barthel Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 OK, I know this has been probably covered about a hundred times already, but afte reading ALL the posts about it I've decided to ask the Pathy Guru's for some guidance. I've decided to build up my 88 SE V6 Auto. I've gone back and forth about whether or not to lift the suspension or not. Right now it's at stock ride height running 31X10.50X15 on stock legos. I've decided to change the wheels to the Cragar Black D Window wheels, stock size (15X7, 6X5.5, 4"BS) and stick with the 31's. Wheels are here (http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=CRR%2D3425760&FROM=MG) I take it off road but never get RADICAL with it (rock climbing or anything) but do want it to be a capable rig. At stock height, the 31's look like they take up a fair amount of the wheel wells, but I don't know that I've ever bottomed out on them. So, do I lift? If so, do I use something like the A/C kit or peice it together like 88Pathy has suggested in other topics? OR, do I just do the bushings all the way around and put some better shocks on? Thanks in advance, I await your opinions. :bow: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 THe cheapest option possible is to find some rear coils to lift the back and simply crank up the t-bars and get it re-aligned. If you want to go one better, get the aftermarket UCA's to go with. Shocks are pretty much a must if you want to offroad, otherwise the suspension tends to bottom out over bumps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barthel Posted January 28, 2007 Author Share Posted January 28, 2007 Thanks 88. Any ideas on the UCA's? All of the aftermarket one's I've found say they're for a 2 to 3" lift. Can I use the lift style UCA's (like the the ones A/C sells) if I'm just going to crank up the t-bars in the front? If you haven't already figured it out, I'm fairly new to this whole suspension thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 The aftermarket arms do not lift the truck, you crank the tbars to get the lift. This is true if you have new UCAs or not. What the arms do is correct the ball joint angle when you have the TBars crank and the truck lifted. This helps reduce wear on the upper ball joint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 (edited) The Rough Country (and maybe others?) UCA's are also slightly longer, correcting the camber change that comes with lifting the front. Running them at stock height results in at least a couple degrees positive camber (looks like this \ / from the front. Cranking in 2-3 " lift brings them them back vertical. Your description of use is very similar to mine! Start out with just an inch or two of t-bar crank and a set of Jeep Grand Cherokee (HD 6 cyl or stripper V8 if no tire carrier, std V8 if with external carrier) coils in the rear. Stock shocks are OK. That's what I had in my '87 with 31's and it is great for exploring. I occaisonally would get a mild rub if turning sharp and dropping off things, but not severe enough to damage anything. Best part: that is doable for just the cost of a set of JY springs and a front end alignment! And it still handles very well and does not cause excess wear on CV's. If you're still dragging and scraping more than you care to, then look into the UCA's, low profile bump stops, and a bit more cranking up front, and then some longer shocks and maybe a spacer and HD V8 JGC springs for more rear lift. Also, consider a 15x8 wheel. That is the optimal size for a 31x10.5 tire. Edited February 12, 2007 by mws Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 lower it man. that's where it's at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barthel Posted January 29, 2007 Author Share Posted January 29, 2007 MWS Mahalo plenny for the info. If I go to a 15X8 wheel do I have to worry about the backspacing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 lower it man. that's where it's at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 MWS Mahalo plenny for the info. If I go to a 15X8 wheel do I have to worry about the backspacing? Yes. I found the 4.75" to be near perfect on a 15x8 with 31X10.5. http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=5893 I purchased the Rock Crawlers at Summit Racing. 4.5" backspace should be OK as well. That will result in the exact same center line as a 15x7 with 4" backspace. A 15x8 with 4.75" backspace moves the tire inward by 1/4" as compared to a 15x7 with 4". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 And a lot of others on the board report they have run 4" backspace on 15x8's with no rubbing. So there you go! Anything from 4 to 4.75 has been tried and reported to work OK. With 4" you're more worried about the outer sidewalls rubbing the fenders. With 4.75", it is the inner side. Mine just kiss the lower control arm at full lock (which is adjustable). There are a lot of 15x8 wheels out there with the bolt pattern we need, but are made to fit Chevy's. They have quite a bit less backspacing (3 or 3.5?). Check out Slick's Mini Me photos to see how those fit - the tires will stick out more. http://npora.ipbhost.com//index.php?showuser=837 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barthel Posted January 29, 2007 Author Share Posted January 29, 2007 Sweet Ride MWS. Dumb question for you though. Is there an advantage going o the 8" wheel as opposed to the 7? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishpeck Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 lower it man. that's where it's at. BLASPHEMY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Sweet Ride MWS. Dumb question for you though. Is there an advantage going o the 8" wheel as opposed to the 7? It is the optimal size for the 31x10.5 tire. The tire manufacturer designed the tire to fit an 8" rim, so it will work "better" on it. By better, I mean as designed. If you put a larger tire on a narrow rim, the beads are pinched in a bit, and the carcass under the tread ends up being a little convex. Not enough to be dangerous, but it will tend to make the handling a little loose on pavement and the tire will have a tendency to wear down the middle. Most tire manufacturers say a 31x10.5 is OK to use on rims from 7" to 9" wide. If you had 7", it'd be OK to use them. But as long as you're ordering new wheels, you might as well get the ideal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barthel Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 10-4!!! I appreciate the heads up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barthel Posted February 3, 2007 Author Share Posted February 3, 2007 K, So I have one more stupid question, then I'll try to quit being a dumbass. If my choices are 15X8 with a 4" BS or a 4.75" BS which one is liable to cause me less problems? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pavelow Leaks Posted February 3, 2007 Share Posted February 3, 2007 (edited) Just go with the 4" BS...that way if you decide to lift it later, you'll be able to mount 32's or 33's and still no chance of rubbing. these are 32x11.50's on a 15x8 with 4" backspace...3" suspension lift. How far they stick out...needs an alignment..so they wont really stick out that far on the top side after I fix that. they lean slightly out at the top. The 31's would be a lil skinnier, and although I didnt think they would be, noticeably shorter. So you'll have pretty much no chance of rubbing. I switched from legos/31's too. Edited February 3, 2007 by Pavelow Leaks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barthel Posted February 3, 2007 Author Share Posted February 3, 2007 Thanks for the info Pave! I'm kinda new to all this crap and I know just enough to be seriously dangerous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twotirefryer Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 actually, running the longer UCA(rough country or calmini) at stock ride height will give you positive camber. the whole idea of having a longer UCA is so you don't have to stack 5 million miles of shims to get the correct camber in addition to not destroying your CV axles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 (edited) You are correct - I had my positives and negatives confused! Thank you for pointing that out. http://www.yokohamatire.com/utmeasures.asp Ehh, on second thought, I went back and edited the original post to nip confusion in the bud. So now I can say: WTF are you talking about? I said positive! Edited February 12, 2007 by mws Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now