameter between front and rear. We aren't talking a couple 32nd's of an inch here because of tire wear, we're talking two full inches of diameter from a completely different size. One of two things will happen here:

1. Nothing. Open center diff means the t-case can compensate for the difference without any ill effects.

2. Your transfer case grenades.

There is very little "middle ground" here because there is such a large difference in tire size...and I personally wouldn't want to be the person to prove this one way or the other. I'd limit my driving if I were you just to be on the safe side.

PC looks excellent though. As for the chrome, I'd just mask and paint on the truck...but I have a black truck, that's a little easier for me.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Other than looking retarded, you should be fine for limited use. The differential is made so accommodate different speeds between the sides, but on an occasional basis, like turning a corner. So, the diff will be getting more wear and generating more heat. If you run it this way, plan on changing out the t-case fluid sooner than later.

Or, just pull the front DS, lock the center and drive to your hearts content with muscle car stink bug.

 

[mogili222]

Painted the front grill and the emblems metallic black this weekend

Got some time to clean and detail the LX this weekend. Also ended up painting the front grill and everything chrome on the exterior to metallic black. I took the grill and the emblems off to paint but just masked the rest.

Overall I think they turned out good. This is the first time I have done anything relating to vehicles on my own. And now I have more respect for people working on cars as it is not as easy as it looks.

Here are some pictures.

Front grill

Rear

Before

After

I also painted the thin chrome strip that goes around the vehicle.

Before

After

 

[bamabrock]

looks good. what paint did you use?

 

[mogili222]

looks good. what paint did you use?

Thank you.. The paint is Duplicolor Perfect Match in Black Mettalic. The can said it was for vehicle trim and accessories.. Will have to see how long it will last.

 

[1loudLX]

Thank you.. The paint is Duplicolor Perfect Match in Black Mettalic. The can said it was for vehicle trim and accessories.. Will have to see how long it will last.

exactly why I didnt paint my chrome, I just covered it with matte black film (and in the case of the white one, gloss black vinyl). I didnt want to paint the trim on the back and then have it scratch/flake off. Truck looks great, hope it holds

How about some full body shots instead of detail ones?

 

[Indy_LX]

That looks great! Now if we can just figure out how to paint the chrome that's inside our headlights we'll be golden. Nice work.