Skyjacker Thread

[Niki]

OK, I'm going to buy a skyjacker kit w/ new front and rear springs and softride hydro shocks. I'm on the fence between 285/75-16 and 315/75-16 tires on 8" Eagle rims. My understanding is I need the 2" kit for the 285's and the 4" one for the 315's. What I want to know is out of you guys that have these kits, what is your center of hub to fender lip(the actual fender, not the rubber flare) measurements front and rear? I'm trying to decide how high I want the truck, and am a little concerned about fuel mileage too. On my 95 CTD 5 sp, mileage actually improved w/ 315's, probably because it had 4. 10's. My current truck(W250 in sig) is a 5 sp/3. 54. I was hoping for improved mileage w/ the 285's or 315's, especially on the highway. I'm going to run BFG all terrains too, that tread pattern shouldn't hurt mileage. I'm not going to offroad the truck, I'm lifting it to mainly get rid of the factory leaves and hopefully get better ride quality like many have posted. My 95 certainly rode better lifted. If anyone has any suggestions or if anyone has run a 315 tire on an 8" rim w/ a 2" lift without trimming the fenders, let me know! Also, who's got the best price on these? Thanks-Nick

 

[ZedMikey]

On the same vein... I'm interested in what tires (brands/sizes) people are running on their trucks with how much lift/trimming... just in general. Looking at my truck, I think I could fit 285s in its current state (my only real concern is clearance in the rear wheel wells... that flatbed has some sharp corners). Right now it has 265s, and I think I may have rubbed a bit in the rear once... but I'm not sure.

 

[AKimmel]

I have 2. 5" springs in the front. and clear 295 BFG All terrains just right. I don't think you can go with much bigger of a tire without more lift, plus I don't have the clearance robbing wheel flares like the later trucks.

 

[TKingsbury]

I had some oddball springs on the front of my truck. Appearently they were 3"ers, because when I put the 2" Skyjackers in I lost an inch. I already had the 6" skyjacker rears in there and had added 1" block to make them level with the old fronts. Now my rear is 1" taller. The center of my front hubs to the wheel opening (no flares) is right about 25 1/2". I used to run 35x12. 50/16. 5s with the old springs and they had just a tiny bit of rub in certain situations. I haven't tried, but I do not believe the 35s will fit anymore. I am currently running 235/85r16s. I think 285s would fit without any trouble. A word of caution on the big tires, they screw your gearing all up. Especially with a 5 speed. You are either in a higher gear going faster than you want, or in a lower gear going slower when you are trying to keep the engine in the sweet spot. My . 02

Travis. .

 

[Niki]

I had some oddball springs on the front of my truck. Appearently they were 3"ers, because when I put the 2" Skyjackers in I lost an inch. I already had the 6" skyjacker rears in there and had added 1" block to make them level with the old fronts. Now my rear is 1" taller. The center of my front hubs to the wheel opening (no flares) is right about 25 1/2". I used to run 35x12. 50/16. 5s with the old springs and they had just a tiny bit of rub in certain situations. I haven't tried, but I do not believe the 35s will fit anymore. I am currently running 235/85r16s. I think 285s would fit without any trouble. A word of caution on the big tires, they screw your gearing all up. Especially with a 5 speed. You are either in a higher gear going faster than you want, or in a lower gear going slower when you are trying to keep the engine in the sweet spot. My . 02

Travis. .

I had 315's on my old 95 so I know all about gearing, it just moves the "sweet spots" around a little. Plus if I get 315's w/ 3. 54's I will probably be towing in 4th gear, not necessarily a bad thing. I really want to know what effect the bigger tires has on people's mileage...

 

[y-knot]

Not to sure about your lift, I too have the SkyJacker brand but with the 4. 5" lift and new rear leaf springs for the 2nd gen. I have lifted many trucks and always run the larger tires. For the 4. 5" lift I plan to install(have lift and all parts, just need time) I will run 16x6 wheels out back with 325-85-16 (37-12. 50-16) tires and a 2-1/2" spacer, up front I will go with a set of 18"x10" wheels and 37-12. 5-18 tires. I do have the 4. 10 rear gears also.

Your truck with it's very high 3. 54 gears will most likely loss fuel mileage with the larger tires, that has always been the case for me with large tires and short gears. The tires add diameter and more importantly it's larger weight, with a larger moment of enursha will consume more fuel.

 

[RRothenberger]

If you look in my gallery there are pics of my truck with 285's. I have 4" gas springs that lifted it 3". In the rear I did a shakle flip and used a shorter block. The truck had the 285's on it with no lift and they didn't rub. I really like the way it rides now. I'm pretty sure I could put a 35" on it.

 

[ZedMikey]

I forgot to mention that my truck has 4. 10s... that's another reason I want to put some bigger meats on it.

With my flatbed, I already need blocks to get my gooseneck hooked up... hehe... hopefully I don't go crazy and lift the damn thing!

 

[tx_fireman1525]

I was runnin 305's on mine with no lift, minimum rubbing. It was kinda sluggish with the stock 3. 55's tho.

 

[Niki]

Maybe I'll just go w/ the 285's, has anyone experienced loss of mileage w/ those and 3. 54's? I figure it would be the same weight going from steel wheels/265E's to aluminum wheels/285D's. Does anyone tow or haul heavy w/ the skyjacker rears? I want to get better ride quality but don't want to have trouble pulling a 7k# trailer or hauling a bed full of engine blocks or something...

 

[TKingsbury]

My truck squats until it hits the overload leaf, then holds up pretty well. It seems to drop and inch or so pretty easy then gets firm. I hooked up my trailer today and with my rear sitting about an inch high unloaded, it is level with the trailer on. The trailer is about 5k.

Travis. .

 

[LiftedLimo]

My 93 has airbag lift in front up to 5 inchs and the rear has up to 7 inchs of lift. It is running on 4 inch front and 6 rear right now. I have 315/85's on it right now with 3. 54 gears and a very built auto with lowstall convertor. I didnt loose any milage, but it really is a dog around compared to the 31. 5's I had. I cruise at under my powerband, so it takes more fuel(more effort) to go up hills so thats where it uses more fuel to even out the milage gains by larger tires. I rub a little on turns and then hit bumps into parking lots and offroading. I am going to trim off all the sheet metal in the front from the marker lights down to make it flat. This will cure my problems.



I am looking into making steel versions of the fiberglass racing fenders so I can use stock springs with 38's. Has anyone have dimentions of those fiberglass sender openings?