RE: dakota body lift and suspension CORRECTION

From: brian.duffey@intelsat.int
Date: Wed Oct 20 1999 - 13:40:37 EDT


O.K.
So now that we have all that settled, What Wheels are you going to use?
What wheels have the trucks that you've looked at used?

I was leaning towards the Mickey Thompson wheels (very heavy duty) but they
only list one wheel in our bolt pattern (6 on 4.5 inch), and that one has
the 4.5 inch backspace.

Getting the lift, etc. done seems to be the easy part. Finding decent HD
wheels with all the right dimensions is the big pain in the ass of the whole
project.

Thanks,

Duff
'95 SLT 4x4 CC 318 4spd/OD - 3.55 LSD
MSD 6AL - MSD Blaster Coil
MSD 8.5 wires - K&N FIPK - F&B Stage I TBI

-----Original Message-----
From: GrnDak4x4@aol.com [mailto:GrnDak4x4@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 1999 1:01 PM
To: dakota-truck@buffnet.net
Subject: Re: DML: dakota body lift and suspension CORRECTION

In a message dated 10/20/99 11:35:14 AM Central Daylight Time,
brian.duffey@intelsat.int writes:
<< Hey Walt, Thanks for posting that earlier msg. with all the pictures of
various levels of lift. Its great to be able to look and see how various
levels of lift will make the DAK look. About that backspacing for the
T-master lift: 3.75 in.
 Is that the minimum or maximum? The wheels I'm looking at have a backspace
 of 4.5 inches. If I'm thinking about this correctly, that would mean the
 wheels/tires are moved more inward then a 3.75 backspace? >>

I must also thank Walt for those great pics, great job. As far as what
TrailMaster says concerning the rims and backspacing, here is that
TrailMaster says in their 1999 Application Catalog:
"New wheels required. Distance from inner sidewall of inflated tire to rim
mounting surface cannot exceed 4 3/4" to avoid upper control arm
interference. Suggested wheel backspace is 3-3/4".
This is what TrailMaster recommends and this is what TrailMaster has
obviously tested their Dakotas with and this is what they have found to work

the best. TrailMaster is a great offroad company, and I would say that the 3

3/4" backspaced rim would be the best bet if you do not want to run into any

clearance problems. Of course though, in their catalog, they suggest using
31x10.50 tires, which I don't see why or how. Like I have said before, 32's
will fit perfectly and not rub at full suspension compression. I have
confirmed this by talking with 2-3 guys who run the 4" lift with 32's. When
I
lift my Dak(spring of 2000), I will run 32" tires. However, I still have not

decided on the width of the 32's; it is between 10.50's and 11.50's. I may
need to crank up the front tbars 1/2"-3/4", but that is not big deal at all,

currently they are cranked up 1/2" to sit a bit more level with the rear of
the truck. I will also replace the stock tbars with aftermarket ones from
Sway-A-Way, which will be able to handle the additional lift and hold a
crank
up adjustment. Of course, I will opt for the dual shocks at each corner with

a single steering stablizer will be even better. Later on, custom front and
rear HD driveshafts will be in the works as well as swapping out the 3.55
gears for 3.9's, the help restore the power lost going to a larger diameter
tire. Can't wait!!!!!!
Kyle
93 Dakota 4x4 V6



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