Time to think about an upgrade....

[Gadget X]

Ok, I've been thinking about what to do with the X when I get a little bit of money saved up. I want to have a capable truck, both on the road and off, so here's what I was thinking:
1. 5.5" suspension lift in the front, SOA in the rear.
2. 2" body lift (just to give me a little "working room")
3. 33x10.5"s or possibly 35x12.5"s on 15x8" wheels.
4. Regearing to either 4.56 or 5.13.
5. Locker or powertrax in the rear.

What got me thinking more about this is that my X seems to really be geared high (3.27), and it's getting close to time to replace the tires. I wanted to go up to at least 31"s this time, but I don't think that I have the gears to allow it. With the 235/75/15's on it it seems to almost be geared too high. On the highway at 70, I'm just barely turning 2 grand on the tach!

Looking for ideas or suggestions as far as what would be a good route to take on the path to a more capable truck! This is how it sits right now.

Thanks.

 

[Maniak]

For most people, 5.13 will be too much gear for the 33's.

Currently, we have 33's with 4.10's (different trans though) and we are turning about 2k at 70 also. The 4.0 ohv just doesn't have enough oomph so we are going to regear ours to 5.13 BUT, our max cruising speed is 65mph. The truck is no longer a DD and with no sway bars, soft suspension, and other things to make it less road worthy, 60-65 is where it feels best.

Use this calculator to mess with gear ratio and tire sizes etc..
http://4lo.com/calc/gearratio.htm

The a4ld trans you have has an OD ratio of .75:1.. Soo.. with 33" tires (assume they are 32.5" tall) and 4.55's you will be at around 2400 rpms at 70. That sounds much better for power.

Also, 33x12.50 on 8" rims work really well off-road. Its a little tricky to get the tire pressure just right so they wear even on the road but you can air down without much less issues than you will get with 10" rims.

I'll let someone else comment on the lift as the only one I have experience with is the Duff lift (2.5 and 3.5") and at that point it was modified..

btw.. locker or powertrax is actually the same thing. Powertrax is a "lunchbox locker". There are selectable lockers like ARB which are open diffs until you flip a switch or automatic lockers like the Detroit (which we run) and then the lunchbox lockers which are also automatic lockers.

~Mark

 

[Gadget X]

The chart by 4lo is the one I was using to do my "calculations". According to that chart, though, I should have about 2800 on the tach at 65 with my current gear ratio/tire size. I was wanting a little more than what I've got now, so you think with the 33x12.5 or 10.5and a 4.56 I should be good? Also, I thought that powertrax made a "locker" that was more of a LSD than an actual locker?

 

[Maniak]

Your current tires (28.8" tall) with 3.27's and in OD (.75:1) should give you about 1800 rpms (according to 4lo) at 65mph.

The 3.27 is definatly (sp?) a highway gear. It keeps the rpms lower which in theory can help your gas mileage, but It may be too low for the terrain you drive which will take you out of the power band and possibly out of OD. It also hurts your around town driving.

There is a gear type limited slip by detroit called the truetrac. Is that what your thinking of? AFAIK, the lockright and no-slip from powertrax are both lunchbox lockers (no clutches or gear type lsd).

BTW.. the "chart" is not really correct. It is outdated and is talking about non lockup and non OD transmissions. It optimum rpm very dependent on your power curve. The explorer 4.0 ohv motor "seems" to like being around 2200 rpms for decent power. At 2000 rpms or 1800 rpms it just doesn't have the power to stay in OD once it sees a hill BUT, we are running 33x12.50's.. 4.56 or 4.88's would be a better choice. We are going up to 5.13's since our highway cruising speed is much lower (not a DD).

As for tire size.. I like the 33x12.50 on 8" rim but at close to full lock it was rubbing on the radius arm (stock arms, with drop brackets).. It didnt' hurt anything, it just wore a spot on the RA to a nice shinny paint free look.

~Mark

 

[Freshmeat]

It'll be a HUGE jump to go from stock to locked, geared, and lifted on 35s. A 4" lift will give you enough clearance for 33s and you can at least drive on them until you can swing the cash for gears.

 

[Gadget X]

Mark, thanks for the info. I feel kinda stupid now, I was looking at the 3.73 section of the chart! Also, this is the powertrax that I was referring to, it's kind of a cross-breed between a locker and a LSD.
http://www.richmondgear.com/powertrax/noslip.html
Do you think that would hold up with light to moderate off-roading? I haven't really had a chance to do much with it yet, and am hoping to make the July 4th weekend at Uwharrie to break it in real good! I'd like to do what I can beforehand to make it as capable as I can. Thanks again!

 

[Maniak]

Yup.. that is still more of a locker. Here is an exploded view of it.
http://www.richmondgear.com/powertrax/nsexploded.html

I can't remember if it was the powertrax that had a limitation of tire size, but even if it does, I "think" its 33" tires max.

I can say that a lunchbox locker (powertrax lockright) held up in my full size ford van for many years (then it was transferred to a f-100). It wasn't running large tires (only 30") but the Van is a heavy rig and it was used off-road.

There are quite a few people running them.. I don't remember reading about anyone having issues with it.

~Mark

 

[Gadget X]

Thanks, I've been looking at that one for a while. It's one of those "when I upgrade" kind of things! I appreciate the replies, hopefully I'll be getting started soon, and I can document the progress here! Thanks for the help!