Jon And Sheri's Vitamin D Wagon

As she sits now,

But it didn't start out like this.




We returned from our trip to Colorado Sept 2009 to find this waiting in the yard.

It needs a few little sumthuns--but it is a great start I do think.
Here is where we begin to take over the work started by trukmajik and dejello

updated pics ^^^^^how it was when I got it

Now here is how it looks as of 4-1-2010

got the wheels all shiny!

and as of 8-5-2010

with swaybar^^^

without sway bar

revised shock towers and more flex-Big thanks to Dkchrist for coming over to weld em in. I owe him big time!!

With a top

LED rock lights

 

[gmanpaint]

I don't think 5.13 is low at all with 35". You will be just a little more in the power band sooner than stock set up. I like having more get up than stock regardless the tire size. It is an awesome feeling to mash the pedal and something exciting happens. I really don't think your rpm will be 2800 @ 65 mph either. More like 2400. With 4.56 & 33" @ 65 mph, my rpm is at 2000-2100.

Burns also runs a M5 trans. That makes a diff on his rpm & mpg.

 

[Turdle]

My son says it has to do with the way the puter is programed for the fuel curve. I would also worry about the trans. Your working it hard pushing against those taller gears. Chad (Flip4ford) is just back from Colorado and made over 22 mpg average. But they highwayed at 60mph. He has 33's, 4.56's and an M5OD trans. Green will get about 20 maybe a bit more at 60mph and has 31's, 3.73's and a M5OD. To get the 22-24 mpg I need to be in OD at 1600 rpm about 50 mph.

My old 89 BII had 4.11's and 30" tires. It would avarage 20mpg on a trip to Utah or Colorado with the A4LD and 2.9. Jr. my 88 BII made 18mpg out to Green River Utah with 4.11's and 33's, with the C-5 and no OD at 65mph.

You have 5 on 5.5 wheel bolt pattern front and back? I have some 33's you could borrow to see it that helps. I have 31's but they are on rbv 5 on 4.5 wheels. With the 4.11 gears the 31's would get you an idea if thats the problem. I do have a set of 235's (28.?") on 5 onm 5.5 I use for daily driving my BII. Makes it look a little funny but it really zips and is easier to get in and out of.

How are you figuring mpg? Could you odometer be off a bit?

Thanks for the offer Jack. I might have to take you up on this.


I filled the tank, and reset the odometer. My speedomoter is right on with GPS.
it is 45 miles to FT Scott Ks, we drove there, and back. The odometer read 90.6 miles when I pumped 7.94 gallons back in to fill.

11.38 MPG


Most 1st gen explorers had 355, or even 327 gears and 29" tires--correct?

so 35" with 410 gearing should match 355 gearing with 29" tires. The truck should be able to push this.

 

[Turdle]

I don't think 5.13 is low at all with 35". You will be just a little more in the power band sooner than stock set up. I like having more get up than stock regardless the tire size. It is an awesome feeling to mash the pedal and something exciting happens. I really don't think your rpm will be 2800 @ 65 mph either. More like 2400. With 4.56 & 33" @ 65 mph, my rpm is at 2000-2100.

Burns also runs a M5 trans. That makes a diff on his rpm & mpg.

I would like to focus on this fact please

I drove a truck over 1000 miles with 36" tires and 456 gears. It turns 2200 RPM's at 65 MPH with an a4ld transmission. All while getting 17 MPG.

Even with another engine--performance is the same.


Then I drive my truck.
The performance is worlds apart--with only 100 pm's difference in engine speed.

I am going to see about adjusting the kickdown cable. Maybe it is downshifting too soon. I would like to see more pedal in overdrive before it tries to hit 3rd gear.

 

[gmanpaint]

Think the front locker has something to do with it maybe?

 

[IZwack]

Its hard to compare MPG from car to car because there are so many variables between them - like tires (tread pattern, pressure), engine wear (blow by), and so on. So really the one true baseline you can refer and aim for is the stock configuration - which usually means regearing the axles back so that the RPMs are as close to stock as possible when cruising the highway. Once that's done and you're still not getting the results you want, then you can look at other aspects of the vehicle. But regardless, that RPM is, as of right now, out of spec.

 

[GRNMACHINE]

If it makes you feel any better I am getting about 14mpg with only 33"s and 3.73 gears (from factory)....

 

[Happy Jack]

Aero dose make a difference. And so does things like cruise. The cruise works on my 88 and helped me get 18mpg and the speedo jumps on my X and I drive it old school so it hurts me. If I could run cruise on the X it would be a help. Thing is in how you figure mpg. There are only a handfull of speedo gears for these and you are just choosing the gear that is close. On my X I use the same gear for 33's and 31's. With 33's I keep it strick on the speed limit and will actually be going a bit faster 2-3 mph. With the 31's I go a few over and actually will be close to right on.

So sparks might be fudged a little to one way and yours a little to the other and thats the reason the rpms seem so close.

I look at the door sticker to see what came on it stock. Then go from there. But that is stock low to the ground with the front air dam. The higher you lift it the more air you push or bigger hole you need to make in the air. And with no top you have a lot of added drag. Wind makes a big difference so one day you will do well and others not so good.

Like I said if you want to borrow some tires and try different sizes to see what difference it makes let me know. That might help you decide what gears to go with.

 

[IZwack]

Which brings up a good point - is your t-case's VSS the correct gear to offset the larger tire diam?

 

[Turdle]

Which brings up a good point - is your t-case's VSS the correct gear to offset the larger tire diam?

speed as indicated matches GPS speed.

So I assume so.

I think I have the answer though. No top and a huge spare mounted way up high seem to be a factor here.

I just took a little drive to check an idea.

Lowering the spare tire made a pretty significant difference. Weird but I can drive with the swing down lowered--

Lowered it seems to be content at 65-70 mph, with it raised the speed it seems easy with is about 55-60 mph. Over 60 takes effort--if I make sense.

 

[james t]

Parachute effect. Makes sense.

 

[IZwack]

Oh I thought you had a top on already - geez, put your top back on, thats indecent exposure.

 

[Turdle]

Drivin nekked is fun IZ!

 

[Maniak]

513 gears would be way too low of a gear for 35" tires. The highway RPM's in OD would be around 2800 I reckon.

Assuming you drive 65mph and not 75mph...

5.13's with 35" tires and 65 mph is 2400 rpm
4.88's with 35" tires and 65 mph is 2316 rpm
4.56's with 35" tires and 65 mph is 2165 rpm

You can see the 5.13's will bring it right into the power band at 65 while with the 4.56 your barely in the power band.

If you drive at 60mph the 5.13's will keep you in the power band while the 4.88's will put you at the lower end of the power band and the 4.56 will have you out of the power band (like my 4.10's and 33's) at < 2k rpms (1998)

It if course can still be the motor... I've seen 4.0's with very different compression numbers which of course translate to how much power it has.

EDIT: Yes, it took me a while to post that.. and by now you have moved on..

~Mark

 

[Happy Jack]

speed as indicated matches GPS speed.

So I assume so.

GPS figuers speed in 2d. It has no way to really figure up, down or a turn. It just times a straight line on a plane between two points. It is close and gets you in the ball park but I figure 1.5-2 mph slow on the GPS. Delorme now will project and it can be all over the place. For GPS you need to be on flat straight road and hope the road is on the same plane the GPS is baseing on. I still figure I'm going just a bit faster than the GPS says. I used to use a stop watch and mile markers but those can be off too. If you have a road LEO use for air speed enforcement that is the most accurate. Those are the white airplanes painted on the road. Time yourself from one to the next. Unless ya have a friend down at the police station that will let you use the radar gun. Or maybe know a pitching scout with one. Those radar signs that tell you how fast you are going are good too. But many times they are on a corner or in town at such slow speeds it's hard to tell if you are off much or not. Need at least 60mph to make a comparrison.

 

[gmanpaint]

A wind velocity meter is the most accurate form of getting true MPH. The ones equipped on watercraft/airplanes are very accurate. Now you can get a cheap wind speed meter from any hardware store, and mount it on the hood and read it inside the cab. A digital wind speed meter can be plugged into a power inverter.

How's that for a cool idea? LOL

 

[Turdle]

Well, when I try to upload pictures to photobucket, or a video to youtube it goes straight to an error message for some reason.

So I will have to do this by attachment and several posts.

First, here is how it sits with the leafs modified. This is the stance I was looking for, as once it is packed with gear it will be bit lower in the rear.

NO LIFT BLOCKS!!! woo hoo

 

[Turdle]

My dad snagged these outdoor lights from a foreclosed neighbors house--stuff left behind. He was told to grab and run---

Anyway-they are 12v low voltage led with all the wires

 

[Turdle]

nice waterproof connectors

 

[Turdle]

The power supply is rated for 6 more lights, and still only 1 amp output.

So I went to walmart to buy 2 more spot led outdoor lights for 5 bux each

here is the whole set with wiring

After I modded it all of course

 

[Turdle]

All I did was cut the pedestals off the walkway lights down by 6", and shorten the innards a bit. Then I used about 5 tubes of seal all glue, and waited 10 days for it to cure hard.
Then I taped em solid with black duct tape.

The total draw of the whole rock light system is less than 1 amp. I just wired it to a switch and called it good.

Zip ties hold em all in place. The pedestal lights are mounted above the slider kickouts.

Sorry but it is hard to get pictures of these--here is about as good as it gets

The green of the grass should show how true of white the emitted light is

There are 2 spots at the rear. The 3 down the sides spread light very well and create a very nice glow, plenty of light to work underneath the truck if needed.

Hard to show lighting in pics well, but the bottom picture shows the rear spots.