THe NAC Lots-O-BFG KO2 Thread

[Jeepman401]

Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread

Any of you guys can feel free to burst my bubble at any point if you see an obvious flaw in anything I've been talking about. :anon:

edit: along those lines, group poll: what's the weak link or biggest downfall with what I've got in mind so far?

Still think you should run a 44 ttb front and a 9" rear instead of the 35 and 8.8

D44 for the added strength and since I am assuming you will be cutting the arms to correct caster, narrowing them wouldn't be that big of a deal

9" because of the lighter weight, lower cost, strength(Ignore mine), and no c clips

 

[ktm racer 419]

Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread

 

[vetteboy]

Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread

Do you thing the R&P is gonna be that much of an issue?

Way I look at it, most folks do OK with a Dana 30 and 35's. The TTB 35 is a bigger gearset, larger bearings, in a non-stressed housing, with a full-case locker, thru-bolted carrier bearing caps, and a load bolt to support the middle of the bearing caps. And probably cryo treat the gears too, 'cuz I know a guy.

Plus 30-spline good quality inners & stubs, 44 TTB outers, etc.

9" I've thought about, even to the extent of doing a Spidertrax housing (I know a guy there too...), but I don't like the 9" ARB at all, and to my knowledge there aren't any other selectables for it.

 

[vetteboy]

Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread

 

[vetteboy]

Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread

 

[Begster]

Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread

I signed up for a CPR class my company is having red cross give today.

Thought it was going to be a couple hours max. Just found out it starts in few minutes, and goes until 4:30. Fuuuuu....
I have a ton of work I need to do, especially since I'm out this friday.

 

[XJLI]

I've also decided to use a full-size person this time around instead of myself for testing seating position and clearances.

thank God

 

[mini=man]

Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread

I want to drink beer and tell outrageous wheeling stories that never actually happened.

 

[foxwar71]

Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread

:roflmao:

Hahaha, I can't decide which part is funnier!

 

[vetteboy]

Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread

For the arguement earlier about what I wanna do for upper shock mounts, Ill be copying THESE. My bumpstop tubes and coil bucket plating will try everything together up there. Eventually, an engine cage will go across them too.

Holy XXXXing way too much work.

It's a shock mount, not a helicopter lift point.

 

[MoparManiac]

Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread

Do you thing the R&P is gonna be that much of an issue?

Way I look at it, most folks do OK with a Dana 30 and 35's. The TTB 35 is a bigger gearset, larger bearings, in a non-stressed housing, with a full-case locker, thru-bolted carrier bearing caps, and a load bolt to support the middle of the bearing caps. And probably cryo treat the gears too, 'cuz I know a guy.

Plus 30-spline good quality inners & stubs, 44 TTB outers, etc.

9" I've thought about, even to the extent of doing a Spidertrax housing (I know a guy there too...), but I don't like the 9" ARB at all, and to my knowledge there aren't any other selectables for it.

I haven't really done much research/staring at TTB setups, but does the housing really not see any loading from the weight of the vehicle? That would definitely help out a shitload.

With everything that you listed, I could see it lasting on 35s. Are the General Grabbers a sticky compound? That's the only thing I could see ruining your plans.

I've never been a huge fan of the 9". Especially after reading the ARB problems and ring gear bolt issues. Nevermind the low hanging pinion.

Have you given any thought to a semifloat D60? A bit on the overkill side. The 8.8 is probably good enough with a truss.

Holy XXXXing way too much work.

It's a shock mount, not a helicopter lift point.

That does seem overkill. Especially if you do like Chris said and correctly bumpstop/limit strap.

 

[vetteboy]

Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread

I haven't really done much research/staring at TTB setups, but does the housing really not see any loading from the weight of the vehicle? That would definitely help out a shitload.

With everything that you listed, I could see it lasting on 35s. Are the General Grabbers a sticky compound? That's the only thing I could see ruining your plans.

I've never been a huge fan of the 9". Especially after reading the ARB problems and ring gear bolt issues. Nevermind the low hanging pinion.

Have you given any thought to a semifloat D60? A bit on the overkill side. The 8.8 is probably good enough with a truss.

Yeah. Check it out:

The center section bolts to the back of the TTB arm via the diff cover bolts. I guess it might help with some flexing of the arm, but that's about it. Plus the 35 center is aluminum, which is nice, 'cuz unsprung weight sucks.

Guys have been racing this axle in Baja etc. for years...i think it'll be OK. And no, the Grabbers aren't sticky, just plain ol' DOT.

60 is probably too much. Although an upgraded 44 might not be a bad way to go either.

That does seem overkill. Especially if you do like Chris said and correctly bumpstop/limit strap.

The *only* time something like that makes sense is if you have to do it to meet a class requirement. Like Jeepspeed. They have to use the factory mounting points, so if you're gonna race Jeepspeed, you have to reinforce what's there.

Otherwise...you'd be WAY ahead of the game in both time, money, and functionality if you don't try to work around shitty OEM stuff and instead just build something that works. You're already planning on doing an engine cage, right?

Until you get to that point, just run the plain ol' factory shock mount with a top adapter, maybe reinforce the coil bucket a little, and FIRI. I'd place good money that you're not gonna XXXX that up over your time wheeling this truck. It took me two and a half years of frequent wheeling and a year of racing before any of the factory stuff up there started tweaking.

When and if it does, just cut all that shit out, tie your engine cage into everything else, and build a few new mounts.

This is probably less work than that goofy shock mount thing.

Just sayin'.

 

[MoparManiac]

Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread

Yeah. Check it out:

The center section bolts to the back of the TTB arm via the diff cover bolts. I guess it might help with some flexing of the arm, but that's about it. Plus the 35 center is aluminum, which is nice, 'cuz unsprung weight sucks.

Guys have been racing this axle in Baja etc. for years...i think it'll be OK. And no, the Grabbers aren't sticky, just plain ol' DOT.

60 is probably too much. Although an upgraded 44 might not be a bad way to go either.

That's pretty badass. Building your own beams or just strengthening what's already there? Assuming people use big heims at the frame end (like 1.25")? Do any of the outers have a shitty reputation like ball joints or anything? Looks like standard hub/spindle setup though which is sweet. Drive flanges exist? Looks like 27 spline outers? Should be cool.

What would upgraded 44 get you over an 8.8? No c-clips which is nice. Would you upgrade to 33/35 spline stuff? Or just leave it chromo 30 spline? You could even do a full float conversion on it, but then you change lug patterns unless you want to spend money on 5x5.5 full float hubs.

The *only* time something like that makes sense is if you have to do it to meet a class requirement. Like Jeepspeed. They have to use the factory mounting points, so if you're gonna race Jeepspeed, you have to reinforce what's there.

Otherwise...you'd be WAY ahead of the game in both time, money, and functionality if you don't try to work around shitty OEM stuff and instead just build something that works. You're already planning on doing an engine cage, right?

Until you get to that point, just run the plain ol' factory shock mount with a top adapter, maybe reinforce the coil bucket a little, and FIRI. I'd place good money that you're not gonna XXXX that up over your time wheeling this truck. It took me two and a half years of frequent wheeling and a year of racing before any of the factory stuff up there started tweaking.

When and if it does, just cut all that shit out, tie your engine cage into everything else, and build a few new mounts.

This is probably less work than that goofy shock mount thing.

That's my plan. Run the shock adapter thing until the inner fender implodes.

After that point, we'll see how finances are. If coilovers are in the budget, I'll go that route. Else I'll just add upper coil/shock mounts and tie them into the cage.

Just sayin'.

I've noticed this is your clarifier for when you attempt to subtly tell someone that their idea is flat out stupid :laugh:

 

[MoparManiac]

Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread

Also, do you guys think I should redo my a-pillar? I can easily splice in the rear bend to get it how I want, but if I wanted to get it taller it would be easier/look better if I just redid the whole thing.

I'm still thinking that the roof halo/windshield bars should be able to bend smoothly down to it though, no?

 

[vetteboy]

Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread

That's pretty badass. Building your own beams or just strengthening what's already there? Assuming people use big heims at the frame end (like 1.25")? Do any of the outers have a shitty reputation like ball joints or anything? Looks like standard hub/spindle setup though which is sweet. Drive flanges exist? Looks like 27 spline outers? Should be cool.

What would upgraded 44 get you over an 8.8? No c-clips which is nice. Would you upgrade to 33/35 spline stuff? Or just leave it chromo 30 spline? You could even do a full float conversion on it, but then you change lug patterns unless you want to spend money on 5x5.5 full float hubs.

This is what most people do:

That's good for 20 inches of travel, and if I wanted to go that route, I could just buy that kit, bolt all of it directly into the front end of the Explorer frame I'm using, and my front suspension would be finished. It's tempting.

But I'm an asshole so I'll probably build my own anyway. My TTB arms will end up similar, but I wanna try and use two parallel links per side instead of radius arms.

It's pretty easy to mod the TTB arms to accept D44 knuckles and balljoints, so I'll do that and run fullsize Bronco hubs and brakes, which should be more than adequate. You can hone the spindle out slightly to fit 30-spline stubs and there exists a 30-spline drive slug that works in those hubs. Then I'd also keep the larger 5 x 5.5 pattern.

I'll do upgraded shafts in whatever rear axle I end up with. A 44 probably wouldn't really have any real gains over an 8.8, just another option if I happen to come across one already built for a good deal or something.

I've noticed this is your clarifier for when you attempt to subtly tell someone that their idea is flat out stupid

Remember what I was saying about thinking back on all the stuff that pissed me off or XXXXed me over when I was building my XJ?

Part of that is how much of that work was time & money wasted on accomodating OEM limitations instead of removing them. It really took less than 20 minutes to cut all that inner fender garbage out, and made everything else SO much easier to build the way I wanted to.

 

[vetteboy]

Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread

Also, do you guys think I should redo my a-pillar? I can easily splice in the rear bend to get it how I want, but if I wanted to get it taller it would be easier/look better if I just redid the whole thing.

I'm still thinking that the roof halo/windshield bars should be able to bend smoothly down to it though, no?

The general reaction so far has been "huh, that roof bar looks kinda low, is that where it's staying?"

Now you're thinking it too, and it'll probably bother you every time you look at it.

I sat mine right on top of the rain gutter, and that worked out perfect for the roof bars. I don't see it working as nicely if you have to accomodate the rain gutter somehow.

 

[MoparManiac]

Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread

The general reaction so far has been "huh, that roof bar looks kinda low, is that where it's staying?"

Now you're thinking it too, and it'll probably bother you every time you look at it.

I sat mine right on top of the rain gutter, and that worked out perfect for the roof bars. I don't see it working as nicely if you have to accomodate the rain gutter somehow.

Yeah yeah yeah

The other reason I was thinking it too is the roof kicks up higher above the raingutter than an XJ as you move towards the rear of the cab.

Goddamnit. Oh well, I'll just chalk it up to learning experience. Knew something like that was gonna happen. Good thing I didn't get too far on the driver's side

I'll take pics of my b-pillars this weekend too. I personally think they came out tits, but I'm sure there will be something I'm missing :laugh:.

 

[ktm racer 419]

Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread

I personally think they came out tits

did you use your mouth?

 

[MoparManiac]

Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread

This is what most people do:

That's good for 20 inches of travel, and if I wanted to go that route, I could just buy that kit, bolt all of it directly into the front end of the Explorer frame I'm using, and my front suspension would be finished. It's tempting.

But I'm an asshole so I'll probably build my own anyway. My TTB arms will end up similar, but I wanna try and use two parallel links per side instead of radius arms.

It's pretty easy to mod the TTB arms to accept D44 knuckles and balljoints, so I'll do that and run fullsize Bronco hubs and brakes, which should be more than adequate. You can hone the spindle out slightly to fit 30-spline stubs and there exists a 30-spline drive slug that works in those hubs. Then I'd also keep the larger 5 x 5.5 pattern.

I'll do upgraded shafts in whatever rear axle I end up with. A 44 probably wouldn't really have any real gains over an 8.8, just another option if I happen to come across one already built for a good deal or something..

That's damn tempting. If you're going to build your own stuff, just do the parallel 4 link. It's not much more money/work, and I can't see it being worse than radius arms. I'm just thinking that keeping the caster static throughout the insane wheel travel HAS to help regardless of the crazy camber change.

30 spline outers would be bitchin. I think that front axle should be pretty damn stout for 35s IMO.

Yeah I can't see any gains over the 8.8 other than no c-clips. But that's probably not THAT big of a deal.

Remember what I was saying about thinking back on all the stuff that pissed me off or XXXXed me over when I was building my XJ?

Part of that is how much of that work was time & money wasted on accomodating OEM limitations instead of removing them. It really took less than 20 minutes to cut all that inner fender garbage out, and made everything else SO much easier to build the way I wanted to.

I was REAL tempted to lose my inner fenders when I was clearancing them for my tires :laugh:

 

[billyjp2]

Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread

when did this become "the vetteboy and moparmaniac circle jerk thread"?