1996 Sub' Plans

[TankerCadaver]

Hey all,

I recently sold my '83 K5 Diesel and just picked up a 1996 GMC K2500 Suburban 6.5L Turbo Diesel 4x4 3/4ton.

It's due for tires and I can't bring myself to put stock sized tires on a truck... must... lift... must... put... on... big... tires...

Offroading is in my blood and even though this is going to be the tow/support/extraction vehicle for my heavily modified Jeep XJ Cherokee, I'm still going to have to lift it a little and get a little bit bigger tire on there.

So, here's what I'm thinking after getting some good advice over in another forum. They recommended I post here with the IFS crowd... so here goes:

Skyjacker Lift Keys... dialing them to 0-2" lift up front.
ORD Zero Rates... 0-1-2pr. for a total of 0-2" lift in the rear (is this insane? couldn't be any more crazy than a 2" lift block right?)
Rancho RS5000 Shocks... spec'd for 2.5" - 4" lift.
*brand unknown at this time* LT285/75/16... in either E or D load rating.

I've read a nice long thread in this forum that the 285 tires may fit on my stock K2500 given maybe a little trimming... in that case I may get them on there and see if I need any lift at all, hence the manner in which I wrote the plans above. Maybe I'll only need to dial up the torsion bars a small amount.

The only real unknown for me at this time (other than the brand of tire I'm going to get) is... should I be considering driveshaft and/or pinion angle modifications for the rear? What about extended brake lines? What about speedometer modifications? What's the typical threshold in terms of lift before these need to be considered on these IFS rigs?

I'm new here and the search through the forums hasn't yielded too much... I'd certainly appreciate any advice, constructive criticism, etc.

THANKS!

I'm planning on beginning a build thread for the mods I'm going through on this and I'm ready to get going!

 

[dhcomp]

Skip the keys. They are just keyed at a different angle to allow you to crank the t bars more than you can stock. And really, you shouldn't crank them much even in stock form.

The Zero rate add a leaf's aren't designed to be stacked. Could you bolt them together, probably, but i haven't seen it done. Talk to Steven at ORD, but i would recommend just running a single zero rate. For 285's, you will be fine. I'm the one that posted those photos of 285's stock. I'll post over here too just so its all together. Truely, i think the stock height looks bitchin with 285's. If you lifted it, they would look small. REmember too, these were BRAND new 285/75 16 BFG At KO's.

Without looking inside, you could not tell i had modified it after i turned it in. Seriously less than 5 min with a 3lb sledge.

The piece circled here unbolts. Doesn't get any easier than that.

Truely, i think the stock height looks bitchin with 285's. If you lifted it, they would look small.

God i wish i coudl find that wheel/tire setup used to put on the current burb. That thing looked sweet.


Throw the zero rate in the back, bolt up the new tires/wheels, and see how it sits. If you have to crank the bars a 1/2 to 1 inch, no big deal. Then minor trimming to fit.

 

[TankerCadaver]

Thanks! And, thanks for posting that info w/ the pics again. I'm going to give it a try without the lift for starters. I too like the look of those 285s on your rig in stock height... works for me.

I'm just bummed a bit since I've already started to collect some parts. Oh, well, there's always the classified section and eBay!

 

[dhcomp]

Thanks! And, thanks for posting that info w/ the pics again. I'm going to give it a try without the lift for starters. I too like the look of those 285s on your rig in stock height... works for me.

I'm just bummed a bit since I've already started to collect some parts. Oh, well, there's always the classified section and eBay!

What parts did you collect? The keys? a second set of zero rate's will sell in an instant on the classifieds here.

 

[TankerCadaver]

What parts did you collect? The keys? a second set of zero rate's will sell in an instant on the classifieds here.

Yeah, a set of Superlift keys from Jeg's and I already had the ORD Zero's (2pr.) from the lift I was planning for my '83 K5. I still have a body bushing/lift set from ORD too that's still new in the box. I think you're right, I'll see how the tires go on the stock height... maybe trim a little if needed.

Then I'll list the ORD stuff on the site at a good discount. The keys were only like $35 and the tool was around $65... shouldn't be any trouble selling those too.

I just ordered slightly longer Rancho RS5000 shocks (2.5"-4" lift) from my local O'Reilly. I'm sure I can return/exchange those if necessary... my rig desperately needs shocks!

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Rancho RS5000's bring the SUCK. Hydraulic, over priced, buying the name BS. Bah!
NAPA's Truck shocks are better shocks than those things. Nitrogen charged, monotube goodness for about $25 each.

I'm with him. 285's will fit stock. Trim/smack what needs to be handled and call it good. I lifted/modified a '92 IFS GM fullsize in the past and yeah...whole big can of worms.
If you REALLY want to run big tires then put a body lift on it and call it good.

YOU DO NOT WANT TO START DICKING WITH THE SUSPENSION AND STEERING ON THESE THINGS. They work okay in the stock form...nothing aftermarket makes it better. All the suspension lift kits do is make the truck taller and more complicated...and often compromises you don't want.

At least yours is a 2500 so it's got the beefier front end.

 

[dhcomp]

At least yours is a 2500 so it's got the beefier front end.

Not still bitter are we AJM?

My IFS blazer is parked after 180k cause the front end is needs work and i can't justify fixing it anymore.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Yep. I got tired of fixing mine every year or other year while saving/gathering parts to do the SFA. Finally I was just in a place where I couldn't afford to keep the process going and I gave up.

Notice I just bought a 20 year old SFA GM SUV on the other end of the country instead of one of the skads of IFS GM's locally. BAH!

 

[TankerCadaver]

Thanks for the advice on the shocks... It's worth the try for the NAPA shocks given their low cost. I'll just decline the one's on order at O'Reilly's.

I have a set of RS9000s on my XJ... they may or may not be junk but the adjustable settings is teh bomb for me (swaybars, we doan need no stinkin' swaybars).

 

[AJMBLAZER]

RS5000's and RS9000's are entirely seperate entities...


...that said Bilstein HD's are better than both. Spendy though. Best shocks I ever had on my '92 were the stock Bilstein HD's that came with the Z71 package.

 

[TankerCadaver]

Thanks again!

I'm getting BFG All Terrains tomorrow (Saturday) in the 285/75/16 size that have the E load rating (I've got some pretty worn Uniroyal 265s on there now with no clearance issues whatsoever). I've run BFG Mud Terrains on my Jeep, my dad's Jeep, friend's Jeeps... excellent tires. I think one set of hand-me-down tires has nearly 80K miles on them now... they were on my buddies Jeep for about 50K, then on my Jeep for about 15K until I lifted higher and went with bigger tires, then they were on my dad's Jeep for 10K, then the went on some other guy's Jeep in the club for who knows how long... BFG, we're not worthy

Can't wait to see how these new tires fit!

 

[AJMBLAZER]

So why not put muds on the Sub?

I hate all terrains. Good on the road and crap offroad. Might as well get muds which are good on the road and good offroad. Sipe the muds and they're perfectly fine on road.

 

[dhcomp]

So why not put muds on the Sub?

I hate all terrains. Good on the road and crap offroad. Might as well get muds which are good on the road and good offroad. Sipe the muds and they're perfectly fine on road.

Why not muds? My guess is road noise. I know people that think AT's are loud on teh street. Granted, some people are more tollerant.....but Personally, unless i'm getting a screaming deal, no way i'm putting muds on my burb. It sees 15-20k on the freeway a year, at speeds from 60-85. I don't need one more think making that thing uncomfortable on the freeway.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Eh, depends on the tire really.

The TrXus MT's I had on my Ranger were downright quiet. Low hum in the background. I had them most of a year before my wife noticed one day when the radio was quiet.
"What's that noise?"

Then again I have had some that were screamers. Dull roar all the way down the road.

 

[TankerCadaver]

I've found my 33" BFG MTs to be pretty quiet on the road.

If I'm not mistaken I can't get a road hazard warranty and mileage warranty for the MTs... plus, I'm planning on using the Sub' more as a utility vehicle / Jeep support vehicle / tow vehicle / etc.... not really planning on taking 'er on the trail.

Maybe someday when I can save up the money for a SAS she'll be a trail dancer!

 

[TankerCadaver]

Oh, but I too am of the opinion that ATs are pretty much worthless for offroading.

Many new folks in the Jeep club here have timidly gotten started offroading and were worried about making the jump to mud terrains... after about 1 trip offroad they were all pissed that they bought ATs

If I could get the warranty and the load rating etc. out of the MTs I might go that route.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

All my vehicles have MT's. Even the DD's. It's just a matter of time before I get some for the K5 I don't even have in my possession yet.
Siped muds = good road manors and offroad traction.

Random thought but some makers, not BFG though, have "in between" styles that have AT like tread with MT like voids and depth. Nice compromise.

 

[noJeepshere]

YOU DO NOT WANT TO START DICKING WITH THE SUSPENSION AND STEERING ON THESE THINGS. They work okay in the stock form...nothing aftermarket makes it better. All the suspension lift kits do is make the truck taller and more complicated...and often compromises you don't want.

At least yours is a 2500 so it's got the beefier front end.

Yeeap! 10,000+ miles on the cranked front end and not one problem to be had. But then, I do have a wednesday truck and not a Monday morning rig.