The super slow build thread of my 2021 LC HE

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Im currently between 275/70/18 and 285/70/18’s. The 285’s look great, but from what I can understand there’s much more involved to dial them in than the 275’s. And, even then, can cause a lot of additional wear on some components. What all have you had to do beyond the lift (kdss, diff drop, etc)? And wondering if you’re happy you made the change?
 
Im currently between 275/70/18 and 285/70/18’s. The 285’s look great, but from what I can understand there’s much more involved to dial them in than the 275’s. And, even then, can cause a lot of additional wear on some components. What all have you had to do beyond the lift (kdss, diff drop, etc)? And wondering if you’re happy you made the change?

I've been extremely happy with the 285 setup. I don't have any diff drop--I think having aftermarket bumpers (especially front) really open up a lot of room to get alignment dialed in. I did have a chance to put it on a flex ramp and did have an issue that my ultimate limiting factor was the tire scrubbing on the rear wheel well. I've had to rebuild one CV, but that was mostly due to a fairly aggressive lift leading to exaggerated CV angles. The biggest issue you'll run into is the KDSS bar and typically it's at full lock and in reverse. If I were concerned I'd add the Anderson relocation kit (and I still may do it depending on how the incoming 38's clear)
 
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I've been extremely happy with the 285 setup. I don't have any diff drop--I think having aftermarket bumpers (especially front) really open up a lot of room to get alignment dialed in. I did have a chance to put it on a flex ramp and did have an issue that my ultimate limiting factor was the tiring scrubbing on the rear wheel well. I've had to rebuild one CV, but that was mostly due to a fairly aggressive lift leading to exaggerated CV angles. The biggest issue you'll run into is the KDSS bar and typically it's at full lock and in reverse. If I were concerned I'd add the Anderson relocation kit (and I still may do it depending on how the incoming 38's clear)
38’s! Wow. Anxious to see how that looks. You seem pretty knowledgeable and conservative when it comes to this stuff…does relocating the kdss concern you in any way from a longevity perspective?
 
38’s! Wow. Anxious to see how that looks. You seem pretty knowledgeable and conservative when it comes to this stuff…does relocating the kdss concern you in any way from a longevity perspective?
Man I'm not nearly as knowledgeable as a lot of the folks on here--I'm lucky to have learned from reading about a lot of the guys who paved the way. Normally relocating the KDSS would cause binding in the end links, but the reason the Anderson kit is so good is that it moves them outside of the cups using spacers on the inside still giving it the support it needs. It also has LCA skids which place the lower joints in a double shear giving it a bit more strength. It truthfully probably should not be needed on 285's if you are ok with some minor trimming or have aftermarket bumpers, but it's another option if you want to plan for the future as well

 
Man I'm not nearly as knowledgeable as a lot of the folks on here--I'm lucky to have learned from reading about a lot of the guys who paved the way. Normally relocating the KDSS would cause binding in the end links, but the reason the Anderson kit is so good is that it moves them outside of the cups using spacers on the inside still giving it the support it needs. It also has LCA skids which place the lower joints in a double shear giving it a bit more strength. It truthfully probably should not be needed on 285's if you are ok with some minor trimming or have aftermarket bumpers, but it's another option if you want to plan for the future as well

Well, more than me! I appreciate that you’re taking things slow and accepting that things will change with the build over time.

Curious, what led you to the Slee rear bumper over Dissent?
 
Well, more than me! I appreciate that you’re taking things slow and accepting that things will change with the build over time.

Curious, what led you to the Slee rear bumper over Dissent?

It was a few things at the time--first and foremost I know 9 times out of 10 if I hit a bumper on an obstacle it's gonna be the rear one when I drop onto something. Slee being steel was a big selling point for me back when I was planning this. Even though I know the Dissent one is only an aluminum shell with steel supports and super, super strong, I just really liked the idea of a full steel rear. The second was aesthetics--there was and still kind of is an angle on the Dissent that bugs me a bit; basically where Slee recesses the hinge into the factory plastics the Dissent sticks out farther and it makes a weird look for me. Third I really liked the latch mechanism Slee uses--I like that it's super easy one handed operation, I like the double security with both the pins and the tension lever; basically just a preference thing. Lastly and kind of less important was just a desire to support multiple companies that make products for our fairly niche vehicles. I knew I wanted the Dissent front so a Slee rear would let me support both companies.

I think I said it before, but the brain was telling me I should go Dissent, but my heart really loved the Slee. It was a Slee rear I saw on the built 200 that really pushed me hard into wanting a 200 series so it's the one I always envisioned myself running. That said--seeing where I am today and what kind of weight I'm at...there is a really big part of me that wishes I did the Dissent after all. At this point I'm probably locked into my setup as I'd have to burn a ton of cash just to swap them out and I don't really have a desire to do that. Best I can say is really evaluate what you want to do with yours, where you think the build will end up, and what the goals are. Weight is one of those things that gets overlooked a ton, but it matters tremendously.
 
Doing one bump of the thread since it was a pretty major update this morning--74Weld portals are on and I'm currently working through the break in mileage. This post is mostly for fitment info; it's currently sitting on the Icon Recon SLX 18x9 +40 until my Volk's get in (18x9 +50). Tires are Toyo RT Pro 38x13.5; required for fitment: body mount chop, rocker panel trim, solid alignment to add some caster. This got me with just a small bit of contact at full passenger lock on a KDSS bolt so I've got an Anderson KDSS Max Relocation kit on the way and that should hopefully clear the last bit of conflict. After break in fluid change is done on Monday it'll go on a ramp and we can see any other potential issues of clearance; will edit and update this same post once the Anderson kit goes on

(Most pics about this are either in post 1 or updates on page 3)

Before clearancing:

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After clearancing:

IMG_4671.webp


IMG_4672.webp



Last remaining point of contact:

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Edit 1: Anderson KDSS Max Relo Kit got here in lightning speed--it's going on Monday. Will probably take the opportunity to reverse that bolt as well to squeeze every last bit of space out. We're also going to see if we can squeeze a bit more out of the BMC as I'm making the smallest kiss of contact on the drivers side still and caster is already maxed out. We got it on a 26" tall ramp which it handled with no issue to no surprise, but it did let us see where the contact is on the rear. The Slee rear will need to get trimmed back some and we will see what we can do about that small bit of plastic above. Will update again after Mondays round of work--it's been interesting to drive on the street for sure; there's a slight wobble in the steering wheel with aggressive acceleration at low speeds. Not sure if that's a balance issue or a steering problem, but I'll chase it after the final wheels go on in summer. Having to be careful around right turns for now so it will be nice to get the KDSS relo on

IMG_4735.webp


IMG_4737.webp




Edit 2: It went back again for more clearance work--we gave it an even more aggressive BMC, installed and Anderson KDSS Max +1.5 relocation kit, and trimmed the rear bumper and plastics. I'm still getting just the tiniest bit of contact at an extremely aggressive full lock which I'm going to attribute to the fact we maxed caster forward to clear the body mount on the initial alignment. Now that we cut it back even more there is a lot more room so when the Volks go on in a few months when they get here I'll probably see if we can give it a fresh alignment and dial the caster back a bit. We did try reversing the bolt, but it was making contact with the other KDSS arm.

Rear bumper trim turned out great and we removed 1.5-2" of metal. Plastics got trimmed as much as possible while leaving the top tab intact so the panel doesn't just fly off completely. The Anderson 1.5" kit did require a bit of trimming on BudBuilt skids as shown in the last photo. We had the rear coils flipped due to bad info from Dobinsons so we got those swapped and I'll drive it for a week to make sure everything is really settled and see if we want to back off the preload. That's more to help with headlight aiming and get some travel back. Once we do that I'm calling it done though

IMG_4826.webp


IMG_4824.webp


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IMG_4827.webp
 
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Doing one bump of the thread since it was a pretty major update this morning--74Weld portals are on and I'm currently working through the break in mileage. This post is mostly for fitment info; it's currently sitting on the Icon Recon SLX 18x9 +40 until my Volk's get in (18x9 +50). Tires are Toyo RT Pro; required for fitment: body mount chop, rocker panel trim, solid alignment to add some caster. This got me with just a small bit of contact at full passenger lock on a KDSS bolt so I've got an Anderson KDSS Max Relocation kit on the way and that should hopefully clear the last bit of conflict. After break in fluid change is done on Monday it'll go on a ramp and we can see any other potential issues of clearance; will edit and update this same post once the Anderson kit goes on

(Most pics about this are either in post 1 or updates on page 3)

Before clearancing:

View attachment 4105821


After clearancing:

View attachment 4105822

View attachment 4105823


Last remaining point of contact:

View attachment 4105824
Turn the bolt around. Should give you just enough clearance.
 
Doing one bump of the thread since it was a pretty major update this morning--74Weld portals are on and I'm currently working through the break in mileage. This post is mostly for fitment info; it's currently sitting on the Icon Recon SLX 18x9 +40 until my Volk's get in (18x9 +50). Tires are Toyo RT Pro 38x13.5; required for fitment: body mount chop, rocker panel trim, solid alignment to add some caster. This got me with just a small bit of contact at full passenger lock on a KDSS bolt so I've got an Anderson KDSS Max Relocation kit on the way and that should hopefully clear the last bit of conflict. After break in fluid change is done on Monday it'll go on a ramp and we can see any other potential issues of clearance; will edit and update this same post once the Anderson kit goes on

(Most pics about this are either in post 1 or updates on page 3)

Before clearancing:

View attachment 4105821


After clearancing:

View attachment 4105822

View attachment 4105823


Last remaining point of contact:

View attachment 4105824


Edit 1: Anderson KDSS Max Relo Kit got here in lightning speed--it's going on Monday. Will probably take the opportunity to reverse that bolt as well to squeeze every last bit of space out. We're also going to see if we can squeeze a bit more out of the BMC as I'm making the smallest kiss of contact on the drivers side still and caster is already maxed out. We got it on a 26" tall ramp which it handled with no issue to no surprise, but it did let us see where the contact is on the rear. The Slee rear will need to get trimmed back some and we will see what we can do about that small bit of plastic above. Will update again after Mondays round of work--it's been interesting to drive on the street for sure; there's a slight wobble in the steering wheel with aggressive acceleration at low speeds. Not sure if that's a balance issue or a steering problem, but I'll chase it after the final wheels go on in summer. Having to be careful around right turns for now so it will be nice to get the KDSS relo on

View attachment 4109609

View attachment 4109610



Edit 2: It went back again for more clearance work--we gave it an even more aggressive BMC, installed and Anderson KDSS Max +1.5 relocation kit, and trimmed the rear bumper and plastics. I'm still getting just the tiniest bit of contact at an extremely aggressive full lock which I'm going to attribute to the fact we maxed caster forward to clear the body mount on the initial alignment. Now that we cut it back even more there is a lot more room so when the Volks go on in a few months when they get here I'll probably see if we can give it a fresh alignment and dial the caster back a bit. We did try reversing the bolt, but it was making contact with the other KDSS arm.

Rear bumper trim turned out great and we removed 1.5-2" of metal. Plastics got trimmed as much as possible while leaving the top tab intact so the panel doesn't just fly off completely. The Anderson 1.5" kit did require a bit of trimming on BudBuilt skids as shown in the last photo. We had the rear coils flipped due to bad info from Dobinsons so we got those swapped and I'll drive it for a week to make sure everything is really settled and see if we want to back off the preload. That's more to help with headlight aiming and get some travel back. Once we do that I'm calling it done though

View attachment 4113661

View attachment 4113662

View attachment 4113663

View attachment 4113664
Great build!

Just curious- what did you do with your stock wheels?
 
Great build!

Just curious- what did you do with your stock wheels?
I had them listed for sale locally (and here as well but for pick up only) and they never ended up selling so I split them off into spares for some of the folks around DFW that wanted one. Still have one left
 
I had them listed for sale locally (and here as well but for pick up only) and they never ended up selling so I split them off into spares for some of the folks around DFW that wanted one. Still have one left
Damn. I am looking for a set.
 
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