LittleBeast becomes BigBeast, lift, rims, tires, and more. Pics, PICS, and more PICS.

[Ldub]

Looks awesome man, i like the lift on it, do you think mine would look nice if i lifted it a bit or just leave it alone?

IMHO, more clearance in your wheel wells would look...

Having said that, I'll reiterate my opinion on mods to "YOUR" VX...

Do whatever YOU think looks good & damn what others like!...

Nothing of any meaning or substance, has EVER been accomplished by following the rest of the herd...GO BOLDLY!

If everyone did what they saw their neighbor doing, we would all still be living in caves.

[SilverBullet75]

...Having said that, I'll reiterate my opinion on mods to "YOUR" VX...

Do whatever YOU think looks good & damn what others like!...

Nothing of any meaning or substance, has EVER been accomplished by following the rest of the herd...GO BOLDLY!

If everyone did what they saw their neighbor doing, we would all still be living in caves.

Ldub,
On more than one occasion I've seen people get their egos knocked down... myself included... by people that didn't like the mods that someone had just posted.
What you just said is some of the best advice I've seen on this site to anyone asking "what do you think?"... Bravo!

[Ldub]

Ldub,
On more than one occasion I've seen people get their egos knocked down... myself included... by people that didn't like the mods that someone had just posted.
What you just said is some of the best advice I've seen on this site to anyone asking "what do you think?"... Bravo!

I hear ya cluckin' red rooster...

I've taken a few "body blows" myself, on some of my more ummmmmmm...
"outside the box" mods, but that's OK, I'm never gonna do mods to please others, only myself.

Opinions (especially mine ) are worth about what was paid, prolly less...

However, THAT being said, when any of us asks for others to opine on mods...brace yourself...

And then do it YOUR WAY!

[Riff Raff]

Looks awesome man, i like the lift on it, do you think mine would look nice if i lifted it a bit or just leave it alone?

Wow, I thought your VX was "lifted" in order to fit those tires. If you're not lifted, then I say DON'T LIFT-- it looks great the way it is.

I have never been a fan of lifting because of CV related problems. My theory has always been to put the biggest tire you can possibly fit within the VX "front" wheelwell WITHOUT "lifting", since it's the severely cramped "front" VX wheelwell that ultimately limits our aftermarket wheel/tire selections. The rear wheelwells has gobs of extra space, so the rear is not an issue (merely duplicate what was able to fit on the front).

LDUB--- I totally concur with your statement. Beauty is in the eye of the "owner" (not so much the "beholder"). Whenever I look at pictures of other people's VX's; there are always things I like, and things I don't like. The vast pool of VX mod's are plentiful and provides a wealth of ideas to incorporate (or not incorporate).

In viewing the pictures of LITTLE BEAST, the thing that really caught my eye was the "twin" chrome tow-hooks. A very simple mod, but has great impact as the twin tow-hooks perfectly augment the twin fangs and make a "well-balanced" front image. Sometimes it's the least expensive mod's that can make the biggest impact if tastefully done. LITTLE BEAST (although not a Proton), has always been one of my favorites. All of his mod's are "in concert" with each other, and provides a very pleasing overall package without being overdone.

[etlsport]

LDUB--- I totally concur with your statement. Beauty is in the eye of the "owner" (not so much the "beholder").

heh one of my fav quotes...

beauty is in the eye of the key-holder!

[LittleBeast]

Looks awesome man, i like the lift on it, do you think mine would look nice if i lifted it a bit or just leave it alone?

I think it would still look great lifted, however my personal opinion is I would probably like it more just the way it is. The 22's have quite a bit of aggressive stance and "big time" looks without the extra space in the wheel well's. If you went to a bigger tire, say a 35" tire then yes, lift. But I like it just the way you have it for your current tire/wheel combo.

[tjh]

LittleBeast that lift is wicked . The Vx looks like it's ready to consume everything in its path .

I'm definitely going to look into getting my VX a wee bit of lift .Your photos have sold me . I was thinking 3" lift with 31s' but , after looking at your pics ... . 33s' fit just really well . Very aesthetically pleasing . Ok ,so I will want to do diff drop up front . I also would like to have the gears changed too reduce stress on the engine and maybe reclaim some gas mileage. Um, what gear ratio would I need to be back near stock ? Anyone know ?

That looks amazing !!!

[LittleBeast]

LittleBeast that lift is wicked . The Vx looks like it's ready to consume everything in its path .

I'm definitely going to look into getting my VX a wee bit of lift .Your photos have sold me . I was thinking 3" lift with 31s' but , after looking at your pics ... . 33s' fit just really well . Very aesthetically pleasing . Ok ,so I will want to do diff drop up front . I also would like to have the gears changed too reduce stress on the engine and maybe reclaim some gas mileage. Um, what gear ratio would I need to be back near stock ? Anyone know ?

That looks amazing !!!

This thread should help you out with the gears:

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...t=gears&page=3

I decided that 4.77 gears are really what we need, but they are incredibly hard to find. After much searching there is still a little debate in my mind after calling around to a bunch of junkyards and such, but basically what you are looking for is:

1988-1991 Trooper with the "Big Tire Package" (which were 31"x10.5" tires and 15"x7" Honeycomb aluminum rims)

Now as far as the option code that should be stamped on the option ID plate in the engine compartment I have found two different opinions for this "Big Tire Package" the two option codes I have been told to look for are:

SL2 or S2J

Also I have heard that the 1989-90 (short wheel base) Isuzu Bighorn imported as a Trooper with a 2.6L 4cyl. had the 4.77 gears, but I am a little unsure of this and have yet to confirm this with many other sources.

As far as 5.38 go you would absolutely need to have the 35" tires and http://www.independent4x.com/ would be able to help you with all the gear stuff. The thread I listed above has all of the rpm and various gearing options with mph and everything, let me know if you don't find something there.

Honestly though I would go for the 33"s if that is what you want and wait for something to break, because a lot of people have warned me and others about the 33"s tearing up so many things with the stock gearing but outside of a few people really pushing the limits of the CV's off road I haven't heard of too many CV joints breaking. Just a though.

[LittleBeast]

I hear you there. The lift is the cheap part. I priced some mud grapplers and new rims............ Don't think I will be doing that this year. I do have to get new tires though. So 265/75/16 terra's it is for awhile.

Re-reading this thread and just thought I would update everyone that after driving on the mudd grapplers for almost 3 years and almost 50,000 miles I still have about half the tread left. And I am VERY hard on tires. I take the highway exits here in Houston way too fast and off road the VX as much as I can, and have had to lock them up in traffic a few times. But I also have rotated the tires twice a year at minimum. So even though they have a large original sticker price, for the money the mudd grapplers are the best lasting/performing tire I have ever had.

[samneil2000]

awesome!

how's it coming with the headlights, or have you started that yet?

Did you ever sell the mazda?

[LittleBeast]

Yes I sold the RX-8 to a guy in Nacogdoches, and both my brother and sister go to SFASU so they still see it around and I get to see it every time I am in town. He was a really nice guy and I think he got a great deal.

Ok on the headlights, yes I have everything I need except the paint so once I buy that it should only take me one weekend to have it done and installed. It is gonna be sweet I can't wait to see how it turns out!

[samneil2000]

Yes I sold the RX-8 to a guy in Nacogdoches, and both my brother and sister go to SFASU so they still see it around and I get to see it every time I am in town. He was a really nice guy and I think he got a great deal.

It is the cleanest RX8 I've seen. Looked awesome!

It is gonna be sweet I can't wait to see how it turns out!

I think a lot of us feel the same way.

[glenngw3]

Looks really great. How does it handle?

[LittleBeast]

Like a glove :-)

[curtisbyram07]

You also changed shocks right? Is it necessary to? Ive already ordered the bumpstops and bushings, about to order the springs now and am wundering if i should go ahead and order some shocks while im at it.

Well now I hadn't thought of that, if that is an option I might be up for that.....



Thanks alot I am glad you like it, I used to not be able to say honestly that I liked my VX the best, for instance I used to like LDub and Jofotoz more than my own, but finally I can say that I like the looks of my own the most (but guys your VX's are still amazing).

Install I cut into about a 3 day period:
-1st front ball joint flip and low profile bumpstops (roughly 4-5 hours as you figured it all out)
-Then springs in rear with rear bumpstop upgrade and torsion crank and lots of measuring wheel well to tires and trips to the local Lowe's for the level parking lot to measure (roughly 4-5 hours again)
-Then cutting the wheel wells and cladding and turning the tires a ton to make sure I thought I was adding enough clearance (roughly 3-4 hours)

Finally I just went to a local tire shop down the street and they mounted and balanced new rims and tires, and then seperated my old rims and tires all in about an hour for $60 cash. And I did a few other things so I did a little everyday for a week and was so happy when I was done.

I know what you mean about the A4, just before I started on the VX again, I got my RX-8 just the way I liked it, lowered a little with factory body kit and all, and now that the VX is done I have not driven it in almost 2 weeks! Now that I am so pleased with the VX I am considering selling it. It just cannot compete with the completely unique VX, you know?



You are correct ball joint flip, torsion crank, some springs and some slight cladding and hammer mods on the front fenders is all it takes!





Ride quality is definitely different. It is not as different as I thought it would be but different none the less. Only time I really notice it is very mild slightly loser feeling in the steering on the highway, and when you make a sudden turn it really wants to turn and when you try to correct those large tires don't want to but it hasn't been that bad at all. They are definitely louder than the Terra Grapplers, but you can barely hear them over my PV1 muffler, you only notice it when I am off the gas coasting and then it just sounds sweet! MPG, well I am getting around 250 miles per tank, but now I am traveling around 11% farther than what the odometer says so I might be getting 270 miles for 20 gallons, so roughly 13-15 miles per gallon, but this is pretty typical for my VX the most I have ever gotten was 17 miles to the gallon with a tail wind on the highway