1991 Cummins Suburban

[Spur]

How's that saying go? "The price is long forgotten..... " or something like that. :sombrero:

Could go with Bils, but I don't think it would save you much, and Fox's seem be more mellow over small bumps than do the Bils. Can get that in a Bils, but it means messing with the shim stacks.
What put FOA "in the weeds"?

Both Bils and Fox are overpriced IMHO. Good products, but overpriced. FOA is a small shop and they had one of their "machines" break. So, most of their orders are backed up by weeks/months. They aren't being very responsive with their sales calls either.

 

[ntsqd]

If you were talking King's I'd agree, but having been involved with tuning Bils & Fox's and seeing how long they last I'll disagree with their being over priced.

Wasn't aware that Chris had had a machine tool break down. That's too bad, hope he's able to get it fixed soon.

 

[Cody1771]

dont exclude rancho's or Pro Comp, both make good shocks, but if i where doing the build (which i wish i was) id probably go with a set of bilstiens.

 

[1976K5Chalet]

Love that rear bumper...
I have heard a cummins powered burb of same year flavor can hit almost 30 mpg.


DW

 

[Rbertalotto]

We are not aloud to modify the trucks in any major way. So no suspension, no lockers or anything like that. I work for the government so they are all about resale. So our trucks are all stock mechanically. We had after market bumpers with winches in them which proved to be too much weight for the front stock shocks to handle. Almost all of the driving we do is off road and it was breaking shocks and pushing the shocks through the shock tower at the top over a few months time. We were going through shocks at about a pair every three months or so.

And you're sure about the government running health care?????

as far as high output alternators....When I was building extreme car stereo systems, we used to buy high output alternators that were used in ambulances. We even bought dual alternators (two alternators in one chassis). One charged the main trucks battery and the other winding charged the aux battery. I wish I could remember the company we bought them from, but they were not expensive.

BTW...Great build!

 

[pratty85]

Love that rear bumper...
I have heard a cummins powered burb of same year flavor can hit almost 30 mpg.


DW

That one I believe had a 4bt in it, you will rarely if ever see a 4x4 6bt cummins get over 24 mpg even at stock height and gears; but 18-20 could be a good goal for this beast. Awesome build!! looking forward to more posts!

 

[Spur]

That one I believe had a 4bt in it, you will rarely if ever see a 4x4 6bt cummins get over 24 mpg even at stock height and gears; but 18-20 could be a good goal for this beast. Awesome build!! looking forward to more posts!

My truck could very possibly top out at 10k lbs fully loaded with gear, fuel, and water. I'm hoping for 15 mpg. 18 mpg would be awesome.

All of the bumpers are at the powdercoaters. They're still working on some of the electricals. Work is slow because I'm in Cambodia and I told them to take their time. I get back stateside at the beginning of May and I'll spend the summer building out the interior.

 

[Metcalf]

I usually get right at about 20 mpg in my dodge driving every day. On the highway I can get up to about 22-23 if I really watch what I am doing. If I drive like a crazy man at 75+ all day I get 17-18mpg. If there is a monster headwind I get down to about 16mpg.

I have gotten a best of 19-20 towing my Willys ( 4K with trailer ). Generally I get about 17-18 towing about 4-5K.

My truck is right about 7000lbs and I am pushing around 39" tires with 3.54 gears and a 5spd manual. I am surprised how well it works....really. It shouldn't work this well. I use 4th for towing unless I am over 65-70mph and its fairly flat. I start in 1st, but because the gearing is high I can actually use the gear and roll through it. 1st is now a useful gear instead of a Granny.

Off-road I don't have any problems really. The torque of the diesel really takes care of the taller gearing. Sure, I would like a lower low range, but honestly I can get into more than enough trouble as is. I took the dodge through the 1st half of the Fins and Things trail in Moab on the last trip this month....other than not really being able to see over the hood it did just great.

I'm sure you will love this vehicle when it is done.

 

[Spur]

I usually get right at about 20 mpg in my dodge driving every day. On the highway I can get up to about 22-23 if I really watch what I am doing. If I drive like a crazy man at 75+ all day I get 17-18mpg. If there is a monster headwind I get down to about 16mpg.

I have gotten a best of 19-20 towing my Willys ( 4K with trailer ). Generally I get about 17-18 towing about 4-5K.

My truck is right about 7000lbs and I am pushing around 39" tires with 3.54 gears and a 5spd manual. I am surprised how well it works....really. It shouldn't work this well. I use 4th for towing unless I am over 65-70mph and its fairly flat. I start in 1st, but because the gearing is high I can actually use the gear and roll through it. 1st is now a useful gear instead of a Granny.

Those are some really good numbers. Mine will have 37"s, 4:10 gears, and a 5 spd. I think it will cruise well on the highway and be able to put out some serious grunt offroad. Won't know till I drive it though.

FOA seems to be falling apart. My mechanic just got a shipment from them and the shocks were fubar'd right out of the box. Poor machining, leaking, etc So that leave Fox, King, and Bilstein in the running. My mechanic has been using downsouth motorsports lately for the competition vehicles he's building with good results. http://downsouthmotorsports.com/ Anybody have any experience with them?

 

[Metcalf]

My good friend just installed a set of FOA shocks on his TJ. They seemed to be nice quality for the money. I do know they took about 6 weeks to show up. FOA seems to be a good budget option, it would be sad if they where having problems. Its AMAZING the difference between FOA and the nearest competitor in price!

The 4.10s and 37s are going to be a good combo until you want to drive above 70mph for a few hours. You can do the 3200 spring but the motor is still going to be twisting pretty good. I thought the truck was over-geared even with the 3.54s and some 34-35" tires. I got better mileage with that combo, but only if I ran about 60mph. I got a best of 24.5 doing that. Hopefully the gearing will be low enough to start in 2nd most of the time....it should be with 4.10/37s. Having to start in 1st is kinda a pain when your trying to keep up with stop and go traffic.

I think your going to have one super nice rig when you get done!

 

[ntsqd]

I read somewhere that FOA had a machine tool severely damage itself. Assuming that is correct it might account for all of their current problems.

 

[Spur]

Decided to go through Down South Motorsports and get a set of Kings. Front will be 2.5" remote reservoir and the rear will be 2.0" remote reservoir. A little bit more than FOA would have been, but not too bad.

Only one more big purchase to make before it's ready - wheels and tires. I've been thinking about this for months, and I still haven't finalized my decision.

I've decided to go with 37" tires. Originally I thought I would go with 35's, but it's a big truck and the 37's will fit just fine with minimal fender cutting. I've narrowed the field down to 4 candidates.

1. Goodyear MTR Kevlar - 12.5" wide, load range D
2. BFG MT KM2 - 12.5" wide, load range D
3. Toyo MTR - 13.5" wide, load range E
4. Nitto Mud grappler - 13.5" wide, load range E


The weight of the truck makes me lean more toward the Toyo or the Nitto for the E rating. They sure are pricey though. Both are about $50 more than the GY or BFG. I suppose the extra load range is a function of the extra width? I haven't heard much about the Nitto's. Makes me want to discount them and stick with the Toyo if I go for the wider, E rated tire. If it weren't for the D rating, I would rather go with the GY or the BFG.

Do you think I'm asking for trouble with a 9-10k lb vehicle on D rated tires?

 

[Scott39]

Decided to go through Down South Motorsports and get a set of Kings. Front will be 2.5" remote reservoir and the rear will be 2.0" remote reservoir. A little bit more than FOA would have been, but not too bad.

Only one more big purchase to make before it's ready - wheels and tires. I've been thinking about this for months, and I still haven't finalized my decision.

I've decided to go with 37" tires. Originally I thought I would go with 35's, but it's a big truck and the 37's will fit just fine with minimal fender cutting. I've narrowed the field down to 4 candidates.

1. Goodyear MTR Kevlar - 12.5" wide, load range D
2. BFG MT KM2 - 12.5" wide, load range D
3. Toyo MTR - 13.5" wide, load range E
4. Nitto Mud grappler - 13.5" wide, load range E


The weight of the truck makes me lean more toward the Toyo or the Nitto for the E rating. They sure are pricey though. Both are about $50 more than the GY or BFG. I suppose the extra load range is a function of the extra width? I haven't heard much about the Nitto's. Makes me want to discount them and stick with the Toyo if I go for the wider, E rated tire. If it weren't for the D rating, I would rather go with the GY or the BFG.

Do you think I'm asking for trouble with a 9-10k lb vehicle on D rated tires?

I saw a Nitto M/G 37" still had about 3/4 of its tread left, rip the side wall out, and it was on a jeep. I thought to myself, "I like the tire, but I will never buy that tire".
I have this tire and love it. 35x12.5x17" D rated.
http://www.procomptires.com/truck-jeep-tires/xtreme-mud-terrain-radial.aspx
Runs great on the Hwy. They have a 3 ply side wall which matters on heavy trucks. My stock tires had an E rating, and I ripped the side wall out on the trail, and the rock wasn't even a shape rock.
The 3 ply side wall really matters on a street/trail rig, the E rating is nice, but it may have a weak side wall.
I've had mine for about a year now, they seem to be wearing good, 8000 miles when I first rotated them and very little cupping from braking. I have wheeled with them, and they have great traction, I wheeled some sharp rocks also, and no problems.
I know the rating isn't that high on my tire, but they seem pretty tuff so far.
Just another thought.:sombrero:

 

[ntsqd]

What I have read repeatedly is that load carrying capacity is built into the sidewall, not so much the tread. It is partly a function of sidewall height, but I've noticed that the explosion in rim OD doesn't seem to have affected this as much as I would have thought.

Granted, I've never had anything but an SBC in them (but that's a difference of what, about 500 lbs is all?), but my '79 K20 Sub and my '91 1/2t Sub have run the same set of 285/75R16's (Load Range D) all over the West and Baja w/o an issue. I wouldn't have any trouble at all with running the D's. I don't think that the stiffer sidewall of an E is called for if the D's total weight capacity still exceeds your expected GVW.

 

[DT75FLH]

My vote would be the toyo's. they've held up good on my f-350 in the 35" range and both my friends (one is the store manager for a local tire shop) both run toyo muds on there lifted Chevy diesel pick ups.

I have a set of king rezi 2.5 that were brand new with mock up scratches on them...along with 300 over 300 springs that I'm selling but have a sale pending.....

didn't think there was a market for them here

very nice build up.