Read End problems with bigger tires
#1
04-18-2006
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Read End problems with bigger tires
My buddy has 35's on his 05 edge and he's had all kinds of problems with his rear end, he wheels a lot, more than i do. I just put 33's on mine. My question is for the guys who have oversized tired on their rangers, should i be ready for problems with the rear end or will i be ok. I don't know a lot about the mechanical side of thigs, i'm just getting into that. Any info on this would be appreciated. Thanks guys.
#2
04-18-2006
#4
04-18-2006
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#6
04-18-2006
Originally Posted by lifted97ranger
no....he must have something else wrong with the rear end.... the tires aren't the problem.....a 8.8 can handle up to 36 with the 28 spline with no problem......you said he wheels alot....that will cause a few problems with any vehicle....
Being heavy on the right foot at times, I traded up to an FX4 8.8 rear with 31 spline axles and bought a locker for it.
If you go big, you've GOT to limit your aggressiveness unless you're going to build to suit. The 8.8 is strong, but the pinion bearing and axles are a weak point. You can also bend the axle tubes.
Sometimes, rear axle problems are because of a bent axle tube or shaft.
More than a few folks have run into pinion problems with 8.8 rears.
#7
04-20-2006
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Putting on the biggest tire that will fit can cause a number of problems. Your Ranger was not designed for such big tires, and installing them without changing/upgrading other things can cause significant problems. Some of the problems are: your odometer and speedometer are off, the tires are so much heavier than the stock tires that your braking distance increases significantly because the brakes were not designed to handle so much weight, your mpg decreases, your acceleration decreases, chance of a rollover increases due to a higher center of gravity, and increased wear and tear (possibly leading to component failure) on various parts of the suspension and drive systems because the systems were not designed for tires a lot bigger than the stock tires. This is a heavy price to pay for the macho look that you're after. Then there's the fact that the bigger the tire the more it costs.
#8
04-20-2006
Well, John, that was kind of derogatory wasn't it? "Macho look" does not apply if you use the tires offroad. Your dismissive tone seems to indicate you disapprove of building a truck up?
You were not entirely right on the braking issue: it's not so much the weight -- it's the leverage. The larger tires provide more moment-arm against the braking force and make it less effective. That's by far the bigger factor in braking loss with big tires. The added weight is far under the payload limit for the truck -- meaning the brakes CAN handle that part.
Acceleration and drivetrain stress (before the differential) are easily handled by regearing, disregarding the added weight. However, axles than become the issue -- assuming the differential is strong enough.
Bigger tires are the single most effective enhancement to offroading capability. The bigger treads, and higher differential clearance allows better traction and less dragging on "obstacles". Furthermore, the larger tire places fewer pounds per square inch of force in the "footprint" which is very advantageous in soft terrain.
You are correct to state that there is a price to pay for building a truck -- it's all in what you want the truck for. If you want a "car-like" truck as more and more of them are being built today -- fine. Your choice. If you want to offroad, then you have different choices to make. Many stock 4x4's cannot do much of the terrain my lifted and locked 4x2 (regeared also) can do. After I add the front axle and 4x4 drivetrain, it will be even heavier -- but even better.
You were not entirely right on the braking issue: it's not so much the weight -- it's the leverage. The larger tires provide more moment-arm against the braking force and make it less effective. That's by far the bigger factor in braking loss with big tires. The added weight is far under the payload limit for the truck -- meaning the brakes CAN handle that part.
Acceleration and drivetrain stress (before the differential) are easily handled by regearing, disregarding the added weight. However, axles than become the issue -- assuming the differential is strong enough.
Bigger tires are the single most effective enhancement to offroading capability. The bigger treads, and higher differential clearance allows better traction and less dragging on "obstacles". Furthermore, the larger tire places fewer pounds per square inch of force in the "footprint" which is very advantageous in soft terrain.
You are correct to state that there is a price to pay for building a truck -- it's all in what you want the truck for. If you want a "car-like" truck as more and more of them are being built today -- fine. Your choice. If you want to offroad, then you have different choices to make. Many stock 4x4's cannot do much of the terrain my lifted and locked 4x2 (regeared also) can do. After I add the front axle and 4x4 drivetrain, it will be even heavier -- but even better.
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04-20-2006
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04-20-2006
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04-20-2006
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#15
04-21-2006
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#16
04-21-2006
Originally Posted by jbjustin33415
where about do you guys live in ft lauderdale, im up in west palm beach. not many good places to get up here, so a meet would be cool. im sure i could get a few of my friends together and take a road trip somewhere down there. just let me know when
justin
justin
We go down to tami ami and by the indian reservation sometimes. Theres also a place (when it dries up) down off US-27 that is a state park that offroading is "tolerated" and it's pretty muddy. The indian reservation is also a good place to fish. Thats mainly how offroading out there started for me, it's awesome fishing there so we just pack up and fish, but one day I decided to take a trail...it's been awesome since then. We found a bunch of cool places. Just got to whatch for the miccosucci (spelling on that one) police, they don't really bother you, but if they do, your screwed.
#17
04-21-2006
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n3elz's reply to my last post follows with my replies in all caps.
Originally Posted by n3elz
Well, John, that was kind of derogatory wasn't it? "Macho look" does not apply if you use the tires offroad. Your dismissive tone seems to indicate you disapprove of building a truck up?
WHAT I SAID AS TO BIG TIRES WAS "INSTALLING THEM WITHOUT CHANGING/UPGRADING OTHER THINGS CAN CAUSE SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS". SO I WAS NOT TALKING ABOUT BUILDING UP THE RIG FOR OFFROADING. I WAS TALKING ABOUT PUTTING ON BIG TIRES AND DOING NOTHING ELSE, WHICH WE BOTH KNOW THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE DO, AND DO USUALLY FOR THE MACHO LOOK.
You were not entirely right on the braking issue: it's not so much the weight -- it's the leverage. The larger tires provide more moment-arm against the braking force and make it less effective. That's by far the bigger factor in braking loss with big tires. The added weight is far under the payload limit for the truck -- meaning the brakes CAN handle that part.
I'VE READ A NUMBER OF ARTICLES BY EXPERTS WHO SAY THAT SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASING THE MASS (THAT IS THE WEIGHT AND SIZE) OF THE TIRES) CAN ALONE INCREASE BRAKING DISTANCE. THE TV CAR AND TRUCK SHOWS OFTEN SAY THIS WHEN PUTTING SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER TIRES ON A VEHICLE, AND SAY THAT TO OFFSET IT YOU HAVE TO INSTALL LARGER, STRONGER BRAKES.
Acceleration and drivetrain stress (before the differential) are easily handled by regearing, disregarding the added weight. However, axles than become the issue -- assuming the differential is strong enough.
Bigger tires are the single most effective enhancement to offroading capability. The bigger treads, and higher differential clearance allows better traction and less dragging on "obstacles". Furthermore, the larger tire places fewer pounds per square inch of force in the "footprint" which is very advantageous in soft terrain.
You are correct to state that there is a price to pay for building a truck -- it's all in what you want the truck for. If you want a "car-like" truck as more and more of them are being built today -- fine. Your choice. If you want to offroad, then you have different choices to make. Many stock 4x4's cannot do much of the terrain my lifted and locked 4x2 (regeared also) can do. After I add the front axle and 4x4 drivetrain, it will be even heavier -- but even better.
I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST LIFTING A TRUCK, PUTTING ON LARGER TIRES, REGEARING THE TRUCK, AND DOING OTHER THINGS TO COMPENSATE FOR THE LARGE TIRES AND TO MAKE A TRUCK MORE OFFROADABLE. I'M JUST SAYING THAT THERE WILL BE TRADEOFFS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU DON'T MAKE THE CHANGES THAT ARE NECESSARY TO COMPENSATE FOR THE LARGER TIRES.
WHAT I SAID AS TO BIG TIRES WAS "INSTALLING THEM WITHOUT CHANGING/UPGRADING OTHER THINGS CAN CAUSE SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS". SO I WAS NOT TALKING ABOUT BUILDING UP THE RIG FOR OFFROADING. I WAS TALKING ABOUT PUTTING ON BIG TIRES AND DOING NOTHING ELSE, WHICH WE BOTH KNOW THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE DO, AND DO USUALLY FOR THE MACHO LOOK.
You were not entirely right on the braking issue: it's not so much the weight -- it's the leverage. The larger tires provide more moment-arm against the braking force and make it less effective. That's by far the bigger factor in braking loss with big tires. The added weight is far under the payload limit for the truck -- meaning the brakes CAN handle that part.
I'VE READ A NUMBER OF ARTICLES BY EXPERTS WHO SAY THAT SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASING THE MASS (THAT IS THE WEIGHT AND SIZE) OF THE TIRES) CAN ALONE INCREASE BRAKING DISTANCE. THE TV CAR AND TRUCK SHOWS OFTEN SAY THIS WHEN PUTTING SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER TIRES ON A VEHICLE, AND SAY THAT TO OFFSET IT YOU HAVE TO INSTALL LARGER, STRONGER BRAKES.
Acceleration and drivetrain stress (before the differential) are easily handled by regearing, disregarding the added weight. However, axles than become the issue -- assuming the differential is strong enough.
Bigger tires are the single most effective enhancement to offroading capability. The bigger treads, and higher differential clearance allows better traction and less dragging on "obstacles". Furthermore, the larger tire places fewer pounds per square inch of force in the "footprint" which is very advantageous in soft terrain.
You are correct to state that there is a price to pay for building a truck -- it's all in what you want the truck for. If you want a "car-like" truck as more and more of them are being built today -- fine. Your choice. If you want to offroad, then you have different choices to make. Many stock 4x4's cannot do much of the terrain my lifted and locked 4x2 (regeared also) can do. After I add the front axle and 4x4 drivetrain, it will be even heavier -- but even better.
I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST LIFTING A TRUCK, PUTTING ON LARGER TIRES, REGEARING THE TRUCK, AND DOING OTHER THINGS TO COMPENSATE FOR THE LARGE TIRES AND TO MAKE A TRUCK MORE OFFROADABLE. I'M JUST SAYING THAT THERE WILL BE TRADEOFFS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU DON'T MAKE THE CHANGES THAT ARE NECESSARY TO COMPENSATE FOR THE LARGER TIRES.
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