hey all, me and my friends were having an argument and it got me thinking.

what do you think is the most important 3 mods for any vehicle when 4x4ing. and by mods i mean winch bumper or lift, not solid axle swap high pinion dana 60's etc...

well what do you think
i would rate the 3 most important mods as.

1 heavy duty off road use tires to replace street tires
2 mild lift
3 body protection (bumpers,sliders,rollbar,whatever it may be)

i think that with those 3 things coverd you should be able to have a fun time 4x4in and not have to worry about body damage or anything. if i had to choose a 4th it would be rear locker...

well what about you!

later
wade

 

Rear locker - at least.

 

I would have locker second. If your tires are crap, a locker wont help you.

So...
1. Tires
2. Locker
3. Lift
4. Someone to spot you and pull you up/out

 

My list;

Locker(s)
Tires
Protection
Lift
Everything Else

If you don't have a locker, you are done when the fancy tires leave the ground.

 

But with slicks...a locker just spins them all. I guess Im refering to more mud situations rather rocks. Crappyslicks in mud wont get you anywhere regardless of locker.

But for rocks and less mudd...locker first I venture.

 

After Pismo, knowing how to drive and selecting the right path to go. I saw some good 2WD'ers do things that some 4WD'rs (including me) did not do well the first time.

Bob

 

heheh Cool. I guess the original poster should specify what kind of off roading he wishes to build his rig for

Excellent point

 

1) Make sure the nut behind the steering wheel is not loose.
2) Decent tires.
3) Traction aiding devices.

The rest comes as you get better at what you are doing and figure ot what you need.

 

Three rules for 2WD in sand:

1. Air Down......WAY down

2. Go fast

3. Don't stop

 

Regarding what tom said, you should have seen L33. It was like watching a hamster on a wheel. Non-stop action!

Bob

 

4psi baby!!!

hahahahaha! i loved it out there, and want to go back!

regarding what i think you need... not big tires... but the right kind of tires for the situation. you can have 35 inch mudders in teh sand, but its not gonna help you much.

me, i have 31 inch wrangler GSAs on a stock 2wd OPEN and i ran circles around 4x4ers

 

1. A rear locker at the minimum. Just a locker on a stock truck/runner makes a huge difference in where you can go.

2. Enough lift to use AT or MT (depending on what your requirements are) tires at least 32 x11.5 in size, w/ proper gearing to match tire size. {that covers a couple of major mods in one catagory }

3. Driver/Passenger protection- who cares about the vehicle if YOU or your passenger get hurt! A set of good seat belts and roll cage are cheap insurance.
_________________________

All of these are precuded by having the ordinary items we should carry when wheelin'- and most of them aren't cheap.

a good fullsize spare, stock or bottle jack, and lug wrench-

a short handled shovel, hi-lift jack, 20' snatch strap (minimum), chains, etc for self recovery-

set of hand tools, duct tape, water for the radiator, any other spare parts (I throw my old belts and hoses into a bag when changing them out to use as trail spares, keep a spare ingitor/coil, plug wire/coil wire in the tool box)

later

 

It's kinda tough to say without knowing what kind of off-roading or some more details but this is what I come up with right now (subject to change when I think of something else):

Decent tires
A power or hand winch
The balls (or stupidity) to push the limits of the vehicle

I have met people in very remote places spouting off about how their highly modified (expensive) rig is the only thing that could make it to that spot, only to have them look over and see the 2wd truck or Subaru wagon I drove to the same spot. I've torn lots of stuff off the bottom of vehicles being in places people said I couldn't go, and spent lots of hours hand winching those same vehicles through tough spots, but with $500 invested in a vehicle and the urge to see the backcountry, it's truly amazing the places you can go.

 

1. Offroad tires, pref. mudders for us mud lovers

2. lockers for sure, just cuz i hate spinning my tires at the top of the frikkin hill i just made it all the way up.

3.good lighting set up for us midnight offroaders

4. a hot blonde chick to show off our talents in the art of offroading. I think im going to look for a brunette though. I did the whole blonde thing last week shes getting ditzier every time.

 

ok i see good answers there, but when i posted the thread i wasnt talking about a certain type of 4x4in, i was just interested in what you feel the best mods that you would do first if you did it again....just a bordem post.....but i got my runner today!! WHORRAY! its an 86 sr5, its clean as heck, and its got a brand friggin new engine in it....well it will this weekend, and the total cost before engine 500 bucks!
later

wade

 

Hey Wade where are the pics man?

 

1. Good spotter
2. Rear locker
3. Tires
4. Sliders

 

I bet spotters are expensive mods.

 

ill get the pics when im not poor and i can afford a digicam!! anyone want to trade for a 94 pickup interior? j/k...ill get pics this weekend up probably....

later
wade

 

1. no ifs
2. lockers
3. tires