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yes, they're drive flanges/locked/on all the time. only auto TCs.

I use a regular lift and go off the frame. Never had a problem.

they're more or less doing the same thing, but a strut is a coil-integrated system. it's meant to handle weight just as much as it's meant to act as a damper. a shock is separate from the strut/coil assembly, and is solely meant to dampen the ride.

struts are not the same as shocks. from what you're saying, desertfox, OME is the way to go for you. either MD or LD/stock load for you. MD will give you roughly < 1" of lift, and the LD will give you 0.5" of lift. BTW, OME are also not the same as AC coils. from what it sounds, the OME coils are offered through AC.

you don't have rear struts. they're rear shocks. and i haven't looked at AC's site lately about the MD coils in question, but i'd concur with OTR96 that they're the same, OME coils.

for those asking how hard it can be, why aren't you guys running your own exhaust company? not trying to be brass, but that's a bit narrow-minded, don't you think? again, $15k is a lot of money, but you're asking a company to put R&D into an exhaust that is not a proven market. what if some guys took the plunge on our trucks. they made, say, 100 cat-back exhaust systems (and knowing Borla, they're pretty pricey). and going by the number of members in this thread that are "interested", maybe 10 out of the 20 or so in this thread bought one. but, how many are even willing to shell out money for this exhaust immediately? i really, really doubt many of you would be able to. so, 10 exhausts sold in how many months' time? that's a pretty big loss on their part, especially seeing as how there was so much "interest", but nothing guaranteed in sales. think of that $15k as a "down payment" on their exhausts if people back out, which people will definitely do.

i'm sorry, but what exactly did you guys think was going to happen by sending a few letters of interest for an exhaust for our trucks? just because they get about 50 or so letters of interest to make an exhaust, they're going to make a bunch? i think many of you are dismissing the amount of money it takes for a company to make and research such a product without any proven or guaranteed market out there for it. sure, $15k is quite a bit of money, but that's also a lot of money for Borla as well, especially during the current economic situation that we're all in. sure, they're a multi-million dollar or more company, but what business is out there to simply toss around money for no rhyme or reason other than to make a few truck owners happy whether they buy an exhaust system or not?

aftermarket springs are less expensive, at least the OME coils are. unfortunately, there aren't any stock height aftermarket/better coils. i'm not looking for a lift either, but i'll be getting the MD OME coils all around. it'll provide a slight lift (i would think a little less than 1" for the MD coils once it settles in). you can always go with LD/stock load, which will give you 0.5" of lift. i'll be going MD mostly because i'd like the suspension to be able to take a bit more weight (i.e. passengers, stuff that i'm carrying, or maybe even a payload) and not sag too much. i've also heard nothing but good things about the GR2s for the front struts. it's kind of surprising, to be honest, because GR2s (as far as for sport compact cars) are factory replacement types of struts/shocks. not sure if they're modeled any different for truck applications, but that's my familiarity with them and i never used them for my sport cars, but rather the AGXs. again, it could be for different applications. i'll be going with OME shocks in the rear because i also hear very good things about them, and they appear to be a very stout looking shock and well priced.

super tough to find ethanol free gas stations in CA (most are at least some 5-7%). one can only hope that the saying is true, that most pumps have less ethanol in their premium octanes.

why not just use a GPS? a GPS is going to be way more accurate than our speedos.

that's the best explanation from ARB i've seen from them so far! great info! thanks. i was always under the impression that the MD/HD simply had higher spring rates. good to know.

OME coils only provide 0.5" of lift. It "looks" like more because all of our springs are sagging. The 0.5" of lift is measured from stock height when the truck rolled off the showroom floor. It will also "look" like more of a lift if you get a stiffer rated spring than what you're actually carrying (i.e. getting HD coils for the front when you have stock everything in the front).

that wouldn't make sense since you'd have to pop the c-cap on and off every time you lock and unlock your hubs. to each their own, i suppose.

yes, leaving them locked all the time will be just like stock. when i go to the mountains, i usually just wait to lock them until i hit some kind of chain control if road conditions are at all questionable. or i'll lock them before i leave if i'm really trying to make first chair or don't feel like locking them later.

like OTR96, i'm also considering getting the KMA (apparently now, TAG) rear bumper. really nice, heavy duty looking bumper with some nice options, just wish it was a little slimmer in profile. i would be trying to get it sooner than later, but have realized that i need to upgrade my coils/shocks and struts first to prevent some of the sag that i'll definitely get from the bumper.

A/T. considered getting a 5spd when i was searching and there were actually a few available (probably 2 or 3 out of the 10 pathys i found were 5spd). i decided against it just because i felt like being lazy in the pathy and didn't really want one for a truck/SUV.

i believe so. if you want to go wider, you should look into buying new wheels. they're not too expensive to go grab some 16x8 or 9 steelies.

A 285 is too wide of a tire for a 7" wheel. That's out of the recommended range. 275 would be the widest that a 7" wheel is supposed to handle. From what i've seen, the 265/75/16s don't rub but they're super close. Most people got spacers just for piece of mind though.

But what would knowing compressed or extended length of shocks do? Is the OP going to have custom sets built? The popular options for our trucks will have top out issues. I don't really plan on lifting, but i don't see the need for such info. Maybe that's because i don't get into that.

My link have a blast.

Aside from HIDs, i've also always used silverstars. Been happy with them and have usually gotten close to 2 years of use out of them until one goes out. I'd like to give the PIAAs a shot too. What kind of life span do you get out of those, my1path?

Check balance of those tires. Rear tires can be OOB when you feel a vibration in your seat at about 60+. But, it can also be u-joint related as well. A nice fluid flush and fill of all fluids would be nice to do at this stage. Typical tune-up work.

You won't have issues with it in the snow. I use less aggressive tires in heavy Tahoe snow and don't have problems. You'll slip in just about anything other than true snow tires if you're in really icy conditions. In heavy powder days with Michelin LTX AT2s or BFG ATs, i didn't even need to use my 4x4. I drove around just fine in my brother's Accord with street tires and chains in heavy powder as well. For the record, i'm on Michelin X Radial LT2s which are the equivalent to the LTX M/S2s.

Uhh, no idea what you're talking about when you say 245/70/17 is not rated for severe snow. A tire size does not dictate what it's rated for, the type of tire dictates what it's rated for. You asked for the BFG ATs and they come in a 245/70/17. What are you asking for exactly?

245/70/17. 16s are fine and you can find a cheap set of 5 matching wheels from another year R50 on ebay pretty easily. BTW, it's BFG AT TA KO. not TKO.