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Well, Big Ugly's officially a project and not a vehicle

Not much turning radius loss. I was able to at least halve what I had lost with the HMMWV tires. Still not factory to the right but I don't have to do a 3 or 4 point turn to make the tight circle of my driveway when I leave in the morning.

Drove it to work today. At hard lock and under bumps the tires rub the back of the wheel well liners. I'm going to give them the BFH treatment this weekend and go from there. Part of it is the plastic liner behind each wheel well liner and under the floorboards/firewall that sorta stiffens the lower edge of the wheel well liner.

Air pressure is definitely key. Yesterday at 40psi it was horribly bouncy and the bump steer was worse. Today at 35psi it was better but probably needs to go a bit lower. Most of the tread is on the ground now. Bump steer is still there but I'm getting used to the new, tighter feel and the bumpsteer at the same time.
That said on the trip home I was driving through a downpour with one hand on the wheel and the other on the wiper stalk.
Definitely need to groove and sipe the XL's.
 
Oh yeah...driving the thing...amazing the difference it's made.

In cab the noise is MUCH quieter. At 55mph or so it used to be a dull roar of the engine. Tire noise? WHAT TIRE NOISE! etc...
My stereo had to be on setting 30 something for me to even understand the music...and I listen to punk and hard rock.
Now I can actually hear the tires, the stereo seems loud on 25, and the engine is obviously much quieter. Obviously spinning at slower speeds is helping. Can't wait to see what it does for the mpg.

Doesn't get up and go like it used to but also doesn't seem to start "running out of gas" at 45mph or so. Perfectly drivable around town, seems to cruise much better at 55-60mph, and still can move out of it's own way.
 
Good deal. Thanks for the info. I noticed that plastic thing last night and pulled one out. I am going to bend my inner fender back to see if I can get a full turn out of it. Well off to the tire shop:D
 
Good luck.

HEY! Did I mention the Airsoft BB's! My tires are SMOOOOOOTH with about 11 ounces worth of BB's in each.
 
Buddies with the tire guys I use so I just had 11oz or so in plastic sammich baggies and they dumped them in while the tires were on the rim but not on the bead on the tire machine.



My tires make this "BB's rolling on rough rubber" noise as you roll them along the garage floor.:D


Truth be told I got he idea from MrK5.



Oh yeah, drop your air pressure. Bet Big Ugly weighs more than your K5 and man, even 40psi was too high. 35 is better but probably going lower.
 
you can run like 8lbs in them tires and just get a decent bludge....... them sidewalls are crazy thick
 
Mine actually have a nice little bulge to them right now at about 35psi in the front and 32psi in the rear. After hearing all the comments about them not bulging I was sort of surprised when these did.

Don't beleive the hype. They're definitely not a P-metric car tire with 20psi in them but they aren't pavement rollers or anything.
 
AJMBLAZER said:
Mine actually have a nice little bulge to them right now at about 35psi in the front and 32psi in the rear. After hearing all the comments about them not bulging I was sort of surprised when these did.

Don't beleive the hype. They're definitely not a P-metric car tire with 20psi in them but they aren't pavement rollers or anything.
Click to expand...


im thinkin about going michelen or 37x14 Iroks when i finally put mine back together
 
I think...in a few years when we're out of this place and I can either build a pole barn or we at least have a place with a larger garage, I'll start looking at the 325/85R16 XML's that the USMC and Canada use on their LAV's now. More aggressive tread, better sidewall, and wider. Same Michelin quality...

...and for some reason go for less still. They are about the same size as these but are about 13" wide. I'd need new wheels and have to lift it some but eh...if that's the price I have to pay...
 
Better late than never eh?


It's officially off the road now as they put salt down last week the first time the roads iced up...:crazy::rolleyes::mad::(
However earlier this week I did pull it out and "wheeled" the side yard and the old barn foundation. Definitely flexes like a 1 ton but here's the asked for photos:

First off for our non-member friends:
364830_198_full.jpg


364830_204_full.jpg


Those are from a few weeks ago. Here are some shots from earlier this week:
364830_209_full.jpg


364830_210_full.jpg

Not a flex monster but hey, what can you expect out of stock 1 ton springs?

Front tire "stuffed" and straight forwards:
364830_206_full.jpg

Front tire turned until it rubs the wheel well liner:
364830_207_full.jpg


Yes, I'm going to clean up and paint the cuts when the weather warms back up. Ran out of 50+ weather to do the painting. Having everything depending on my poor budget sucks sometimes. Nothing ever happens when it should or I want it to.:(


There's more shots on my CarDomain page:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/364830
 
Looking good...

On a side note, sold the '80 today. Think I'm gonna look for a 89-91 K5 or pre Taco Yota. 10 MPG was killing me.
 
Thanks guys.

Dude, sold the old Chev again eh? Thought you had a newer driver though?
Get a diesel man! No one wants them but they do good when properly geared, will last forever if taken care of, and hell, I get around 15mpg without OD!
I like Yotas but with the rust issues up here combined with their high resale values I've never been able to get one.
 
Yeah. I've thought about replacing my Tracker DD with a Toyota pickup but oy, for what they go for, even at 15 years old with lots of miles and rust I can get two decent Trackers for the same price!
 
I have the 07, but the GF didn't like driving the old beast with the SM465, Detroit, and carb- three strikes there. I need something that she's willing to drive, or at least something that doesn't use as much gas- it was costing me $10 a day to get to work.

A diesel is definately on the want list, but they are impossible to find that aren't worn ragged. Most of the Toyotas I find are beat too. I'll just have to see what turns up. I had a clean 85 4 runner lined up for $1200, but I had an earlier buyer back out on me so I missed out. :doah:

Rustbelt? I'll be buying in AZ, no more rusty vehicles for me.

I've thought about going with a cheap econobox, and a cheap buggy/ trail rig, but I don't think the GF will go for that (still have the project Nova, too.)

EFI or diesel, and OD are on my list of must haves- unless I find a clean cheap CUCV somewhere.

I did manage to sell the 80 for more than I bought it for, though not by much.

IDK, finding a new one is fun. Lots to choose from on PHX Craigslist. I've always wanted a K5. I'd love to have a rig like yours, but I'm going to keep the budget around $2500, give or take. That narrows it down significantly. The high gas and diesel prices help though.
 
Doh, that's right. Change your damn profile man, it still shows Iowa!

Look for a CUCV Blazer. You should be able to get into a decent one for not too much. No OD and still half tons but you can fix both of those issues and they still get good gas mileage. Lemme know if you want me to get you some places to look for them.

I just can't ever justify another gas V8 really. 13mpg (at best) at $3.219 a gallon up here would just kill me. At least when I do use Big Ugly the thing gets better gas mileage than my Ranger did!
 
I am in IA right now, but it looks like I'm going to be returning to AZ soon.

At any rate, I would be willing to travel to AZ for a vehicle purchase, the trucks are too clean and cheap to pass up down there.

Any CUCV sources would be great. If I'm going that route, I think I'd prefer the truck.
 
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