I just got finished with an SOA on my flatfender. Used Wagoneer 44's and CJ springs. I thought the springs were stock, but as it turns out, I think they are likely 2.5" lift. With these over the axle, the frame is REALLY high. The back bumper is up to about mid-stomach level on me (5'11"). Everyone is saying that if I lean out too far, it is going to roll, and they are starting to weigh on me. I left the axles at full width and moved the springs outboard by about 2" on each side. I will likely run 36's or 37's by 12.5" wide. Do any of you think I will have a major roll-over problem? Has anyone seen the same type of set-up?
Please don't blast me, this is my first post. I have read over the archives, and haven't found anything.

Peace,
Tim Harris

you might not be able to side hill a virtical drop off but it should be stable if it is full width. i am running the same setup and mine is stable, however if you are only going to run 36's i would ditch the springs for some stockers. I have 38's and im moving up to 42's and will still have enough clearance.

I know that after wheeling my SOA once (and flexing the suspension) the lift settled in. It started out 5"-6" and is now around 4.5". Don't think its going to stand that high forever :D

I haven't bought tires yet, b/c I haven't put the body on, just assuming that was the size I would go with. If there is more room, as you said, I might go with something a bit bigger. But, the Dana 44's are only gonna hold up to so much. Also, I am only running a 225 V6, so that will limit tire size somewhat.

well i dont think your engine size really matters with bigger tires its just gear size, and u could probably get away with 5.13 in those 44s if your gonna run 38s or up so dont worry about the engine worry about the gears.

if you go with some 38.5 by 15's or so youd probably never roll with full width axles. rockbuggy runs this setup with a 1.25" body lift and he's swimmin with the 38.5's. i wouldn't worry about rollin. just make sure you go with a big enough tire. I know he would have liked to

as far as the engine size. if anything you can run bigger tires cus theres not so much weight over the front axles.

I'm running 5.38's, so I would think that the gearing would be okay there. Also, the 225 V6 is notorious for low-end torque, so that would likely help also. The only down-side is that if I ever put it on the road, it's gonna scream like crazy with those 5.38's.

The other concern I had was the 44 axles. I've read in magazines (for what it's worth) that a 44 won't hold up well to tires over 36" or so. Any thoughts?

Depends on how you drive. In my opinion you need to worry about that T14 if you are running tires that big.

I've got basically the same drivetrain you do, except my axles are only 59" wide. I run 5.38's on the road with 35's and can go about 60 MPH.

SOA with stock springs should be plenty high for 36's. I'm SUA with about 3" lift and 1" body lift with plenty of room for 35's.

I guess tire size would be determined more by the type of terrain as well. I am building a yj and intend on 38s but with the local wheelin scene here my cj5 with 36 tsls is more than capable,so how much is enough for you? I would run (IMO) no more than 36s and run the 5.13 to 5.38s and I bet you would be more than capable. Instead of spending all your cash on tires, buy some ARBs or build that lil 225, and hei the ignition, etc... Get a better tranny. On the 38in tire note though you can run 38s on d44s with the little weight of the flat fender. I do hope you have addressed the frame issues. It should be strapped and boxed, and so on. Good luck.

I boxed the frame, but didn't strap it. Welded the bumpers solid to the frame horns. The shackle hangars are mounted to the bumpers, which removes a little stress from the frame. The 225 has HEI, and I am obviously going to have to run headers, so that will help a little. I really think I would like to run 37's by about 13.5", but they are hard to come by, and I certainly don't want to buy them new. Does anyone have any, or know of anyone who has anything from 36 to 38's for sale?

i have some 38x12.5 tsls that are siped and have less than 500 miles on them that i would let go for $675 plus shipping.
just letting you know

Your springs will come down quite a bit, especially since you don't even have the body on yet! That setup will be great. The more you wheel it the more it'll squat.

Originally posted by KAcrawler
i have some 38x12.5 tsls that are siped and have less than 500 miles on them that i would let go for $675 plus shipping.
just letting you know

I paid less that that out the door from 4wheel parts. As for the 225 it is 160 hp stock which isn't too shabby. I wanna know how people are converting to HEI since I would like to do the same though.

i have an 85 cj7 and i was running 2.5 inch cj springs SOA and 37's would work great. i say this becauei bought 35's because they were all i can afford but, the next tires are going to definatly be 37's. i am also running stock cj axle width, and didnt flip, so i dont think you should worry about it.

Originally posted by ryankopecki
Are you running real full width truck axles, or are they waggy or scout stuff? The reason I ask is because wide d44 rears are slightly, rareish. Only thing I can think of is a j10.

Well, since he is on waggy D44s, and all waggy 44s are narrowtrack since after 1980 they switched to AMC Model 20, that and the fact he is probably running a Dana 18 case, which would make him have to use an offset D44..... I'd say that they are narrow track at 58"

Yours should only be about 1-2" taller than mine. I too have the Waggy 44s with 36s on 4" bs wheels. My springs are stock Wrangler with a full length add-a-leaf. I love mine, it side hills well and has decent flex. http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?s=&postid=417602