EmptyV

I'll probably end up ordering the AC springs in the next few days, I'll definitely take before and after measurements. I'll probably throw on some new struts as well. On ebay you can get KYB GR-2 full strut & shock sets for $200. I'm just not sure on how the shocks would do against the bilstein 5100's. Regardless anything would be better then the junk monroe's I've got on now. Man I thought I was done with this crap 20K miles ago! Billy

Thanks those look pretty sweet. It seems that we've really only got the 2 options. I've got a buddy who is a master fabricator and can help me weld up the Trail Gear Sliders but I really like the look of the rocky road one's. Now since we've got the unibody design, can you use the sliders as a jacking point? Billy

If any Pathy is a candidate for some springs and 33's that would be it, badass! Billy

Yeah sliders are my next step. The one's from rocky road sure are pricey but I like the design. Rugged Rocks has another non generic one that is much cheaper but requires welding. So pay $140 for the simple ones and have a friend weld them up or drop $409 on the supersliders and bolt them on. Damn! Now I'm wondering if your fender flairs are different from mine. I've got a feeling they are. Regardless, I'm measuring 34.5" with 1" NX4 Spacers up front and 36" with 1" Rubber Mr Gasket spacers in the rear springs. Have you noticed any loss in spring retention since you installed them? I'm almost positive I'd benefit from swapping over to the AC springs. Great another $360 to shell out. I love how on 4x4 parts it says, "You must purchase aftermarket wheels with 3.75" negative backspace when installing this lift" Billy

So do your front tires extend outside of the wheel wells? Billy

I stayed with the 1.5" spacers. I was going to put a stop on my original order but took your advice and stayed with the bigger ones. I'd like to put the same spacers on the back to even out the look but I know I'll end up rubbing the fender flairs. The wheels are 17x9 with a -12 offset and 4.5" of BS. Billy

Possibly. Andrew's running a 285/75R16 which is 32.8" diameter and my 285/70R17's come out to 32.7". I think the brushguard is a nissan one minus the headlight cages. Those are the 8" LA Paz lights by Baja Designs out of San Diego. Thanks brutha! It drives great and since I changed out my MAF the same day I only see an increase in power and MPG. I had it aligned and dude even compensated for my body weight being the only passenger 95% of the time. I took it down to Irvine this weekend (90 miles) and it didn't rub at all, and that's the 405 all the way with speed bumps in parking lots. I'm going to test it at flex in the next few day. hopefully I wont need to change out to the AC springs or trim the fender flairs. Billy

Thanks! I've got the OME coils and might switch over to the AC. I need a fender height from Andrew which will tell me if the AC does give a higher lift. I think regardless I'd have to trim the same as I'm guessing I'll only gain 1/4" - 1/2". The wheels are RBP 93R's 17x9's custom drilled and bored out and the tires are BFG TKO 285/70R17''s. Billy

So finally got my new wheels that I ordered waaaaay back in October and wrapped some serious rubber around them. Unlike some others, this required some major trimming and removal of the running-boards but I get ZERO rub at full lock in either direction. Thanks to Andrew (01silvapathy) for his great write-up. Here's a few pics of before & after AND with and without the running-boards. BEFORE AFTER What had to be trimmer

I'll let you know how well the 285/70R17's fit. I test fit the rear and it looked good. My only concern is rubbing against the fender flair when flexing. Billy

Here's the link that Steven Lutz @ Rugged Rocks gave me for the 2" rear lift springs, OME Springs I'd definitely double check with him just to be safe. Here's what it looked like right after the springs were installed. I'm pretty sure it's 1.75"+ and not the 0.5" they're stating.

I forgot to mention I've also got coil spacers in the rear, pictured below. There's been some discrepancy on which coils are the medium and which are the HD. I think last year I emailed rugged rocks (who I purchased them from) and they said the 922's are HD coils. I've also got 922's up front with NX4 1" spacers. I'll get pics up once I get the new tires on next week.

Yeah you're probably right, I'll stick with the 1.5" spacers. Because of the offset/backspacing I'm already going to be sticking out by 1/2" so hopefully this wont be too exaggerated. Again 1000 thanks, you and everyone else have been a huge help. Fueler you might have some competition for the toughest Q coming next week. :coffee!: Billy

A ton of people are gonna find that thread extremely useful. And thanks for the info on the air jack, that seems to be a really practical way to go. So I just got back from my tire guy and he mounted one 285/70/R17 on the back and front to check clearance and my rear fender flair measured @ 35 3/8" from the ground with the OME 922 HD coils. I didn't measure the front but it seems that the farthest we could mount it while pressed up against the coil seat left a 1/4" gap off the hub. Is the 1.5" spacer still necessary or can I use a smaller one to clear the coil seat. Much appreciated! Billy

I threw on a dual in dual out Magnaflow. I also removed my spare tire carrier and threw the wheel into the Safari Basket. Billy

I checked out the Nitto Terra Grapplers a while back and came to the conclusion that yes they're cheaper but definitely don't have the tread life the TKO's do. I also checked out the General Grabber A/T2's and came to the same conclusion as far as tire life span goes. Thanks for the suggestions guys. I've been researching since October but for some reason keep finding new tires, it's insane how many different A/T tires are out there. Billy

That's not the answer I was looking for! You're supposed to say, "Dude that'll fit perfectly!" Thanks anyway. Billy

One thing that I didn't see covered is the possibility of having too high of a backspacing measurement. Can this cause problems and will I need wider wheel spacers for the front? My wheels are 17x9 with a +10 offset which is around 5.4" of backspacing. Once I order these 285/70R17's they're mine so I want to be sure they'll work. Thanks! Billy

Yeah I'm switching from 16x7's to 17x9's which I picked up yesterday woot woot! I think I'm going to slap on some 285x70R17 BFG TKO's with help from Andrew's ultra informative 33 thread. I'm not to familiar with flotation sizing but I'm guessing it's just another term for airing down? I'm ordering the wheel spacers for the front as we speak. Now my next hought is a high lift jack but how do you use one with running boards? Should I drop those and put up a set of rock sliders for jack placement? I just want to make sure I'm fully prepared for everything. Thanks! Billy

Nice work Andrew! This will help me greatly as well as many others. You rock bro! Billy

Holy ........! I just looked at some pricing sheets for the Baja's and dayum! A set of 5 will cost well over $2500, thats insane! I'm not even sure if they make a tire small enough to fit in our wheel wells. Sorry for wasting your time and thanks for the reply. Billy

So I'm about to buy some new rubber. I'm only 2WD and keep my wheeling to high speed high desert style offroading. I'm debating on either the BFG All-Terrain T/A KO's and now looking at the Baja T/A's. I had a set of All Terrain TKO on my old Explorer that went for 75K miles but stayed on the street. Does anyone have any experience with the Baja T/A's? I know most of you are backwoods 4 wheelers but any help would be great. Fueler any any other San Diegans would be a great help as that's my type of terrain. Billy

Andrew any more help you can offer? I'm buying tires next Friday and would love to order what I need before then. Thanks! Billy

Both. I've got the OME lift and I'm wondering if I'll gain any height from changing out to the AC lift which I'm guessing will help with fitment of 33's. Billy

I apologize if this has been asked 100x before but I still have not seen any decisive answers on actual spring height from the OME vs AC. I remember seeing on OME's site that it's only a 3/4" lift but I know that's not true. Billy