New Gen 2.5 Member - Lots of Questions...

[SoCalMonty]

I almost bought the Duratracs, but they were another $15 per tire, so I stuck with the BFG A/T's as before.

I'm over here with Nathan replacing his alternator...ill post a pic of the tires he has currently. Lol. They're Wild Country Radial XTX Sports, 265/75/15. Still impressed he made them work yesterday! They are an all-terrain, but just barely. Kind of a street/AT hybrid pattern.

 

[SoCalMonty]

 

[off-roader]

Another tire to consider are the AT's from Falken. A little more aggressive the the BFG's but they seem to wear very well. Grasscat has them on his rig.

 

[huachuca]

I've always run BFGs with KM's on the TJ and Rugged Trail TA's on the Tacoma but the 98 Monty I bought from Pinzmog last year had a new set of 31x10.50 Falken ATs. After 30K, I've been impressed with the wear & ride and expect to get at least another 25K. Not much experience with them on rocks or in mud but they've been flawless in sand (Cape Hatteras & Portsmouth Island). They also did well in ice and snow on a couple of trips we made to the mountains.

 

[nwoods]

Nathan, have you decided on the tires yet?

What other plans do you have for the Monty immediate or future?

Still undecided on tires. I may ask if the tire store near my house (with whom I have done LOTS of business with) will order several sizes combos for me so that I can "try them on for fit", and by fit, I mean appearance

I don't have any money for another month or two, so I have no immediate plans. I had to replace the windshield and alternator this weekend, and I'm going to need a good battery very soon. These items came at a very inopportune time financially, so it may be a while before I get to the next steps, but generally, this is what I intend:

1. Mechanical baselining of vehicle (all the fluids, plugs and wires, wheel bearings, timing belt, water pump, fuel filter, tie rods, etc....as needed
2. 4Crawler Body lift (2" blocks for 1" net lift?)
3. Ironman suspension lift (springs, shocks, torsen bars)
4. Removal of sway bars. May just do the front for now.
5. Tires. Would love to find a cheap pair of 16" rims so that I can expand my tire options (Cooper Discoverer STT/Max is my preferred all around tire for this rig right now, but only on 16's)
6. iPhone connectivity. Might require new radio head unit. Not sure yet
7. HAM and CB antenna's, and a hardmount CB radio (i'll use my handheld HAM radio with a mag mount antenna probably)

Besides "Baselining" and off road oriented upgrades, I have some more minor repair items to do, like the window operators, the door actuators, replacing one of the door locks altogether, replace quite a few dash lights, and figuring out a way to increase in cabin storage for things like FRS/HAM radios, cell phones, drinks, sunglasses, etc....

It's a project vehicle, just wish I had the money to get to these items now!

 

[nwoods]

Another tire to consider are the AT's from Falken. A little more aggressive the the BFG's but they seem to wear very well. Grasscat has them on his rig.

Looks like a bit too passive of a tread and sidewall for use around here. I often use a "Smear" technique of turning slighting into the edge of a deep rut or rock face, relying on the sidewall lugs to bite and pull me through. Works great on KM2's. Did not work AT ALL on the Street AT's I have currently! If I can find a set of 16" wheels, I will go with the Cooper Discoverer ST/MAXX tires. I really like the way the silcone treadblock formula feels on asphalt, and they don't chunk out in the rocks, and I got 50,000 miles on my Cooper Zeon's on the LR3, so I'm convinced they will perform well, and the sidewall lugs and tread pattern look pretty effective: http://us.coopertire.com/Tires/Light-Truck/DISCOVERER-S-T-MAXX.aspx

Of course, the Duratrac's look great too. Not sure of their tire compound, and they don't have the size I want in 15 either.

 

[stioc]

Sounds like a solid plan but if I could make a couple of suggestions. Since you can't do it all in one shot (who can?) before you spend the money on a lift you may just want to get the 33" tires (STTs are nice!) since Montys are one of very few trucks that can fit them without a lift so you can take advantage of that. It'll not only give you the tires you're going to need no matter what but also a nice 1-2" lift depending on the current size you're running. Also, maybe the Ironman springs have a better reputation in the Mitsu world but people in the Nissan world have gone back to the OMEs (or AC) -the price diff is probably negligable and it's a pain to have to replace springs twice so I'd double check them. As for the battery you can get by with a <$100 Autozone battery, I upgraded mine to the Diehard Platinum (I think I paid $226 or so) but honestly it was overkill for me since I don't have a fridge etc requiring a deep cycle battery, in fact, I know one guy who does have an ARB fridge (low volt protection) on a single std battery. My 6yo Autozone battery in the bimmer is still going strong and the car's sat there for 4+days at a time in the hot sun for the past 4 years.

Bummer about the windshield and the alternator but honestly it's better you replaced the alternator now than if you were the middle of nowhere -at leat that's one thing you don't have to worry about anymore. Fluids, filters and a tune up is a good idea on a new-to-you car...the rest as needed.

 

[BIGdaddy]

I've had good luck with my general grabber at2's. might be worh a look for you...

 

[nwoods]

I checked the Grabbers. Didn't have the skinny size I wanted, and aren't much cheaper than the options I'm more familiar with and have lots of trail time observations on.

Russell, your right about the lift, but I have a line on a VERY good deal on it, and the Ironman setup has a good rep in the Monty world, so I'll give it a try. Otherwise I'd be OME for sure.

As for batteries, I do run a fridge, on a single batt, so it's gotta be a good one. I expect it to be $300 or so. It typically is.

 

[SoCalMonty]

The 2" blocks will get you 2" of lift...the only reason mine didn't work out that way is because I have a pre-1994 SR frame (under my 1995 body), which doesn't have the 1" lift from the factory (the body mounts on the frame are welded 1" higher on 1994+ SR's).

So...I lost my factory 1" lift (when swapping my bent 1995 frame to the 1993 frame), and then installed the 2" blocks, making up for the 1" I lost and giving me 1" of lift compared to stock.

It's confusing because my truck is a mish-mosh. lol.

 

[JamesW]

Another tire to consider are the AT's from Falken. A little more aggressive the the BFG's but they seem to wear very well. Grasscat has them on his rig.

I wouldn't recommend them at all TBH. I've had them on mine since summer 09,and without doing any big milage they have worn down most of the way. They aren't anywhere as good in mud as the BFG at,the Falkens fill up quickly. Still an OK tyre with good road manners though

 

[off-roader]

I wouldn't recommend them at all TBH. I've had them on mine since summer 09,and without doing any big milage they have worn down most of the way. They aren't anywhere as good in mud as the BFG at,the Falkens fill up quickly. Still an OK tyre with good road manners though

May be due to your driving style? Grasscat has had them for a while as well without issues.

As for mud, they're an all terrain. They should fill quickly.

 

[SoCalMonty]

I wouldn't recommend them at all TBH. I've had them on mine since summer 09,and without doing any big milage they have worn down most of the way. They aren't anywhere as good in mud as the BFG at,the Falkens fill up quickly. Still an OK tyre with good road manners though

May be due to your driving style? Grasscat has had them for a while as well without issues.

As for mud, they're an all terrain. They should fill quickly.

James, I noticed your location...that's probably the main reason you were unhappy with them, as they're an all-terrain tire. I think mud-terrains are an absolute waste of money in SoCal...they're just to "look cool" here as we don't get any measurable "rain" and there's not much mud throughout the year. But in Ireland?! You might be better off with the M/T patterns. More space in between the lugs to shed mud. An A/T is going to fill up too quickly out where you are.

Did a couple runs in snow/ice with people on Super Swampers...they may as well have been on ice skates. They needed multiple attempts or had to be assisted, while people with the cheaper (and not as cool looking) A/T tires had less trouble overall. :ylsmoke:

 

[jlocster]

Don't forget Hankook tires...they're often overlooked but pretty good, and a little bit more inexpensive...it's a Korean company. Check out the Dynapro line, both AT and MT, they have pretty solid reviews around the web. I went with the ATs and have been happy, very good on road manners and quiet. My only beef with the ATs are the sidewall says "made in china"--might be a deal breaker for you, had I noticed before I bought them it prob would've been for me.

 

[JamesW]

James, I noticed your location...that's probably the main reason you were unhappy with them, as they're an all-terrain tire. I think mud-terrains are an absolute waste of money in SoCal...they're just to "look cool" here as we don't get any measurable "rain" and there's not much mud throughout the year. But in Ireland?! You might be better off with the M/T patterns. More space in between the lugs to shed mud. An A/T is going to fill up too quickly out where you are.

Did a couple runs in snow/ice with people on Super Swampers...they may as well have been on ice skates. They needed multiple attempts or had to be assisted, while people with the cheaper (and not as cool looking) A/T tires had less trouble overall. :ylsmoke:

The A/T's are my "road" tyres,The roads round my direction are in pretty bad shape and generally twisty so it could be why I didn't get too much out of the Falkens. I still have them on now,but they won't see me to the end of the summer. I've found over the same terrain the BFGs will self clean quicker than the falkens. And they have lasted longer too. The mud here is something else, I've a set of silverstones that are simex pattern for off road,and they still fill up with mud in some places!

I should put up a thread of our ventures here,the non stop rain for the last 6 months makes it interesting!