Ime curious, if my truck does what i want ,when i want,and how i want,why do i need to have a certain axle ratio,this size axle,these tire's etc.
If it makes me happy,More power to me ..no?
just curious  

When you lift a truck and install bigger tires, you raise the effective gear ratio (make it taller) and truck puts LESS tractive effort to the ground. Simple physics here. Deeper gears restores the balance. You can not tune this out with a exhaust or air cleaner as only gears can fix this but some have their head in the sand about this.  

i think what Naughty' is sayin is some guys are satisfied with how their vehicle performs right off the showroom floor. no lift, no biger tires, etc. and that's cool with me. there is a huge misconception that a truck aint a 'wheeler til it's got 44" tires, dual straight pipes, and a Browning logo in the back window.
a friend of mine has a '93 Z71 swb, reg cab with nothing but a stock drivetrain which was a 4.3 V6 5spd. no lift, stock tires, gears etc. ...he was usually the guy who led us up the trail and ended up waitin on the rest of us to unstick eachother. maybe his truck was magic?
ps: he still owns that truck (he bought it new) still keeps it on his farm for playin in the pasture, and the only mods to this day are new speakers and an extra cupholder for his spit bottle.  

The beauty of a stock 4x4 is that they generally can take a lot more abuse than a lifted one and not break. My work 4x4 is stock and it works very hard sometimes too and I have no doubt that were is lifted and with big tires not only would it not be suitable for my needs but it would have "broken" a few times as well or required replacement of worn parts.  

sometimes stock is the rock....  

Wheeling is about making you happy and pushing the limits of your equipment. If you accomplish both with a stock rig, then wheeling is wheeling, no matter what you're in.  

dang Fatguy,lol spitcup holder...yea it tkes me back to high school daze!!
ya hit it pretty much on the head, i like the challenge of going out and testing my limits in the dogpatch! ya i want 15 inch wide and 38 inch tall tires,but it is more fun in the final analysis,its about how you use the tool right? when you accomplish more with less..it is a thing of beauty..no?  

Exactly. That's actually kind of why a lot of people are writing into the magazine and complaining about TTC. People are saying that the trucks are getting bigger and bigger. True, lack of skill can kind of be compensated with bigger tires and stronger components, but it says a lot about someone who can tackle a trail in a stock pickup while it takes others 8" of lift, 37s, and lockers.  

i think it comes down to a drivers absolute skill, ive seen some amazing things on the beach,2wd and just floating the sand,they had set up the rig for flotation and used the truck like a fine tool...just enough gas not to roost,but not so fast as to be out of control,you can say a fully matured,experienced wheeler.
I like the soft touch when i comes to wheelin,no need to make a big fuss,when ya can do it with nary a extra turn of the tire,or any roaring of the engine at 6000 rpm on a small loose patch,where ya could have putted across,but then again thats just me,wheeling elegant!
Yes there is a time for brute force,always,n some situations,but then again like a trained athelete,ya only need to use as much force and in control of it as nessesary.
Sure would be nice to see a test of a highly tuned driver/wheeler combo,ive read some things here that say there are more of you'all out there than it seems,ya know you rig,what it can and will do,and you use the thing like a artist!
and then there are those lucky few of you who seem to have been born with a dominant four wheeler gene..you the guy that can hop into anything and make it all look easy??? know anyone like that?
Happy wheelin to ya!