Submission Information
4-Wheel & Off-Road welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must include an address or a telephone number so the sender can be verified. Once verified, your name may be withheld at your request. Letters published in this magazine reflect the opinions of the writers, and we reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, brevity, or other purposes. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that we cannot reply to unpublished letters or return photos. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.
Write to:
Editor
4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704.
Email to:
4wheeloffroad@sourceinterlink.com
Man, Can We Goof!
Reader: You guys almost had me doubting my knowledge in "Wheely Basic Wheel Facts" (Nov. '08). On page 36, caption 10, I believe the tapered nuts are the ones on the right, right? The ones on the left are the shank type.
Brian Donovan
Buffalo, WY
Editor: You're right. Whether it was a reversed photo or not, the photo did not match the caption. And yes, you may have noticed more and more grammatical errors cropping up, as we no longer have a full-time copy editor due to recent restructuring. Please bear with us as we attempt to copy-edit our own stuff. Send in your catches; we'll either get fired or they'll give us back a full-time copy editor!
Get A Real Truck
Reader: The article about the budget Tuff Country 4.5-inch lift ("Tuff Country Boost," Oct. '08) contains an error. By no means does an add-a-leaf increase the load-carrying capacity (as stated in caption 4) of a 1/2-ton truck past 1,000 pounds. I get customers requesting airbags and add-a-leaves so they can carry more weight frequently. I tell them to buy a 3/4- or 1-ton truck. Thanks. Great magazine.
Dan Simmons
Rohnert Park, CA
Editor: Whoops on us! Right you are. An axle (as well as the whole vehicle) is rated for a certain weight regardless of the spring's capacity. Even when an add-a-leaf or a spring with a different load-carrying capacity is used, the vehicle's carrying capacity remains the same.
Website Blues
Reader: I am sorry if I am bothering any of y'all, but I was sent a T-shirt with a card saying that I had gotten Ride of the Month. I am just wondering if you were going to put it in a magazine. If so, about how long does it take to be put in? Thank you for your time.
Jay Ames
Lewiston, ID
Editor: The Ride of the Month is only on our website (www.4wheeloffroad.com), not in the magazine. However, if you want to be in the magazine, go to the site and click on Contact Us, which will show you the email address for our Readers' Rides department- readersrides@4wheeloffroad.com. Your ride will be added to the pile and may be selected.
Straight From The Man
Reader: In regards to Steve Shepherd's Nov. '08 In Box letter, "Death of Diesel," New York State only performs "tailpipe emissions sniffing" in the New York City Metropolitan Area (NYCMA). Orchard Park is a suburb of Buffalo and hardly qualifies as NYCMA. Additionally, a light diesel (under 8,500 pounds maximum gross weight) in the NYCMA is exempt from the tailpipe test.
Editor: So, Steve, outfit your '03 Wrangler with any diesel you can fit under the hood, register it as a diesel-powered vehicle, and you can have it inspected anywhere in New York State.
Oh, and lay off the mushrooms. They are affecting your understanding of the NYS DMV inspection regulations and misleading a lot of readers!
Tom Dayton
Certified NYS Motor Vehicle Inspector
Jamestown, NY
Editor: Thanks for the clarification, Tom. We wish we could do this in California!
Tire Guide
Reader: First off, I really do love your magazine, but for the first time I have a bone to pick. In "Just a Guide" (Nov. '08) on page 42 is a seemingly great chart on what tires will fit on a truck with varying amounts of lift. First, I was disappointed not to see the Xterra mentioned in with the Nissans, but under the Frontier listing it states that in order to fit a 31-inch-tall tire you need 2.5 inches of lift? The NISMO comes standard with the P265/75/R16, which is 31.6 inches tall, and the non-NISMO trucks will fit them as well! Please keep up the great mag, but a little more research would be great!
Steve
via 4wheeloffroad.com
More Tire Guide
Reader: You have a great mag, but in your story "Just a Guide" (Nov. '08), I have to disagree on the Bronco 2/Ranger '83-'92. You say to fit 31-inch tires you need 2 to 4 inches of lift, but I have an '86 Ranger 4x4 with 32x11.50 Pro Comps on 15-inch rims with only a 3-inch body lift without cutting wheelwells, and I've never rubbed doing any of my wheeling. And with cutting wheelwells I'm sure I could fit 33s on stock springs. I just thought I'd let you know.
James
Via 4wheeloffroad.com
Editor: Uh, the title said "Just a Guide," not "Gospel," but thank you both for the info.