in comparison to wheel base im going to run 35 inch tyres as my current budget limits me to them but would like to move upto around a 39 inch tyre in the future or 37 what the ideal wheelbase for these size tyres meaning whats ideal for a 35 a 37 and 39...

and what would be the best compromise for all 3 iw as thinking around the 98inch mark.

and how does wheel abse affect the feel when driving an truck... obviously 40 inch tyres on a 80inch wheelbase wouldnt work because its would be horrible.....?

thanks Luke:smokin: :smokin:

It slows your steering down some. like a reg cab short bed truck wil turn tighter than a crew cab long bed. If your axles will take it you can shorten your steering stops for sharper turning. and a longer wheelbase on a smaller tire will make it highcenter eaier. 98 should be decent, when you stretch it are you going to use links and coils or coilovers/airshocks, or still run leaf springs?

its already half way there

narrowed chassis lj70 axles 35s(for now) 4 linked rear taked into place needs alot more bracing on the mounts yet

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/seddon/SP_A0558.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/seddon/SP_A0560.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/seddon/SP_A0578.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/seddon/SP_A0605.jpg

nice, one thing you can remember is when you get your driveshafts get them with a slip long enough to be good if you decide you need another inch or 2 of wheelbase on each end. That way when you step to a larger tire and decide it needs to be longer to stay stabil on climbs/decents with the larger tires you can change out the links and be good to go.

Well isn't this just the best timeing. So I do not belong here but you guys seem to deal with the issue I am looking at more than "my" group does and so I would like your insite. no I do not drive a Jeep and rather enjoy making them look bad so I am on your side. I do run Sammi wheels if that helps.

My rig has an 88 inch wheel base. I am not looking to make it longer but want to run a 33 9.50 tire. What is your expreiance with the short wheel base and a 33? I do about anything I can as far as terrain goes. I do want to tend toward the rocks though.

Thanks

from what i have seen and what works

35s-95
37s-100
40s-105

these arent ABSOLUTE numbers, just what seems common, im sure everyone has their own opinions on this.

After paying attention over the years it does seem like 95GEO states.

I'm at 95Wb with 35's and it is great. I have 37's waiting to go on, but would like to go to about 100 for those. 39-40" range, becomes a pissing match, but 105+ WB seems the norm.

Don't forget that the track width should be proportional to these numbers. You wouldn't want a 39" tire on a stock sammy axle width at 105" wheelbase. :D

Don't forget that the track width should be proportional to these numbers. You wouldn't want a 39" tire on a stock sammy axle width at 105" wheelbase. :D

Exactly - you don't want to end up with a caboose rock crawler........lol

I'm not sure that I would go longer then 100" on a Yota axle. About 105" with D44's and full size I would stop at 115" max. After 115" you're getting to the point of pure hill climber.

Thanks for all the responces.

Seems like the 33's will work then on an 88" wheelbase. Will be doing a SAS here soon and now that I have been reading about duel trannys I am starting to think that it might be ok to move my axle back a bit. There is no way I am going to fit duel trannys in my stock wheelbase. My drive shaft is already barely 18". What a mess :D Guess the rear axle moved back would help keep the back tires on the ground, what a feeling that can be.

What I wheel is an 87 Toyota Van. The biggest issues seem to be the mid mounted engine when it comes to drivetrain options and the front overhang for getting up on stuff. And yes I REALLY DO WHEEL IT.

What do you mean by caboose rock crawler?

OMG,

It depends on what you like. I'd no way in hell go 33's with anything longer than 83. I'm have 35's at 83 right now and LOVEZ the way it works. I'd push 35's out to 87 before I make a jump to 37/38's. I like having a short brake over angle

OMG,

It depends on what you like. I'd no way in hell go 33's with anything longer than 83. I'm have 35's at 83 right now and LOVEZ the way it works. I'd push 35's out to 87 before I make a jump to 37/38's. I like having a short brake over angle

Yeah but I had to cut to about the limit in the front to get the 28s on the damn thing. Lift is needed for the 33s for sure and it is a van so CG is a bit of a worry.

Like your breakover thoughts though.

I'm kinda with Bill on this. Mine was at 80 1/2" on 35s, now 87" on same tires. It is way better than it was. I don't think I'd go much more than 90" with 35s. I have wheeled a 90" wb sami on 35s and it was good.
Travis..

OMG,

It depends on what you like. I'd no way in hell go 33's with anything longer than 83. I'm have 35's at 83 right now and LOVEZ the way it works. I'd push 35's out to 87 before I make a jump to 37/38's. I like having a short brake over angle

33's on 83" is fine but 35's and 37's are really pushing it. That's for playing around on levelish ground with some rock garden type of obstacles and intermediate trails. With that high center of gravity and short wheel base, you can forget any kind of serious climbs, you'll be winched up every 5 foot cliff there is. You'd also be the very quick to roll when turning while fully articulated even at moderate grades.

I mean, all you have to do is look at the competition rock crawlers out there and you can see the best wheelbase ratio and stance for all around wheelin. Longer wheelbase, semi-wide track = lower center of gravity, a more athletic stance if you will. You may scrape over a few more rocks then having it the other way but I'd rather have some battle scars on my rock sliders and diff covers then the top of my roll cage.

It all comes down to personal preferance and terrain that you wheel.

I ran 33" swampers on a SPOA with wrangler leaves for years with a slightly longer than stock WB. It wheeled great for most all trails. Climbs needed a lot more careful attention or a strap. I was also running dana 44's with those 33's and I was about 4" wider than stock. Made a huge difference in stability.

Now I'm at 95"WB and its about perfect with the 35's, IMO. I have somewhere near 21" from the ground to the bottom of my skid plate. I sit pretty low for running 35's. (I have wheeled with zuks on 33's with SPOA's and sit several inches higher than mine!) I even lowered my engine and tranny an inch for COG. Very stable rig at all angles. I have rarely come across an area that I get high centered, unless its a point ledge, then it takes a little more skinny pedal to pop over it. Its all driving style I guess.

I'm building a stock zuk now for my weekend wheeling, and it will be on 31's possibly 33's. Just over stock WB to fit the tires, and as little lift as I can to fit them as well. However, past experience has taught me that wider is better, so if I stay with stock axles, then 2" back spaced wheels or wheel spacer are the ticket.

To answer the original question, my opinion is that go for 98" WB at the least if you are considering 37"+ tires. Or make provisions so that you could extend it later if needed. As mentioned comp guys pave the way for a lot of our trial and errors. 37" tires, 103" wheelbase and a track width of somewhere near 75" seems to be the hot ticket.

I though we drove samurais??? The reason for doing so is that they are shorter and narrower than toys and jeeps. It is not necessary to have a 105 wheel base to run 37's on a samurai. That would make a samurai too long and look odd becasuse the axles would be at the bumpers.

If I remember right, a samurai wheelbase is 82 or 83" long. 105" is a huge stretch. At that point, just buy a toyota.

I tend to agree,and Ive stuck to that philosophy for the last few years.
Even though I went with Dana44's, I kept them narrow and only lifted it modestly.
My axles are only about 2 inches wider than stock Zuk axles,thus I can squeeze through almost anything.Wheelbase is about 3-4 inches longer than stock using offset pin spring plates.Its on the short side for sure,but it never high centers,was simple to build and it looks "correct". Been running 33" tires the whole time,and its been very effective for the type of wheeling I do,which is moderate trails,mosty rocks.I breezed through Fordyce last year at Sierra Trek,never got hung up or tippsy once.
I havent got light up front when hill climbing,since I have a heavy engine,axles and accessories,but I have identified the weak side of this otherwise well sorted configuration...and thats lateral stability.If you wanna stay narrow and not have to run trucker mudflaps,your gonna be tippy when it starts to articulate.
I rolled on my side a couple weeks ago at Cow Mountain when I put the front tire up on a ledge.It went over like I wouldnt have believed,caught me offgaurd and made me rethink my setup.Im now lifted a bit more and Ill be swapping out wheels for ones with more offset,to push the tires out a few more inches.When the 33's wear out,Ill be installing 35's,and before summer,I have to decide how to gain 10-12 inches of wheelbase.....either frame extensions or coil/link in the back.