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The restoration/modification of Daisy.

That's a beautiful sunset. Great photo.

David
 
Thanks guys, I really appreciate it!

Yeah Adam I've got some rock anchors now too, they should hold up just fine. I'm not worried about hurting those things.
 
i love my truck, it drives so nice, sounds great and always makes me happy.

I've thought more about your closing comment.

Clearly our trucks can connect us to friends and family and adventure, but in the building and driving they give us contemplative time of our own. Busy hands quiet the mind. The joy of driving is compounded by the knowledge that your truck was hand built, by you.

Screens provide empty calories of immediate entertainment, but our hobby nourishes completely and with lasting effect.

Your suburban has transformed in a relatively short period of time, and I enjoy watching the quality work unfold. I'm looking forward to next May, when I hope to see it in person.

David
 
I've thought more about your closing comment.

Clearly our trucks can connect us to friends and family and adventure, but in the building and driving they give us contemplative time of our own. Busy hands quiet the mind. The joy of driving is compounded by the knowledge that your truck was hand built, by you.

Screens provide empty calories of immediate entertainment, but our hobby nourishes completely and with lasting effect.

Your suburban has transformed in a relatively short period of time, and I enjoy watching the quality work unfold. I'm looking forward to next May, when I hope to see it in person.

David

Well aren't you the f@$king Dalai Lama!!!

Quoted for truth.

Well said man, well said....:thumb:
 
I've thought more about your closing comment.

Clearly our trucks can connect us to friends and family and adventure, but in the building and driving they give us contemplative time of our own. Busy hands quiet the mind. The joy of driving is compounded by the knowledge that your truck was hand built, by you.

Screens provide empty calories of immediate entertainment, but our hobby nourishes completely and with lasting effect.

Your suburban has transformed in a relatively short period of time, and I enjoy watching the quality work unfold. I'm looking forward to next May, when I hope to see it in person.

David


Very well put! I'm really looking forward to that trip as well, you'll be rolling through Las Vegas on your way there won't you?

I've got a tech question guys. I want to re-gear the differentials who're Moab, I'm at 4.10 right now. The with 4l80e and 35s I'm turning 2200-2300rpm at 70-75mph, where I typically cruise. My issue is that with any grade at all it starts downshifting, seems like it spends too much time jumping back and forth, in/out of OD. I'm thinking that a lower gear will help this, so I'm trying to decide on a ratio. 4.56 or 4.88? Seem like the eternal question, unanswerable, pros/cons to both, I'm stumped. I'm not sure if I'll step up the tire size someday, if anything I'd run 37s but 35s are treating me pretty well. I'm more focused on overlanding, camping and running light trails, it's not a rock crawler. I spend a lot of time on the highway so highway drive-ability and fuel mileage do matter to a point. For that reason I'm thinking 4.56 but I know the 4.88s would be more beneficial off road. It's a tough call. At 70mph, 4.56s will put me at 2500rpm, 4.88s will bump it up to 2700rpm. So for the majority of my time in the truck 4.56 would be the better choice. But if I were to step up to 37s I'd be right back where I am now basically. (Within 100rpm of my current setup.) So maybe 4.88 would be the better choice, I'm just concerned what that would do to my highway mileage.

I could go on and on all night but I want input from someone with experience and this is the place to get it.
 
I always worry about having to rely on od. If you are towing or going up steep grades and have to kick it out of od then you will be around 3300 rpm? Which is pretty high. So on my junk I like where it's fine in 3rd for cruising but od is not needed, but is a bonus.
 
The restoration/modification of Daisy…

I always worry about having to rely on od. If you are towing or going up steep grades and have to kick it out of od then you will be around 3300 rpm? Which is pretty high. So on my junk I like where it's fine in 3rd for cruising but od is not needed, but is a bonus.


That's a good point. Most everyone else has told me that if you've got OD, to gear lower so the OD makes up for it. And yeah 3rd gear at 70mph puts me just under 3300 rpm with 4.88s, 3000 with 4.56s.
 
Very well put! I'm really looking forward to that trip as well, you'll be rolling through Las Vegas on your way there won't you?
Mostly likely. It's pretty much a straight shot from Dallas to Las Vegas. We could roll the strip.

Related to your concern of downshifting too frequently on grades, do you know if your TC is unlocking and giving you that "in-between gear" prior to dropping down into 3rd? I programmed my TCU to unlock on moderate grades that need just about 200 - 300 more RPM, and it's worked very well. For a factory programmed TCU, that would be an inexpensive experiment prior to committing to a gear change.

As for gearing, I thoroughly enjoyed the combination of 4.88s and 37" BFGS (35.5" measured diameter). Cruising in 4th (.70 OD) was in the 2100 - 2200 range for 65ish MPH, and 3rd gear was in the 2500 - 2600 range for loaded hill climbs. I suspect 4.56s and 35s would be a great combination, and agree with your reasoning about keeping with 35s for overland use, specifically a wider and more commonly available range of choices for brand and load range.

David
 
Related to your concern of downshifting too frequently on grades, do you know if your TC is unlocking and giving you that "in-between gear" prior to dropping down into 3rd? I programmed my TCU to unlock on moderate grades that need just about 200 - 300 more RPM, and it's worked very well. For a factory programmed TCU, that would be an inexpensive experiment prior to committing to a gear change.

I'm sure you are aware that this unlocked state is what generates the most heat.

So, if your system is up for cooling that, great. Otherwise, I do everything in my power to stay out of that "in-between" gears territory.
 
Mostly likely. It's pretty much a straight shot from Dallas to Las Vegas. We could roll the strip.

Related to your concern of downshifting too frequently on grades, do you know if your TC is unlocking and giving you that "in-between gear" prior to dropping down into 3rd? I programmed my TCU to unlock on moderate grades that need just about 200 - 300 more RPM, and it's worked very well. For a factory programmed TCU, that would be an inexpensive experiment prior to committing to a gear change.

As for gearing, I thoroughly enjoyed the combination of 4.88s and 37" BFGS (35.5" measured diameter). Cruising in 4th (.70 OD) was in the 2100 - 2200 range for 65ish MPH, and 3rd gear was in the 2500 - 2600 range for loaded hill climbs. I suspect 4.56s and 35s would be a great combination, and agree with your reasoning about keeping with 35s for overland use, specifically a wider and more commonly available range of choices for brand and load range.

David

Hell yeah i'd love to get some photos of both our Suburbans on the strip! yeah my TCU unlocks the converter when needed, i've also got a TCC lock switch wired into it so i can keep it locked when i need to. yeah those are basically all the reasons i stuck with 35s, availability, price and choices.

I'm sure you are aware that this unlocked state is what generates the most heat.

So, if your system is up for cooling that, great. Otherwise, I do everything in my power to stay out of that "in-between" gears territory.

yeah unlocked TC, especially in OD builds a lot of heat. my new tranny cooler should handle that fairly well. with the old cooler i noticed the trans getting hot on long grades. lower R&Ps should help the trans temps as well.

I've gotten a lot of good opinions both here and on Facebook. good points for each ratio, seems everyone is leaning towards 4.88s. i don't tow anything yet, i have no trailers or a place to keep one right now. when loaded for a camping trip i'm still pretty heavy though. one day i'll have to get her onto a scale to see where i'm at.
 
Your kind of stuck in a rock/hard place here. 4.56s are perfect with OD and 35s, but gearing axles is expensive. And if 37s have you curious it may be cost effective to do 4.88s and slightly lower your cruising speed to compensate till you get 37s. That way your not stuck at square one with 37s with brand new gears that gained you nothing in the grand scheme but a lighter bank account.
 
Your kind of stuck in a rock/hard place here. 4.56s are perfect with OD and 35s, but gearing axles is expensive. And if 37s have you curious it may be cost effective to do 4.88s and slightly lower your cruising speed to compensate till you get 37s. That way your not stuck at square one with 37s with brand new gears that gained you nothing in the grand scheme but a lighter bank account.
Exactly. I'm not sure if I'll step up to 37s but it would be nice to have that option. If I go 4.88, I'll feel obligated to buy 37s next time.
 
Exactly. I'm not sure if I'll step up to 37s but it would be nice to have that option. If I go 4.88, I'll feel obligated to buy 37s next time.

Wait...if you feel obligated to buy them, are they really optional at that point? :thinking:

Sounds to me like your choice of gears will force your choice of tires. Since this is an overland/expedition rig, I would keep the 35" tires. They are plenty big enough, and you will enjoy the nicer road manners and gas mileage on the road trips.

Less street-able = less fun, in my book. :dunno:
 
Wait...if you feel obligated to buy them, are they really optional at that point? :thinking:

Sounds to me like your choice of gears will force your choice of tires. Since this is an overland/expedition rig, I would keep the 35" tires. They are plenty big enough, and you will enjoy the nicer road manners and gas mileage on the road trips.

Less street-able = less fun, in my book. :dunno:


i agree, the truck needs to retain the road manners. i've talked to a lot of people about it seems everyone is leaning towards 4.88. possibly the best advice is from a good friend of mine who used to have 4.56s in his jimmy and ended up swapping to 4.88. i gotta keep in mind that the suburban is only going to get heavier from here, i haven't built the rear swing outs or roof rack, mounted the winch or built a storage/sleeping platform yet. after all of that and loading it with a week's work of gear, she's gonna be heavy. i'm thinking i'll be better off with 4.88.
 

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