These Ukranians recommend Portals like we recommend 33's.

[speedkills]

A buddy sent me this off-roading video today and I liked it so much I had to share. It gave me an odd feeling of nostalgia for my youth growing up in Alaska that I haven't felt in years. I have no idea what anyone is saying, but that didn't take anything away from it for me.

https://youtu.be/WBP7-lF96_s

[TDash]

some gnarly looking trails and some badass tires

[TDash]

this white nissan truck seemed to struggle the most in multiple spots

[Jim]

I kept looking for equal spinning side-to-side for the tires. It seems some of them didn't have diff locks.

Ultra low psi in the tires too!

[jayson44]

Jim previously posted:

[speedkills]

I think that Nissan had a broken front locker. I saw it in other videos of theirs and could swear I remember it having all four locked up. I loved that there were so many different models of trucks out there too. Reminded me of when I was growing up and everyone on the trails just had whatever they happened to own, then lifted it up and put some big tires on it.

[derf]

Yeah, I remember back when more manufacturers made trucks that were off road capable. That's less of a priority now. On road performance and comfort has taken over. Some of the old 4x4s are now crossovers (i.e. tall station wagons like the Jeep Cherokee and Chevy Blazer). Trucks are still trucks for the most part, though focus on ride quality and interior comfort has changed them. At least you can still get the off road focused packages on all the major brands so they're not bad off the showroom floor if you get the right options. And the aftermarket is there to help as well. Unfortunately, the full size SUV isn't really for off roading any more. The Tahoe/Yukon, Suburban, Expedition, etc. have all gone to full on street oriented vehicles that can tackle some trails but require significant modifications to be as off road capable as their ancestors. At least we can still get some SUVs that have some off road chops and we're adding the new Bronco to that list so that's a plus.

20 years ago, I would go out with a group that included Jeeps, K5 Blazers, 4 Runners, Broncos and Bronco II's, Ramchargers, pickups of all kinds, Suzuki Samurais, and a bunch of others. Now it seems like there's mostly Jeeps and ATVs. There are others up there and I see a few each trip I go on but by in large it's Jeeps and ATVs. I hope to see a bunch of new Broncos out on the trails soon. That'll be nice to watch them do their thing.

[Jim]

derf previously posted:

[open_circuit]

Jim previously posted:

[TDash]

Jim previously posted:

[speedkills]

@Jayson Regarding the beadlocks, they're almost all running Tibus wheels and the bars running across the wheels are to protect the hose running to the valve stem from the axle for the central tire inflation system. They can air up and down as they are wheeling.

[jayson44]

speedkills previously posted:

[Jim]

So I did a search on Tibus wheels and came to:

Bolt-on-portals - who knew!?!
http://www.tibus-offroad.com/en/prod...lt-on-portals/
The gear ratio of the TIBUS Bolt-on portals is between 1.16 - 1 to 1.6 - 1 depending on the type of vehicle and it’s intended use. The overall axle ratio changes corresponding to the respective factor, which makes it possible to drive large wheels without having to adjust the gear ratio of the differentials.
So - direction of rotation is taken care of - plus - you can get different ratio's to account for a larger tire w/o needing to re-gear the diff's. I won't go searching for cost. ;-)


Central tire inflation system:
http://www.tibus-offroad.com/en/prod...lation-system/


Air compressor:
http://www.tibus-offroad.com/en/prod...ir-compressor/

[jayson44]

Jim previously posted:

[Jim]

I went looking for cost. $23K is a figure to have in mind.

Some reading, if interested:
https://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/t...na-60-14-bolt/
https://www.gwagenparts.com/product/...nd-generation/
Full axles
https://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/t...-portal-axles/

[speedkills]

I think these are all from DV Max Offroad Tuning, so more like 17k, but yeah, a hefty chunk of change to be sure. I rewatched that video because I enjoyed it so much, and the second time I got subtitles and could see the Nissan driver complaining that he lost front and rear lockers.