HighALT's Build

[the007forum]

I'm definitely in that club. My truck is 6 different colors. I have stuck with Chevy's for work trucks and they have all been good to me. Hows the weather up in FOCO? Do you have a heated garage to work on your truck? I have pretty much given up until the weather gets warmer.

[HighALT]

Originally Posted by the007forum

I'm definitely in that club. My truck is 6 different colors. I have stuck with Chevy's for work trucks and they have all been good to me. Hows the weather up in FOCO? Do you have a heated garage to work on your truck? I have pretty much given up until the weather gets warmer.

Glad to see I'm not alone. The weather's a bit chilly, we got just enough snow to cover the ground and ice up the roads last night. The mountains got pounded... Steamboat Springs got 2 ft. Wolf Creek got 2 ft...

No heated garage, there's no natural gas line running to it (detached), it's only partially insulated (salvage work in progress). There's no point in a space heater. The easiest solution was to go propane actually and I didn't feel like spending the money.

Not to mention, if you drive on roads with mag chloride you should never park in a heated garage at night unless you wash your under-carriage right before parking it for the night.

[HighALT]

Yes... IT'S OFFICIAL! The re-gear is ON!!!

Just got off the phone with Steve from Rugged Rocks and tomorrow morning he'll be shipping me 4.56's, major overhaul kit and an Eaton Truetrac! I feel like I've done exhaustive research and waited almost two years for these, it's about time to pull the trigger.

I decided against the ARB locker for now (seriously too expensive). If I get another daily driver, start tackling more obstacles and the M205 locker from ARB comes out I'll consider getting locked front and back. Right now I'm 80% daily driving, 20% off-road. I really just haven't been doing anything that I can think of that I would NEED lockers for.

P.S. - Steve at RuggedRocks provides excellent customer service, highly recommended. Seriously... the only place I'd buy gears from.

Update: I hope this isn't a sign... but my credit card just got declined. I think it's because I just got a new one and may have forgotten to activate it. Guess I'll find out tomorrow. But some stupid bank isn't going to stop me from getting GEARS!

[sexy6chick]

^Congrats on the parts! You'll enjoy them thoroughly i'm sure Steve from Rugged Rocks is awesome..always great to deal with. If it was a large amount and you've never purchased anything from Rugged Rocks, that could be why it was declined..i'm sure it will get straightened out.

[HighALT]

Originally Posted by sexy6chick

^Congrats on the parts! You'll enjoy them thoroughly i'm sure Steve from Rugged Rocks is awesome..always great to deal with. If it was a large amount and you've never purchased anything from Rugged Rocks, that could be why it was declined..i'm sure it will get straightened out.

Yup, everything got straightened out. There was a miscommunication at one of the warehouses too but all that took to fix was a phone call. I finally got all the parts last week. Dropped them off with my truck at the shop before the weekend. Hopefully everything will be done before the end of this week. I'm pretty excited/nervous to see how 4.56 feels... reminds me of when I was waiting on my JWT clutch/flywheel. That ended up being kind of cool but kind of a complete failure.

[HighALT]

UPDATE:

The differentials are re-geared but it turns out I do need the expensive ($200 instead of $100) yoke from Superior that I didn't think I needed. And now they're out of stock. So, I got my truck back in 4x2 to keep it out of the shops way for the next couple weeks. And of course... it hasn't stopped snowing since I got it back.

I'm not sure what to think of the 4.56's yet; haven't had a chance to go over 45 mph around town. But the difference is HUGE! At first it almost feels like your clutch is just slipping... haha. I love that I can put it in first and drop the clutch without touching the gas and it just crawls along at idle, maybe 2-3 mph.

Also haven't had a chance to really see what the trutrac LSD is up to. Driving around with 4x2 in the snow/ice with my KM2's still had me all over the place but sliding around turns felt more predictable. I know I really want to get Duratracs but the largest size is even a little smaller than my 35's. With these 4.56's I really can't be going any smaller, if anything I need to go at least a little bigger.

The problem I'm having with tires is that 34.6" (Duratrac) is the largest tire that's rated for severe winter driving. The next best thing is BFGoodrich A/T K/O's which they make in a 37" but they're not only expensive and ugly as sin but they're also considerably less competent in the snow/ice. Tough call.

I've thought of selling my 35" KM2's to get some 37" M/T's for the summer and get the 35" Duratrac's for the winter. Since I don't go that fast in the winter, it might work out. But in the spring/summer/fall it would be nice to reach highway speed at a reasonable RPM. Then again, most roads to where I want to go have much lower speed limits/suggestions than 75 mph.

Overall, there's way too much playing around left to do before passing any judgement on my choices. Ideally, I would have wanted something in between 4.10's and 4.56's... but those were the choices. And, I knew 4.10's weren't going to satisfy for the money spent. For this kind of money you just have to go 4.56 because it completely changes the truck. Unless money isn't an issue, then 4.10's would be great for a moderately modified daily driver/weekend warrior situation.

[JeniorNV]

You think the highway RPM's will be that bad?

I'd like to hear your impressions once you've taken it on the highway a few times.

[HighALT]

Originally Posted by JeniorNV

You think the highway RPM's will be that bad?

I'd like to hear your impressions once you've taken it on the highway a few times.

I knew they wouldn't be right where I want them but they feel even deeper than I expected. If the highway rpm is reasonable at 65 mph, I'll be pretty happy. As I said, I'll try to get those numbers as soon as I can. I'll definitely be posting MPG numbers after I run a full tank through too.

Driving the truck now also makes me want to get the short throw shifter from PRG. Too bad it's over $300 and who knows when I'll actually get it. But I think it would be nice around town now that I have to shift up so much faster.

[l4nboy]

Planning on a very similar suspension setup.

Any idea what kind of clearance you need overhead? (ground to top of roof). Curious if something this high will even fit in my garage...

Have you taken it off the road to see what tire clearance is like under flex?

[HighALT]

Alright, so I went out and got some quick, rough estimates. Obviously, all of the speeds are rounded up/down but I was trying to keep my eyes on the road. They are close enough to go off of though.

1st @ 2500 rpm = 12 mph
2nd @ 2500 rpm = 20 mph
3rd @ 2500 rpm = 30 mph
4th @ 2500 rpm = 40 mph
5th @ 2500 rpm = 50 mph
6th @ 2500 rpm = 65 mph

Bottom-line is that you'll pretty much stay under 3000 rpm at any speed limits in this country. I would say that's pretty reasonable for the off-road performance you get. It does take a little getting used to.

Originally Posted by l4nboy

Planning on a very similar suspension setup.

Any idea what kind of clearance you need overhead? (ground to top of roof). Curious if something this high will even fit in my garage...

Have you taken it off the road to see what tire clearance is like under flex?

I know that I fit in my garage pretty easily. I don't have an extra tall door but it's bigger than some of the smaller old ones I see. But it seems to fit in all "newer construction" garages. I don't think I have room for a roof rack and taller lights though... maybe an LED bar.

I've taken it off road without any problems clearing during moderate flex. But, since I put on 35's the truck has spent most of the time in the shop. It also happens to be winter. So, I haven't really had a chance to push the truck hard. It probably will rub a bit at some point but I'll just trim some more.