[OkieRover]

I have found some "boss" (awesome, cool, great) tires to put on but I am told I need to get a lift.

Can anyone explain what all is involved.

Do I need new springs?
Where do I get this lift?
Do I need to replace my break lines with a 2 inch lift?
How much taller with the truck be when you add a 2 inch lift (ie will I still be able to get into the garage)?
Is it something I can do or do I need a shop?

 

[hamrendan]

Lift

There are a few things to think about when you are doing a lift that will still allow you to get the car in the garage. Tire hieght is one thing and the springs are another. To get the diameter of the tire you are thinking about buying punch the tire size into this site
http://www.s-series.org/htm/calc/tiresizeconv.htm
then punch the numbers of your existing tires to find the difference. Add this measurement to the amount of lift you are going to put on usually 2-3inches without too much modification of the suspension bits.

Putting in stainless steel braided lines is a good idea, just make sure they are coated to keep the dust and sand out, or they wont last long. you can coat them yourself with the stuff that you coat the handle of plyers, and wrenches, which is available at tool stores. I forget how long they need to be.. They are going to give you are real stif pedal. I almost prefer the rubber ones, but the ss lines are nice to have cause they are much less prone to failure.

I am not sure the size tire you are thinking about puttin on the rig, but anything bigger than a 33" will probably require you to put stronger diffs and half shafts in as well. Thats if you do some serious wheeling that is..

Ohh almost forgot.. You will probably have to cut the wheel wells to fit the wider tires.

its a vicious cycle!

meanwhile I am off to fix the busted high pressure steering box hose! what a beeeatch! Soaking bolt in prep! Brings back bad memories of the 2 boxes i replaced myself.. 6 hours? yeah right.. beating on the bolts!!

HTH Dan

 

[OkieRover]

Thanks for the input.
The tires are 235 85 16's. But I did some more research and found that if I lift the body I have to replace the springs.
So to have the 85s that cost around 750$(US) I have to spend another 400$. And a day or so in the shop working on it, in the winter weather. SOooooooo....
So I can get 235 70 16 which are what i have now and wait to get the others next time. the 70s are only 540$US.

 

[DrewInSD]

Thanks for the input.
The tires are 235 85 16's. But I did some more research and found that if I lift the body I have to replace the springs.
So to have the 85s that cost around 750$(US) I have to spend another 400$. And a day or so in the shop working on it, in the winter weather. SOooooooo....
So I can get 235 70 16 which are what i have now and wait to get the others next time. the 70s are only 540$US.

I went through this whole process not too long ago with my 87 RRC, even the same tire size (took them back!). The Old Man Emu spring and shock lift wasn't that expensive and you can lift the RRC up to 2 inches without having to mess with the drivetrain, etc. If I remember, the cost of the lift and install at the local non-dealer Rover shop was around $700-800. From what I'm told, the installation is not very difficult and can be done on your own if you're ambitious enough.

With regard to the tires and rubbing, most of the oversize tires will rub somewhere. The BFG AT 285/35 16s I had installed looked very British - tall and narrow...too tall and narrow. So I took them back and the tire guys were nice enough to exchange them for 265/75 16s, which rubbed a bit worse on the front linkage, but looked much better and were wider=more stable. The rear 265s also rub on the bolt in the wheel well taking out chunks of tread along the edge at full articulation, so I had another 1" suspension spacer added back there - haven't tested that on the trail yet...

So long story short, 245/65 (?) is probably the best fit. Siam and Vince80 have some pretty sweet looking tires that were cheaper than the BFG ATs, there is a post somewhere on this board with pics and cost.

 

[vince80]

tires and springs

ive got interco thornbirds, 31/11.00/16 and the old man emu 2.25 in lift, tires were $600 and the springs were about $260, luckily, my rover came with the ome gas shocks