The last run through the woods involved some fairly deep mud holes. One deep enough that everyone had to be dragged through it.
In my cleanup, I found evidence of muddy water splashed into the air filter box. Not enough to be a threat to the engine but enough that I would worry about it for the rest of my ownership. Time to do something about that. At less than $100 it is cheap insurance and one less thing to worry about.
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I have hated the General Grabbers that were on this thing since I bought it. Terrible ride, noisy, and poor wet traction. They got replaced this weekend.
I went with what I know works. Falken Wildpeak AT3W. I considered the new AT4W. It is a 60k-mile tire compared to the AT3W's 50k-mile rating. That 10k miles come at a cost though. The AT4W tires are 10 pounds heavier per tire due to a stiffer sidewall and have worse wet, snow, and ice traction.
I also went from a 275/75R16 to a 315/75R16. Or from a 33" tire to a 35" tire. They fit perfectly with no rubbing.
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It's slower. It rides significantly better and it's almost quiet. I went for a national forest ride yesterday. What an outstanding tire. This was shot at a high bluff on the Santee River. It's usually about 25' above the water. Yesterday it was about 8' above the water.
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Good looking tires. It's nice to see sidewall!
In reply to eastpark :
This goes off-road fairly often. Sidewalls are a requirement for ride quality and traction. They also help with potholes.
I have those tires on my Mercedes, they're fantastic.
I really like fenders full of tire. I'm surprised they don't rub.
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I think I still need to put the leveling kit in the front.
I have those tires (but probably a smaller size) on my truck, they're so noisy I thought the truck had bad wheel bearings at first. I'm told they wear like iron though.
In reply to dannyp84 :
Get your truck checked. I have had or have 8 sets of these on vehicles ranging from a Samurai to a Suburban. They are all quiet until the last 10-15 thousand miles of life.
In reply to Toyman! :
that looks awesome! I love a big tire with no/minimal lift
In reply to budget_bandit :
That's my preferred setup and look. This is where my XJ ended up. It works very well off-road and will go 98% of the places I want to. I carry a winch for the other 2%.
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I've always loved the fact the h3 could stuff 35s with no lift. Before I picked up another XJ I shopped a bit for another h3 but just couldn't commit with the shagged out ones available at time of purchase. Oddly enough my XJ is the same color as yours I believe. Both are great rigs but I miss the AWD system of the h3 and the modern feel of it on the road. I don't miss the terrible visibility.
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The XJ is on 32s with RE 3.5 lift and the h3 was on 34s stock.
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When I bought this thing I wasn't in love with the chrome grill.
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It always reminded me of this.
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My plan was to pull the OE grill and paint it however, in my internet travels I came across a grill that was prepainted to match the OE black paint. Much better IMHO. Now I need to wash and wax the rest of the truck.
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That looks great! I'm really digging it