[skyman]

Yeah backwards mate

4:1 is a higher final gear,meaning less torque to the wheels

6.5:1 Means a lower final drive ratio, and more torque to the wheels.

All aftermarket transfer case gearset will give you more torque to the wheels than standard. They will all increase revs going down the hi-way as well. So instead of doing 2500 RPM at 100k, you will be doing 35-3700rpm

[Gwagensteve]

Hi Matt,

You have a 2" body lift, and that's what will dictate the size of tyre you can run. If you don't want to do guard chopping, you are limited to a 31" tyre. If you are willing to add some bumpstop spacers, you might fit a 32" tyre, but you'll have to do some work with the guards to go bigger than that.

From what I've seen in photos, the glasshouse mountains look quite steep. You will need gearing for sure. Don't even try to drive your car there before it's geared - you will hate the car, likely wipe out a clutch, and think we are all crazy for wanting to drive sierras because they are gutless and you have to hit everything flat out to make it up.

If you think you might want more than 31's eventually, you will want 6.5 transfer gears.

Does your car have lockers? I don't think you mentioned that. You'll be wanting a locker, at least in the rear. If you have a locker and 31's and no gears, it's going to be almost impossible to drive.

Dont worry about diff gears - they aren't a factor until you're at a 33" tyre or bigger.

RUF is a huge advantage, but you need to be driving and learning about your car, not sitting in the shed with the car in bits chasing a little bit more wheel travel. Lock the rear, gear the transfer and drive it. Thenstart figuring out what you don't like about what it does and work on those things.

You're coming from a patrol - a sierra is already going to be miles more capable that what you are used to, but you have to learn its ways.

Steve.

[boostedbrick]

Gwagensteve wrote:

Hi Matt,

You have a 2" body lift, and that's what will dictate the size of tyre you can run. If you don't want to do guard chopping, you are limited to a 31" tyre. If you are willing to add some bumpstop spacers, you might fit a 32" tyre, but you'll have to do some work with the guards to go bigger than that.

From what I've seen in photos, the glasshouse mountains look quite steep. You will need gearing for sure. Don't even try to drive your car there before it's geared - you will hate the car, likely wipe out a clutch, and think we are all crazy for wanting to drive sierras because they are gutless and you have to hit everything flat out to make it up.

If you think you might want more than 31's eventually, you will want 6.5 transfer gears.

Does your car have lockers? I don't think you mentioned that. You'll be wanting a locker, at least in the rear. If you have a locker and 31's and no gears, it's going to be almost impossible to drive.

Dont worry about diff gears - they aren't a factor until you're at a 33" tyre or bigger.

RUF is a huge advantage, but you need to be driving and learning about your car, not sitting in the shed with the car in bits chasing a little bit more wheel travel. Lock the rear, gear the transfer and drive it. Thenstart figuring out what you don't like about what it does and work on those things.

You're coming from a patrol - a sierra is already going to be miles more capable that what you are used to, but you have to learn its ways.

Steve.

Thats pretty much it, i ran this combo up glasshouse and either had to take the easy tracks or nearly kill my self to get up the hills.

With a set of 31's, reduction gears and a single locker you will be keeping up with most alot of patrols.
Personally though i find mine much more capable with a front locker than the rear...

[zuk_244]

Id say that 31s would do the job, i reckon just go too much bigger it will be more work to make them fit and it increases strain on axles etc.
They will run fine on stock gears untill you get the cash for reduction gears. You probably wont be going 100km too much and when you do it will be in 4th but you can put up with that for awhile.

If its not a daily driver the go 6.5s for better off road performance, if you spend abit more time on the road then go 4.9s for better revs at 100kph.
Then stick a locker in the rear and you will get almost anywhere.

I have about 5inch lift (SPOA) and run 31s with 4.9 reduction gears and a rear locker.

Use Gabriel shocks. Cheap and work well with a 2inch suspension lift
Details here http://auszookers.com/index.php?name=Ne ... cle&sid=33

[SierraDan]

I'm on 31's 1ltr transfer and a rear locker it's gotten me more places so far than my old pajero 32's and rear LSD and I took that stupid places. With reduction gears I'm sure I will go even more places with ease.

[skyman]

I know it;s not legal for you guys to fit 33's but isn't 5 to 5.5 enough to fit 33's. I am YJ's spring over (I know you guys don't do that often) no body lift, all suspension.

So couldn't he fit bigger than a 31" if he didn't mind the legality of it? Seems if I'm at 5.5, and he's at 6" he should be able to fit them with no problem.

[SierraDan]

He's at 5". 2" spring, 2" body and 2" shackles(which is 1" of lift).

31's should be good for starting off in a zook.

[Gwagensteve]

skyman wrote:

I know it;s not legal for you guys to fit 33's but isn't 5 to 5.5 enough to fit 33's. I am YJ's spring over (I know you guys don't do that often) no body lift, all suspension.

So couldn't he fit bigger than a 31" if he didn't mind the legality of it? Seems if I'm at 5.5, and he's at 6" he should be able to fit them with no problem.

No.

When the OP's suspension is fully compressed, (The axle is on the bumpstop) he has exactly 2" more guard clearance than a standard sierra.

That's just enough to run 31's.

It's a bit different for a SPOA - it's generally impossible to get the spring to invert far enough to get the tyre right up into the guard, so the effect is the same as bumpstop spacing a SPUA car.

Steve.


PS the OP is in QLD - even 31's are a shooting offence up there.

[matt.scorgie]

yeah mate it has a rear locker and i am gonna use it in compititsion in the long run but limited money just asking a few thing that i should do to make it best posible to learn in and i useally go tyres lift then lockers ect but zooks are totally different its amazing on everyones point of view on the zook bit confusing.
but i guess you all have a different opimion but its all good advice but as i said i have a rear locker and it has 31AT tyres alreddy seems to drive fine but yeah ill get tyhe 6.5 has anyone gotten the ones i posted earlyer from america ho0w long dose it take to get to aus??
for example i no want33 his car has run 31" inch silverstone extremes and his car goes anywhere he also has reduction gears and lockers but yeah the 31's do him fine..

[Gwagensteve]

I don't think we all have different opinions matt - it seems sticking with 31's and running gears is pretty much what everyone is saying.

Steve.

[skyman]

Yes, 31' are excellent for a Zook, no confusion there at all. A Zook with 31's and gearing is an amazing rig.. shoot they kick butt stock.

I was only asking, because I was curious about the type of lift you had, not to suggest you run 33 inchers

Over where you are at, a lot of guys are running a combo body/spring lift and running 31's. That is one of the reasons I started reading the old posts here. The majority of the Sierra builds here are very low, stable and capable.

A lot of guys here look at wheeling with the wrong attitude, they put 33's under their rigs without even wheeling them once stock. They figure if it has less than a 33, or 35" tire it's useless and won't go anywhere.

Just because the majority of the Zooks here have 33's doesn't mean they are stable or capable Sierra's, or that us yanks know how to drive 'em.


Point being, 31's will suit you very well, won't be as hard on your axles,and won't overload your engine. I think 31's are perfect for a zook with the stock wheelbase.

[JrZook]

*Ahurmm* buildthread skyman! We wanna see what you wheel over there!

[skyman]

Soon! I promise.. I just need the weather to clear, so I can get out and about

[Red89]

matt.scorgie wrote:

yeah mate it has a rear locker and i am gonna use it in compititsion in the long run but limited money just asking a few thing that i should do to make it best posible to learn in and i useally go tyres lift then lockers ect but zooks are totally different its amazing on everyones point of view on the zook bit confusing.
but i guess you all have a different opimion but its all good advice but as i said i have a rear locker and it has 31AT tyres alreddy seems to drive fine but yeah ill get tyhe 6.5 has anyone gotten the ones i posted earlyer from america ho0w long dose it take to get to aus??
for example i no want33 his car has run 31" inch silverstone extremes and his car goes anywhere he also has reduction gears and lockers but yeah the 31's do him fine..

Put the gears in and drive it, no matter how good you thought you were in your last car they are a completely different beast to a Patrol

[matt.scorgie]

ok thanks so much guys 31 silverstone extremes will be my option atm and i alreddy have a rear locker next wil be 5:14:1 or what ever they are seems like a mix between the lower and higher side in the middle seems good for me then front air locker and i have 2 inch king springs all round should i do a ruf or just leave it like that cause there basically brand new.

ok btw sorry for mu punchuatsion i9 was in a head injury and lost all memory of computer skills and reading and writing baseball bat to the head will do that to ya .

[matt.scorgie]

btw red 89 i love your bullbar looks fkn awsome

[skyman]

The 5:1 transfer case is a good choice. You will like the gears, really low off road, but not so low it limits your speed in high range.

As for the suspension, if it is already lifted, just run it the way it is. Get used to it. it may be perfect the way it is. After you have wheeled it for a while, then figure out what you want to upgrade next.

Rear locker, 31's and transfer case gears is an excellent base and a good setup for general wheeling, so go have fun with it, before you carried away with mods.

It is surprising what you can do with very little mods. The upgrade path in 4by's can be a vicious cycle and leave you with a rig that is on jack stands more than on the trails (I know from experience). It is much more fun to wheel than upgrade, although getting new parts is always fun, getting out there is just soo much better.

[matt.scorgie]

skyman thanks alot for your input ill do exactly that i sorta wanna get rock sliders before i go out make them my self out of 90 degree angle looks simple and very easy protect my sils also then i shoudl be set cause theres nothink werse with a nice car getting a huge dint that you cannot remove easyly.

quick pic of the rig when i got it way cleaner now but getting there

[alien]

that is pretty tall for 31s... mines SPOA on hilux leaves and sits lower than that =) i'd look at lowering it and doing gearing like the others have said.

Gearing makes a HUGE difference in offroad ability as you'll be able to go slow enough to let the suspension work rather than just bouncing over everything at warp speed.

[SierraDan]

x2
Pull the shackles out, just run spring and body lift.

[matt.scorgie]

dude in that pic its hasent got the shackles in it lol i bought them there not installed yet that just 2 body and 2 spring lol i took photo down low so it made it look higher but yeah if ya say i wont put the extended shackles in it.

[matt.scorgie]

oh and there only 30 inch tyres not 31s havent got the 31s yet there 30 inch all terrains

[zooky08]

Just wheel it
I reckon you should wheel it and see what needs to be changed or upgraded
You be surprised where it will go with all terrains nd a locker

[SierraDan]

Drive it as is. It'll be sick.

[matt.scorgie]

sorta bad that none of you guys live near me, never been on a zook run herd there way better than all of them
but yeah ill go wheeling when my carby arrives and fit it and then ill save for reduction gearing thanks so much everyone in this thread for your consideratsion and help on my zook

hopefully 1 day will be wheeling with you guys.

[SierraDan]

[Gwagensteve]

Wow matt, that's super mega extremely tall for a car on small tyres.

Pull the shackles out and maybe strip a leaf or two from the suspension. There's no reason for the car to be that tall. The car will drive heaps better - at the moment you will have almost no droop in the suspension at all, and that makes for an unpredictable and scary car to drive.

I reckon you need to loose 2-3" of height. There's no reason to run extended shackles in a car with stock spring lengths and stock shock mounts - they just upset the handling and do nothing to add wheel travel.

King springs are pretty stiff - taking a leaf or two out won't be a problem.

Don't worry about RUF yet. Get your current setup working right before you tear into the car.

Steve.

[alien]

^^ what he said.

[SuziBlu]

matt.scorgie wrote:

dude in that pic its hasent got the shackles in it lol i bought them there not installed yet that just 2 body and 2 spring lol i took photo down low so it made it look higher but yeah if ya say i wont put the extended shackles in it.

I don't think he needs to take out the extended shackles.

[Gwagensteve]

matt.scorgie wrote:

yeah more glasshouse so i guess mud and rock i have 2 inch body 2 inch spring and 2 inch extended shackles ute conversion wt

Fair enough, but this was the original spec. I saw the photo and got a nosebleed from the altitude and didn't read the detail.

Steve.