In the spring of 2020, I sold my 1977 F150, and started looking for a driver that would be track capable. I ended up buying an E36 M3…
The car is fabulous. It has the silky smooth BMW inline-6 engine, a near perfect interior, and excellent handling characteristics. However, it was from the midwest and has some rust.
So I started looking at other cars. The newer generation GTO has the wonderful LS engine and a 6-speed. There are a myriad of LS converted cars, including 944s and 968s with the engine. I also drove a few S550 Mustang GTs with the Coyote and they were a blast. I narrowed my search to S197 and S550 Mustangs with the Brembo braking package.
That’s when I ran across this Mustang in the San Diego area…
The car had the gigantic GT500 brakes (15″ Brembo fronts), Koni shocks and coilovers, and had been set up by someone who works for a legitimate race team. It also fit my budget, allowing me to sell the BMW and get into the Mustang with a minimum of additional cash. However, there is a catch. The car is a 6-cylinder. Yes, I love the power of the Coyote 5.0. Could I live with the 300-ish horsepower of the V6? Would the handling and brakes of this car be enough to win me over?
I flew to San Diego to find out.
After driving the car, I was hooked. Yes, I could use more power, but the brakes and handling were spot-on. The car is very “sharp.” It is also very streetable, with a minimum of NVH and almost no tramlining. That is impressive given the 10.5″ square wheel/tire setup.
I purchased the car, which came with some spares, and drove it home. Yes, it is the middle of January, and record breaking storms were moving through California and other Western states. But I decided to drive it anyway.
At a fuel stop in Ely Wyoming. The roads were getting very slick this evening, and I decided to stop for the night.
No long stories here. I did have weather, including some roads that had snow sticking to them. That said, I was quite fortunate, and was able to make it home in two days with a minimum of slick road conditions. I even had some dry roads for part of the trip. The car drove great, and returned between 26.5 mpg (with climbing both White Bird grade and Lewiston grade on that tank) and 31.5 mpg.
So what’s next for the car? I need to update the driver’s seat (A Sabelt race seat) to one that fits me better. I’ll be adding some safety equipment. Then I’ll be tracking it as much as possible at Spokane County Raceway, on their open track days. Let’s see if I can put some V8 cars to shame with it…
The Werkz truck is finally repaired from an unfortunate deer strike over Independence Day weekend. It came out great. The AEV bumper fit up great, and painting the end pieces further makes this look like a stock style upgrade. The Powerwagon grill didn’t fit, so a factory black grill is on its way. We also had RBP electric running boards installed, and they seem super solid; time will tell how well they last through snow and gravel. It was a pleasure to drive the E36 M3 while the Ram was in the shop, but I’m happy to have the truck back.
One final note about the truck: we recently removed the Decked system from the back. The original idea was to sleep on the flat deck when camping. However, my wife and I found that it was inconvenient to get in/out of the back of the truck and that the headroom wasn’t sufficient. Since we decided we wouldn’t be camping out of the truck, we decided to get the cargo capacity back. I’ll write up a more extensive review soon.
Sometimes it’s nice to get away. Especially to a spot where you cannot see or hear other campers. We recently got away into the wilderness of Idaho. Here are some of the things I liked and learned along the way.
Camping Near the North Fork of the Clearwater River, near Dvorshak Reservior
My wife and I recently packed up the truck and went camping. I picked out a spot that looked “far enough” away but not too far. About 47 miles East of our home is the spot we picked. It’s the North fork of the Clearwater River, up toward the North end of the Dworshak Reservoir. It was spectacular.
We set out from Clarkia Idaho, heading East. We went past Freezeout Ridge, and took Forest Service Road 301 for quite a ways. My first observation is that this area around Freezeout is stunningly beautiful. This is definitely an area we’ll have to get back to. We were high enough to get excellent views all around, We’ll have to come back.
We followed to Indian Dip Road, turning South. This road was quite rough. My second lessons: even with the excellent Ram 2500 suspension, the suspension is still too stiff for the rocks and… aptly named “dips” on the road. At times we had to crawl at under 5mph.
Once we were in the Dworshak drainage, the roads started getting better. We had hoped to find a spot near the rivers at the northwest side of Dworshak, but the only spots were take. It appeared that some of the spots had been occupied for months. And it appears that most of the areas where someone would turn off the road and go along the river to camp are blocked off, making camping out of the truck more difficult. Next lesson: don’t arrive at 6pm and hope to find a spot quickly.
Having previously scouted via Gaia GPS maps for other spots to stay, we ended up 4-wheeling along some logging trails. These trails were quite rough, and got rougher the closer to the water we got. Our maps showed us that there was some potential camping up ahead, but as we got closer, the trail was blocked. Another dead end.
We did end up going to another spot along the North Fork of the Clearwater River. It was stunningly beautiful, quiet (except for the rushing river) and empty. We took it, leveling the truck off in its spot with some rocks.
The truck is set up with a cap height topper. I put in a Decked system for storage, and to make for a sleeping platform. The storage is great, with a huge amount of room for camping items underneath. We had chairs, two stoves, cooking wares, a canopy, camp toilet, recovery equipment, and other items in the Decked. On top we had a bedroll with a memory foam pad and some packing blankets. Our sleeping bag is a double. It laid out wonderfully.
After enjoying our campfire, we retired to the truck. While everything looked good on paper, we soon found that getting in and out of the truck was a pain. First, the truck is high. next, the tailgate had to be down to get in/out easily. With the loud river rushing nearby, we couldn’t hear anything, so I felt like closing off the back of the truck topper. Unfortunately, that made it too stuffy inside, even with the side windows open. We didn’t sleep overly well that night, even though we were out in the forest in God’s beauty.
We spent the next morning relaxing a bit, having eggs and bacon, and walked along the river a ways. It was enjoyable to see God’s beauty. We soon got restless, broke camp (was super easy given everything was already in the truck), and explored the area more before heading home. It was a wonderful trip overall, and one that we’ll have memories of for years to come.
My summary of what went well and what didn’t:
Great
Awesome beauty everywhere we looked
Truck performed flawlessly
The Cummins huge tank and good mileage got us in and out (with many hours of driving) with half a tank left
The decked system provides a huge amount of storage
The bed was warm and comfortable
The 12v fridge kept everything nice and cold
Not so great
Getting in and out of the back of the truck at night was not comfortable
The truck’s suspension is a bit too stiff for the really rough stuff
We felt lucky to find a good spot to camp
For next time, we’ll probably find a pop up camper (think 4-Wheel Campers) or a trailer. I just prefer a bit more comfort when I’m out enjoying God’s wonderful creation. Otherwise, I wouldn’t change a thing!
Don’t you love deer? You know, those lovely doe-eyed creatures of the forest?
Yes, I enjoy seeing them grazing on our property. However, I’m less excited to see them on or near the road.
Case in point: Independence Day weekend 2020. We were driving to Coeur d’Alene Idaho, just a few miles South. Broad daylight mid-day. Came around a corner and a deer appeared in busy-ish 4-lane traffic. In my lane. Feel the thump, where the deer bounced off the bumper of our truck traveling at 60mph. Then a fraction of a second later, we feel the deer again as it hits the front axle and we drive over the poor thing.
I guess the Lord had planned for that one to no longer be a threat to vehicles. Thankfully our truck only sustained cosmetic damage. Bumper, parking sensors, intercooler, and AC condenser all damaged. Thankfully the latter two items were not punctured. This gives us time to regroup and determine the right path forward.
Ouch!
I’ve been looking at off-road capable bumpers for the truck anyway. AEV has the best looking one, with the AEV Ram HD bumper. I’m not sure how the black will look against the rest of the truck. Here is a link to an article showing my color truck with the black bumper, and I’m not sure it’s as attractive as I want:
Life in Idaho is pretty good. With our low population and extensive outdoor spaces, it’s possible to get outdoors and do things without encountering many people. Thus, we can maintain “social distancing” while also enjoying a rich life.
After virtual church this last Sunday, we decided to go on a trip. We got out to Avery Idaho, with the intent of seeing how far we could get on the Avery-Wallace road. It turns out that we cannot get very far. The road was closed right at Avery after the trash cans. It is only March 22; I expected that we might not get very far, but I expected to at least be able to go up some into the mountains.
Not deterred, we then looked for other areas to explore. We switched over to driving the South side of the St. Joe west from Avery, stopping for some lunch where Fishook Creek meets the St. Joe.
Delfina enjoyed her time during our stop at the St. Joe.
From there, we decided to heat up Fishhook Creek Road. Winding south up from the St. Joe river. Being this early in the season, the road is mostly snow & ice pack. It was plowed, but has many sheet ice or soft sections. I could see tire tracks where people would put one or two wheels in the ditch then have to get themselves out. The Ram is quite heavy, so I was mindful to keep it on solid ground as best I could, and out of the soft shoulders.
A couple miles up, we spotted a icicle wall. Snow melt coming down a rock wall formed icicles all the way to the road. It was impressive.
Icicles form on this north facing rock wall.
It was only standing under the ice that we could get a feel for the scale.
Ice cascades off the rock to create a sculpture. God creates masterpieces all around us!
We then crossed a couple bridges continuing to climb. The scenery is spectacular, including one section where a tunnel was built.
Tunnel has a stray icicle hanging off to the right.
Coming out of the tunnel, looking West, you could see why the road builders decided to build a tunnel rather than following the river. The creek had nearly carved a tunnel of its own in the surrounding rock.
Rock walls are a feature of Fishhook creek.
From there, we were able to follow the river up until a junction of Lick Creek Road. From there, the Fishhook Creek Road was no longer plowed. We could continue on Lick Creek, but decided to turn around before getting too far into the wilderness.
When we bought the 4runner, the dealer had the rooftop tent installed on the factory rack, with Yakima aero bars bridging the gap between the factory roof rack and the CVT rooftop tent. While it seemed reasonably secure, it sat higher than I wanted and I thought it probably wasn’t as strong as it should be. So I considered it my mission to come up with a stronger, lower solution.
While strength is a primary concern, I also didn’t want a solution that would put me well above the $1k+ territory. I wanted something lower, something stronger, something that fits the look of the 4runner, and preferably something that doesn’t make a lot of noise. Oh yes, it cannot cover the sunroof.
Toward that end, I called Rhino Adventure Gear, a Rhino dealer in California. They called me back later in the day, and we discussed options. After some measuring, the standard Rhino rack (not the backbone, but the rack itself) bar spacing would be a bit awkward versus the bars on the bottom of the CVT tent. The CVT bars would be half on/half off the Rhino bars. However, we did discuss the possibility of me just buying the backbone system and I would fabricate my own cross bars to mount the tent on. This is ultimately what we decided to pursue.
I also separately purchased 80/20 15 Series T-Slot aluminum extrusion 48″ long in anodized black. These are 1.5″ square extrusions, and I figured would be plenty strong. I wasn’t certain exactly how I would mount to the backbone when I bought these, but I thought it likely that I could mount them directly to the top of the backbone — this is ultimately what I did. I purchased 4, but ultimately only needed 3. They cost just over $13 each, plus shipping.
80/20 Cross Bar Attachment to Rhino Rack Backbone
To help reduce wind noise, I also purchased 40 feet of 15 series t-slot cover, which I threaded into the top & front & rear of the extrusions. I may also add to the bottom of the extrusions in the future. Cost $26.
Finally, I purchased black end covers for the 15-series. I ended up with more than I needed — 10 — but the cost was about $16 for these.
Backbone: $369, extrusions $13×3, t-slot cover $26, end covers $16. $450 for the whole thing, which is quite a bit less than the full systems including the racks.
With all the parts in hand, I proceeded with installation. First step is to remove the factory roof rack. Note that with this system, no holes need to be drilled in the roof. I popped the factory end covers, then loosened the two screws at each end gradually. Apparently, the 2 screws at each end have a bracket holding each of them together, so it’s best to loosen them gradually to avoid stressing that bracket. The factory roof rack removed easily.
Installing the Rhino Backbone was easy, and the included instructions were sufficient. Simply use the same mounting holes, apply the rubber “gaskets”, place the backbone, and then install using the included bolts with washers arranged appropriately. Once the 4 bolts are attached and torqued appropriately, the backbone is in place. Repeat for the other side.
With the backbone in place, it seemed reasonably strong. The steel isn’t overly heavy, but should hold weight well. I will say that the factory rack seemed to be more solid under side-to-side load due to the way the bottom was formed to the shape of the roof. Part of me wishes that the backbone did something similar to distribute weight on the roof a little better, which might help with side-to-side loading.
Installing the t-track was trivial. I already had some t-track brackets & bolts, and I used those to clamp the rack down on the roof. I paid special attention to spacing them evenly on the roof, and I made sure the split washers were in place, as I didn’t want them loosening up. Provided the t-track is tightly attached to the backbone, this will distribute the tent weight side to side better, helping keep things rigid. If they loosen up, I could see the weight of the tent pushing down and bending the backbone attachments.
Crossbars on the Rhino Rack Backbone
Finally, the backbone system provides for 3 cross bars. I’m utilizing all 3, with the intent that the middle adds strength to the overall system. However, the CVT tent uses only bracket mounts front and rear. I suppose I could add a 3rd set in the middle, but I don’t see a strong need for that.
So far, I’m happy with the mounting system and apparent strength. My wife does report more wind noise, which is not surprising since we had previously been running the factory roof rack without crossbars. The rack does look good on our all-black T4R, fitting the black theme and removing the factory silver.
Next step is to mount the tent and test!
Update 6/1/2018: After driving the T4R, I agree with my wife that the wind noise is significant. I’m pulling the crossbars off until we are ready to mount the RTT. I’m a bit disappointed at the amount of noise, but I guess that can be expected given the squareness of the 80/20 crossbars.
Update 6/8/2018: After removing the 80/20 crossbars, the T4R is back to being super quiet. Thank goodness!
Our 2018 Toyota 4Runner TRD Offroad with KDSS and CVT Tent., on the drive home from the dealer, just North of Riggins, ID.
My wife’s Audi Q5, as perfectly reliable as it has been, was approaching 100k miles. In addition, she was wanting something more rugged — something we could take out to the abundant forests nearby and explore and camp. Since we already had the Werkz Ram 1500, we didn’t want another pickup. We wanted something in the highly capable SUV realm.
We initially were looking at the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, 2012 and up. The off road capabilities are great, especially with the Rubicon package. However, we could never put together quite the deal we were looking for. And to be honest, I don’t think either of us enjoyed the jeep that much. Sure, taking the top off was fun, but it’s also a pain — how often would we really remove the top?
Getting discouraged, I asked my wife to drive a used FJ Cruiser at a local Toyota dealership. She thought it was fine, but she prefers carpeting and nicer interiors. The FJ Cruiser is a cool rig, but she couldn’t see driving it every day. We also saw and drove a 2017 4Runner TRD Pro. She liked the rig. A lot. If it had been in black or white or an exclusive 2017 color (it was Barcelona Red), we might have bought it. It did lack two things we wanted — moonroof for her, and I wanted KDSS. Those two options aren’t available for the TRD Pro.
The moonroof is self-exlpanatory, but KDSS (Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System) requires a little more explanation. It allows a bigger sway bar in front for on-road handing, then acts as a disconnect for off-road performance. Here is a video that explains it more:
Though I like the Pro front end a little better, the main thing that had us considering the Pro was the insane resale. From the ads I saw online, someone could buy a new Pro at sticker, drive it for 2 years and 40k miles, and sell it for darn near sticker again. However, since we didn’t plan on selling for many many years, we decided it was important to get exactly what we wanted.
We also considered a used Trail or used GX460. For those who don’t know, the GX460 is much like the overseas Toyota Prado, and includes a “love it or hate it” side swing rear door and v8 power in the same exact chassis as the 4Runner. And the earlier Trail is like the current TRD Off Road package. The problem was that we only found 1 used earlier trail with low miles and in great shape — and the interior isn’t as nice as the newer ones. We also loved the way the GX460 drove with the v8 and 6-speed automatic, but the styling was “meh” (for the early ones) to “ugh” (for the predator faced ones) and the GX460 has the Torsen center diff and no locking rear differential, limiting the off-road capabilities slightly.
As a result, we ended up buying this black 2018 Toyota 4Runner TRD Off Road Premium with KDSS and moonroof. We also ended up buying the Cascadia Vehicle Tent (CVT) that is on the roof. We’ve not had a chance to try the tent, but so far we love the 4Runner. Future upgrades will likely include BFG KO2 tires, on some genuine TRD wheels. We will probably upgrade to Bilsteins as well.
It was time to upgrade the tires on my 2014 Ram 1500. With 21k miles, the stock tires were looking a little poor, and handled terribly last winter. Living up a dirt road in Idaho, I wanted to put a more aggressive tire on the truck.
The first question I needed to answer was whether to keep the stock 20″ clad wheels, or go with something different. After looking at tire prices, I investigated pricing for the 18 and 17 inch wheels on Tire Rack. I decided that I wanted both the less expensive tire as well as the taller sidewall of a 17″ wheel.
The next question was what wheels I would get to run with the larger tires. Unfortunately, I didn’t see many 17″ wheels that I liked at Tire Rack. However, when searching Craigslist, I found a set of Ram Rebel wheels with the Toyo tires that I liked. I’m a fan of keeping my vehicles driving like stock — the factory engineers work hard to make for a good driving truck, and I don’t want to screw it up. While those wheels sold before I was able to buy them, it gave me something to shoot for.
Earlier this month, I found a set of bare Ram Rebel wheel takeoffs. I bought them for $500. Finally, I had the wheels I wanted, but now I needed to determine what tires to run.
After looking at postings on Ramforumz.com and other sites, it appeared that the 315/70r17 tires (which are 34.5 inches tall) would fit on the truck. It wasn’t clear whether a lift was needed for these to fit, many seemed to run the Bilstein front shocks with the front lift they provide. As a result, I was thinking that the best course would be to run the Bilsteins with the 315/70r17 tires.
I called 4 Wheel Parts in Boise to find what my options would be for the 17″ wheels I had. I priced the Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac and the BF Goodrich A/T KO2 tires. Apparently, 4WP had a great bulk buy on 315/70r17 tires from BF Goodrich, so I went with them. The tires were under $200 each!
After a few issues working with 4 Wheel Parts (separate review to be published later), they found a note that they couldn’t use the Bilstein lift with the stock control arms. I didn’t have the Zone Control Arm solution installed, so it meant that they would only install at the stock height. They offered to go with smaller tires, but I opted to stay with the 315s.
2014 Ram 1500 with 315/70r17 at stock ride height – Upper Control Arm Clearance
When picking up the truck, I was a bit worried about rubbing issues. However, after 500+ miles, including some time on logging trails here in Idaho. I have had minimal rubbing. The only time I get rubbing is when backing in to where I park. A left turn while dropping the right front down a hill results in minor rubbing on the inner finder on the driver’s side. I have noticed lower gas mileage and a bit slower acceleration. Handling isn’t as sharp, but to be honest the ride is better. Road manners are just as good as stock; it doesn’t pull in the ruts, and my wife still enjoys driving the truck. That’s something.
2014 Ram 1500 with 315/70r17 at stock ride height – BF Goodrich A/T KO2 tires
So, what’s the lesson? If you want 315/70r17 tires on your 4th gen Ram, you can put them on at stock ride height. i admit that this is tire specific, but I suspect it will work with most tire models. This achieved my goals of having better off-road capability (did I mention these tires have the severe snow snowflake) plus a more aggressive look.
Will I eventually replace the control arms and lift the truck using the built-in capability of the Bilsteins? At this point, I don’t think so. The truck just drives so good with the 315s and it’s got a great look. There is minimal rubbing. I just don’t feel the need to lift it.
So… if you’re looking to get bigger tires for your Ram, but don’t want to lift it… I believe you can.
