What's the deal with the 2.8TD and 35's?

[G-Unit]

G'day guys,

Just recently had a 3" dobbinson suspension kit fitted to my GU 2.8TD Wagon and love it so far, although i haven't really been offroad yet. (just small stuff)

I'm going away for a weekend trip in the end of September, and i want to upgrade the tyres asap. It has 31's on it atm.

From different things i've read and heard, the general consensus is 35's aren't a great idea to put on when you have the 2.8L TD engine. What i would like to know is, why? Is it just the lack of power to turn the wheels fast enough or is there another reason?

I originally wanted 33's, but have just found out i can get 35" Baja's for $320 each through a friend of a friend of a friend etc

So now, i've been dreaming of 35's.. which leads me to my next question.

Any of you blokes running 3" lifts (no body lift), running 35" tyres? If so, how do you go with scrubbing/clearance issues? Anyone running 34" tyres?

I know 33's sh*t it in, so i have been thinking about 34's for that bit extra.. i just dont know if its worth it..

And lastly, i have a few tyres in mind. Obviously, the Mickey T Baja Claws, Mickey T Baja MTZ's, the nangkang mudstars, maxxis buckshot or maxxis bighorn and the goodyear wranglers MT/R.

After something thats maybe, 80%mud, 20% road tyre. If you have one of the above brands, please leave your feedback, i'd appreciate it!

Cheers.

[stool]

You need to replace the t case gears with aftermarket lower ones
for 33'' tyres or above

Keep the tyres you have` and spend your $1650 you were going to spend on 5 tyres

Than get rock hopper low range gears installed.

It will be the best mod for the 2.8t

Than front locker next

Than tyres

My 2c as ive been there and done that.

And I made the mistake of going tyres 1st

[G-Unit]

Thanks for the info man.

Seems like alot of hassle for tyres 33" and above. I could understand 34's and 35's.. but 33's!? :0

[stool]

Its whole new ball game when your got low range gears and a front locker.

Mabe just spend the coin on a front locker if your car is more of a
Long distance 4x4 and keep the small tyres.

[zookjedi]

i agree go the gearing first best mod i ever did (mines a 4.5ltr petrol though)

i run a 3" lift and run 35 slight scrubing under full flex but i run toyota offset rims , with the 33 equivilent on the std 16" rims they rubbed more than the 35's do due to the offset not being as great . also i put 12mm spacers on the front control arms to move the diff forward a tad so i dont rub up front

id go gears
tyres and than lockers , as with good tyres you'd be surprise where you can go lockless

320 for 35 claws isnt that cheap i payed 315 for mine last year .

as for tyres everyones got there opinions heres mine

radial claws grip good but the side walls are weak as
mtrs (my 33's side walls were heaps more resilient .
my 35mtrs im unsure as yet, but they are good on road compared to the claws , claws griped the road well but just a rougher drive . in the wet stuff the claws were way better than the mtr's but ours is a daily driver so now the claws stay on the zook and the mtrs on the patrol.

cheers jai

[GUEEY]

i agree go the gearing first best mod i ever did (mines a 4.5ltr petrol though)

i run a 3" lift and run 35 slight scrubing under full flex but i run toyota offset rims , with the 33 equivilent on the std 16" rims they rubbed more than the 35's do due to the offset not being as great . also i put 12mm spacers on the front control arms to move the diff forward a tad so i dont rub up front

id go gears
tyres and than lockers , as with good tyres you'd be surprise where you can go lockless

320 for 35 claws isnt that cheap i payed 315 for mine last year .

as for tyres everyones got there opinions heres mine

radial claws grip good but the side walls are weak as
mtrs (my 33's side walls were heaps more resilient .
my 35mtrs im unsure as yet, but they are good on road compared to the claws , claws griped the road well but just a rougher drive . in the wet stuff the claws were way better than the mtr's but ours is a daily driver so now the claws stay on the zook and the mtrs on the patrol.

cheers jai

Radial Claws have the new power ply sidewall same as the MTZ , much stronger now !

[beast of a GQ]

Is $310 a good price for mickey thompson MTZ size 33. (fitted and balanced)

[j-top paj]

dont forget a 35" claw isnt really a 35" true size.
id get gears first (diff and then xfer) if you really want to go 35s.
i went 35s without diff gears for a week or so and it was ridiculous, then came the diff gears and it was back to standard, then came the crawler gears and its great

if money is tight, maybe do the gears and a cheap second hand set of tyres could be the go?

[j-top paj]

oh and mines a petrol too but

[G-Unit]

Thanks for the replies guys, great stuff!

Everyone is saying, "do the gearing".. but why? What is the actual reasoning behind changing the low range gears? All i can think of is, with larger diameter tyres, you might travel slighty faster down hill in low 1.. might require tapping the brakes every now and then.. and it wouldnt have to be hard, since you'd be going slow anyway..

I dunno, obviously getting the gears is ideal, but at over $1000.. hmm.

My mate just got 34" simex ET's on his GU 2.8td. I'll have a drive of his on the weekend up at gembrook (melbourne), see how they go. I'll let ya's know.

I'm tyre shopping tomorrow (sat). I'm interested in the Baja's, MTZ's and i've been told the goodyear wranglers are fantastic in the mud and not bad on the road (shit in the wet).. and the BFGoodrich are a good all-rounder with good road wearing.

Cheers

[j-top paj]

i've been told the goodyear wranglers are fantastic in the mud

id be slapping the guy who told you that

[j-top paj]

Everyone is saying, "do the gearing".. but why?

gearing is the go so you have more control when tackling objects. you dont want to charge at things and end up breaking stuff.
before i got my crawler gears i was using the clutch far too much, but now all i dont need to anymore.

[Josh_WA]

you will find that the 2.8 already has 4.6 diff gears in it. I had 36's ET's on mine for a week of so to test them out, it didnt die as much as i thought it would but you are rearely out of 4th and its a mega PITA.

go the 33's get a 3" zorst and the chip and you will be laughing. thats that i did and now if i wanted bigger i would get the gears changed to suit bigger tyres.

[G-Unit]

Cool thanks for the advice.. it'll either be 33's or 34's.. If i feel rich tomorrow it'll be 34" ET's, if i feel less rich, 33" somethings

[j-top paj]

34" ETs will be closer to a 35" just keep it in mind

[j-top paj]

what box does the 2.8 use? the same as the 4.5 and 4.2 etc....?

[ozy1]

what box does the 2.8 use? the same as the 4.5 and 4.2 etc....?

gear box is the same as the 300zx i believe, totaly different to the TD, TB sieries motors,

transfercases are the same,

[j-top paj]

what about the ratios but? are they similar?

[MyGQ]

the 2.8TD box is the same one that was on the 3.0L Petrol motor. FS3R50A, identical model number to the 3.0L petty