Editor's note:If you have any questions, comments, rants, or raves, please feel free to contact us at Off-Road magazine, Mailbox, 774 S. Placentia Ave., Placentia, CA 92870. You can e-mail us at joem@mcmullenargus.com.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I read "Taking It to Another Level" in the Dec. '01 issue of OFF-ROAD. I was planning to lift my '01 F-250 with Superlift's 8-inch kit by the end of this year, and it was nice to know what I was getting myself into. Along with the planning for such a high lift came the issue of the tire and wheel combo. In the article it states, "The F-250 is now able to run 38x15.50R16 Super Swampers with no clearance problems..." Where the heck did you find 38x15.50R16 Swampers?
All I can find are either 16/38.5-15 TSLs or 38x15.50R16.5 TSL Radials. I'm trying to stay away from 16-1/2-inch rims because I'd like to air down the tires for sand, and that's why my eyes lit up when I saw 38s on a 16-inch rim. Was this just a misprint? Also, what kind of rims are on that F-250? They sure do look mighty nice and in an eight-lug pattern to boot. While I'm at it, what kind of front bumper is that? Thanks for any feedback you can give me in my Swamper 38x12.50R16 quest.Jason L. Aguilarvia e-mail
Whoops! Funny how a typo can really screw things up. Sorry, Jason, but we inadvertently printed the wrong diameter on the Super Swamper's listed size. The tires are 37x12.50R16. If you don't mind running 16-1/2-inch wheels (which some enthusiasts dislike because you can't use the 16-1/2-inch safety bead-style wheel with ultra-low tire pressure), the Super Swamper Radial TSL is available in the 38x12.50R16.5 size. Another option is the Super Swamper Radial TSL, which is available in a 36x12.50R16; any of the radial Swampers will work great with the Superlift 8-inch lift. The wheels used in the Superlift story are Mickey Thompson/Alcoa Classics (forged), and measure in at 16x8 inches, but are available in 16x7 and 16x10, all with eight-lug bolt patterns. The front bumper on the Superlift F-250 is from Safari Gard, (909) 698-6114, www.safarigard.com, and is an extremely heavy-duty bumper that includes winch and light mounts.
Line-X: What's that Stuff Weigh?I read your article in the Dec. '01 issue about Line-X-ing the body of a Ford Bronco. I've considered Line-X for uses other than bed applications but have been concerned about the weight. How much weight does spraying on Line-X add to a vehicle? What additional stress does it add to the sheetmetal and their connection points?Robert Simsvia e-mail
For your question on the weight of Line-X material, we checked in with Marcel Venable, Director of Marketing at Line-X, who told us that a truck's bed is sprayed with an 1/8-inch-thick layer of Line-X, and the weight of the Line-X coating is approximately 6/10ths of a pound per square foot, so you can probably make some guesstimates based on that number. As to additional stress placed on the sheetmetal fenders' mounts, the Bronco story was our first use of Line-X in this application, but we haven't had any problems so far. It would be a good idea to check your truck's fender attachment points and make sure that they're tight, rust-free, and that all mounting bolt washers are in place.