Project 4x4 Commuter Mazda

[legoms013]

could you mount the jack on the bottom side of the bars?? i think it'd look better.

but yeah, i'm loving this build... nice build up of daily driver and weekend warrior. i'm loving it, that's what i'm going for with my b2.

Suppose its possible but then I'd have a heckuva time threading it beneath the crossbars everytime I need to use it or attach it back.

 

[legoms013]

Went up to the snow and got uber stuck today. Bent my fairlead trying to winch out. Got help from a coilovered rock buggy, that worked great.

 

[-Nathan-]

its all cause of your tires buddy. when you getting new ones?

 

[legoms013]

Might have been part of the problem The other part was 24" of loose snow.....gotta love them friends that egg you on Didn't have to use the high lift though.

I'm thinking tires next month or February. BFG 33x10.5 KM'2s...then re-gearing next summer. Or should I hold off a little longer, and bite the bullet for 35's and everything else that comes along with 'em? 35's can be had for pretty cheap all over craigslist.....I could probably get a set with wheels for around $600.....and then I'd have more money for gearing.

 

[-Nathan-]

there is a reason Im going to a Dana 60 and 14 bolt this summer.....I want to run bigger than 33's but dont dare because of the way I drive. Seems like anything over 33" with lockers and you start to break stuff. Then again, if youre real easy on the skinny pedal, it may work for you.

 

[legoms013]

Yeah you have a point....tho lots of people have had good luck with 35's on Ranger axles. I dunno the idea is intriguing to me....... Not sure of my driving style....I think I'd be fine my dad has wheeled 35x14.5's on a dana 30 for years in a manny tranny with a heavy V8 up front his CJ-5 with never a single breakage of anything.

Do you like to get your skinny pedal on Nathan?

 

[-Nathan-]

yea.....i tend to throttle through things....lol.

 

[legoms013]

Knowing that I'd say you are on the right track with the D60 and 14 Bolt swap

Maybe 33's are more my style until someday when I do the same and swap some 1-ton hardware under there, which would work great for a Cummins 4bt motor too.

The general consensus is 4.56 gears for 33's and the 4.0L. But what about going one notch deeper, with 4.88's? That way I'd be over geared "in case" I wanted to run 35's for laughs.

 

[escort_gts]

there is nothing wrong with 4.88. You will have a great low first gear for crawling.

But if you will go with 35's I would recommend something lower than 4.88

 

[-Nathan-]

4 56 and 33s is perfect. I would say go for it as far as 4 88, depending on how you drive. If you do lots of highway, than i would say no, keep 456 for now, but if youre in teh city, than sure.

one thing tho...parts are a lot more expensive for the one tonne stuff.....

looking at gears and install kits....jeepers...more almost double what I paid for ranger stuff.

 

[Bennybooster]

Might have been part of the problem The other part was 24" of loose snow.....gotta love them friends that egg you on Didn't have to use the high lift though.

I'm thinking tires next month or February. BFG 33x10.5 KM'2s...then re-gearing next summer. Or should I hold off a little longer, and bite the bullet for 35's and everything else that comes along with 'em? 35's can be had for pretty cheap all over craigslist.....I could probably get a set with wheels for around $600.....and then I'd have more money for gearing.

I would go with a wider set of 33's, 10.5 33's with almost 8inches of lift will look small in my opinion

 

[Kyle M.]

Knowing that I'd say you are on the right track with the D60 and 14 Bolt swap

Maybe 33's are more my style until someday when I do the same and swap some 1-ton hardware under there, which would work great for a Cummins 4bt motor too.

The general consensus is 4.56 gears for 33's and the 4.0L. But what about going one notch deeper, with 4.88's? That way I'd be over geared "in case" I wanted to run 35's for laughs.

I went 4.88's with my 33's. then went to 35's and it works great. If I was to do it over I would go 5.13.

4.88 and 33's is doable to DD, I did on mine and still got 15mpg.

 

[legoms013]

I would go with a wider set of 33's, 10.5 33's with almost 8inches of lift will look small in my opinion

Yes they will be narrow, but I like my tires narrow. Oh and its not really 8" of lift...its really more like 6"

I went 4.88's with my 33's. then went to 35's and it works great. If I was to do it over I would go 5.13.

4.88 and 33's is doable to DD, I did on mine and still got 15mpg.

If and when I go to 35's it won't be my DD, so I'll gear as low as I need to run them.

What I'll probably do is get a new set of 33x10.5 and those will last for most of the rest of my commuting (on 3.73's) and then switch to 35's and 4.88 or 5.13's after the truck no longer pulls DD duty in a of couple years.

 

[legoms013]

So I went snow wheelin' on Friday and got really stuck, had to winch sideways while another guy towed me away from a snow bank. Had my winch-line going 90* from the truck, pulling sideways, full lock to the right. Quickly found the limits of my powersteering leverage, and battery capacity.

Once back out on the road I found the truck drifts to the right, and requires the steering wheel to be 30* to the left for the truck to drive straight.

SO question is, what changed?

A quick visual inspections shows no camber change, and tires point parallel to the truck as best that I can tell from eye-ball.

I checked the tie-rod adjusting sleeves to see if they moved at all, but nothing, I checked drop brackets, radius arms, and if the coils had rotated in their buckets.

What else am I missing that could result in it not tracking straight anymore?

 

[escort_gts]

Hmm? Does all your doors and hood close correctly now? If you bent the frame some the hood or doors lines might not line up then....