Inexpesive Tire Upgrade

[PhoenixZorn]

I'm running on 31x10.5 Mud tires right now, and I plan to do a bit of trail running and mudding this spring/summer. What would be the least expensive tire upgrade I can do for daily driving and hitting the pits? I'll be running these on a 86 K5 with a 295hp/380ft/lbs 350 with 3.73 gears and a 3 speed manual with a crawler box. I'm also looking for an inexpensive suspension lift... 2-4 inches should do well.... and not break the bank. Any suggestions?

 

[the beast]

I picked up a 4" rough country lift for about $450. That was with rear blocks.

As for tires, there is a company called Hi-tec retreads that people have had good luck with. I'd buy a set to use strictly for trails.

Or look in the for sale section here and see what others have to get rid of.

 

[thezentree]

Look around 4x4 forums' for sale sections. I picked up a set of 4 33" MT/Rs with about 75% tread left for $100. There are deals to be had when people are tired of parts filling up their shops.

 

[PhoenixZorn]

I think I just found my new set of tires, and amazingly, they are already in Wisconsin. Looking forward to a reply to my message.

 

[Silver84k5]

whats this crawler box you speak of?

 

[PhoenixZorn]

A crawler box is like Low gear in an Auto truck, cept its got an insane ratio usually double that of 1st gear on a manual. It's so strong, you can let the clutch out without touching the gas, and roll along at about 2mph all day without any worry about anything... of course, it can't go more than 10-15 mph at max RPM so it's useless for anything except getting a quick start or moving something that just doesn't want to go in a higher gear. You can make 36inch boggers cook with a crawler gear and 3.73 gears on dry pavement... but doing a brake stand in a manual truck is not my idea of a smart thing to do.

My former father-in-law (RIP) had a crawler box on his 454 C30 rig that he could crawl with a strap to a 20 ton tractor... he'd winch it until the rig started to shake, then put it in Low and fire it up... I watched him drag that 20 ton tractor a good 5 feet before he let the winch cable out again and repeated the process... Needless to say, if you have a crawler gear AND 4wLow, you are not going more than 5 MPH at max RPM

 

[the beast]

Sounds like a "granny gear"

 

[PhoenixZorn]

that's exactly what it is... but most granny gears are a separate box from the tranny as far as I know... or maybe it's just called a "crawler box" to confuse the masses.

 

[Jonny-K5]

that's exactly what it is... but most granny gears are a separate box from the tranny as far as I know... or maybe it's just called a "crawler box" to confuse the masses.

maybe they call the whole tranny a crawler box if it has a granny low in it.

 

[PhoenixZorn]

That's a good point... never thought of that...