The tires on there now are a real 27" tall in the rear. Also 12" Wide;
8.5" Tread width (that's on the rim which is on the truck sitting on the
ground with the 32.5 psi I run on the road). Although I did just measure,
I didn't verify the pressure at the current temperature. You could use the
DML wheel size calculator to determine what size the should 'really' be.
Generally, anything other than measuring a tire in your specific
application isn't much more than an educated guess at best. Vehicle
weight, rim size & pressure all are big factors. Combine that with the
fact that the listed size has little to do with the real size of the tire,
& it's all a crap shoot. Without suspension compression, they [front
tires] rub on the back wheel wells when turning in reverse. These same
tires fit on the stock rims without rubbing! It should be noted that the
stockers [rims] were way to narrow for those tires.
Torsion bars were the HD ones from the dealer. I think they were about
$120 each. If I'd found out about any aftermarket ones that existed I
would have gotten them.
The installation of the lift requires offset rims. I think the backspacing
is 3 5/8", but you could call Trailmaster and verify what the offset needs
to be.
I had the lift done since I'm not a real mechanic. I had managed to do
almost everything else up to this point though. Stuff in the front
requires sawing off a frame crossmember and bolting a replacement one on.
I can't remember all the details, but if you ask Trailmaster to send you
the instructions so you can see if it's something you can attempt I'm sure
they would.
I would plan $4000+ for the lift. $1500 for the kit $700+ for labor,
$1200+ for new rims (required)
I also replaced the ball joints I can't remember whether or not I did both
upper and lower or not. You will need to remove the uppers to install the
new upper A-arms. I figured since I had 40K miles on it, I may as well do
it while they had it apart. (No extra labor charges for using new ones!).
You'll also need an alignment or two afterwards. One initially, and
you'll probably want to do another in 500-1000 miles. After the new Tbars,
I had to keep cranking them up ever week or two for the first month. I
would literally sink 1-2 inches in ride height each week.
Comments. Well since my tires now rub, and I don't really have off-road
tires on it yet, I really haven't had an opportunity to test it really
well. I guess I am somewhat pissed that I just spent a huge wad of cash
and I can't put on tires that are taller than stock. These are wider
though; and I like wider. I do like the ride quality on the road much more
though. The height is a deficit in turns, and it's not quite as
'caddy-like' on the road, but no worse than most cars for smooth riding. I
would imagine it's still smoother than a sports-car suspension. It seems
to work ok off-road, but still bottoms out in front without major pushing.
Still a vast improvement over stock ride in the bouncy stuff though.
I really need to get the body lift so that I can get some off-road tires on
it. I will probably also need some fender trimming. It looks like a
really tall slammed truck right now. It's almost sort of 'rice-looking'
It has wide street tires that poke out with offset rims. The 3.21 axle
helps me with 'rice-like' performance too. The only problem with the
'rice-image' is that the Magnum V8 badges are missing from the side & the
318 *IS* under the hood.
David Henry '94 CC 4x4 318 5Spd in MI
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 11:20:00 EST
From: HKUSP40578@aol.com
Subject: Re: DML:DML Intro
In a message dated 98-12-17 06:04:51 EST, you write:
<< Wheels: Weld 15x10 SS-II Type 46 / Polished Aluminum
> Tires: Defender SRX4 325R60
> Suspension Lift: Trail Master 4" Lift.
> Front: HD Torsion bars, Dual Trail Master SSV Shocks
> Rear: Custom 4" Lift springs, Dual Trail Master SSV Shocks >>
Ok this is exactly what I want!! I plan on running 32x11.50's after the
lift.
Did you install the lift yourself? I know the lift will run me about $1200,
but I am curious about an installation cost, if you didnt put it on, how
much
did it cost??? I alsp plan on putting on Sawy-A-Way's HD Torsion bars, is
this
what you used? As as the tires go, what does that metric equate to in
inches,
both height and width? Also those 15x10's sound NICE, do you know what the
backspacing is on those? Any comments of the lift, likes/dislikes?
Thanks, it sounds like my kind of Dakota!!
Kyle
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:11:28 EDT