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Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
I threw that D2 all over the place like a cheap whore but the sliders retained their virginity.
 

MM3846

Well-known member
Feb 18, 2014
1,221
161
LI, NY
It was MM3846 that mentioned the APT sliders. I don't have sliders and probably won't bother with them. I had a beefy set of sliders on my D2 and I literally NEVER touched them on anything.

Here's how mine sits today. Lucky8 CFE front bumper and Terrafirma roof rack also from Lucky8. I also installed engine and trans skid plates from Rimmer Brothers and a-arm skids from Prospeed (purchased from Lucky8, still waiting on the rears to arrive). Just installed the Rigid spot lights on the rack yesterday. Have to install the two little "scene" lights on either side of the rack and then wire them up. Also have to pull the front bumper to remove the winch solenoid box, fix a bad wire, extend the solenoid leads, and relocate the solenoid. There isn't enough room for the box to sit on top of the winch in this bumper and not enough room to work on it or remove it from the front access hole. Also have to secure the wheel arches to the body - the damn front tabs are broken on both sides, although I've come to like the duct tape look.

Have any pics of the Rimmer bros skids? I feel like sliders are more necessary on my side of the states, our trails are a lot more slippery rocks and less desert. But I never hit the plastic rockers hard enough to do damage on my D1 and I was pretty satisfied with that level of wheeling. Not sure if I'll be getting that hardcore with this truck, but I'll definitely be getting a compressor guard eventually just for peace of mind.

Once my Toyos wear out in 2 more years or so I'm going 18s and 255/70s. Probably going to roll 70k on my way home from work today.

@bri APT's stuff looks like it's the "best made" out of all the kit you can get for these trucks. But it's also the most expensive. I have zero experience with it.
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
The "sump guard plate" is the forward plate under the engine: https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-RD1282BPD3

The "transmission plate" is the rearward plate under the trans & cats - I bought it mainly to protect the cats from the crackheads: https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-RD1283BPD3

I didn't like how tight the transmission plate fit against the cats and the little harmonic balancer hanging off the passenger side cat. I originally had installed it with the forward edge (that slides under the engine sump guard) flush against the frame. I removed it and stacked washers as spacers which gave it some clearance away from the harmonic balancer and cats. I also drilled two 1-3/4" holes through the plate under the middle of the cats to promote airflow. It originally only had the rearward center drain hole.

The little Prospeed a-arm guards aren't really necessary but what the hell...might as well make the bottom a smooth plate and not worry about hitting rocks with them. Still waiting on the rear a-arm guards from Lucky8. It's been 6 months now....will have to see what's up.

I have the Proud Rhino front bash plate that attaches to the underside of the CFE front bumper and angles down to the big front crossbar but I haven't installed it yet because I still have to remove & replace the front bumper a couple times to fix the solenoid problem. Then I'll be left with one remaining gap in coverage - see the last picture where the cooler lines are hanging out in the square area. An aluminum street sign followed me home the other day and I'll use that to fill this gap.

1-engine.JPG

2-trans.JPG

3-arm.JPG

4-gap.JPG
 
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Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
You know....you're probably right.

I have noticed that on the regular trails to my favorite camping spots, I hear a lot more rocks banging on the underside of the LR4 vs. doing the same trails in my old D2. I don't have quite the ground clearance in this LR4 that I had in the D2. I've really come to despise these tiny wheel wells and the 18" minimum wheel size on the LR4.
 

MM3846

Well-known member
Feb 18, 2014
1,221
161
LI, NY
Then I'll be left with one remaining gap in coverage - see the last picture where the cooler lines are hanging out in the square area. An aluminum street sign followed me home the other day and I'll use that to fill this gap.
Thank you for all the pics! You don't have a factory plate in that spot? My truck has one. Or does it not work with the L8 bumper?

You can squeeze 17s in if you swap brakes (silly, I think), but I've decided on 255/70-18s for the next go-round. A little bit more clearance than the 265/65s without the width of 275/65s.
 
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Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
My truck didn’t have an engine sump panel or anything in this square area. I didn’t know they were even missing until my mechanic said something. You don’t miss what you don’t have.

I have to find new tires and I’m going to check out 255/70/18 as well. We are kind of in an odd size range with these things.
 

MM3846

Well-known member
Feb 18, 2014
1,221
161
LI, NY
My truck didn’t have an engine sump panel or anything in this square area. I didn’t know they were even missing until my mechanic said something. You don’t miss what you don’t have.

I have to find new tires and I’m going to check out 255/70/18 as well. We are kind of in an odd size range with these things.

I think I've settled on the new BFG trail terrains. Probably a little light duty if you're crawling a lot, but perfect for me because I'm 80:20 commuting : offroad... lightweight tires and not super aggro. You can get a BFG ATs in that size, but they're load range D and you need to increase tire pressure a few pounds to get to the OEM load rating, which won't be great for ride comfort (you need to increase 5-6 psi with 265/65 Es too, IIRC).

If you go to 275/65s in E (same height), tire pressure stays same as stock, and there are lots of options since thats a factory F150 size, but those are 10+ pounds more a corner. But you can get anything... G015s, Michelin Defenders, Toyo ATIIIs, etc.
 

Howski

Well-known member
Oct 19, 2009
1,483
209
Alabama
Have two friends with 255/70/18 and both like them. One on a D5 and the other on an LR4. Think both are at stock or raised just slightly
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
The stock LR4 wheel & tire size for my 2013 was 255/55/19 which is 10.05" tread width X 30.05" overall diameter. This is based on actual calculations....real tires will of course vary a bit.

Right now I'm at 285/60/18 which is right at 31.5" diameter. I think this is about as big around as you can go before you start getting into trouble. Maybe 32" will fit? There's a guy online that has 285/75/18s mounted (35" diameter) but he's had to hack shit apart because....well...they don't freakin' fit!

Here's a screen shot of my tire calc spreadsheet that I originally made when talking tire sizes with Ho back over 20 years ago. Not even sure if you guys even know who Ho is....LOL

MORETIRESHIT.jpg
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
Looking at the spreadsheet, I think 255/70/18 is a better bet than 275/65/18 because they are about 3/4" narrower which should save some rubbing in those wheel wells.

edit - but I'm not seeing much offered in 255/70/18 other than all-terrains. I'm planning on bumping up to some MTs.
 
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MM3846

Well-known member
Feb 18, 2014
1,221
161
LI, NY
Looking at the spreadsheet, I think 255/70/18 is a better bet than 275/65/18 because they are about 3/4" narrower which should save some rubbing in those wheel wells.

edit - but I'm not seeing much offered in 255/70/18 other than all-terrains. I'm planning on bumping up to some MTs.
Yea, not much offered in that size if you’re getting serious. Lots of dudes on the internet seem to say 275/65 is the comfortable “max.” You’ll still need to trim/remove/move the frame horns up front, probably bend the rear AC lines out of the way in back.

this dudes rig is ace. He’s running tall rods with the GAP tool lowering the truck to I think 1-1.5” over stock and 275/65s.
E6832B33-3217-4DCB-88EA-8761D2648EC9.jpeg