What shop would you recommend for the welding of these skids? I would prefer using the same shop you did if it is possible. Would probably have them do my exhaust as the same time.
Unfortunately I don't have anyone to recommend right now. The shop that did my last set no longer does 4x4s. I'm looking for a new shop now for the '99.
The exhaust shop I use is on 117th and Huron. They do good work as long as you keep a eye on them. They're not specifically a 4x4 exhaust shop - more of a ricer shop.
They do good work but they're not familiar with off road vehicles and they're somewhat unique requirements.
As long as I'm there to direct them everything comes out decent.
We've had a few shops drop out of the market in the last few years and I haven't found replacements for most of them yet.
12.5" wide tires will work on the 7" OEM rims, but not on the 6" rims. 7" is absolutely as narrow as you want to go on 12.5" tires and even that is dependent on the tires.
In general you want a 8-10" rim for a 12.5" tire. That's a good rule of thumb. I was really happy with the Geolandar M/T 12.5" tire (in 33" & 35") but I like a good bit of sidewall bulge to protect the rim off road and to cut down on the chance of 'rolling' the tire off the bead when aired down.
There are a few issues with running 12.5" tires on a 7-8" wide rim.
Most tires are not real happy when the sidewalls are 'pinched' in like that. Rather than getting a square, flat tread block, the tread area tends to 'round' out like a 10-speed bicycle tire. So, if you look at a mounted tire edge on the tread has a convex shape rather than flat. The Geolandar M/Ts are more of a rounded tread so that works fine, but something like an MT/r will have tread wear issues. The moral here is you will need to choose your tire carefully to get proper wear.
Usually in order to get proper tread contact the tire pressure has to be reduced a few PSI. That means much more flex between the tire and rim. On the street this means a decrease in handling increasing in severity as speed increases. This is less of an issue on a 33" but its still quite noticeable at highway speeds. I wouldn't recommend going with a 35" unless you were using a 8x17" rim unless there was no plan to ever hit the highway.
The same issue seen on the highway shows up off road as well. With a sidewall that tall and a rim that narrow the rim has a lot of area to move from one side to the other. In other words, the tread can stay stationary but the rim can move back and forth a couple inches. The narrower rim helps keep the beads seated but it creates issues when the vehicle is off camber - the rim literally tries to 'roll' sideways off the tire. This is generally why I don't air down in UT.
If you are going to drive primarily on the street and have to deal with snow and slush and crud, I'd strongly suggest gong with a 10.5" wide tire. You'll get better fuel mileage and better tread wear and the vehicle will handle better on the highway. Wide tires like to float - good in sand, deep snow and gravel, but bad in slush and rain and the less aggressive the tire the worse it is. Wide tires also have a lot more rolling resistance - which requires tires with better traction, 4WD/locker(s) to overcome even on the street.
Unless you plan to do some serious rock crawling or snow wheeling, there isn't anywhere in CO where a 10.5" M/T would be any worse than a 12.5" M/T.
Oh. And 10.5" tires are usually cheaper.
Nope. I ran the OEM rims just as they were. I did have a good bit of lift though for the 33"s. It'll be easier to fit a 33x10.5 than a 33x12.5. The clearance issues with the 12.5"s was when the front wheels were turned just right. Put a 2" body lift from what's-their-names and a OME 2" lift and you should be fine.
Edward