i'm actually considering the same thing. some of the LR3 guys in our club have gone with the shortened sensor rods and Goodyear Wrangler DuraTracs in 275/65/18 (32.1"). there's a pretty good thread on GY DuraTracs on LR3s here. now regarding the rubbing issue, here's a response in that same thread which details how he rerouted a heater hose for the rear ac/heat unit.
i'm on the verge of getting modified rods. just need to paypal the $ over. i went with the ones from sasquatch offroad since i know the guy, he lives one city over, and he'd come over already to verify they fit our vehicles. i'm still on the fence if i want to run DuraTracs full time. i already have to put my RRS into access mode in the garage so i can open the tailgate all the way. sasquatch has been running the rod mod (still on nittos tho) for about a year now with no probs so far. he suggests getting a full alignment if running them full time. he also noted he wheels in access mode most of the time.
i've seen those DuraTracs in person and they look awesome! we tried to do a tire test across several different LR3s with different tires - nittos, coopers, duratracs. it wasn't entirely scientific as we had some slight variances between vehicles: LR3 with nittos and no rear locker, LR3 with coopers and rear locker, LR3 with duractracs and rear locker, RRS with nittos, fat drivers in some cars, skinny guys in others. on a slick rock stair case obstacle, the coppers seemed to provide the most grab and grip where each vehicle seemed to lose traction. followed by the nittos. however, on a steep hill called "truck hill" that's mostly loose sand, the duractracs provided a whole lot of bite into the loose sand.
i'm on the verge of getting modified rods. just need to paypal the $ over. i went with the ones from sasquatch offroad since i know the guy, he lives one city over, and he'd come over already to verify they fit our vehicles. i'm still on the fence if i want to run DuraTracs full time. i already have to put my RRS into access mode in the garage so i can open the tailgate all the way. sasquatch has been running the rod mod (still on nittos tho) for about a year now with no probs so far. he suggests getting a full alignment if running them full time. he also noted he wheels in access mode most of the time.
i've seen those DuraTracs in person and they look awesome! we tried to do a tire test across several different LR3s with different tires - nittos, coopers, duratracs. it wasn't entirely scientific as we had some slight variances between vehicles: LR3 with nittos and no rear locker, LR3 with coopers and rear locker, LR3 with duractracs and rear locker, RRS with nittos, fat drivers in some cars, skinny guys in others. on a slick rock stair case obstacle, the coppers seemed to provide the most grab and grip where each vehicle seemed to lose traction. followed by the nittos. however, on a steep hill called "truck hill" that's mostly loose sand, the duractracs provided a whole lot of bite into the loose sand.
