Tires, Lift Questions

[npiper]

http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/susp ... perfCode=S

Anyone have any experience with this? I'm just kind of looking to find out what it is. It says it's a lift by torsion bar adjustment, but what are all of the other pieces? It says the rear of the truck may also be able to be lifted 1"-2". Anyone know how? And what exactly this kit is? Thanks!

[paintballrocker]

its just like any of the other 2" lift kits, junk. all it does is gives you new tbar keys which will let you lift the front out of safe specs. and the rear is just a shackle lift. if your serious about a lift just do a tbar crank and shackles or add a leafs, and if that not enough then add a 2" body lift into the picture. its the tried and true method that works everytime with out major wear and damage

[Jongo88]

X2... It works for me....

[HenryJ]

The picture looks like a generic one for all the different 2" kits they offer. Some use spacers.
It looks to be just a re-indexed key set. Our stock keys will already turn higher than the ball joints , alignment and CV-joints can handle.

Unless your bars are very weak, or you have added lots of front end weight, I don't think you will need the new keys.

I vote to pass on it.

[npiper]

Okay, thank you. I was just wondering what exactly it was. I think I'm just going to do the MML or whatever else I will need to do to fit 31's because I'm not interested in modding my flares and 31's should work for all I want.

[Horsehammerr]

With my T bars cranked all the way and front end realigned I got 1 1/2 " lift. I put on 3" over stock length rear shackles for 1 1/2 " rear lift. Read my mod list to see the rest. I have found no need for Add-a- leafs. You will see I have Skidz cut both fenders and my ZR5 flares to clear 30 x 9.5 tires on 8 x 15 wheels with 3 3/4" back spacing. The BS gives me the clearance I need on the inside fronts for no rub turning but, they did rub front and back of the wheel wells in turns. The BS also gives me a 3 1/3" wider stance, not much but helps with stability.

[npiper]

I see, maybe I will just get shackles instead then. But you said you still had to cut the fenders and flares to get just 30" in there? How are people fitting 33"? And also any chance I could see some bigger pictures of your truck?

[border man]

I'm running 30s with no mods..

[HenryJ]

Backspacing is the key.

[npiper]

Well I hate to ask one of these type of questions, but I want to put 31" tires x 9.5" (probably? That's what I've seen recommended on the forum) on my stock ZR5 rims. I'm getting a 2" PA-192 body lift already. And I'm considering doing the rest of the MML (except maybe replace the SpringWorks with shackles (pros/cons on that?) and also I'm not going to cut my fenders or flares. What's the bare minimum I would have to do to fit 31's? At least for now because my tires are wearing out faster than I can get everything the way I want it.

[HenryJ]

2" BL, TB adjust to max z-height, shackles (good for articulation-bad for towing), stock wheel rearspacing, trim or bash (BFH) front fender back bottom lip, small 31x10.5-15 tires with rounded shoulders.

That will work if you are careful and don't mind a little rub here and there.

[npiper]

Would 9.5" tires make a difference? Any brand/model of tires to recommend for my application? And how much trimming/bashing is required? Any threads on this? I couldn't find any but I went out and looked at the CC and I think I know what you mean. Also I don't really off road except for a few easy trails every once in a while, think I'd have problems? Thanks a lot HJ and everyone else.

[HenryJ]

31x9.5 would help, but that size is not going to be readily available as far as I know. 30x9.5 is available and 31x10.5

You will have to give us more to go on in tire selection.
Terrain, driving habits, climate, what do you like the look of. Mileage? Noise? Budget?

[F9K9]

...........You will have to give us more to go on in tire selection.
Terrain, driving habits, climate, what do you like the look of. Mileage? Noise? Budget?

I was researching when you posted up so, x2

[npiper]

Terrain - almost all road, a little bit of trails with lots of rocks and bumps
Driving habits - not really sure, what do you mean?
Climate - PA, so hot summer and cold snowy winter
Looks - I like the look of off road tires but I still want them to be able to drive mostly on the road. Like the Duratrac's I think? and the Walmart ones just like them. Also need to handle snow.
Mileage - As good as possible with the kind I want
Noise - As quiet as possible with the kind I want
Budget - Also as cheap as possible for the kind I want

[npiper]

Here's a picture from the Reader's Ride thread of tires I really like. The post tells you what kind they are too.

PA 192 2" Body Lift
Torsion Bar Crank
Fabtech 2" Shackles
31x10.50 BFG AT KO's

Wanting a FM Super 44

Matthew

31x10.50 BFG AT KO
Would that be a good match for me? They seem to be a little on the expensive side however. For me, anyways.

[HenryJ]

BFG TAKO are a good tire. They are snow rated. Mileage is excellent. They run quiet.
They are pricey, but shop around for a good deal. I bought one set from summitracing.com
They run on the big side and the shoulder is not as rounded as others.
If you are careful they can work just fine. The guy who started S-10CREWCAB.COM, a2b (Hobie) ran those tires.

Fullsize bumpstops on the front will help.

[npiper]

Hopefully I can get those then. I just need my tires to last another couple months so I can save the money to buy the BL, shackles, bumpstops, an alignment, and of course the tires. And would spacers be necessary? The front 1.25" and rear 3" spacers?

Another question though, getting even more off topic but I think we're past that point already. In the MML, the Bilstein HD Shock Absorbers - what exactly will those do? Lift, better ride, or what? and are they just for the rear or front or are there four of them? Sorry if it's a stupid question

[HenryJ]

Front spacers help with the frame rub, but they push it out into the fender. I would not do front spacers until you go to taller tires. Then they are needed. Rear spacers will look much better. Once you add the lift and tires it will acentuate the narrow rear. Do 1"-1.25" spacers on the rear and then move them to the front if you go MML later. That is what I did.

The stock shocks are terrible. Most never make it past 20k miles. Mine were changed twice under warranty. They actually made my wife car sick. Bilsteins are the best investment you can make in ride, performance and handling. The difference is night and day. Move these to the top of your list. Everything else can wait. They will put the biggest smile on your face.

[npiper]

Thanks a lot for the help HJ, I'm getting the body lift first because I'm buying one off of a member of this site for a good deal, and then depending on how much life is left on my tires I'll decide what to get next. I really want to get the Bilsteins though, I've heard good things and you sold them to me even more. I'm going to search and find the part numbers because I'm pretty sure i saw them on here somewhere...

Anyways, for shackles what would you recommend? I'm on Synergy Offroad and they have Fabtech 2" shackles and DayStar 1.5"? Which do you think would look better with the t-bar crank? Or maybe a different one altogether even

[HenryJ]

I am sure someone with more shackle experience will speak up. I am not familiar with which one is best. I run the BSW spring kit.

[npiper]

Ah, I see. I was considering that but what you said earlier I think I'm just going to get the shackles since they're cheaper and I won't be towing anything. I'm losing my only hitch with the BL anyways. Anyways, HenryJ thank you so much for all of your help. I'm asking a lot of questions so thanks for putting up with it I just want to do everything right the first time.

Anyways, anyone have recommendations on shackles?

[dozer1530]

i can tell you were i got mine. they are pretty beefy and really good price http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/zz24 ... 1280552594

[Jongo88]

I made mine. They are very easy to make. And the best part is the price. FREE...

[dozer1530]

well if you have no way of making them like me i paid 75 for mine from a local shop here

[npiper]

How much lift do they give you? And those are non greasable right?

[dozer1530]

yes they are non greasable and i got 2 1/4 higher than stock height and i leveled my torsion bars to mach

[F9K9]

I run the 1.5" Daystar shackles and recommend the Greaseable ones. I don't know where you live (hint) but, be prepared for a battle with the rust gods. Presoak your junk daily for a week with PB Blaster or Deep Creep before you attempt any mod. My shocks and shackle replacement was a breeze with under 1K on my CC. Now, it would be a bear.

[dozer1530]

ill be priming mine and painting them next weekend

[npiper]

Thanks guys. F9K9, the ones you're talking about are part #KG61002BK, correct? And I put my location in my profile finally

[F9K9]

Thanks guys. F9K9, the ones you're talking about are part #KG61002BK, correct? And I put my location in my profile finally

I am guessing that is correct but, they only go up to '94 on their site. A lot of changes were made in '98 but, I wouldn't think that the rear springs were changed.

[npiper]

I could only three types of shackles on their site and I didn't even know if those werefor an s10 sohopefully those are correct or otherwise I will just contact them and figure it out. Thankyou.