Going to Rockhoppers

[paid_hitman]

Hey all,

By the end of the year i'm wanting to have put some work into my sierra, the goal was (a week ago),
to put 30" tyres under it and a series 1 rockhopper gearset as well as putting dakar leaves under it and new shocks etc... and maybe a Body Lift

anyway i went to snakeracing and also BBM, and have since found out that series 1's arnt availiable any more, and both are now pushing series 4, with apparently are perfect for 32" tyres...

Now i was hoping to avoid doing my diffs/axels till next year where i was thinking of doing the hilux thang, and if i could afford it, get lockers in them.

what i am concerned about is 32" tyres breaking any of the drivetran as this car is my daily driver aswell... is there any other suppliers i could get a series 1 from? or any other options about re inforcing my drivetran (mainly axels as i understand it) i know its about the way you drive that causes damage, but i dont wanna accidently give it to much, and well get stuck...

i found these from calmini:
http://www.puresuzuki.com/axles.htm
http://www.puresuzuki.com/front_axles.htm

has anyone every used these? would this solve the problem or will the weakness just be moved furthur along? to an equally weak part? but if these are 30% stronger they shoudl be able to run 38-40" tyres

also to fit hilux diffs, does it involve increasing your wheelbase? is that what typically makes the conversion pricy?

Many Thanks

Adam

[nicbeer]

Whats ur end goal, say in a couple years. what size do you want to run and terrain.

should be ok on 32s if u dont abuse the hell out of them. calmini have the birfield rings also that would be a good upgrade.

Calmini also have the 4.16, should be good for 32's

cheers

[bazooked]

if ya goin to do the hilux thang, dont waste ur money on a series 1, unless ur desperate for sum reduction ur stock case will be fine for 30s or u can try find a 1litre case for a bit of on road reduction, also have a searc as there is heaps of info on transfers here.

[paid_hitman]

My End goal really hasnt being finalised,

I'm hoping... maybe in 3 years? (by time i finish my apprentiship) to have gotten, it running on 33"s on offset rims, i'm still thinking about the overkill coil covnersion, hilux diffs, lockers, and dont think i'll be doing much to the engine after the rockhoppers... and if i get tired of the look, might cut the back off, and turn her into a ute.

i'm just trying to build it slow... i wouldnt mind going straight to 33's but it involves alot of work in the drivetrain and suspension. so i was hoping that by the end of this year it would be in a state that can hold its own quite well, without excessive work

i want to be doing alot of rockcrawling, and be able to approach and tackle majority of tracks and challenges... maybe do a comp, just to see how i hold up...

i asked about the calmini reduction gears, and was told that they typically follow the trends that rockhopper sets, and probably wouldnt stock the series 1 eithier...

Th reason i'm desperate for reduction gears, because at the moment i have to hit things with more momentum that i am confortable with, just so i can get some of the high end torque... i want to be able to approach things slowly and use momentum as a last resort if not at all, if i was running larger tyres with the same case, i'd be hitting things faster, just so i can get a decent amount of torque to get me through...

what are these "birfield rings" i havnt heard of them before, from what i can understand they just keep the axels in the socket? do you think it'd be worth getting a set of these axels and these rings? would they be able to survive if i decided to go upto 33's later? and keep the whole setup simple?


Thanks

Adam

[RB zook]

birfield rings go on your cv joints to help strengthen them

i ran 33's on stock zook diffs for a while and never broke a cv thou the front was always open

if your un locked you shouldnt have to much problems with 33s and then later just have to get different rims and throw the hilux diffs under with lockers that would be your best bet so you dont have to do stuff 2 times over

[paid_hitman]

Well i will be unlocked this year....

So you think going hilux's is better than reinforcing/replacing the old suzi stuff?

Rb, who did your hilux diff conversion? or u do it urself?

also are the axels/cvs in all sierra's the same or the coily ones weaker or stronger than the leafies?

[just zooking]

check out www.trailtough.com or calmini for gears they are much cheaper buying direct from the states. And with 30s I would definetly go for gears you will know why when you drive offroad with them.

[jeep97tj]

U could always go straight to the 32s and use haultecs traction control, it is easier on the diffs than lockers and when u go to hilux diffs u can swap the traction control over to them.

Iv know of a zuk that was hammered on rocks with 33 mtrs and a s3 and the diffs held up (unlocked)

[paid_hitman]

Alright well for the time being i am going to stick to my little zook axels till i can get the hilux diffs, and run 32" tyres with the series 4 rockhopper

thanks

Adam

[RB zook]

Well i will be unlocked this year....

So you think going hilux's is better than reinforcing/replacing the old suzi stuff?

Rb, who did your hilux diff conversion? or u do it urself?

also are the axels/cvs in all sierra's the same or the coily ones weaker or stronger than the leafies?

definatly go lux or any other diff, not really worth spending money on zook diffs

the diffs were put under by overkill. thou i spent time workin on it as well

the coily cvs are different i think ask mud4b he knows

[joe_coelho]

Coily CVs are weaker than the wide tracks and jimny CVs are weaker than the coily's.

Joe