Donahoe Project Titan

DR Jon · 10-19-2006, 09:57 PM

Hello All,

We finally have some shots to share of the Titan 2wd CC, phase one.
This is what's been done so far...

- DR coilovers (measured about 3.5" of lift);
- DR rear shocks;
- Glassworks fenders/bedsides;
- KMC "Diesel" Wheels, 17" w/4.25" backspace;
- 37"x12.5" BFG A/T's
- Banks Monster exhaust
- KC Hilites spot and driving lights
- DR fab bumpers and skid plate

Cheers,

Jon

kartman · 10-19-2006, 09:59 PM

Saw the bumpers at the expo, they look good. How much and how long?

i<3mytitan · 10-19-2006, 10:00 PM

looks pretty sweet. Question, although it may sound stupid

how did you get the 37s on there w/ only 3.5" of lift? i know you have the glass fenders, but doesn't the tire hit the coil bucket?

DR Jon · 10-19-2006, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kartman

Saw the bumpers at the expo, they look good. How much and how long?

Thanks Kartman.
Kreg Donahoe said to expect your question, 100 times over. The design is an "old school" look from his TT days, but since he hates to fab now, I of no experience got to do most of the grunt work. Had to recut a couple tubes three times, and it's still not real clean.

Unfortunately, we don't have plans to sell the bumper. One problem is that to improve the approach angle, we cut the stock bumper off and angled the front of the frame. Not too many people would want to do that (probably killed the warranty on the truck already). Also, the time involved would put the cost way out of reach. We'd have to outsource, redesign around the stock bumper, and it just wouldn't look the same or represent DR quality.

Besides...learning to fabricate was half the fun for me!!!

- Jon

DR Jon · 10-19-2006, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by i<3mytitan

looks pretty sweet. Question, although it may sound stupid

how did you get the 37s on there w/ only 3.5" of lift? i know you have the glass fenders, but doesn't the tire hit the coil bucket?

We did two things, other than pick a wheel with a 4.25" backspace:

1) Beat the crap out of the pinch weld with a big hammer, up to the second tab for the fender liner (start the bend with a crescent wrench first);

2) Rotated the rear alignment cam all the way out, which moves the wheel forward slightly. We then adjusted the toe;

We took dirt most of the way to the Vegas 300 last weekend, hitting 65 mph+ on some of the powerline roads. I tried to get it to bottom out several times, and only made it once. There's a small line on the fender well where the top inside edge of the tire hit. I can live with that.

I'm going to add a new fender liner, similar to what Kartman did with the Glassworks ones, and see if I still have enough clearance. Hopefully we won't have to cut into the firewall and TIG in a patch.

- Jon

kartman · 10-19-2006, 10:28 PM

Yeah I saw you you cut the crossmember and plated the horns, not something that bothers me but the masses would not accept it I suppose. The three panel skidplate reminds me of some of the old 8 trucks.

My liner did not cause me to lose any tire clearence, they tuck up inside very nicely and the pinch weld still sticks out more than the liners.

DMZ tim also did some very nice aluminum liners.

i<3mytitan · 10-19-2006, 11:11 PM

sounds pretty involved....but the end result looks extremely worth it. Also digging the front bumper, but don't want to make my truck look poser-ish.

Chris93Si · 10-20-2006, 04:16 AM

Great looking truck guys

Vegas04 · 10-20-2006, 04:52 AM

very nicely done!

DR Jon · 10-20-2006, 12:25 PM

Here's a link to the project pictures on our website. We'll be adding more as the build progresses.

http://www.donahoeracing.com/project...p?projectID=14

splifrover · 10-20-2006, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DR Jon

Here's a link to the project pictures on our website. We'll be adding more as the build progresses.

http://www.donahoeracing.com/project...p?projectID=14

Jon,

What are your plans for this project?

red_rider_elsinore · 10-20-2006, 02:59 PM

Awesome looking truck. Do you think with fiberglass in front, flared rear, 3.5in lift, and stock rims I could fit 37's with less work? How much power did you loose with the 37's.

DR Jon · 10-20-2006, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by red_rider_elsinore

Awesome looking truck. Do you think with fiberglass in front, flared rear, 3.5in lift, and stock rims I could fit 37's with less work? How much power did you loose with the 37's.

Not a chance with the stock rims. The 5.5" back spacing wouldn't push the tire out far enough to avoid rubbing somewhere, probably on the frame during a hard turn. It would also look a little odd with the glass fenders, since the fenders are meant to cover a wheel with a wider track width.

As to less work, fitting the glass can be really time consuming if you're going for a "factory" look. Glassworks does a great job, but the best fit requires some bondo work and lots of sanding. I spent about 40 hours total on the fiberglass, and should have done even more work on the bed sides. You could find a fab shop to do the work for you ($$$).

The Titan has plenty of power, and I can still smoke the tires (tire, since it's still a "peg leg") with the 37's on. It's definitely confused though with the shift points, so I mostly cruise with "tow mode" on. I do shift into manual to accelerate quickly. Gas mileage doesn't seem to be too bad either. I was getting about 15 mpg with the stock tires, and get about 13.5 to 14 now, depending on how hard I'm pushing it. We're still planning on re-gearing it once a decent rearend solution is found.

Hope that helps!

- J

DR Jon · 10-20-2006, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DR Jon

The 5.5" back spacing wouldn't push the tire out far enough to avoid rubbing somewhere, probably on the frame during a hard turn.

You should also know that if you go too shallow on the back spacing you increase the likelihood of rubbing on the fenders/firewall during a turn. We felt the 4.25" was a decent balance, and it seems to work well.

DR Jon · 10-24-2006, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by splifrover

Jon,

What are your plans for this project?

The Titan is a test platform to see how we can improve on products currently on the market, and we'll have to see how it develops. Much of what we do depends on customer feedback and demand, so it helps to hear about what you would like to see done better.

You can expect our project Titan to evolve into a more capable prerunner over the next year. We've talked about upgrading the interior and further modifying the suspension. It should remain a fairly low-key, subtle looking truck however.

Stay tuned!!

- J