D45

I dropped off a set of ATS Fender Flares at a local paint/body shop that was painted silver, to match the silver color on the bottom portion of my truck. This ran me $228.48, which included light sanding and a clearcoat finish. The shop also added in a 'flex' additive, which will hopefully allow the paint to hold up better and allow for a more durable finish.

For those already thinking why pay $230 when I oculd have ordered the ATS flares already painted from ATS?

When I bought the flares, I got a great deal on the unpainted version. I knew I would have to modify the front set, where it mounts on the lower area of the backside of the front fender. I have running boards that I did not want to remove, and I had to cut about 1/2" off of the the lower portion of the front flares.

I feared that if they were already painted, the paint would chip/crack and it would look bad. This way, the cutting/trimming was done before they got painted.

The flares were painted and cured, and I picked them up the following day. They look great and the finish is also great.

At the same time, I also bought a PSC Steering Brace. I bought it for only $148 shipped. It appears to be a very simple, but well thought out design.

The bearing is nice and large, rotates very silky smooth, and is greaseable!

I will get installation pics as both jobs get started today.......

I really think the silver will look good on the truck!






















All of these items are intented to help and accent the new H2 silver satins that I bought. Hopefully thes H2s and LT315s will be installed within the next 2 weeks.

D45

The flares will be installed on this:

chipmonk

are the h2 wheels wider, or do they have less b/s and offset than stock? if they're the same, you are going to have quite a bit of fender flare, with no wheel or tire under it. my tires and ats flares come out just about even, and i'm running a 17x8.5 wheel, with 5" b/s,with 35x12.50x17 toyo m/t's.

Shagginwagon

That's gonna look nice. I'll be waiting for the pic's.

D45

The H2s are 0.5" wider and have about 3/4" less backspacing.........

chipmonk

that should do a good job of filling out those flares. try letting the flares warm in the sun for about an hour or so, and it'll make the install go much smoother. also, for a couple of days after install, try letting the truck sit in the sun, and it will help them conform to the body (no rain and no snow for the first couple of days will help too). good luck- the silver will look killer with the black.

D45

The PSC Steering Brace is installed and the garage is cleaned up, and the bearing is greased. I also have to show off my new Craftsman creeper:





























Once the 4 bolts for the sway bar bushings were removed, the sway bar just swung down and allowed for much more working room. The larger steering nuts came off with just a little fuss. Total install time, with putting tools away, greasing the bearing, and a test drive was about 2 hours, max.

I just brought the two rolls of 3M into the house and I am going to start prepping the flares to install the double sided tape. I figured the warmer house temps would be better for the tape to cure and adhere better, compared to doing so out in the garage (30 degree)......hopefully I am get aound to installing the flares this week!

D45

rockcrawler304

Very nice so far and excellent pics

jamesbfishin

Great looking piece of work there, and thanks for the pics. Gives me inspiration to tackle some of the future mods for my truck. After all I'm a cabinet maker not a mechanic.

Can't wait to see the flares, should be cool color scheme on that rig.

WICTD

Hope the flares turn out well. Here are some pix of my silver on black.
Deck

D45

The H2s arrived today, in GREAT shape.

I was pleased to find out that the balancing weights were originally mounted on the inside lip of the wheels. This looks much cleaner and also does not damage the finish on the outside of the wheel......

I bought these for $250 shipped. They were on the H2 for only one 1 week and have NO brake dust, dings, or blemishes!

According to my measurements, they weigh 34-35 pounds each.

Does anyone know what the stock 17X8 chrome clads weigh?

DNRCustoms

So, did you notice any better handleing with the steering brace. What is it supposed to help with, wandering issues??

Oh..truck looks good too!!

D45

The upper and lower ball joints were replaced at like 52,000 miles.

It felt decently good, but I knew with the LT315s, there was stress on the box and the steering shaft.

It is night and day difference, for $148. Much, much tighter and more responsive!

DNRCustoms

I wonder if it would help my wandering issues, I think I am gonna start with a better steering stabilizer first then maybe the brace. My tires stick out pretty far so it wanders just a bit more than stock.