The Lead Sled Build

[skrypj]

Finally got some time to load up the 5 tires and 5 wheels into the truck to bring over to get mounted. I decided to stick to the Methods for now because I like the look a lot more and I think the +35 offset may be better.

I’m gunna keep the Rock Warriors in storage to see where the build goes.

 

[skrypj]

There has been a small delay. I realized I didnt have TPMS sensors so I called the shop I was gunna have mount the tires and the told me $61 per sensor and $39 for install and programming.

I almost drove off the road. $500 for 5 TPMS sensors? My freaking tires were only like $850.

Anyways I jumped on Rockauto and ordered 5x Denso sensors, but still that ran me almost $200. Ill install them myself and I have my Launch X431 that can program them if needed. Hopefully the shop isnt a PITA about it.

 

[gasman4u]

There has been a small delay. I realized I didnt have TPMS sensors so I called the shop I was gunna have mount the tires and the told me $61 per sensor and $39 for install and programming.

I almost drove off the road. $500 for 5 TPMS sensors? My freaking tires were only like $850.

Anyways I jumped on Rockauto and ordered 5x Denso sensors, but still that ran me almost $200. Ill install them myself and I have my Launch X431 that can program them if needed. Hopefully the shop isnt a PITA about it.

Pick another shop. $100/TPMS is a farce!

 

[skrypj]

Pick another shop. $100/TPMS is a farce!

I think a different shop I had put the snow tires on my Bolt steelie wanted $80 per. That was on steel wheels I got on ebay for $45 a pop and a set of Michelin X-ICE I picked up on CL for $200. I was all in $450 for tires and wheels and they wanted another $320 for sensors.

I was like, nah, ill just deal with the light for the 3-4 months I run the snow tires.

 

[skrypj]

New wheels and tires are 79 lbs:

Factory 21” wheels and tire without the center cap is 84.6 lbs, so probably an even 85 lbs with the cap:

So a 6 lb savings per corner + the spare for 30 lbs total.

 

[skrypj]

 

[skrypj]

Pretty much got all of the clearancing done, but I took it for the first test drive and noticed a ticking.

Turns out some of the balancing weight were gracing the caliper. So I had to pull the wheels and move the weights.

 

[skrypj]

Took it for its maiden voyage today. I drove really good with the 35’s. I really did not notice a loss of power, which I imagine is due to the weight of these tires/wheels. Plus I wonder if the 17” wheel helps move some of that weight closer to the hub.

 

[skrypj]

Took the LX for the first longer drive down to the airport with the new tires/wheels installed. Had to climb a couple of good grades on the way and, I gotta say, this setup feels pretty dang good on the stock gears. Fastest I had to spin climbing one 7% grade was 2100 rpm. Mind you this is at almost 7000' of elevation so the truck is not even making full power/torque.

Acceleration is totally fine. Getting up to freeway speed is just about the same as before.

 

[skrypj]

Been a while since I updated this thread. I added Victory 4x4 skids back in April of 2024 and was semi disappointed. While the skids look good, there was some fitment issues. First, the bracket that bolts to the oem gas tank skid mount was not angled/bent properly and made it tough to fit.

Oem skid:

Also the bolts on the outside frame rail side of the skids didn’t have enough flange to really grab the holes in the skid well. I got some very robust washers from ACE.

The other problem was the oil drain on the engine skid. While it was fine during the initial rush of oil, once the oil slows and starts to trickle down the pan, it lands right on the skid. The first time I drained the oil I didn’t watch and ended up with 1-2 quarts on the skid and had to drop it. I have a Fumoto now that I will install next change, but am annoyed I need to use it.

Lastly, I have had some decent fuel boiling issues which I think might be related to the transmission skid. It has great coverage but also probably reduces airflow around the catalytic converters and heats the fuel more.

 

[skrypj]

Another upgrade, I removed the dumb analog clock from the dash and added a custom 3d printed mount for a Ram Mount. I use that to hold my iPad Mini with OBDLink while towing

 

[skrypj]

As shown in the last post, I also added the Beatsonic CarPlay unit. Fantastic upgrade. Works extremely well and integrates well with the oem Nav unit. My only complaint, which is not the fault of Beatsonic, is that you use the joystick that’s in the 2016+ LX and it’s not great in CarPlay. It doesn’t snap to icons like in the oem Nav unit, and instead functions like a mouse and you have to land right on the icon you wanna select. It can be difficult to hit what you want.

That said, you can use voice control via Siri to open most apps and that works super well.

 

[skrypj]

Last but not least for the year, I added a Prinsu Roof rack last week since the oem rails on the 2016+ LX are so useless. I am only running 3 crossbars of the 11 it shipped with to keep weight down:

I had to tear apart the entire interior to remove the nuts from the oem rails:

I had to add the oem mounting brackets once the oem rails were off:

I used these U nuts with some M6-1.0 set screws to lock the brackets in place

The Prinsu rack for the 2016+ LX comes with rivnuts so you do not have to used the OEM brackets. I did not realize this and had already bought the brackets, but like the brackets much better. If you buy the 2016+ LX rack from Prinsu it will NOT have the correct M8 screws for the oem brackets and so you will need to buy them. I found that 55mm screws were the perfect length. They just extended all the way through the bracket, fully engaging the threads, without poking out excessively.

 

[skrypj]

Currently working on mounting my super expensive maxitrac awning onto my Prinsu. Didnt feel like spending $85 for the Prinsu mounts so Ive started fabricating my own:

They aren’t pretty but it took me a couple tries to not burn through the 16ga steel with the welder. I had to turn it way down from the presets.