Modest 2002 Montero Build

[zerodrift]

Few pictures of the progress over the weekend. Stereo is installed and while the console was apart we gave it a deep clean. Vents also came out and were cleaned and new foam installed to help seal the units. Will plan to reseal the vents near the doors at a later date.

Switches were dismantled and cleaned carefully. The feel is much improved. Pretty sure coffee/soda was spilled on these at some point in the past.

New stereo installed.

Aux input and USB panel mount set in the upper glove box. At a later date we will install a usb charger in the compartment as well.

Vents apart and the block off doors had virtually no seal left.

 

[zerodrift]

Continuation of the stereo project:

Front doors are mostly complete. Waiting on some better quality fabric tweeters to finalize the speaker replacement. Insulation was a little time consuming, but easy to install.

Rear speaker install will be a little more involved as I will utilize the head units internal amp to power rear speakers. Rear rca's will be used for sub. This will free up the last channel for separate subwoofer control, and effectively increase total system amperage.

 

[zerodrift]

Went on a quick day trip down Rampart Range Road and had a picnic with the family. Aside from some washboard roads, it was a fun trip with a little exploring down a side road loop (path: 325 - 324 - 323). With some snow on the ground and no traffic, it was a very easy and fun route. Certainly will be exploring the side trails next year as there are many out there.

 

[zerodrift]

Here is a quick update on a recent project I've been working on. In preparations for the coming summers adventures, built a device panel of sorts. Cell phone holder, tablet for the navigator and dedicated usb charging ports.

Just finishing up the front panel, rear support structure and the last step is to wire the usb charging ports up. Will post up some pictures of the finished product in the next few days

 

[zerodrift]

Few more pictures:

 

[Imnosaint]

Nice instal on the USB and RAM mounts.

 

[Offroadmuch]

New wheels and tires arrived just after my trip, so I'll be testing then out in the mountains west of Denver in the coming weeks. They are rather aggressive looking and a bit taller than oem, which is what I was going for.

Quick specs:
Wheel is a 16x8 et 0 made by Level 8, Mk6.
Tires are 265-75 R16 Bf-g K02s.

So I was looking looking at your wheels and it looks like they fill the wheel well a lot even for a 265/75/16. I know that you said you put in front struts with 10mm lift setting so that would be 20mm to overall lift which is only 5mm away from 1" total. Could you measure from the fender to the center of your hub? The reason I ask is that it seems mine sits a lot higher with no lift. Mine measures 19.5" from fender to hub center. I do have some worn 265/70/16 so I know that changes the look also. And last, are you using wheel spacers? The width of your wheels in the wheel well compared to the factory stance seems much wider.

Thanks

 

[zerodrift]

Quick specs:
Wheel is a 16x8 et 0 made by Level 8, Mk6.
Tires are 265-75 R16 Bf-g K02s.

So I was looking looking at your wheels and it looks like they fill the wheel well a lot even for a 265/75/16. I know that you said you put in front struts with 10mm lift setting so that would be 20mm to overall lift which is only 5mm away from 1" total. Could you measure from the fender to the center of your hub? The reason I ask is that it seems mine sits a lot higher with no lift. Mine measures 19.5" from fender to hub center. I do have some worn 265/70/16 so I know that changes the look also. And last, are you using wheel spacers? The width of your wheels in the wheel well compared to the factory stance seems much wider.

Thanks

They do fill out the wheel well quite well for their size, and the wider offset helps. Going from memory, the factory wheels were in the +43 to 46mm range; whereas these are a +0 offset wheel. So that adds 43 to 46mm in width per side. So double that figure and you know the extra track width added. No spacers were used with the wheels, so I'd estimate the track was widened 86mm, or ~3.4".

So I figured I'd share some extra logic I used when considering the width. I opted for a high offset wheel as to help balance out the taller tire and the scrub radius. Now I prefer a bit of a heavy steering feel to help feel connected to the road and the extra track width helps with stability, so the extra offset was what I was after. This would be especially helpful if going to a taller tire, as the extra offset helps keep a positive scrub radius.

My back of the napkin calculation was the rim and tire combination would meet a +25mm gain to the scrub radius compared to stock.

If you want to go to a taller tire and to keep your steering feel the same, you want to match the extra length of the radius (in height of the tire) and match that to the shift in offset. Keeping that ratio square will keep the steering feel the same. So when people add a taller tire and keep the offset the same, you often lose some steering feel.

With the 265x75r16 tire adding an inch (25.4mm) in tire height, the gain to the car will be half. Plus the 10mm gain in the strut, the total lift is about 22.7mm, or a few mm shy of an inch. I can measure the fender to hub gap in a few days. Not sure how accurate I can be, but will give it a shot.

 

[zerodrift]

Thanks! It was a bit of work, but they are really solid and I'm quire pleased with the project! The rear support structure is really strong (overkill) and it should provide many years of trouble free use.

 

[Offroadmuch]

They do fill out the wheel well quite well for their size, and the wider offset helps. Going from memory, the factory wheels were in the +43 to 46mm range; whereas these are a +0 offset wheel. So that adds 43 to 46mm in width per side. So double that figure and you know the extra track width added. No spacers were used with the wheels, so I'd estimate the track was widened 86mm, or ~3.4".

So I figured I'd share some extra logic I used when considering the width. I opted for a high offset wheel as to help balance out the taller tire and the scrub radius. Now I prefer a bit of a heavy steering feel to help feel connected to the road and the extra track width helps with stability, so the extra offset was what I was after. This would be especially helpful if going to a taller tire, as the extra offset helps keep a positive scrub radius.

My back of the napkin calculation was the rim and tire combination would meet a +25mm gain to the scrub radius compared to stock.

If you want to go to a taller tire and to keep your steering feel the same, you want to match the extra length of the radius (in height of the tire) and match that to the shift in offset. Keeping that ratio square will keep the steering feel the same. So when people add a taller tire and keep the offset the same, you often lose some steering feel.

With the 265x75r16 tire adding an inch (25.4mm) in tire height, the gain to the car will be half. Plus the 10mm gain in the strut, the total lift is about 22.7mm, or a few mm shy of an inch. I can measure the fender to hub gap in a few days. Not sure how accurate I can be, but will give it a shot.

Sounds like you know a bit about tires, wheels and steering! Your explanation is a great write up all by itself! Since your wheels are wider do you get any rubbing when the wheels are flexed all the way up during articulation?

 

[Swank Force One]

Thanks! It was a bit of work, but they are really solid and I'm quire pleased with the project! The rear support structure is really strong (overkill) and it should provide many years of trouble free use.

Wow very cool!

I've been wanting to make something like this for my 2.5, but the more i work with the dash and where the DIN panels are placed, the less i like it. Le sigh.

 

[prevailz]

I was looking at those same rims, but I couldn't find them with a smaller bore, are you using large hub centric rings or are you running lug centric or did you find the right bore size?

 

[zerodrift]

I was looking at those same rims, but I couldn't find them with a smaller bore, are you using large hub centric rings or are you running lug centric or did you find the right bore size?

I honestly can't recall exactly. Ordered the tires and wheels from Discount Tire Direct, and the invoice noted the vote side as follows: 67.10 for both front and rear. The lugs are the typical conical narrow body spline type used in most aftermarket wheel packages.

Just make sure you order the right offset for your needs. I discussed that within my build thread.

 

[coffeegoat]

ZeroDrift I'm getting ready to do the speakers on my rig and noticed you used two layers of insulation on your door panels, can you talk through what products you used and why?

The reading I've done so far indicates that noise dampening insulation and thermal insulation is totally different stuff and as the project will take long enough as is I'd like to get it right the first time...

I'm planning on doing the roof insulation when I put on my rack but the speakers are already sitting in the garage so I am hoping to knock them out in sooner than later.

 

[zerodrift]

ZeroDrift I'm getting ready to do the speakers on my rig and noticed you used two layers of insulation on your door panels, can you talk through what products you used and why?

The reading I've done so far indicates that noise dampening insulation and thermal insulation is totally different stuff and as the project will take long enough as is I'd like to get it right the first time...

I'm planning on doing the roof insulation when I put on my rack but the speakers are already sitting in the garage so I am hoping to knock them out in sooner than later.

Will cover this topic briefly at the moment, but may touch upon this in more detail in the future.

The adhesive foam is called Noico Liner, and I picked some rolls of this up from Ebay. Its essentially a light weight closed cell foam product with a very strong adhesive backing. The material doesn't boast a typical 'R' value like most insulation, but from a technical standpoint, it should have some. It is boasted as a sound dampening material; however, it should not be compared to the tar/ based foil backed products like Dynamat. Light weight foam insulation will tend to dampen higher pitched frequencies, whereas thick or dense materials tend to dampen lower frequencies.

The white fabric like material is from 3M and is called 'Thinsulate'. https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/thinsulate-us/ It is used in jackets, gloves and has recently been adapted to high end automotive OEM applications. It is a water resistant material that shouldn't mold, and I believe some types are fire retardant. This material is really easy to work with and I just applied a layer over the other foam with some 3M adhesive spray (the # 90 high-strength type). I also filled the voids within the roof structure to help reduce the rate of any sound passing thru the voids.

If you want to go the extra step with regards to sound dampening, look into https://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/

That is a great resource for sound deadening projects.