Big Discos

[Tyke]

Right guys, was thinking about what would be needed to put a 3" lift on the motor so I can get the 12.5/35" tyres in.

I know a few on here have done it so was wondering if there's anything not so obvious that also needs doing.

Aware of the issues with the t/box gearing, got 32's on at the mo, was wondering about correction arms, and props but anything else that would neeed to be looked at?

not a lot of time online at mo so please be patient, I will get back and reply.

Cheers guys.

[barmiebrumie]

Just fitted 33' on mine, did try 35's but would have had to cut even more & have arches fitted, have a look at one with then on they are HUGH,



John,

[Tyke]

Cutting arches would be a problem . . . have the 5-door, heard it's a pain to get it right.

Seen a few with 35's on though and yes they are huge  :twisted:

[Jim-Willy]

PM Bulli his truck is truly huge 8)

[Budgie]

With out cutting the arches then you'll struggle to get 35" tyres under the arches without a body lift as well as the 3" suspension lift, even then you'll still need to trim the arches.

Here's mine with 33" tyres and +3" lift:


Having 12.5" wide tyres will effect the turning circle unless you use wheel spacers (like I have) or extra offset wheels. Either way you'll need to cover the tyres with something cos' they will stick out beyond the line of the body.
This photo shows how far the tyres stick out using the spacers to keep the standard turning circle:


You will need caster correction radius arms as it'll handle like a pig on the road otherwise. This will mean that the front propshaft needs changing for the double cardon type otherwise you'll get vibration from the transfer box end U/J and it won't last too long.

Finally, here's a side view of mine with the 33" tyres & +3" lift and cut arches and the second one shows how much was cut out of the rear arch for the flares!!  





Hope that helps.  :D

[Fingers Mclean]

I have 35's  :lol:  :lol:  :lol: but i have a 4" spring lift 2" body lift and camel cut :lol:  :lol:

[Jake]

Cutting the rear arches on a 5 door is a bit more complictaed but not as hard as you think.
The kits all come with full instructions.
If your not that handy with a jigsaw then pay a bodyshop to do it for you.
Go for it though, it'll look great!
 8)

[Littledan]

how about my mate colins disco :D

[steve_h]

Wow  :shock:  :shock:  :shock:  !!!

MMMmonsterrrr!!!

Saw that at Billing and wondered who's it was.  More details please  :)  :)  :)

[turtle]

The Disco was built by Andy Gollins in Newport Pagnell Milton Keynes, it has 12" body lift and uprated suspension using pro comp shocks and springs, everything else on the motor is standard, if you look under the motor everything sits in the normal place.

Andy is well know for his monster trucks,

the one below is a range rover chassis with a S1 body shell, sporting a 5.7 small block chevy engine, with 44" Mud Plugger tyres, the axles are from a Unimog.

[Tyke]

Love that truck of yours Fingers . . . didn't realise you had a body lift as well . . . . . I'd need a rope ladder to get in the thing, I'm only a short-ass.

Not short as our Miniman though  :P


It's the door cutting that concens me and the inner arches at the rear. Really need a good look at one thats been done to help me decide whether to go ahead.

Got access to workshop and tackle so that's not a concern, just the time and cost of doing it as the motor is my only ride and I need it on the road as much as possible.

Nice to see a few other 'big' motors on here . . . . fuels the enthusiasm to get on with it.

Like Budgie's truck lots as well, looks very practical and usable, which is really what I'm after.

[Mace]

Andy is well know for his monster trucks,

the one below is a range rover chassis with a S1 body shell, sporting a 5.7 small block chevy engine, with 44" Mud Plugger tyres, the axles are from a Unimog.

And he always used to say, over 35mph on the road and you'll end up in the hedge  :lol:

[G]

Budgie/Fingers

Do your tyres catch much? I was hoping to get away with 35's without a body lift to keep the CofG down. Mine's got a 2" sus' lift but it sits a bit higher than normal as it's a lot lighter than standard, and it has had major wheelarch mods. Cheers, G.

[Budgie]

With my 33" tyres, I've put +2" extended bumpstops all round to stop the tyres hitting the inner arches. It touches the mudshields on the rear arches a wee bit but that's it.  

[G]

Cheers Budgie, i've got +2" etx' stops on mine. i think i'll give the 35's a go and see what mods i have to do to make them fit. Out of interest, what rims are you running on, I have a set of 16" modulars (7" I think) and a set of wolf rims (6.5"). I'm not a great lover of wheel spacers so was concidering reversing the wolf rims to get a decent off set/turning circle.

[Budgie]

If you're wanting to run 35" then, unless you're going for Simex who do taller but thiner tyres, then you're looking at 35x12.5x15 as a common size. So the smallest width wheel size you can go for and be safe is 8Jx15, which is what I have. Some run them on 10Jx15.

If you want to keep any sort of turning circle then the wheels will have to be offset alot more than the standard ones of these sizes, even if you go for 35x10.5x16 Simex's. This will also mean that your +2" lift and non-flared arches won't cope with this size of tyre.
When I fitted the flares I took about a 3" deep section out of the arches (see the bottom photo above after I had removed the rear section. The bit I removed in on the ground!), how much have you taken out of your arches so far?  

Like I said above, I have a +3" lift on the suspension and a 33" tyre is as large as I will go without an extra inch or so on the suspension or a body lift.
I also have double shockers on the rear as I found that it was very bouncy with weight in the back and without the ARBs fitted. I could have got a higher rated spring but I'd only just got these and didn't want to change them so soon. Plus the extra shocks help with road holding as well.    

Unless you've already changed the transfer box or diff ratios then that will be your biggest problem. The 35's will have a big effect on the speed of the motor on the road. Hills on the motorway will see you in 4th, maybe 3rd, trying to get up them and at 30mph you'll have to use 3rd gear, getting into 4th at just over 40mph with the standard transfer box & diffs.
You only have to change one or the other to get the gearing back though, but it will still set you back around £400 for the trnasfer box and about £600 for two recon diffs. The diffs can be cheaper if you do the rebuild yourself though.  :D  

Before you go spending your money on a set of 35's, do a wee bit of measuring.
1. Get a tape and measure from the centre of the axle hub to the closest part of the wheelarch on the wings. This needs to be alot more that 17.5" (half the 35" tyre dia) to fit for road use.
2. Fully articulate the suspension, see where your current tyres end up and measure it again from the hub to the inner arches to see if the 35's will fit.
This doesn't allow for any offset of the wheels to keep your steering though!!

Hope that lot helps.  :D

[G]

Cheers Budgie, that lot is great help,

35/10.50's is the plan, either simex, fedima or silverstone. I prefer narrower tyres for the turning circle and they cut through mud better. I spoke to Rachael Simmonite (via email) who said that the fedimas are fine on 7" or 8". I'm after as much room under the diff as i can get so i'll probably opt for the narrowest wheel i can can get away with rather than pushing out to 10" rims.

I've fitted flared arches, The wings have been cut roughly in line with the inner arch with the flares fitted so that the just cover the inner arch, just for looks really. If the 35's dont fit then the flares could come off and flexi arches fitted which follow the line of the inner arch.

I really want to steer clear of body lifts so it'll have to be more suspension lift if needs be. I hadn't considered changing the shockers, will see how much bounce that mine has once they are fitted. The ARB's were chucked as soon as i got it so i'm not sure that i'll notice any difference. I don't carry much and the fuel tank is only 45ltrs so no major weight even fully filled.

MMM, ratios.... will probably opt for a ratio change in the transfer box eventually so that i can run standard ratio diffs. I'll be fitting lockers soon but will be one at a time as cash comes available so will have to fit the same ratio as standard. Mine's an auto so it'll find it's own gear. I don't tend to do many road miles (about 600 last year) as it's cheaper to tow than drive so i might just change the low ratio gears in the transfer box. I have a couple of sets of standardish size road tyres/wheels so don't want to muck about with the high ratio gears much.

So, last thing to do is get measuring. The 32" tyres i have fitted don't fill the arches at all so i'm guessing/hoping that the 35's will be ok, just the turning circle to sort. G

[Budgie]

With the ratios, the low ratio is standard across the board at 3.321:1, it's the high range that changes.
If you have a look on Ashcroft's site it will give you all the ratios available.

If it's mainly going to be use offroad then you maybe better off changing the diff ratios to 4.11:1 as this will do both high & low. If you're fitting lockers as well then maybe just get the diffs when you can afford it and fit both at the same time.  
I know you would want to stick to standard diffs as they are easy to replace but, unless you can get a different set of low gears for the t-box then the standard diffs will be too over-geared for inclines and you won't have the control that you need.

[greendisco123]

The Disco was built by Andy Gollins in Newport Pagnell Milton Keynes, it has 12" body lift and uprated suspension using pro comp shocks and springs, everything else on the motor is standard, if you look under the motor everything sits in the normal place.

Andy is well know for his monster trucks,

the one below is a range rover chassis with a S1 body shell, sporting a 5.7 small block chevy engine, with 44" Mud Plugger tyres, the axles are from a Unimog.

Do u have the number for Andy collins as i would like one like that on my drive and realy block neighbours view thanks  :twisted:  :twisted:

[Tyke]

Lots of good info and tips again . . . as usual . . . especially from Budge.

Starting to think 33's will be an easier and much less expensive option and probably result in a far more usefull truck.

Gonna get the calculator out and do some sums . . . .  :lol:


Redundancy payouts can be wondefull things - especially when a new job came along very quickly :twisted:

[chaosego]

hello every body, like budgies disco i am wanting to create a similar truck as yours i have put  2 inch springs and shocks with colway mts 265/75/16.
spacers might have to go on as the tyre rubs hockey sticks on full lock. and they are close to the rear arches, not took it off road yet but i think they will need cutting and arches fitting . i was wondering where the best place to buy the arches thanks glyn.

[Littledan]

devon 4x4 arches i would say

or get in hold of fingers hes got  a set for sale!

dan

[G]

With the ratios, the low ratio is standard across the board at 3.321:1, it's the high range that changes.
If you have a look on Ashcroft's site it will give you all the ratios available.

If it's mainly going to be use offroad then you maybe better off changing the diff ratios to 4.11:1 as this will do both high & low. If you're fitting lockers as well then maybe just get the diffs when you can afford it and fit both at the same time.  
I know you would want to stick to standard diffs as they are easy to replace but, unless you can get a different set of low gears for the t-box then the standard diffs will be too over-geared for inclines and you won't have the control that you need.

Thanks again Budgie, you seem to be a fountain of knowledge.

I emailed Ashcrofts and the only thing they have that will do what i want is the underdrive but at £1500 it's a little expensive at the mo. I managed to get hold of a set of 285/75R16's for nowt which are just shy of 33" so will try them and save for the bit's to make 35's fit.
One thing that did cross my mind is that a borg warner T box will fit. Do you know if the low ratio is any lower than the LT230. G

[G]

i was wondering where the best place to buy the arches thanks glyn.

I got mine on ebay, they are hand made fiberglass and a doddle to fit but are not at all flexible. At £140 a set I don't want to bust any. G

[Budgie]

One thing that did cross my mind is that a borg warner T box will fit. Do you know if the low ratio is any lower than the LT230. G

Ok, you've got me on that one.
I can't find any info on the ratios of the Borg Warner, they maybe the same as the LT230 but not sure.
If it's an Off-Road machine your building then I think I would want the advantage of a central diff-lock rather than a viscous coupling though.  

[G]

Yea, it's an offroader mainly and a spare for when the pickup is off the road. I totally agree with you about the centre difflock but the one advantage to the viscous coupling is that it's less harsh on the transmission. Having weighed everything up i think you're right that the diff ratio is the best thing to change. I'd like to keep the LT230 so i can run a hydraulic pump off the pto. I'd have to run the pump off the crank pully if i stuck a borg box in.

[Bulli]

The tfr boxes all have very similar low ratios...else that would have been my plan. You can get 35's in with just a 2inch lift..i did. You need to cut the arches...no way around it.
Best fix is the 4.1:1 ratio ring and pinion from ashcroft, they are also much stronger. Is yours a 10 or 24 spline set up...good chance to upgrade if its 10 spline. Even the v8 is useless if you dont sort the ratios...ps 4.1:1 only makes it stock with a 32 inch tyre so it is still overgeared.
I now have a 4inch lift which makes it very interesting with the 3 link.
If you want to have a look feel free you arent a million miles away or shoot to Kirton this weekend for the scoprion challenge. Its well worth a trip over on the Sunday you get to see some proper nutters out and about.

[Tyke]

Even the v8 is useless if you dont sort the ratios...ps 4.1:1 only makes it stock with a 32 inch tyre so it is still overgeared.

And there lies the problem. Finding the best compromise of tyre size, gearing and power output.

Not to mention the other issues with the transmission and drive train

[bensonsnuts]

Lots of good info and tips again . . . as usual . . . especially from Budge.

Starting to think 33's will be an easier and much less expensive option and probably result in a far more usefull truck.

Gonna get the calculator out and do some sums . . . .  :lol:


Redundancy payouts can be wondefull things - especially when a new job came along very quickly :twisted:

When I had 31's , I thought 33's would be the answer to all my problems .
 Now I have 33's I still get stuck ......but deeper  :?
I sometimes consider the 35's but I'm not sure it would be feasible for an everyday drive.