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4x2

M4TT

Full Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2012
Messages
341
Location
USA
Hey guys,
A while back I made a thread about a Prerunner avalanche. Currently, I have a 05 wbh 1500 with the 5.3 put back in.

What kind of serious offroading will I be able to do with a 2WD? I've taken it to some somewhat difficult places, but nothing higher than a 6 on a 1-10 difficulty scale. Can I just use torque to get my way out of trouble? Performance tweaks or mods to make it easier? Lift kits? Cranking keys? Tires? I'm in Ca, so something capable on sand and on dirt/rocks is necessary. I'd like to make the truck really bada$$.

All of your input is greatly appreciated!
Matt
 
I'm on the other side of the country, and don't have much experience on rocks and hills, but the avy is heavy, and bogs down pretty easily in soft sand and mud.  Maybe some wider tires and lower air pressure would be helpful, but I'm not sure how much.  Also, since you'll be using speed and power to compensate, careful with your steering system, the power steering pump is a weak link in the system and will break if you get too rough with it (read donuts in the sand).  I replaced mine last year as it started to intermittently fail, then totally failed while I was pulling a camper out of our camp through sugar sand trails.  That made it lots of fun! :E:
 
Lift the front higher than the back with a spacer, throw some 33x12.5 dune grapplers on it and bomb away!

In all seriousness, I came from a Tacoma, tons of prerunners on those forums. Most "Bros" you see in the desert do what I described above. The "bro lean" is or isn't necessary depending on preference. If you really want to have fun need to get some upgraded shocks and springs for more travel, then fatter tires so you can drop pressure for more footprint. Also great way to save weight and increase tire clearness is aftermarket bumpers!

I'm sure you would stand out big time mobbing the desert in a Avy!  Sounds sick I can't wait to see it.

I originally planned on lowering my black diamond 2wd. But due to $$ never did it. Now I am trying to figure out if I keep it or buy an older one, but if I keep it I'm going in a similar direction as you with my rig. We can bounce ideas off each other for our "prerunners"!!!
 
Flex said:
Lift the front higher than the back with a spacer, throw some 33x12.5 dune grapplers on it and bomb away!

In all seriousness, I came from a Tacoma, tons of prerunners on those forums. Most "Bros" you see in the desert do what I described above. The "bro lean" is or isn't necessary depending on preference. If you really want to have fun need to get some upgraded shocks and springs for more travel, then fatter tires so you can drop pressure for more footprint. Also great way to save weight and increase tire clearness is aftermarket bumpers!

I'm sure you would stand out big time mobbing the desert in a Avy!  Sounds sick I can't wait to see it.

I originally planned on lowering my black diamond 2wd. But due to $$ never did it. Now I am trying to figure out if I keep it or buy an older one, but if I keep it I'm going in a similar direction as you with my rig. We can bounce ideas off each other for our "prerunners"!!!

I think I am with you guys on this one. I have a 4x2 and really love it. This summer I am going to be getting it up there with a 7.5 rough country lift kit. 7.5 in front and 5 in rear. 35 inch toyo mts, 18 inch rims, and 4.56 gears. I will be saving up as well to get a set of custom shocks that I have already talked to king off road shocks about. I will get shocks for the AV so I can remove the hideous strut spacer used to give the lift in the front and the shock extension in the rear. I will be using a custom set that measures 7.5 inches longer to make the lift in the front along with the lifted knuckles and I will get the compression adjusters. In the rear I will having some made that are 5 inches longer and also the compression adjusters. If I only get one set of adjusters they will be in the rear for when I tow. I will also be getting new control arms from cognito as well. I want to talk to a guy I know and have talked to out in nevada who actually made his avalanche into a pre runner. He is running 14 inches of travel in the front and 16 in the rear. I will post pictures of it later tonight. But I would be looking into getting some different lower control arms and also bringing more power into the equation to be able to get my AVs ass rolling faster. Around here in louisiana everyone is into mudding. and its fun and all that but I like the high speed stuff and would love to make a dirt track out at my buddies place to be able to try it out and run a course on which would be really cool.
 
Where are you at in LA? Thats where I'm from. But I live in TX now.

Hey I came across one of your posts last night. You have a 3.5" Spacer up front? Can you post some pics of your rig? And do you think you could run 305/55/20 with it?
 
I am in lafayette. Yeah man I have a supreme suspensions lift kit. 3.5 front and 1.5 rear. Currrently I am running 285/70R17. But I am also using a 2 inch wheel spacer so currently my backspacing is like 6 or something dumb like that and its way spaced out and rubs a little even with some trimming. if I took those off and trimmed a little more I think I could squeeze in 305/55/20. Im not gonna try since my tires arent a year old and the next thing I am gonna do in that department is a 7.5 lift and 35s but I dont see why I couldnt fit it now except for the width of the rim is probably to narrow to be able to fit a tire thats 12.50 wide. I have the stock 17x8s
 
Sweet man. I am from LC. My uncle owns JJ Brahmans in Scott. I was down there in July some with some of my BSR buddies ripping Cajun X. I may be down there in a week or so maybe we can drink a beer and I can check out your truck! Never seen a lifted 07 up in person before.

If my $$ situation gets better I think I would end up going with the same 3.5" you did. How nose high would it be without the rear lift? I like a little squat.

Ran my Taco about 1/2" nose high on 33's and it looked sick!
 
well two things, hahaha ya see, haha I'm 17 so yeah no beer for me, I dont drink anyways I just know a lot about trucks and such. Currently I think the last time I checked I have 40 inches from flat ground to middle of wheel well arch. And currently I am just under level it seems. A 2.5 level would be perfect. A 3.5 would be pretty steep and you wouldnt see very well probably but I think it would look fine. If thats too extreme you could also pick up one of there 1 inch or .5 inch spacer so its not AS bad. And it was only $200 for the kit about and I paid to have it installed. I wanted to install it myself and could have but my parents wouldnt let and wanted to have someone warranty it. So I paid 200 plus 400 for install which was the cheapest I could find around here over at Cajun Offroad.
I have never been there but have passed by a few times. BSR? Cajun X, as in the cajun X wake boarding cables?

It is lifted, theres a couple around here with 4in lifts, one I think with a 6 and 35s. Mine, you can tell a slight difference and a bigger one next to a stock AV but its not like its huge jumping out at you lift
 
Wow! If I had a truck like that when I was 17! :cool:

Yeah Cajun X the wakeboard cable park. I'm a sponsored rider. BSR is the park I love by.

I'll do the install myself if I ever end up doing it. Lifts are easy.

Throw some pics of your truck up! I want to see this beast. I think the 3.5" front with stock rear on 305/55/20 would look sick. I'm not scared of trimming! Used to run 325/60/20 on a stock 2005 dodge 1500.
 
Looks sick bro! (y)

Definitely think with that 3.5" 305/55/20 could be squeezed in.

Have you ever seen an Avy with a spindle lift? Wonder if you could stack that with like a 1 or 2" spacer for 5-6" lift on a 2wheel drive?

I know all the prerunner Tacoma guys did the spindle lift because it kept stock ride and didn't have to worry about CV angles.
 
Well for one thing we dont have to worry about CV angles because it is 4x2. Also, yeah I think it would work just fine. I think CST uses spindle lift
 
Also, that additional spacer may be stressing the UCAs at a weird angle unless you upgrade them to a uniball style or just get longer ones made for a lift kit
 
SRFNSNO said:
Get a good locker.

I have to second this recommendation. A 4x2 with a good locker can out-perform some 4x4s in certain conditions. Locking the two rear wheels will ensure that the wheel with grip gets enough torque to get you out of some situations.  a 4x4 without a locking diff may end up spinning two wheels and get you nowhere. This is especially useful in sand.

Just my $.02.
 
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