Topic: Finally got around to buying some 31" MTs

[chrisfranklin]

The Bridgestone Dueller AT Revos I've used for the last four and a half years were seeing better days.  Still they were surprisingly great AT tires that got you by off-road and also had outstanding wet weather traction (Something the tires I had before -- G@d awful BFG "Long Trails" -- were seriously lacking). 

I went ahead and bought the Firestone Destination MTs in 31s -- Firestone being Bridgestone's corporate stable-mate.  The Destinations get decent reviews and are allegedly an MT with great wet traction.  Yeah, there's a few people saying they wear too fast or you'll chunk off a piece of tread on the rocks or they don't have any kevlar.  And I wouldn't be surprised if I only get maybe 30-40k miles with them.  But these Destination MTs appeal to my interest in wet-weather, on-road braking -- on-road where'll I'll be most of the time anyway.  Will keep you posted on them.   

[chrisfranklin]

I picked up some 1" lift boomerang shackles for the back and 1" regular style for the front. 

You YJ guys with 1" lift or longer shackles finding you have any steering problems where you need to buy spring shims to compensate for the change in caster angle on the front end?  Thanks

[neale_rs]

My front pinion points up slightly due to the lift and 1" longer shackles (0.5 inch lift) but the steering is fine, I don't feel any need to shim it.

[Jesse-James]

I did, without shims it was wandering pretty bad with 1 1/4" shackles.

[FourbangerYJ]

A drop pitman arm should fix your steering.

[chrisfranklin]

The tires arrived a couple of days ago.   So I went over to the shop where they were delivered to and had them installed today. 

I don't have the 1" shackles in or installed yet.  So my jeep is running around with the tires pretty close to the flares. The tires extend outside of the stock flares about an inch. 
So I'll see if this gets the five-0 down here riled up. I dunno, but it doesn't get me riled up. 
 
Anyway, around town it seems to drive ok, little more tire noise, braking seems about the same as before.  Steering doesn't seem off too much. 

Should mention this:  if you all ever buy larger than stock tires from TireRack for a Jeep, get ready for a phone call.  Maybe people don't regularly buy MT tires there, maybe their customers are buying for cars 98% of the time, I don't know.  But I had to sit there and say to the dude who called:  "yes, I am buying a lift etc" before the guy executed the order.  Good news is the tires literally showed up like the next day -- tirerack must have some kind of warehouse in Nevada or something.   

[Mozman68]

They have a distribution center in McCarren, NV.

[chrisfranklin]

That would explain it. 

I'll get some photos on here as soon as I get the shackles installed.  So far only the boomerangs for the rear have shown; still need fronts and bushings

[chrisfranklin]

I think the front shackles got lost in the mail or something.  I'll just go ahead and snap a few pictures today. 

[chrisfranklin]

So I headed to the nearest mall parking lot and snapped some photos    Still on hold for the front shackles, the shackle install and the fender trimming.  So for now, tires are coming close to the flares/fenders; I'm staying on the street and it hasn't been a real problem. 

[chrisfranklin]

Have some JKS Quicker Discos going on the front.  Still no front shackles have shown; course now that I am running through my finances and emails it looks like I may never have bought them in the first place  Could have sworn I did though;  I mean I bought a set of poly bushings because the front shackles I (thought) I ordered didn't come with bushings.  And I got the bushing order!

Here's a big question though:  I'm not really looking to put TJ flares on my pig.  YJs are ugly enough without having little triangle signal lights on the sides.   

Any after-market flares out there about the same size as TJ flares? Tires could use an extra inch of flare coverage over stock, too.  I've been looking around for answers to this for a while; can't believe I am the first guy looking for alternatives to TJ flares for 31s.

[FourbangerYJ]

I wouldn't spend the money on the disco's. Just ditch the sway bar...trac bar too. You won't miss them.

When I was running TJ flares. I cut off the flare at a angle and got rid of the triangle marker light. But I flat fendered it too.

[chrisfranklin]

In hindsight I probably wouldn't have bought the discos.  But they're already here and I do corner hard on the street occasionally and they look pretty well made. 

Mostly I was looking for an excuse to change from the beat to heck rubber over to polyurethane bushings on the shackles, sway bar and elsewhere.  I've used polyurethane on a different vehicle's sway bars and for the money, they make a nice difference in handling performance.
Track bars are ancient history though.   


That's a good point on how you worked on the TJ flares.   I might take that route myself; actually I think I am pretty sold on that route.  

I haven't looked at the California Code lately, but do state laws generally mandate side marker lights?  I think that was my one "ball and chain" on messing with the side markers on TJ flares.

[FourbangerYJ]

I'm pretty sure all the states have a side marker light law. I ran without the side marker light for years with no problem, but I don't put but a few thousand miles a year on it. But I now have a marker light. I put it on the fender support in the wheel well. It's the angled sheetmetal that comes down, not the tube one. You can get marker lights at about any parts store. I think I got mine from Napa. I know that Lowes and Wal-mart also have them.
Need a PIC I can snap one?

[aw12345]

Just put the marker lights on top of the fenders like the old Jeeps (cj2)