I was once told you don't buy a 4x4 you build a 4x4!!!
 

And so true that has been for me!

I started with a stock standard 2007 H3 3.5lt Adventure and I've done the following to it over the last year.

Cabin Upgrade
Kenwood DDX8034B Dual Din DVD Player
Infinity 1200w Sub

Suspension Upgrade
Daystar leveling kit to raise the front and level it to the back, torsion key was changed.
Daystar 2? Body Lift
Rear Shackles made locally to raise the back by another 1?
I then turned up the torsion key to lift the front another 1?
All told a 4? Lift without having to do a load of stuff like in the Rancho Kit.
I have 4? extra ground clearance to a standard H3.
Rancho RS9000:- all round but front shocked had to be extended
Rancho My Ride System:- This allows for wireless control of shock firmness, for on road and off road, massive improvement over the standard shocks.

Tyre Upgrade
35" Micky Tompson Baja ATZ
Micky Tompson 16" Classic II Rims, the tyres are great for off road but the bigger wheels hit the engine performance by 20%

Engine Upgrade
Because of the drop in peformance I then changed the following: -
Air Raid performance filter
Air Raid throttle body spacer
Powerflow twin Exhaust system
Wild Cat manifold, this made a massive difference.

A standard H3 3.5lt has 241 lbs-ft torque
Mine currently stands at 275 lbs-ft torque which is only 10% over standard but putting the 35? wheels on dropped it to 222 lbs-ft, changing the manifold gave it an increase of 24% and 53 lbs-ft
A standard H3 3.5lt is 239 HP at the fly wheel, mine is 268 HP at the drive wheels, once again the manifold made the biggest difference adding 47 HP

The air filter, throttle body spacer and Powerflow Exhaust system added 13.5 HP and 18 lbs-ft torque but I?m sure the Exhaust allowed for more once the manifold had been done.

I?ve just ordered the Jet Performance plug and play stage 2 chip which should add another 10%.

Other Upgrades
While doing the exhaust system I had it routed down the centre of the H3, this created a space where I fitted an extra 65lt fuel tank under right rear seat, home made total now 150lt and 1000km range.
Ladder protection system underneath was removed as I found that always caught rocks I had made up a complete skin that helps it slid over rocks and sand.

4 x KC spots on roof bar.

Final thing to do, is install ARB front and rear air lockers, I need the front locker to help control the extra torque and bigger wheels, already broken 1 tie rod.

Also going to replace the standard read diff lock for an ARB locker so both can be switched on in 4 High, then its finished...... (Till I upgrade to an Alpha)

I have one mean purpose built Hummer H3!!!
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Re: I was once told you don't buy a 4x4 you build a 4x4!!!
 

How do you like that Kenwood system? At somepoint i want to upgrade my headunit. NO place for a sub box though on the H3t though. Just will have to replace door speakers.

Re: I was once told you don't buy a 4x4 you build a 4x4!!!
 

dude......................that visor is sick.

Re: I was once told you don't buy a 4x4 you build a 4x4!!!
 

lady gaga on the kenwood. hahaha

Re: I was once told you don't buy a 4x4 you build a 4x4!!!
 

Terry,

I get on really well with this Kenwood, don?t make the same mistake as I did and go for the DDX8032, not sure if it?s still available but it?s a slightly cheep option and the firmware was full of bugs if you want to use an Ipod, I?ve got a 120gb Ipod connected to it and video all works fine. I did find the standard door speakers to be good enough using the Kenwood head, you got lots of option in the unit for sound control and it integrated into the standard Hummer system no problem, just need to get the correct loom. My sub is on brackets so when I put the rear seats down the sub can be removed, shame you can?t fit one in as I just found the standard system needed just a little more bass. I also wanted Garmin Nav which came with the Kenwood, overall I?m very happy with the head unit and would give it 9 out of 10.

Greasedup,

I got his and her Hummer sunglass?s both sides, bit OTT but hey who cares!!

Rred,

Unfortunately having an Ipod means plenty of choice and the girlfriend takes charge of the music all the time?? Lady gaga not my choice but well spotted!!!

Re: I was once told you don't buy a 4x4 you build a 4x4!!!
 

Did you replace the tie rods with factory pieces or something else? I just put 35's on my H3T and I'm afraid the tie rods are going to be the weak link for sure. I wanna replace them with something beefier before I break them, but cant find anything out there yet.

Re: I was once told you don't buy a 4x4 you build a 4x4!!!
 

Hi Cyrus,

I replaced the broken tie rod with a factory standard rod; I?ve also looked for re-enforced tie rods and have been unable to find them. I think my problem was caused by a lot more tread and a lot more power.

Hears the video clip of when my tie rod went, you can see I was giving it some revs and the front end bounced, lifting the passenger?s side front wheel, no diff lock on the front. You can see when the wheel came back down there must have been a big transfer of power to the other wheel that was also spinning and that?s when the tie rod gave in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYFrd1flwg8

I?ve ordered up a spare to keep in my H3 and to be honest if that is going to be a week point, I?d rather the week point was something I can repair and get mobile straight away rather than causing a more serious problem in the steering rack.

This wasn?t an easy recovery!

Cheers

Adrian :crying:

Re: I was once told you don't buy a 4x4 you build a 4x4!!!
 

LOL! Great video. That's EXACTLY how I broke both tie rods in my H2. Check it out- http://www.elcovaforums.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=34709

Great idea on ordering spare tie rods, I'm going to do the same.

Re: I was once told you don't buy a 4x4 you build a 4x4!!!
 

Very nice machine!!

It looks like the tie rod on the H2 is the same size on the H3. no wonder with 40” tires and a Supercharger you also broke them.

Looking at your pic it seems when they go they go on the adjustment bold, I ordered up both ends just incase.

This is what I ordered, I should be getting them this week as I had to order them from the US and have them Fedex’d over.

16mm Tie rod part numbers:
25781473 ROD KIT, STRG LNKG INR TIE(PART OF 1)(INCLS Jam Nut)(16MM) $31.56ea
15907712 ROD KIT, STRG LNKG OTR TIE(PART OF 1)(INCLS Lingage Nut)(16MM) $35.81ea

http://www.gmpartsdirect.com/perfPackages.cfm

Make sure you have the right tools to change them if required........

Re: I was once told you don't buy a 4x4 you build a 4x4!!!
 

Found these guys and have been in contact with them, they say they have done replacment tie roads for the H3.

http://bulletproofsteering.com/main.html

I've turned down my T-Bar 1" to see if I can reduce the amount of bounce on the front, have plenty of ground clearance and think I can afford to give that amount back now I've put a full skid plate on.

Going to test this weekend, still want to fit a front locker but worried I'm going to smash my diff or start breaking CV joints, hopeing for some feed back from others on this site before I jump in and make a mistake.

Re: I was once told you don't buy a 4x4 you build a 4x4!!!
 

Didn't the 07' have the 3.7L

Re: I was once told you don't buy a 4x4 you build a 4x4!!!
 

Yes, Was thinking 5 because of I5 but you are quite correct and mine is a 3.7lt I5.

Had some fun in the Dunes today, video's will be up on youtube shortly....

Re: I was once told you don't buy a 4x4 you build a 4x4!!!
 

Were there gaps between the front bumper and the grille and between the rear bumper and the rear door after the body lift? If so, how did you fix it? I have been thinking about a one inch body lift but I don't know what trouble I will get into trying to get rid of gaps.

Re: I was once told you don't buy a 4x4 you build a 4x4!!!
 

I never did anything about the gaps, to be honest I never actually noticed an issue.

Unless your putting 35" tyres on I wouldn't worry about the body lift, 1" on T-Bar and a longer rear shackels is better as you do also get a bit more ride height clearance at the front.

See attached pic and compare.

Re: I was once told you don't buy a 4x4 you build a 4x4!!!
 

Thanks for the pics. This is a very helpful post. One more question. Was the tie rod you broke a 14mm or a 16mm? I know they started putting the 16mm on the 07 because the people were breaking a lot of the 14mm on the 06 model. They started using the 16mm about mid way through 07 so the early 07s still had the 14mm tie rods. I am curious because I have an 06 and heard that the 16mm eliminated most of the broken tie rods and hoped that upgrading to the 16mm tie rod would alleviate my concerns about snapping one of these on the trail. Thanks for the help.

Re: I was once told you don't buy a 4x4 you build a 4x4!!!
 

Mine are the 16mm Tie Rods, but I now carry a spare as it's not to difficault to change on a trail if you do manage to break one. Far easier to change the rod than try and get it recovered without any steering.

Not sure if you have seen my video but here's the clip of when I broke mine!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYFrd1flwg8

My H3 had seen 50,000kms of good use before I broke a rod, I'm sure if I had stuck to 33" tyres and maybe a bit less power I would still be ok. I'm not sure I'd recommend going for 35" (315/75/16) the trade off in performance & fuel is pretty high.

But then it's a question of what you want to use the machine for.

PS I don't mind the questions........