Mortonm's 2022 Ford Bronco Black Diamond

[mortonm]

I hate that they only come with one rear point. My Jeep is the same and I still (after 7 years) haven't pulled the trigger on adding one for the other side. So good for you! Much more balanced looking.

Just seems like it would cost them nothing to have those made in bulk

 

[mortonm]

Back From Pennsylvania, had a great time, we did a few trails but not as many as usual as the wife and kid were along. I also didnt take a ton of pictures but here are a few!

The Bronco did awesome, the 400 mile trip each way on paved roads was a breeze, very comfortable seats. I ended up averaging about 22mpg for the entire trip, including the 4LO off-road sections, I am very happy with that considering how hilly that part of Pennsylvania is. 4LO and crawl gear makes it an absolute tractor, but really is too slow for anything but really steep hills or technical terrain. It is really nice on a steep decline, it just holds you at about 1mph and walks you down anything.

A very first successful test run

 

[mortonm]

Nothing too crazy to report, I had another technical service bulletin performed on the 5/6 syncro gears in the transmission, it is definitely much quieter this time but who knows in long run, I think I can still hear it when really cold. I still have 125,000km of warranty left so problem for another day.

I got some decent use out of this summer camping, once for car camping and the other for a canoe trip!

The only real "mod" of note is the front mud flaps I installed. I did a remote canoe trip end of September and it required about 7 or 8 hours total of driving on some old logging roads, the gravel really did a number on my rear door. Some of the options out there are really expensive so decided to try some "bro flaps" on Esty. Not an ideal name but it seems like a nice kit and there was no drilling required. I still get a bit of blow by but not as bad as before, unsure if I will do something more substantial or not in the future. They do look nice and are flexible so I am hoping they get the job done. I try not to worry too much about stuff like that but it is (was...) also a brand new vehicle so I don't want to entirely give up on it looking nice just yet.

 

[mortonm]

Here is a list of the things that I would like to do this year at some point

1. Additional Light, after my nighttime run down those logging roads for 8 hours waiting for a Moose or Deer to run out i need more light out to the side and ahead. I am thinking of getting the ford Performance kit (made by rigid) that mounts onto the hood cowl and would easily connect to my factory aux switches. There are a couple other options like the Diode Dynamics SS3 I am looking at but I think I prefer the round shape of the rigids...still unsure.

2. Suspension. I am not super concerned about achieving much lift, but the stock hitachi dampers are not the greatest thing in the world and certainly show their weak side on washboards and rutted roads you can move faster than a crawl on. I likely will only ever go to a 33" on this vehicle (see point 3) so I don't really need much of any actual lift (33s fit stock). There are several ways to do this but the top 4 that have been rolling around in my mind are
-Take off badlands suspension, this will net about a 1" lift
- Bilstein 5100 shocks and using the existing coils, i have many options of lift height with this but would stick with the 0.9" or 1.4" setting
- Bilstein 6112 full replacement coil-overs, this is probably 2 or 3 times as expensive as the option above but would give a really nice ride. I think the lowest lift I can do with this is about
1.5" or so
- Ford Performance 2" lift, which is essentially a set of of the Bilstein 6112s but they are not adjustable. This would really only come into play if I went bigger than 33s

3. Finally is the tires. Stock tires are 265 70 R17 (31.6") General Grabber ATX tires. I quite like these, they seem to be good in many situations including on the road! Every so often I will see my bronco from a full on broadside view and realise they are a touch small, those fender flares were made big enough to fit factory 35s...

There are many good reasons for sticking with the factory (or factory-ish) size including wear and tear, availability. I likely would not go back to 265 70R17 even if I decided to stick with '32s'. 255 75R17 is a 32.1" tire and obviously slightly narrower, which is something I have favoured in all my off-road vehicles (235 85 R16s on my Xterra). This is also a popular size and technically is slightly bigger.

The lure is obviously to get to 33s or bigger. I am, I must admit, slightly tempted to toss on a 2" lift and throw on some 285 75 R17 tires, but it really is too much for me. I have the smaller front diff and this would start to be a fair increase in weight. I would also need to remove the factory crash bars, which I would rather stayed in place.

The likely scenario is a 33" tire, this can be easily done without any lift (even though as laid out in second point I will likely end up with a 1" lift due to shock change). Now the question becomes what size? 285 70 R17 is fairly ubiquitous and is the most common size people will pick. As I have mentioned I am not a huge fan of the wider tires, this leaves 285 at the far outside of what I would consider, but I will still consider it.

255 80 R17 seems like the natural fit for me, every so slightly narrower, its a taller 33 measuring at 33.1" (285 70 R17 is ~32.7). It also doesn't end up being that much heavier than the stock size. The stock 265 70R17 grabbers weight 47lbs each, while the two tires I am pondering (Toyo AT3s and Falken Wildpeak AT3W) are only 51 lbs each, very little increase to worry about differentials and driveline wear. I would consider BFG KO3 tires should they come in this size but the Falkens really have a good mix of off and on-road performance that I desire (wet and snow etc).

Thoughts on any of this? Suspension choices? tire size? tire choice?

 

[Todd n Natalie]

Here is a list of the things that I would like to do this year at some point

1. Additional Light, after my nighttime run down those logging roads for 8 hours waiting for a Moose or Deer to run out i need more light out to the side and ahead. I am thinking of getting the ford Performance kit (made by rigid) that mounts onto the hood cowl and would easily connect to my factory aux switches. There are a couple other options like the Diode Dynamics SS3 I am looking at but I think I prefer the round shape of the rigids...still unsure.

2. Suspension. I am not super concerned about achieving much lift, but the stock hitachi dampers are not the greatest thing in the world and certainly show their weak side on washboards and rutted roads you can move faster than a crawl on. I likely will only ever go to a 33" on this vehicle (see point 3) so I don't really need much of any actual lift (33s fit stock). There are several ways to do this but the top 4 that have been rolling around in my mind are
-Take off badlands suspension, this will net about a 1" lift
- Bilstein 5100 shocks and using the existing coils, i have many options of lift height with this but would stick with the 0.9" or 1.4" setting
- Bilstein 6112 full replacement coil-overs, this is probably 2 or 3 times as expensive as the option above but would give a really nice ride. I think the lowest lift I can do with this is about
1.5" or so
- Ford Performance 2" lift, which is essentially a set of of the Bilstein 6112s but they are not adjustable. This would really only come into play if I went bigger than 33s

3. Finally is the tires. Stock tires are 265 70 R17 (31.6") General Grabber ATX tires. I quite like these, they seem to be good in many situations including on the road! Every so often I will see my bronco from a full on broadside view and realise they are a touch small, those fender flares were made big enough to fit factory 35s...

There are many good reasons for sticking with the factory (or factory-ish) size including wear and tear, availability. I likely would not go back to 265 70R17 even if I decided to stick with '32s'. 255 75R17 is a 32.1" tire and obviously slightly narrower, which is something I have favoured in all my off-road vehicles (235 85 R16s on my Xterra). This is also a popular size and technically is slightly bigger.

The lure is obviously to get to 33s or bigger. I am, I must admit, slightly tempted to toss on a 2" lift and throw on some 285 75 R17 tires, but it really is too much for me. I have the smaller front diff and this would start to be a fair increase in weight. I would also need to remove the factory crash bars, which I would rather stayed in place.

The likely scenario is a 33" tire, this can be easily done without any lift (even though as laid out in second point I will likely end up with a 1" lift due to shock change). Now the question becomes what size? 285 70 R17 is fairly ubiquitous and is the most common size people will pick. As I have mentioned I am not a huge fan of the wider tires, this leaves 285 at the far outside of what I would consider, but I will still consider it.

255 80 R17 seems like the natural fit for me, every so slightly narrower, its a taller 33 measuring at 33.1" (285 70 R17 is ~32.7). It also doesn't end up being that much heavier than the stock size. The stock 265 70R17 grabbers weight 47lbs each, while the two tires I am pondering (Toyo AT3s and Falken Wildpeak AT3W) are only 51 lbs each, very little increase to worry about differentials and driveline wear. I would consider BFG KO3 tires should they come in this size but the Falkens really have a good mix of off and on-road performance that I desire (wet and snow etc).

Thoughts on any of this? Suspension choices? tire size? tire choice?

Sounds like a solid plan to me. Hope you're keeping the steel wheels! They look awesome with that green!

 

[mortonm]

Sounds like a solid plan to me. Hope you're keeping the steel wheels! They look awesome with that green!

Oh yeah, Steelies will never be going away, they are holding up really well (Powder coated I am told) but if the get rusty down the road ill just get another set

Sadly Ford has discontinued the steel wheel on the black diamond, only option is the black alloy.

For awhile I was going to run a set of these for 40,000 miles, then sell them and buy a new take off set. I bet you could do that again and again for $200 upgrade cost each time. Certainly a smart way to consider it.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I was lobbying for steelies but she wanted the alloys... they get rash pretty easy and since they are nice and black they proudly show the rock rash.

Do you have a link to the flaps? I modified the Ford ones to fit but they do not like cornstalks.

 

[mortonm]

I was lobbying for steelies but she wanted the alloys... they get rash pretty easy and since they are nice and black they proudly show the rock rash.

Do you have a link to the flaps? I modified the Ford ones to fit but they do not like cornstalks.

The alloys on the black diamond might be the best ones of the entire lineup, though I dont prefer black alloys.

Its really a shame they killed the steelies, I wonder why?

Broflaps - Etsy

Shop Factory look affordable mudflap kits for Bronco by Broflaps located in Tigard, Oregon. Smooth shipping! Has a history of shipping on time with tracking. Speedy replies! Has a history of replying to messages quickly. Rave reviews! Average review rating is 4.8 or higher

www.etsy.com

 

[mortonm]

Another minor update in the tire decision matrix, Falken has released their new AT4W tires, supposed to have better treadwear and better on the road.

I noticed that the 255 80R17 size was 7 lbs heavier than the AT3W, turns out tire rack had their info wrong, and they have always been 58 lbs, which is 11 more than stock. This is not a massive number but its not negligible either.

The toyo at3 255 80R17 are 50lbs, so 8 less per corner. Considering I have the smaller front diff this might make my decision for me.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I am going to have a really hard time getting rid of the Generals.

I have them on both my Ranger and her Bronco and I really like them. The only reason they are not on my F-150 is because nobody had them.

I had Falken AT3's on my previous F-150 and they were a really good tire. I think the Generals are a little more aggressive though.

 

[mortonm]

I am going to have a really hard time getting rid of the Generals.

I have them on both my Ranger and her Bronco and I really like them. The only reason they are not on my F-150 is because nobody had them.

I had Falken AT3's on my previous F-150 and they were a really good tire. I think the Generals are a little more aggressive though.

Agreed! I am really happy with them and are a large reason I picked the black diamond. Any other model below the badlands I would have needed new tires immediately.

 

[mortonm]

Some good snow trips here in the last bit, no off-roading but good to check out some of the features in the snow.

I still find the crawler gear crazy, I found a 15 degree slope (certainly not nothing) and placed the transfer case into 4LO and into the crawler gear, it just walked right up at 1 mph the entire way, not a tire slipped. It was a long trip up that hill.

 

[redthies]

Another minor update in the tire decision matrix, Falken has released their new AT4W tires, supposed to have better treadwear and better on the road.

I noticed that the 255 80R17 size was 7 lbs heavier than the AT3W, turns out tire rack had their info wrong, and they have always been 58 lbs, which is 11 more than stock. This is not a massive number but its not negligible either.

The toyo at3 255 80R17 are 50lbs, so 8 less per corner. Considering I have the smaller front diff this might make my decision for me.

Go with the Toyos. A far better choice in every way. I have the Falkens on my Sequoia (it came that way) and I hate them in most situations. Toyo is making the RT Trail now, and that is my likely replacement if they show up soon enough.

 

[mortonm]

Go with the Toyos. A far better choice in every way. I have the Falkens on my Sequoia (it came that way) and I hate them in most situations. Toyo is making the RT Trail now, and that is my likely replacement if they show up soon enough.

thank you for the recommendation! 8 or 9 lbs lighter per corner couldnt hurt either!