4x4 questions and upgrades

[Kadeo]

I think ill keep most of it stock. I might crank the t bars a bit but not much. Definitely looking at winch, tires, and shocks. What would you guys recommend for all three? I've heard bilstien makes good shocks but I'm not sure about which brands for winch and tires. Also thanks for all the support and replies.

[dvdswan]

Its all personal preference really.
IMO, Warn makes the best winch, but they are the highest price. I have a XRC 8,000
Shocks, Bilstiens are great shocks, but you need a shock for your driving and terrain style.
Tires... again driving and terrain style.

[Deerhurst]

I'm running KO2 tires. I did Fins n things with KOs. I'm currently looking for shocks too. The ones I put on my truck suck. It's like being in a boat. The 1967 rolls I drove didn't have this much float. It's horrible. I need something a bit stiffer for the highway and for payloads. I'm currently looking at KYB gas a just or more aggressive



Warn makes great winches. Many are thrilled with hair freight winches too though.

[Reserector]

Bear in mind that your control arms are designed to be nearly level at normal ride height. When you hit a bump, they swing up. If you hit a BIG bump, they swing up AND inward.
If you crank the t-bars, they are rotated downward from level. When you hit a bump, they move outward and up. If you hit a BIG bump, they move outward, up and then inward. They end up doing allot of sideways compared to up and down.
So ideally, you don't want them more that just slightly down at normal ride height.

Your steering components go through the same angle changes and torment, so being conservative on the t-bar crank will save those parts as well.




If you're on a budget, snag a Harbor Freight (Badlands) 12K winch when they are on sale. I've had a Hrbor Freight (Chicago Electric) 8K for 15 years or so. It's not fast, but it has been reliable and used often. The 12K is not overkill.


I would stick with 31s as far as tire size. No clearance issues, and they won't hurt acceleration and braking like 33's. The slight gain in ground clearance is not worth the cons of larger tires.

Tire type (A/T or M/T) as was said, depends on where you plan to go with it. Mud tires are noisy, but that can be kind of fun unto itself. Like a loud exhaust, but more practical.


Shocks. Yes, shocks are good. I have no recommendations unless you think you might haul stuff. In which case, go with a set of air shocks in the rear so you can boost it when you go to pick up pavers at Home Depot. I ran a set of Gabriel air shocks on the back of mine for years. Street, trail, rock crawing, overlanding; they held up to all of it. Come to think of it, they are still on there.

[Kadeo]

Whats the difference between the gas shocks and the spring assisted variable shocks in 4x4? Besides being able to change the shocks settings such as dampening compression etc.

[Deerhurst]

Gas shocks are more efficient and more modern. Anything with a spring will add to the spring rate of the designed suspension.



Things like a RS9000 do not have any spring assist and are just a twin tube adjustable. Generally monos do better than twin tubes as they do not heat up as quickly when cycling.

[Kadeo]

Recently I’ve been looking into winches and a new front winch bumper. Where would the best mounting spots be for a front winch bumper?

[Kadeo]

Am I missing a transmission bolt? It’s a hole through both sides and I can’t tell if it’s supposed to be bolted or not.