Hodges 2016 Bilstein Build

[hodge-xj]

Little photo dump. Needed to update my phone so now it's able to take crappy pics again.

Finally had some nice weather and I'm able to do my spring time checks. Rotated tires, hit things with some lube spray, looked it over and making mental notes.

After about 60k on the UCAs they're starting to look a bit ugly and worn, bj boots are both beat, but until I have degraded performance or issues I have no reason to change them, but they're seeing the effects of 3 winters. Same for rear control arms, I do plan on doing both, but its not a priority. Only thing immediate will likely be panhard/track bar since the stock noodle just plain sucks and id like some adjustability. Otherwise everything seems to be pretty normal, just dirty from winter. As always things are tentative, since I drive so much I need to keep up with maintenance.

152k on truck.

Tires have 12k on them and did my first rotation. Aside from the one that saw some wear from the rear axle bearing going bad I'm super impressed with how little these are wearing. There was a 1/16th "cap" on the main treads and its still in tact on both fronts. I ran the tires a bit high on psi (50) for winter and the rears ran down in the centers a bit. Fronts are lightly feathered, normal for an IFS truck. Dropped them to 42psi cold and I'll see how they like that. They're C rated so they don't feel harsh at higher pressure, I'm just going by what the tire looks like at rotation and adjusting for wear patterns.

Next on the list of things in no particular order is tune, Tazer thingy, and Decked Drawers. I've gotta put a bit of work into the house so as much as I have a list of wants, they're gonna be a bit later this summer. This damn rear axle ate into my fun budget, plus the jeep needs some attention as well. Ideally I'd like to get body lift and bumpers done this summer as well as whatever odds and ends I decide to change.

Super happy with my suspension and aside from fiddling with it, I'm not planning on making any changes.

Anywayyyy enough rambling cuz we all know this **** will change in a few months lol!

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[hodge-xj]

More pics

First tire is condition of fronts
Second is rears

Current stance

And the **** box, because I just can't bring myself to sell it sooooo it's staying.

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[ram1500rsm]

Little photo dump. Needed to update my phone so now it's able to take crappy pics again.

Finally had some nice weather and I'm able to do my spring time checks. Rotated tires, hit things with some lube spray, looked it over and making mental notes.

After about 60k on the UCAs they're starting to look a bit ugly and worn, bj boots are both beat, but until I have degraded performance or issues I have no reason to change them, but they're seeing the effects of 3 winters. Same for rear control arms, I do plan on doing both, but its not a priority. Only thing immediate will likely be panhard/track bar since the stock noodle just plain sucks and id like some adjustability. Otherwise everything seems to be pretty normal, just dirty from winter. As always things are tentative, since I drive so much I need to keep up with maintenance.

152k on truck.

Tires have 12k on them and did my first rotation. Aside from the one that saw some wear from the rear axle bearing going bad I'm super impressed with how little these are wearing. There was a 1/16th "cap" on the main treads and its still in tact on both fronts. I ran the tires a bit high on psi (50) for winter and the rears ran down in the centers a bit. Fronts are lightly feathered, normal for an IFS truck. Dropped them to 42psi cold and I'll see how they like that. They're C rated so they don't feel harsh at higher pressure, I'm just going by what the tire looks like at rotation and adjusting for wear patterns.

Next on the list of things in no particular order is tune, Tazer thingy, and Decked Drawers. I've gotta put a bit of work into the house so as much as I have a list of wants, they're gonna be a bit later this summer. This damn rear axle ate into my fun budget, plus the jeep needs some attention as well. Ideally I'd like to get body lift and bumpers done this summer as well as whatever odds and ends I decide to change.

Super happy with my suspension and aside from fiddling with it, I'm not planning on making any changes.

Anywayyyy enough rambling cuz we all know this **** will change in a few months lol! View attachment 240726View attachment 240727View attachment 240728View attachment 240729View attachment 240730

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Its crazy how much beefier the aftermarket gladiator springs are compared to ours and we can tow heavier. One of these things the aftermarket for this truck never caught up with. Even the Icons 1.5" look punny besides Claytons/Synergy. You can tell how well the bow looks now compared to the Bilsteins or SLF springs you had before. If they're clacking the Eibach CS5002L insulators should fit just fine. Cut a couple of pieces and slap them in between the death coils. problem solved.

How are the Toyo AT3's doing in the winter for you ?

 

[hodge-xj]

Its crazy how much beefier the aftermarket gladiator springs are compared to ours and we can tow heavier. One of these things the aftermarket for this truck never caught up with. Even the Icons 1.5" look punny besides Claytons/Synergy. You can tell how well the bow looks now compared to the Bilsteins or SLF springs you had before. If they're clacking the Eibach CS5002L insulators should fit just fine. Cut a couple of pieces and slap them in between the death coils. problem solved.

How are the Toyo AT3's doing in the winter for you ?

The bilstein coils had some isolator that I peeled off! So I'm hoping it's enough to get the job done. Looking at your pics it doesn't seem I need much. We'll see, I'm gonna let them clack for a while so the paint will be worn where I need to do them. Thanks for the heads up though, with my luck I'll need more than I have lol.

I was super surprised at how little bow there is to these, literally none. I wish I had a comparison pic of them vs the bilstein coils, it was comical. I can't believe how lightly they sprung our trucks. They do ride a bit like a leaf sprung truck now, but I'm empty and they're in anticipation of added weight. I'm super happy with the suspension upgradesoverall. It's weird cuz the truck feels firm, but eats up rough hits like it's cake. Makes driving this thing fun again!

These Toyos are absolutely awesome. I can't believe how well they're wearing for the traction they have me this winter. Normally a long lasting tire gets hard in the cold and don't do well, but these things gripped like a pissed off gorilla in 4wd. Time will tell but I can see me really enjoying them for their 1st half of life and at this rate that'll be like 50k on them lol. Still waiting on temps to settle down so I can sort pressures. I dropped them to 40psi cold only for it to hit 72* today and watched them heat up to 47psi on my drive home.....sooo it'll be a few weeks before I worry much about them again lol.





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[ram1500rsm]

The bilstein coils had some isolator that I peeled off! So I'm hoping it's enough to get the job done. Looking at your pics it doesn't seem I need much. We'll see, I'm gonna let them clack for a while so the paint will be worn where I need to do them. Thanks for the heads up though, with my luck I'll need more than I have lol.

I was super surprised at how little bow there is to these, literally none. I wish I had a comparison pic of them vs the bilstein coils, it was comical. I can't believe how lightly they sprung our trucks. They do ride a bit like a leaf sprung truck now, but I'm empty and they're in anticipation of added weight. I'm super happy with the suspension upgradesoverall. It's weird cuz the truck feels firm, but eats up rough hits like it's cake. Makes driving this thing fun again!

These Toyos are absolutely awesome. I can't believe how well they're wearing for the traction they have me this winter. Normally a long lasting tire gets hard in the cold and don't do well, but these things gripped like a pissed off gorilla in 4wd. Time will tell but I can see me really enjoying them for their 1st half of life and at this rate that'll be like 50k on them lol. Still waiting on temps to settle down so I can sort pressures. I dropped them to 40psi cold only for it to hit 72* today and watched them heat up to 47psi on my drive home.....sooo it'll be a few weeks before I worry much about them again lol.

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I'm looking into tires again. My Pats are down 6/32 in only 9k miles. I was expecting at least 30k miles, If they keep wearing down at the current rate 1/32 every 1500 miles, i'll be lucky to get 20k miles out of them before i dump them out of the truck. I could keep them at least until next year, but knowing myself the bug for a new set of tires have hit already , I'll wait for a good discount though i'm not in a rush. Dont know if i'll continue with the MT theme or go back to AT. Typically i go for the opposite of what i'm running, but that depends if i can get what i want at a good price. i'll keep my eyes open for a holiday discount or something. Next set should be AT. lol

 

[crazykid1994]

I'm looking into tires again. My Pats are down 6/32 in only 9k miles. I was expecting at least 30k miles, If they keep wearing down at the current rate 1/32 every 1500 miles, i'll be lucky to get 20k miles out of them before i dump them out of the truck. I could keep them at least until next year, but knowing myself the bug for a new set of tires have hit already , I'll wait for a good discount though i'm not in a rush. Dont know if i'll continue with the MT theme or go back to AT. Typically i go for the opposite of what i'm running, but that depends if i can get what i want at a good price. i'll keep my eyes open for a holiday discount or something. Next set should be AT. lol

4wheel parts does an end of year sale in December if you have one close by. They had deals on procomp tires, bfgoodrich, and Mickey Thompson’s. That’s when I bought my Mickey Thompson’s. It was buy 3 get 1. I bought 5 and ended up getting like 30% off.

 

[ram1500rsm]

4wheel parts does an end of year sale in December if you have one close by. They had deals on procomp tires, bfgoodrich, and Mickey Thompson’s. That’s when I bought my Mickey Thompson’s. It was buy 3 get 1. I bought 5 and ended up getting like 30% off.

You have the ATZ P3 right ? how are they wearing down, and do you like them in snow covered roads ?

 

[crazykid1994]

You have the ATZ P3 right ? how are they wearing down, and do you like them in snow covered roads ?

No snow in Florida. LOL. I have just over 7000 miles on them. I don’t have a tire gauge but so far so good. They are load e but the 65 psi. I leave them at 38 front and 36 rear so far and they’re wearing perfect. Very quiet on the road. Great in wet weather. No issues in soft sand. Only downfall is they’re heavy. 71lbs each for my 305/70r18. Measured out to 35x12

 

[crazykid1994]

@ram1500rsm Just took my drill bits out to use as a depth gauge. Looks like I’m a hair over 15/32 left. It says from factory is 18/32 tread depth. They have a 45,000 mile tread warranty too. Also I’m pretty rough on my truck. My stock Goodyear’s at 10,000 were half worn.

 

[hodge-xj]

I knew those pats had a tendency to wear quick but that's excessive!

I see your tire trend and I fully condone it. I can give some input on both the ATZ P3 (on my jeep) and the AT3s. Both are great, and very similar. The P3 is chunkier, larger tread blocks, less siping, about the same sidewall appearance. They're a little louder on the highway, but not much, more of a different pitch than volume. Not as good in snow, though not terrible by any means. Otherwise, they're damn good. I've not really wheeled them yet though since winter was too much snow to get out. Not much of an exciting input but real world they are really well rounded. The dude I bought them from had them on a TJ before he went to 1 tons and he said they were some of the best ATs he's run offroad. So take that with a grain of salt, but for east coast rocky trails they seem to get thumbs up. They've been out for a while, so they're a bit dated, but still a solid choice. I loved my **** Cepek FC2s aside from noise. They're awesome tires and not sure why they're not as popular a brand.

When the time gets closer I'll get a tire gauge and give you an exact wear measurement on the toyos but they're showing some serious promise. I will say I think the toyos edge the P3s out but only because they're a bit more well rounded and modern. They're soft, 3peak rated for winter, load range C, and wearing very well. I did my first rotation so I'll see how they do. I'm currently looking to run about 40psi cold that way I don't have to worry much about low pressure light since I'll see temps drop back towards the 40s next week.

To throw a wrench at you, maxxis has new ATs out as well. They're getting some good feedback from what I've seen, it's just hard to step away from what we know works.

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[ram1500rsm]

I knew those pats had a tendency to wear quick but that's excessive!

I see your tire trend and I fully condone it. I can give some input on both the ATZ P3 (on my jeep) and the AT3s. Both are great, and very similar. The P3 is chunkier, larger tread blocks, less siping, about the same sidewall appearance. They're a little louder on the highway, but not much, more of a different pitch than volume. Not as good in snow, though not terrible by any means. Otherwise, they're damn good. I've not really wheeled them yet though since winter was too much snow to get out. Not much of an exciting input but real world they are really well rounded. The dude I bought them from had them on a TJ before he went to 1 tons and he said they were some of the best ATs he's run offroad. So take that with a grain of salt, but for east coast rocky trails they seem to get thumbs up. They've been out for a while, so they're a bit dated, but still a solid choice. I loved my **** Cepek FC2s aside from noise. They're awesome tires and not sure why they're not as popular a brand.

When the time gets closer I'll get a tire gauge and give you an exact wear measurement on the toyos but they're showing some serious promise. I will say I think the toyos edge the P3s out but only because they're a bit more well rounded and modern. They're soft, 3peak rated for winter, load range C, and wearing very well. I did my first rotation so I'll see how they do. I'm currently looking to run about 40psi cold that way I don't have to worry much about low pressure light since I'll see temps drop back towards the 40s next week.

To throw a wrench at you, maxxis has new ATs out as well. They're getting some good feedback from what I've seen, it's just hard to step away from what we know works.

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I've seen those MT ATZ P3s at the trail before and they can take a beating on the rocks.

I'm putting all my options in a spreadsheet.

Weight, 3PMSF certification, 3 ply sidewall, 315/70/17 or 35x12.5x17, at least 45k mile warranty, i want to be able to keep my tires for at least 3 years, funny as i've change them often but mostly because i tried to go cheap with my Falkens and ended up getting a 2 ply sidewall, then i wanted 37's, then i wanted back to 35's. Now that i know exactly the size i need, is just a matter of pluggin all the numbers and see what it'll make me happy for 3 years, i want to say.. I want to say my tires have 50k miles . I like to see what others run and if they'll run it again conidering rain/snow and longevity. that adds to my score in the spreadsheet. Im slacking when it comes to tire research and that's why ive changed 3 times in 3 years hahaha. No more of that.. hopefully lol.

 

[hodge-xj]

I've seen those MT ATZ P3s at the trail before and they can take a beating on the rocks.

I'm putting all my options in a spreadsheet.

Weight, 3PMSF certification, 3 ply sidewall, 315/70/17 or 35x12.5x17, at least 45k mile warranty, i want to be able to keep my tires for at least 3 years, funny as i've change them often but mostly because i tried to go cheap with my Falkens and ended up getting a 2 ply sidewall, then i wanted 37's, then i wanted back to 35's. Now that i know exactly the size i need, is just a matter of pluggin all the numbers and see what it'll make me happy for 3 years, i want to say.. I want to say my tires have 50k miles . I like to see what others run and if they'll run it again conidering rain/snow and longevity. that adds to my score in the spreadsheet. Im slacking when it comes to tire research and that's why ive changed 3 times in 3 years hahaha. No more of that.. hopefully lol.

I know the feeling. How many sets of used tires or those cheap milestar ats did I try before I finally went with what I should have all a long.

I will honestly say the only reason I can see me swapping these out would be for a bigger size. 35x11.5x17 LRC......I usually never run the same tires twice, but they really are a little better than others for everything. I'll prob throw these 285s on the jeep and slap the 35s on My truck again when the time comes. But we'll see, I'm logging alot of miles so I'll have some good data to share.

My good friend runs the Grabber ATXs and swears by them, I ran the old models so I can't really give input on the new ones. I'm excited to see your options, and there's decent time before purchase to really check out the market.

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[ram1500rsm]

I know the feeling. How many sets of used tires or those cheap milestar ats did I try before I finally went with what I should have all a long.

I will honestly say the only reason I can see me swapping these out would be for a bigger size. 35x11.5x17 LRC......I usually never run the same tires twice, but they really are a little better than others for everything. I'll prob throw these 285s on the jeep and slap the 35s on My truck again when the time comes. But we'll see, I'm logging alot of miles so I'll have some good data to share.

My good friend runs the Grabber ATXs and swears by them, I ran the old models so I can't really give input on the new ones. I'm excited to see your options, and there's decent time before purchase to really check out the market.

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Just as im putting together my AT tires spreadsheet, trying to also factor in at least R speed rating 106mph / S speed rating 112mph


Jason@Autoedits comes up with this video, Summer is coming up and no more silly snow until Nov-Dec, and it's not like i live in snowy town

I'l try to stick to AT though i'll prob take a drive to my local 4wp and check all the options live. I've found the visuals to be therapeutic and usually gives me the best idea of what i want.

 

[hodge-xj]

Just as im putting together my AT tires spreadsheet, trying to also factor in at least R speed rating 106mph / S speed rating 112mph
View attachment 241049

Jason@Autoedits comes up with this video, Summer is coming up and no more silly snow until Nov-Dec, and it's not like i live in snowy town

I'l try to stick to AT though i'll prob take a drive to my local 4wp and check all the options live. I've found the visuals to be therapeutic and usually gives me the best idea of what i want.

I ran those Trail Graps on my Cummins. Awesome tires. Typical mud tire performance in snow but that was before I cared much. Wore really well too, no idea on noise, that truck was insanely loud inside and out with a 5" turbo back straight pipe, big turbo and 2006 NVH technology. Lol

Looking at your list, they're all top contenders and I don't think you'll go wrong with any of them. Specs are all close, they all should last 50k and perform damn close to each other. I think it comes down to which one you like the looks of most. Seeing them in person will really help in that aspect too.

Realistically, tires have come such a long way it's insane. It used to be cut and dry but now they overlap performance wise so much it's more a decision of small compromises. I've always been an MT guy until a couple years ago, now that I've stepped into agressive all terrains i don't feel the need to go back. Especially with how much I'm beginning to dislike mud. I'll take the better balancing, better ride and longer life of an agressive all terrains any day over the cool factor of most mud tires.

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[hodge-xj]

Got some life changes coming up, new fiance, selling our house and making some moves. Truck should be good as is for a while. Ain't going anywhere but my thread might be boring for a bit truck wise. Not that I'm upset one bit [emoji854][emoji854][emoji854]

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[crazykid1994]

Congratulations!!! I’ll be proposing soon too. Just waiting for the right moment.

 

[Nick@GotExhaust]

Congrats brother!!!

 

[Treburkulosis]

Congrats on the engagement!

 

[hodge-xj]

Thanks Guys! I'm beyond excited for what going on right now!

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[hodge-xj]

Congratulations!!! I’ll be proposing soon too. Just waiting for the right moment.

Do It bro! Most nervous I've ever been in my life and I've legit almost died a few times lol.

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