CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
Lets start with the tie rods: my factory tie rods have 270k miles on them and 170k miles of abuse pushing 37" tires. 19 years and over 1/4 million miles with zero maintenance, wrong again, LOL.
2000 Suburban K1500 budget low lift with 37"s
- Thread starter CrazyDrei
- Start date
Lets start with the tie rods: my factory tie rods have 270k miles on them and 170k miles of abuse pushing 37" tires. 19 years and over 1/4 million miles with zero maintenance, wrong again, LOL.
That's funny, our chase trucks pop them like pez candy. First thing we do is replace the TRE's with hiem joints before they head south.
But hey, Obviously with your 1 truck you have vastly more experience than company's that build 50 trucks a year being used in the harshest conditions.
I'm done.
But hey, Obviously with your 1 truck you have vastly more experience than company's that build 50 trucks a year being used in the harshest conditions.
I'm done.
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
I'll let you in on a little secret why you pop tie rods like pez candy. GM spent mote on tie rod R&D than your company will on every vehicle they will ever produce. So yes my single truck's engineers and designers have vastly more experience and build more trucks every hour than your company builds in a year.
With that said each one of your chase trucks probably has a lift, most likely a diff drop lift which gives you less ground clearance with 37" tires than my factory setup with 33" tires.
The secret is that I am running 100% GM designed suspension geometry (no lift), every part and angle is within strict GM parameters, all your chase trucks are so modified that they exceed all the working parameters of all OEM parts and pop them like candy. You need that extra articulation of heims, I don't.
Sounds like I win again.
PS: we run the same harshest conditions trails (did the mint 400 qualifier course last week before work), I drive my truck to the trails, you guys trailer them with a team of mechanics.
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
I thought you were done. Still waiting for a mid or long travel kit that will last 100k miles, learning how to drive so tie rods don't pop like candy and how your engineers are better then GM engineers.......
Great so pretty much exactly the same setup I'm running but with an extra 1,000lbs of weight and $1,000 more expensive shocks that don't last as long, sounds like a winning combination to me. LOL
PS: easy to bash a race that you can't build a truck that can cross the finish line...
CanucksRedRocket
Observer
I'm just saying as good as an factory engineer is.... they have to work within a set budget and usually with a part that is already available off the supplier shelf. I highly doubt gm actually r&d a single tie rod. Seeing as they don't even make it them selves. They call a supplier and say what they want and what specs it must meet. Keeping within factory angles and specs is what is keeping your parts alive not superior engineering. I sell auto parts for a living. I will taken gm factory tie rods to pieces as well as ford and dodge . I've compared the. To our Moog and mevotech and i gotta say you can see higher quality work in both aftermarket brands.especially mevotech new terrain tough line of parts.
I have actually won the Baja 1000 in a truck that i built. You?
That was a direct quote from Sal. He may have said dumb instead of stupid though.
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
Congratulations, NASCAR, Indy or F1 would earn you the exactly the same bragging rights: you have way more money than you know what to do with, so you built a truck that was the only entry in it's class, just as prestigious as winning employee of the month at Walmart.
I would have been way more impressed if you said that you won the Gambler 500, you actually have to have a street legal vehicle for that race. Only way your truck gets around is on a back of a trailer.
Now tell me that you won that same race or even got to the first check point in your 20 year old 1/4 million mile daily driver with two toddlers in the back that you can live out of for a week or two at a time, then that would be impressive. Until then Pirate4x4 might be a much more appropriate venue for you and your insightful comments.
Cheers
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
CanucksRedRocket,
You are absolutely correct. GM does not design their tie rods, they create criteria for angles, range of motion and tolerances and bit it out to whoever can make they quantity desired.
You are also correct that the 100% factory angles and specs of my suspension that keeps the parts alive for the most part, I still manage to destroy many parts just from pushing them beyond their limits on daily basis. Tierod sleeves have saved me trip after trip and I would highly recommend them to anyone that wants to run 35" tires on their GMT800s or 33s off road, they will save a trip.
My factory tie rods have been great so far, knock on wood, several of my GMT800 and GMT900 friends have snapped theirs on the trails with me and they were lucky that I always carry two spares just in case.
Rear sway bar links are a different story however. I managed to get about a year out of my factory setup after 3" coil spacers and 37s. When I popped them I replaced them with Moogs, due to the stellar reviews and the fact that they looked and felt better than OEM.
Left is drivers side, right is passenger side. Moogs rear sway bar links after 4 months and approximately 7,000miles.
The nut that came with the Moog sway bar links internally stripped and broke off on the trail.
Actual bolt shearing off on the same trail on the drivers side sway bar link.
Moving up in the world, I just replaced them both with Mevotech, hoping they last longer. Hopefully they will last longer than OEM or Moog.
Thank you for following my adventures and carnage as well as giving me ideas in which direction to go, many more adventures and much more carnage to come soon.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
CanucksRedRocket
Observer
Seriously next time you need sway bar links or tie rods use the mevotech tkk stuff. Here's a link to the tie rod for you truck. No rear away bar links. But they will be soon I'm sure.
https://partsonline.mevotech.com/details/TXES3493T
I don't work for them Its just a line we carry at my store lol
https://partsonline.mevotech.com/details/TXES3493T
I don't work for them Its just a line we carry at my store lol
EMS WJ 2000
Observer
Pretty cool video and I love the time laps you did. How fast were you going down the trail?
Cant wait to see the pictures and write up.
Cant wait to see the pictures and write up.