wreckdiver1321
Overlander
My fiancee and I were looking to get out of the house for the day yesterday, so we decided to go up and over the Beartooth Pass. It's always a beautiful drive with a bunch of great views. This time there was a gathering storm and the clouds were looking extra dramatic. They took my breath away when I rounded a corner and saw them literally flowing down into the next valley. I've never been up there on a more perfect and dramatic day.
We took a hike to the top of a rock outcropping that peaked at about 10,200 feet. What a sight.
Up near the top of the road, you come out onto a shelf and can get a good view of the valley and the bright alpine lake below.
By far the best view, though, is at the apex of one of the first corners on the way down the Pass. If you don't pay attention, you might only catch a glimpse of it, but it is without a doubt one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever looked at. From this one vantage point, you can see miles and miles of rough and rugged granite rising up into the sky.
Shortly afterwards we headed into Cody to check out a local sporting goods store. We inquired about a Wyoming fishing license for the year, but found out they are $100 a year for out of staters! After that hard pill to swallow, we headed out. We stopped for a good beer and dinner in Powell and headed home.
Other than that, not much to report.......
Oh yeah! There was this
After giving it some thought, I finally decided to quit messing around with my front suspension. It was time to go to an extended travel setup. I shopped around a bit and was going to go with PRG's Radflo coilovers and SPC arms because Greg had the best price. Unfortunately, after two weeks, Greg had not answered or returned a single phone call from me. So I called up Nisstec and asked if they could make a deal with me. I told them I'd like to get the Radflo extended travel setup and PRG had it for cheaper, but all my dealings with them had been really positive and I'd prefer to do business with them. So after some chatting, they were able to get within $50 of PRG's price. Good enough for me. I asked and they told me it'd be about two weeks out before I got the parts. That was on the 8th. They arrived at my doorstep yesterday. So I pulled the truck apart last night and got it all put together today. It took a little extra time to install the UCAs, but it was pretty easy to get done all things considered. I did have to do some grinding on the coil bucket to get the ball joint but once that was done everything was pretty smooth.
I installed the coilovers with PRG 1/2" lift (1/4" thick) spacers to give me a bit more travel and allow me to dial back the preload on the coilovers.
I got everything back together and on the ground. I was pretty shocked to see my truck with about 4 inches of lift under it! I took it around the block and even at around 4", I was getting minimal shock top out. I was also noticing the shock handling the bumps and potholes much better. Then I lowered the front back down to 2.5 inches. After a couple of laps of the block, the springs didn't seem to be settling anymore, so I left them alone and took Lola for a proper test drive. The speed limit in my neighborhood is 25, and most of the roads are covered in terrible patch repairs and enormous potholes. I aimed for all the worst parts and kept it at exactly 25. The bumps were ironed out amazingly well. The ride is stiffer since I went up to 650lb springs from 600s, but the shocks are valved perfectly and absorb everything. Driving over bumps feels like driving on a new highway. What impressed me the most though was the feeling going over big potholes. The shocks don't top out at all anymore, and I never get coil bucket contact. Really deep drops in the road feel very smooth. The extra travel is just awesome.
I think it looks absolutely fantastic at 2.5", although it is a bit nose-high right now. When the leaf packs get here, it should be just perfect. Also, based on the performance of the Radflos, I will be using the Radflo emulsion shocks for the rear. Really happy with this setup.
We took a hike to the top of a rock outcropping that peaked at about 10,200 feet. What a sight.
Up near the top of the road, you come out onto a shelf and can get a good view of the valley and the bright alpine lake below.
By far the best view, though, is at the apex of one of the first corners on the way down the Pass. If you don't pay attention, you might only catch a glimpse of it, but it is without a doubt one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever looked at. From this one vantage point, you can see miles and miles of rough and rugged granite rising up into the sky.
Shortly afterwards we headed into Cody to check out a local sporting goods store. We inquired about a Wyoming fishing license for the year, but found out they are $100 a year for out of staters! After that hard pill to swallow, we headed out. We stopped for a good beer and dinner in Powell and headed home.
Other than that, not much to report.......
Oh yeah! There was this
After giving it some thought, I finally decided to quit messing around with my front suspension. It was time to go to an extended travel setup. I shopped around a bit and was going to go with PRG's Radflo coilovers and SPC arms because Greg had the best price. Unfortunately, after two weeks, Greg had not answered or returned a single phone call from me. So I called up Nisstec and asked if they could make a deal with me. I told them I'd like to get the Radflo extended travel setup and PRG had it for cheaper, but all my dealings with them had been really positive and I'd prefer to do business with them. So after some chatting, they were able to get within $50 of PRG's price. Good enough for me. I asked and they told me it'd be about two weeks out before I got the parts. That was on the 8th. They arrived at my doorstep yesterday. So I pulled the truck apart last night and got it all put together today. It took a little extra time to install the UCAs, but it was pretty easy to get done all things considered. I did have to do some grinding on the coil bucket to get the ball joint but once that was done everything was pretty smooth.
I installed the coilovers with PRG 1/2" lift (1/4" thick) spacers to give me a bit more travel and allow me to dial back the preload on the coilovers.
I got everything back together and on the ground. I was pretty shocked to see my truck with about 4 inches of lift under it! I took it around the block and even at around 4", I was getting minimal shock top out. I was also noticing the shock handling the bumps and potholes much better. Then I lowered the front back down to 2.5 inches. After a couple of laps of the block, the springs didn't seem to be settling anymore, so I left them alone and took Lola for a proper test drive. The speed limit in my neighborhood is 25, and most of the roads are covered in terrible patch repairs and enormous potholes. I aimed for all the worst parts and kept it at exactly 25. The bumps were ironed out amazingly well. The ride is stiffer since I went up to 650lb springs from 600s, but the shocks are valved perfectly and absorb everything. Driving over bumps feels like driving on a new highway. What impressed me the most though was the feeling going over big potholes. The shocks don't top out at all anymore, and I never get coil bucket contact. Really deep drops in the road feel very smooth. The extra travel is just awesome.
I think it looks absolutely fantastic at 2.5", although it is a bit nose-high right now. When the leaf packs get here, it should be just perfect. Also, based on the performance of the Radflos, I will be using the Radflo emulsion shocks for the rear. Really happy with this setup.
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