[31zook]

As far as the arms of AZ reach I wish to gather all your best and most thought out ideas.

I bought a sierra:


With every build comes the regrets, the "I wish I didn't spend 5 day making a bracket that something much simpler would of sufficed." Or "screw trying to fit 31s to a low jimny with decent flex" lol

So, whats your revolutionary idea? Whats something you did or wish you did earlier?

My only requirement is that it will be used as a rego'd weekend/small comp rig, so no 37s etc.

I have recently learnt how to weld so all fab stuff is no drama

Wilso

[Joe]

I'm no sierra expert but from what I've read is low is the new lift Phill's last build is a prime example of what im talking about

[pezz]

Josh, you need to call me, I have a idea I have been working on, happy to share it with you

[alien]

here's a crazy idea: drive the shit out of it rather than having it in a workshop half its life =)

[31zook]

Yeah low is defs on the table

Pez, unless your not keen on letting the cat out of the bag why not just put it out there?

Alien, I finish every build I start, so no need to worry bout that plus this is my 4th sierra so I feel like im not a complete noob...

[jdk81]

Im not even done with my build and I know what I did wrong (its very close to being done).

Biggest regret was adding too much weight.
A sierra is heavy enough stock, ive added lots of weight with g16b and aw4 and power steering.
Weight has also accumulated due to fish plates and other fabwork. Generally I used thinnest materials I could, and used geometry for strength, but I know every kg makes the less capable, hopefully what ive added improves it elsewhere.

I probably should have used hydraulic bumpstops all round, and radius arms on the front (possibly all round)

Things I like
Im happy with the lowness, only way to get it lower is to notch the chassis.
Im happy with weight redistribution

Future build
I have started parts collection for my next one already, which will correct my biggest mistakes

[jdk81]

Oh nice panda

[31zook]

^this is exactly what im looking for! Thanks JDK81!

[jdk81]

Oh, I want to panhard the rear (event though its a leafy).
I like the restrained diff path for packaging and know itll benefit onroad manners

[pezz]

31zook wrote:

Pez, unless your not keen on letting the cat out of the bag why not just put it out there?
.

Its a on the low idea

[atari4x4]

2" section taken from the waist line.

[monley]

6"s more wheel base to make a MWB

[Zook_Fan]

Get the rule book that you're going to run and read it three times through. Figure out what it doesn't say and then work in those limits.

Keep the weight low and in the centre. The thing I regret most was no injection. Depending on the comp don't go too low with gearing, I was too low and between technical sections it chewed time.

Will be watching closely for progress!

[DMAC]

My biggest time water was trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear. Don't go for the perfect panel paint job. Brush and roller are the go.
Paint adds no beneffit to off road performance.

The 1.6 upgrade is great however a good cam/extractors on the 1.3 is heaps easier/cheaper. While not quite the 1.6 it does close the gap.

Fuel injection solves carbie angle issues.

[31zook]

No comps in mind, its just the fact that im not too worried about dents so thought it could be good for a laugh.

Wheel base extension sounds good!

So, my plans are,
Buy- 33s, chromo's, 6.5s,
Make- half doors, soft top rear door, flat belly, minimal bar work, roof slider bars, small boat side, front panhard, chassis extension/RUF, and track bar. Plus a few little things, like tank moving and different spring pads.

[monley]

What's the plans for diffs? Welded/spools with cromos?

[Blkfxx]

31zook wrote:

front panhard

Let me know when you're about to do this, I want a panhard for mine too.

[redzuki]

The best mod I did on the last stage of my build was the flat belly. The worst was bump stop extensions so I didn't have to cut so much out of the front clip, It made driving fast forest roads painful. So just keep going with the grinder till the 33s clear . Roof sliders are a good idea ,I regret not adding them when I built my cage.
Id add shaven diffs and raised ubolt plates to your list to .

Make it low ,with all the up travel you can get.

It sounds like it will be a cool build.

[31zook]

Noted redzuki

It would be welded as that goes with the budget.

For bomb proofing the axles, I could try running SPUA Lux diffs....

[jdk81]

31zook wrote:

For bomb proofing the axles, I could try running SPUA Lux diffs....

Too big, too heavy, too much pumpkin (clearance diff to ground, diff to sump, and front spring placement)
Cost of sourcing them could go towards chromos.

[TASSIETOYUKI]

Lux diffs could help with a lower COG & width for side slopes. But none the less, having them I would advocate against them. I would put them in my "Don't do it again" basket....

[31zook]

What makes you regret it Tassietoyuki?

[Red89]

I started to play around with spring designs when I was on leaves, you can move the locating pin an inch or two to increase WB further and give you a better approach and departure angle along with a few other tweeks to make them work better off road. But custom springs wont neccessarily be cheap.

Low looks cool but it depends largely on the terrain you drive, I was on 3" suspension lift at my lowest on 33's and with a flat belly at about 19 inches high, my TC would still get smashed by rocks and the rear chassis spring mounts would forever grab hold of any rocks that came near them. Personally ramp over angle needs to be considered when deciding on belly hieght.

[pezz]

I recon 19" is a bit high, a delrin belly plate would be slick as fook, notched hangers would be trick too..




josh...., reply to my message....have I lost the plot

[31zook]

Yeah for sure, the SWBs do need a bit more wheel base, ill be making up new axle perches reguardless of what diffs I run. So hopefully I can swing it either way a fair bit... ill be chopping the chassis and moving it foward so the steering box and front shackle mount moves forward aswell.

[monley]

I'm at 17.5" belly @ 99" wb on 33s with my ute

[SierraDan]

Low for a sierra on <33's is more like 13-14".
There's a car on 40's with an 18" belly and 108" WB, which is a good balance of ramp over and COG.
So that high on a smaller/shorter car "feels" tall to me*

*(opinion)

[Red89]

Yep, mine was tall by Auszookers standards but it worked perfectly for me for several years with decent placings at several comps with varying terrain and speed. The only time it ever felt unstable was on near vertical climbs/decents where had I been any lower it would have bellied out, redesigning the spring hangers would have helped more then a skid plate of any sort would.

[TASSIETOYUKI]

31zook wrote:

What makes you regret it Tassietoyuki?

Unnecessary bulk for the power outputs we are playing with, lower ground clearance, really needs custom steering arms (rather than off the shelf high steer arms) to allow low ride height. High steer arms are made for hilux chassis height which has much higher arch than sierra chassis. I am redoing my spring mount on the housing as low as i can get them and moding the high steer arms to mount the draglink & tierod under the arms to get more up travel without chassis interference. All the money i have spent doing the conversion and such, would have been better spent on components to bring WT diffs up to spec. Rear diff is approved with -25 8" rims which does allow nice flex with nt spring spacing thought

[TASSIETOYUKI]

Oh, forgot to mention mine is SPOA.

SPUA would compound steering to chassis clearance. Would think up travel would be neatly non existent.