Phase II

[PacificEd]

This weekend comes Phase II of the Cherokee build. I'm going to see Tyler at RSOR for some axle and unibody upgrades.

The upgrades are as follows:

swap from a 242 case to a 231 w/SYE
install front 4.10 gear set and Aussie locker
install 8.8 rear w/limited slip diff and 4.10 gears
install '96 brake booster/master
install HD off Road Engineering mid unibody stiffners
install used JCR sliders

I've been waiting for a long time to get some of this stuff done. Luckily I won the RSOR $250 gift certificate at the Crawl.....I bear-hugged Tyler when i got it I was so happy.....so I can get a lot of good upgrades done at the same time.

Hopefully we will get some pics of the work/upgrades.

Now I need to start saving for some tires.

 

[bigalpha]

What kind of tires?

 

[PacificEd]

I've always wanted a set of BFG mud terrains, so maybe a set of 33/1050R15 KM2's.

 

[Jamescad04]

I personally vote against the km2's i priced them out for myself and they were way too expensive. I have some Maxxis buckshots I can post some pictures of them if you like I like them so far not alot of road noise for a mudder and a very good price. Also there are a couple of others on here who have maxxis tires as well and they love them.

 

[thechief86]

ed's already had the buckshots on his.
Ed, i think you should also look at the Cooper discoverer STT's
they're reasonably cheaper than the bfg's, and from my experience, they are the toughest radial tires i've seen. i've had both bfg's and cooper muds, and i'll take the STT's again if i have the chance. they also last a long time on the street, as well as kicking serious butt on the trails.

 

[Shorty]

i'll take the STT's again if i have the chance.

X2^^

 

[MELKORsXJ]

can't wait to see the jeep "transform" for ya Ed... i'm sure i'll be able to give a hand in the process somewhere along the way

 

[kf_chris]

You're going to love the LSD in teh 8.8 vs the open in the stock axle. I love my corner exit acceleration (thanks to the stroker too of course).
I live in FL, the only amusement I have is on road...for now

 

[Cottontail]

You are going to have to drive to Chattanooga every night after work now Ed to take photos of the transformation and get them posted.

Which reminds me...I still need to download photos of my axle install.

Glad to know you are getting that all done. Look forward to seeing the Jeep when it is done!

 

[stumpXJ]

Ed's gettin a locker... uh oh!

STT's friggin rock man.

~ Stump

 

[wingnutooa]

BFG's ftw. especially if you put a lot of road miles on.

imho they have the best road manners and last the longest of any mud terrain available.

well worth the money.

 

[xjtrailrider]

Another vote for the BFG's, my 35's are great on and off road

 

[thechief86]

for the people voting for one tire or the other, have you had both? i have had the bfg muds and a/t's as well as both styles of coopers. i like the bfg a/t's better, and i loved their mudders, too, but they didn't last as long as my cooper mudders in the same size on the same xj.
EDIT: nevermind, not lookin to hijack....

 

[FlexdXJ]

Nice Ed, glad to hear it! I also vote KM2's since I also DD my rig.

 

[Team Willys]

You are going to have to drive to Chattanooga every night after work now Ed to take photos of the transformation and get them posted.

This isn't true, remember, I will be doing the work at RSOR, Melkor is the one who takes pics and never posts them. I have no problem in taking a few and posting them up at night for you guys.

And as far as tires... my vote is the BFG. My grandfather has run coopers and maxxis tires on his farm trucks and he never gets good life out of them. i am pushing 35,000 on my KM2s and they still have about 10,000 left in them if I really wear them completely out. For the price the BFGs are definitely the way to go.

 

[Ghost]

I ran some Stt's on the 84 for 5 years. Still looked new when I sold them. No it was not DD but it did see street use and local rides to trails and crusing the Sonic.

 

[shaggybob]

My bighorns are holding up pretty well. Got about 12000 miles on them and they are about 1/3 used.
However if I had the money in hand, I would be buying a set of BFG 35s.

 

[shortxjdoug]

im in a love affair with my goodyears personally.... my trail tires will always be an mtr, i plan on replacing my set with a set of 37 kevlars when they wear out

 

[PacificEd]

Heading out tomorrow early to let RSOR work it's majic. I'm pretty excited about the upgrades. I drove it for the first time with the drop brackets and it is so much smoother. Combine that with 4.10 gears, locker/LSD, rear discs and it should be pretty fun to drive and wheel (not that it wasn't before).

 

[wingnutooa]

i've run 30x9.50 wildcat ext's that lasted fairly long,

then got a set of 32x9.50 TSL's that did not wear good at all, but that is to be expected.

then a set of 31x10.50 bfg's that i didnt wear out. ended up selling them with better than 50% tread.

then got a set of 35x12.50 remington mud brutes. other than it seemed like they would have lasted an average amount of time, the construction of them was horrible. very hard to balance and they all wobbled back and forth and up and down.

then finally got my 35 bfg's they are showing good tread wear. however one of them does have some up and down movement.

i have found that with the increase in tire size the harder it is to get perfect tires. my brother had a set of wild countrys that he had to take his truck in and have 3 sets of tires mounted and dismounted before he got a complete set of 4 that were true.


but all in all your best bet is with the bfg's. and if you get them from a tire store you'll have better luck going back and getting a true set. i always like to be present when they're being balanced, just for this reason.

good luck!