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Offroad modifications

Aviator4x4

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Joined
March 1, 2011
Messages
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City, State
Stockholm
Year, Model & Trim Level
'99
Hi I'm soon gonna lift my car 3" bodylift, shackles & tt, put on 33x12,5-15 with MT classic II..

I'm gonna drive offroad and onroad with this car, do I need to make any "mechanical" modifications to the car?

It got 60k miles, gonna change & flush the tranny soon..


Anyhow i basically want to know if there is anything else I need to do to the car besides the stuff i mentioned above, to make it last longer and play better =)


thanks
 



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Gears and traction devices are the rest of the off road puzzle. It never hurts to replace the intake or at least a free flow air filter and a cat back performance exhaust.

"Big tyres, loud pipes"
 






Gears and traction devices are the rest of the off road puzzle. It never hurts to replace the intake or at least a free flow air filter and a cat back performance exhaust.

"Big tyres, loud pipes"

What's the purpose of the gears and traction?
 






going with higher gear ratios in the axles will help keep the motor and transmission from overworking to push the bigger tires and performing the same as it did before the bigger tires. Traction (lockers, limited slip, etc.) in the axles will help it perform better offroad cause it will lock the axles and send the same power to each wheel on the axle, helping to keep you from getting stuck or to get you over obstacles

33's are pretty mild these days for offroad vehicles and you may not see a huge difference in performance from stock when driving, but sometimes with bigger than stock tires you will notice that you need to run your vehicles at a higher RPM on the motor to get it to reach your usual speeds, or may lose a top gear on a manual transmission because the axle gearing is too low.

Things like lockers are great offroad, but can be a pain in the butt on the road cause you will notice a ratcheting or chirping noise when going around regular corners cause it locks the axle to keep both wheels turning at the same speeds, instead of allowing one wheel to turn at a different speed then the other to get around corners like your stock axles do. A selectable (air locker) or a limited slip are better options for daily driver/weekend wheeler vehicles cause it will allow you to turn on the locker when needed for offroading, and turning it off for on road use.

Otherwise theres nothing else really that you 'need" to do, its going to all depend on what you want to do with it. body lifts only give you space to run a bigger tire which only gives you more clearance below the vehicle offroad (1/2 the difference between the stock size and the new size, so a 29" tire going a 33" tire would only get you at best 2" more clearance). Suspension lifts change the suspension geometry and usually will give the vehicle more flex which is useful when offroading over rocks and obstacles. If your going to get into serious offroading and rock climbing, body protection is a good idea (skid plates, rock rails, exo cage), roll cages are always good for anything more then mild offroading, safety harnesses for all passengers, etc.

I always say the first modifications that should be made to a vehicle for offroading are proper recovery points (tow hooks) and good recovery gear (recovery straps - Not Tow Straps, a tool kit, first aid kit, etc.) and even a good winch.
 






what is your ratio of on-road to off-road driving? I do more on-road driving than off-road driving and have 33x12.5-15 pro comp mud terrains right now and I'm thinking of dropping down to 32x11.5-15 Pro Comp all terrains because at 60+ miles an hour with the MT's my whole front end shakes due to several mud knobs breaking loose. Unless you are hitting the mudhole every other day.....go with an all terrain tire, you'll be happier in the end
 






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