Ok so I just read through your build thread. Lots of good stuff in there. I came away with two questions though. I'm sure you've heard both before but I'm going to ask anyway.
1.) What gears are you running?
2.) Do you think the jump to 37's was worth it? Everything I've read says 37's require more modification to make the truck drive right when compared to 35's. For example, I don't think you can fully stuff a 37 where a 35 will fit inside the wheel wells (yes I know you trimmed yours but how much The, etc). The 37's look awesome but I'm wondering if I'm ready for that rodeo - even if I had the money. Interested to hear your thoughts.
Thank you for the interest. The axles came from the green 80 that I rolled and started my thread with and were already packed with 4.88’s and ARB’s when I bought that truck. Yes, 37’s were a game changer. Not only do bigger tires provide greater ground clearance but they also possess a larger footprint and a larger radius which rolls over changes in terrain contour more easily. I lived 100 miles from Rubicon for 28 years and have been on that trail too many times to recall and that’s where I did all of my wheeling as the 80 series build up progressed.
With closed fenders and a full bodied vehicle we are limited as to tire size unless we do a lot of body reorganization which I am not yet inclined to do so ground clearance must come from a balanced combination of tire size increase and suspension lift. Obviously ground clearance at the diff will be affected by tire size only. The ideal recipe would be 44” tires and zero lift for a low CG but that’s not feasible unless we chop the body. I did minor trimming at the aft lower portion of each wheel well and could have probably skipped that had I bought the longer Delta arms at the same time the 37’s went on. The only reason I trimmed the rear of the rear fenders a little was because I lengthened the rear control arms but that could also be skipped.
My suspension lift is right at 5” and taller than many 80 owners want to go but that 5” is the reason I haven’t butchered my front fenders and also why I enjoy about 5” of up travel front and rear. You mentioned not being able to “fully” stuff a 37 without cutting fenders. What is fully stuffed? My tires stuff as far as my bump stops allow which does leave the axle farther from the frame than when I ran 315’s but I still enjoy the same amount of travel it’s just been moved down some to accommodate the additional ground clearance. Actual, I have more over all travel now because of the extra long front shocks. That 5” of lift is why I was forced to run DC shafts at both ends to eliminated a rear driveline vibe that I couldn’t otherwise. DC shafts are not cheap.
You can run 37’s on a 3” lift but up travel will suffer unless you are willing and able to massage those fenders a bit. Tradeoffs and compromises is the name of the game. You can read some threads where very talented people have done fantastic jobs of cutting/gutting there fender wells and then welding in new wells to fit big tires and still get that up travel. We all learn to drive what we created.
Back to the Rubicon; my first set up on the green machine was 850j/863 and 315’s. It did amazingly well for what it was but I did bang into rocks and get hung up on the bottom side more often. The rig I had prior to the green 80 was a Ramcharger on 39.5’s with tons and atlas case. The green 80 was incapable and slower through rough stuff by comparison. Enter 37’s and more lift on my current 80; I got home from the maiden voyage and told my wife the 80 was on par with the old Ramcharger but with more class and an even smoother ride. I can make it from Loon Lake to Rubicon Springs in under 4.5 hours now. It’s hard to believe what a couple inches of ground clearance will do. I think this has to do with how the average rig today is set up and how that affects trail conditions. I also think that the tire you choose makes a difference. Soft compounds stick better but wear out faster.
I can’t remember if I included in my thread the swap from the rear Slee heavy progressive coils to the Dobinson 3” tapered coils to match the front tapered. I like the green springs but a recent trip over Dusy Ershim trail where I was heavily loaded has me thinking the Slee coils will go back in for such events because they carry loads very well and ride well unloaded but lifted my 80 more than I cared for most of the time. I will say though that the Dobinson’s are plush, they just don’t have quite the load carrying capacity of the Slee’s 21mm diameter spring material, but are serving us well most of the time.
Nothing magic going on here just a willingness to throw money at a car and a desire to experiment.
