OK...  I have about decided to earmark another grand for my little Tracky project..  I originally posted that I got a deal on a $600 Tracker... rusty but running.. .and was going to have a $1000 trail toy... LOL... yeah, right, that went out the window fast.. HAH! 

So far:

235x75 Buckshot mudders

New Soft top

Rust repairs.......and repairs... and repairs.. BUT, about done! and that was cheap..
.
Full exhaust system, Magnaflow downpipe/converter, turbopak muffler 2" exhaust custom bent.. tucked up real nice, super solid.. great sound.. but still quiet cruising..

Two inch BDS Coil spring lift, with optional front struts on the way

Mini Spool from Randy's R & P on the way


OK, I have decided to drop ANOTHER grand into it...

What do I do?

2 inch body lift... probable, but that is only $50 if I make my own, or just $150 or less store bought.

Wheels, and or tires?  that's a BIG chunk gone right there... if I do that.


TC gears??  hmmm, that's high....

Front ARB?   nah.... too much (how ARE folks doing the fronts? I though maybe calmini limited slip?


What would make the MOST difference on the trails.. that is my intended purpose, trail riding, nothing TOO extreme, little or NO rocks (unless they are on the trail...lol)

Not interested in Winch at the moments..



My wants:

Custom Rock Sliders.. from a welder friend.. $100 tops
Skid Plates.... what are the best priced ones??
Possibly custom bumpers.. but not really that interested.... mostly looks... too much weight
Bigger Tires Wheels... more lift...
Low Crawler Gears
Air locker front and Rear (eventually... close to 2 grand... UGH!)



For now, I am going to concentrate on getting this lift installed, and the mini-spool.. then go wheeling and see what I think I need... but would still like to hear your opinions..

Yoy'll be happy with what you have for a while . With a spool in the rear you will go almost anywhere you want.



     Kevin

Remember if you went taller than the 29" tires you have now you'd be really pushing it to turn those tires.  Even 31's would tax your 5.12's and stick (you said it was a 5 speed, right?) driving down the road and you'd definately notice the loss of "crawlability" offroad.  So you'd need to regear the axles to make it scoot a bit more correctly.

I say keep the tires you have now, maybe invest in some 15x7's.  Then some skid plates and rocker protection.  Wheel the piss out of it and see what you need to do.  Don't throw money at it until you're aware you need to improve it more.  Been there done that, would like to have the money back I wasted on stuff I didn't need.
Strip the plastic bumper covers off front and rear and see what's underneath.  I dunno if I like the front so much but I dig the rear bumper.  Those are my steel bumpers.
I agree with Kevin.  My Ranger has a NoSlip locker in the rear and an open front.  I've wheeled with guys locked front and rear and they couldn't do a whole hell of a lot that I couldn't.  If we were hard core rock crawling or mud bogging it might be another story but for general wheeling that 90% of us do here, you can't beat a locked rear and open front for trail and road use.

Good advice..


15x7's it is.  wait on new tires till I can get TC gearing... that will be about 1200 total, that will be round three..



Next grand:

Wheels

Skid plates

Recovery items (I like that new weave strap thingy..)

High Lift jack

Get my Rock sliders made (case of beer and a $20 prolly)

Paint (home made job...lovem looking ghetto...lol..

I have about decided to do a home spray job trying to match my Sportsman 600 twin:

Hard to see the graphics in this shot... but really, just the color, and I want to have custom stickers cut that say Sportsman 1600  instead of 600... LOL.. I think that would be cool, as I plan on taking the quad and the Tracky with me most times.. they will both fit on my trailer.. then and the kids will fit in the back of the truck..

The other pic is when the Sportsman was brand new....    NOW, to get the Polaris Green matched... so I can squirt it...

I should have $500 to spend instead of fixing the slightly bent front fender.  What will the 15x7's do for you? I have been thinking about sliders and maybe a front bumper.  but after reading this maybe sliders and skid plates.  I have brand new 235's , and thats all the mods I have done for now.  I have a high lift, but no place on the front of sides to jack from(unless I take the bumper covers off). I want to get a good strap, any suggestions? Its a DD, and like AJMBLAZER said, I would like to wheel more to know what I need to do.  This is good post for ideas.
Thanks

OTT Kicker 3. Mate a sammi t-case behind your stock t-case. This will gear you very low, you'd need about 33's to drive it comfortably on the highway! I have 31's and a sammi case, the the low range is NICE. But I can't do much more then about 60-65 TOPS on the hwy.
The OTT kicker 3 setup is 600, and you have to ship them your t-case, and they ship it back to you with the front output cut off and an adaper to bolt the sammi case to. So say 800 total when all is said and done. That leaves you 200, and sell your buckshots, and take that money and get some 32's, then cut the snot out of the fenders ( I have 31's and ZERO rubbing w/ 2" of lift). Then get someone to weld the carrier in the rear end, and you will be golden. 

If you have a friend who can weld up sliders cheap you may want to consider putting a plain piece of steel out front so you dont crunch your radiator.... something out of the way so it wont bend back into your tires like stock bumpers do......

During the really bad lexington ice storm in like 1990 i was tooling around in my sammy and hit a huge patch of ice.....slid into a phone pole just fast enough to bend the stock bumper back into the tires turning radius......i got home very slowly by driving slightly to the left the whole way, stopping to turn a complete left hand circle everytime i got pointed to far towards the sidewalk.....

It seems that the OTT kicker 3 setup would be less hassle than trying to find 5.83's.  Is this as good as getting 583's? or ar you still dealing with the same gearing in high range?  Wait a minuet... I just figured it out.  Sorry too much work this week... mind is slow.  Too good to be true.

What is the strap weave thing you were talking about?

http://www.4wheelparts.com/4wp/products/productLine.asp?cat=JEE&prodline=522&catName=Jeep+Accessories&man=GSPCC
 here is a pic...

Personally, on a Track/Kick, I'd regear the axles before I regeared the transfer case unless I was going to run BEEEEG tires and do the Sami -t-case thing like Chief suggested.  There's no low range reduction so as soon as you go to get a gallon of milk, pick the kids up at school, or just toodle down the road a bit it's dog ass slow.



Echo, here's where I get my straps from:
http://www.aaasling.net
800-875-0266
One of the guys is a member of my website.  They make nice straps with good quality at a very nice price.

Personally, on a Track/Kick, I'd regear the axles before I regeared the transfer case unless I was going to run BEEEEG tires and do the Sami -t-case thing like Chief suggested.  There's no low range reduction so as soon as you go to get a gallon of milk, pick the kids up at school, or just toodle down the road a bit it's dog ass slow.



Echo, here's where I get my straps from:
http://www.aaasling.net
800-875-0266
One of the guys is a member of my website.  They make nice straps with good quality at a very nice price.

Not really.
I'm runnig 31"s right now (have 32" too) and it runs fine  in and around town and even better on the hwy (flats or down hill) in 5th.
Still getting 25mpg
Yes, the speedo is recalabrated for 31"s
It's no rocket but what do you expect from a 4banger?

And, I also ran with 32"SuperSwampers on my 2dr with the stock 5:12's for over a year b-4 I did the gear swap.
Wheeled fine.
Stock gears ind T-case 4-low good for muddin and sand, Not too good for Crawling but yet not too bad either.
So next thing I'd get would be the lift, Tires, and then Sliders/Skid plates.
AND you will NEED Sliders,  I've seen many crushed door sills. ( I have one)

How'd you recal the speedo?

How'd you recal the speedo?

Took it to a Speedo shop and they put a gear reduction box on the SpeedO cable right b-4 the Tranny.

Not really.
I'm runnig 31"s right now (have 32" too) and it runs fine  in and around town and even better on the hwy (flats or down hill) in 5th.
Still getting 25mpg
Yes, the speedo is recalabrated for 31"s
It's no rocket but what do you expect from a 4banger?

Is that with a 16V? an 8V has around 20% less power so its a lot more sensitive to gearing.