Different kind of upgrade bug

[misterj]

I was considering upgrading my bedroom stereo, til I got this, now I want to upgrade all the stuff on it...

1st day


Making sure the kids are happy in the back




Exploring the San Gabriel mountains


It's fun watching people get stuck and then pulling them out.


Somewhere around cleghorn.


Love how the tops come off (3 piece)


Somewhere in big bear




Somewhere in joshua tree, I think near the geology road.

 

[misterj]

Too much wind and rain for a tent, so slept in the back with 2 dogs. Was comfy, I'm 5'10".


Time to go home, they didn't want to leave


Back at the San Gabriel OHV


Went to Arizona for some camping hiking and offroading


This was scary in a new jeep, but was actually a breeze




Camping hiking and offroading in malibu beach



This was about 5 minutes from home, I found a deeeeep mud hole covered by grass and twigs. A tow truck broke his winch trying to pull me out and left me there. Luckily I found a Facebook page with 4x4 guys who do free recoveries!



I've had this jeep a little over 2 months and racked about 6000 miles already.

In the next month or two I am lifting it 2 inches at the dealer and putting slightly larger tires.

Jeep makws TERRIBLE STEREOS AND SPEAKERS!!!

Thanks for looking! Hope you enjoyed

 

[Lauri]

The last picture reminds me of military training when we parked our Unimog in a snow covered field, that after a few hours of ticking at idle turned out to be a lake...
Took a V12 MAN to get us out of there.

 

[Dingman]

that's great and I'm jealous. I have to take a week of PTO, put my rig on a trailer and drive a day each way to get to the closest mountain. The Rubicon's are pretty nice and so popular, there's a ton of decently engineered upgrades to them. I've wheeled with them for years.
Ya, in Iowa, we are now last in "public spaces" of the 48 continental states. Farming, you know.

Have fun, go places.

 

[misterj]

Yeah I tend to take full advantage of the rubicon upgrades, the electronic sway bar disconnects are amazing! Low end front and rear lockers I rarely use, as I don't do rock crawling. Sway bar disconnects allow me to travel faster over rough terrain I've noticed. Chance I might lose the disconnects when I upgrade taller suspension, hopefully they can keep it.

So I'm getting ready for another camp with the dogs, not sure where yet but I'm leaning towards joshua tree again, it was quite nice.

Gotta do all my camping before the heat arrives, then I'm locked up in my AC blasted house.

They already smell bacon.


As for upgrades:

Spidertrax wheel spacers, gives it a wider stance of 1.5" on each tire, so 3" wider overall. How jeep should of made them (longer axle).


Not really an upgrade, but helps on my adventures where you need to deflate the tires for maximum traction, and this it to refill the tires on the spot so I don't have to drive to the nearest gas station on flats. Very helpful.


Got grill inserts coming to protect the radiator from rocks and debris, plus it looks better.


Got a short antennae because trees and rock walls have pulled and dented the factory antennae.


Still waiting for those in the mail.

Around March, I'm having the dealer install a 2 inch lift with adjustable arms and longer drive shafts, so the geometry stays similar. Everything will be under my lifetime warranty so I won't have to worry too much.
Soon after than I'm getting slightly wider rims to accommodate wider tires and a bit taller. Going from 32" tall to 35" tall tires and about 1 or 2 inch wider.

They look lighter in person, I'm not into the black wheels everyone's crazy about.

 

[gadget73]

Thats a rare beast indeed, a Jeep that has actually left the paved road. I can't tell you how many I see that have done little more than drive through a mud puddle in their life, yet have all manner of offroad gear bolted on. The ones with the snorkels and immaculate paint are especially funny.

 

[misterj]

Thats a rare beast indeed, a Jeep that has actually left the paved road. I can't tell you how many I see that have done little more than drive through a mud puddle in their life, yet have all manner of offroad gear bolted on. The ones with the snorkels and immaculate paint are especially funny.

Oh yeah I see a lot of those too. Immaculate under body usually means it is a 'mall crawler'. I can never get the mud off my bottom hehe.
Also I've accumulated many scratches and dents under the jeep, and have a dent in my front bumper from a unseen boulder when I crossed a river in San Gabriel mountains. Fun stuff, scars make jeeps look better I suppose.

Driving through a mud puddle is pretty fun when you're away from a hill or mountain, luckily I live in the canyons and have access to offroad trails minutes from my driveway.

 

[nyhifihead]

very cool thread. And props on the conservative, function based exterior and suspension mods

Its very easy to run into drivetrain problems on the JK wranglers unfortunately.

when you go for 4"+ lift and huge heavy tires. You actually need to modify the drivetrain substantially.. It's a lot of work needless to say. I've heard horror stories of front driveshafts blowing up after 2k miles on a 4" lift! Something to be aware of

the lift and tires your going to run now will give you an significant edge over stock offerings for the tough roads! Cheers

 

[Lavane]

I just sold a 2012 unlimited. 4"lift, 35"tires, new bumpers, winch and skids. There is a tuner available for the new VVT v6 that helps tune the trany too for those bigger tires. I however kept my 2002 wrangler. The TJ just gets way more use. There is a huge pile of new parts for it sitting in my living room waiting for a sunny day. the 2012 I had I ordered with dana 44's front and rear. Never had any problems with the drive train. Im running 34"tires on my '02 with stock diffs. And havnt stripped an axle yet. As long as you dont buy into "when in dought, power out" philosophy things seem to last. Let the winch do the hard work.

 

[misterj]

very cool thread. And props on the conservative, function based exterior and suspension mods

Its very easy to run into drivetrain problems on the JK wranglers unfortunately.

when you go for 4"+ lift and huge heavy tires. You actually need to modify the drivetrain substantially.. It's a lot of work needless to say. I've heard horror stories of front driveshafts blowing up after 2k miles on a 4" lift! Something to be aware of

the lift and tires your going to run now will give you an significant edge over stock offerings for the tough roads! Cheers

Yeah I've read about keeping the geometry similar to factory settings, so the wheels are centered and driving isn't affected.
A 2 inch lift from mopar comes with arms and a different drive shaft.

I will not be getting light bars, batmobile bumpers, slim fenders and all that other stuff that seems popular on jeeps.

I'd rather look factory, just more ground clearance for my adventures with my dogs, a few places I have scraped my gears in the rear.

 

[Shadowdog]

Nice Jeep!

No throw away parts in the drive line so less costly and longer life!

Many of the ones around here get really used! Synthetics are a must for everything plus regular changes and greasings as H2O
can get into everything and caused expensive repairs.

Brake fluid (it's hydroscopic) should be changed also as moisture rust internals and engine cooolant must be changed under the HD usage specs do to hard use and the fact your dealing with an all aluminum engine.

 

[misterj]

Nice Jeep!

No throw away parts in the drive line so less costly and longer life!

Many of the ones around here get really used! Synthetics are a must for everything plus regular changes and greasings as H2O
can get into everything and caused expensive repairs.

Brake fluid (it's hydroscopic) should be changed also as moisture rust internals and engine cooolant must be changed under the HD usage specs do to hard use and the fact your dealing with an all aluminum engine.

Luckily I take my jeep into the dealer for all the inspections every oil change.
I got lifetime warranty so if something does corrode or break, they replace it.

 

[misterj]

Spent the afternoon with a buddy and my dogs.
This is about a 10 minute drive from where I live.

 

[CKDC]

You live in an area that seems like a great place to own that jeep. Good for you.

It cracks me up when I see people driving them in the city. Trucks that never has any dirt on them and give the impression they only go to the mall but they are prepared to get to the mall in all sorts of weather.

 

[misterj]

You live in an area that seems like a great place to own that jeep. Good for you.

It cracks me up when I see people driving them in the city. Trucks that never has any dirt on them and give the impression they only go to the mall but they are prepared to get to the mall in all sorts of weather.

Funny thing is that they seem to have to most upgrades like the massive light bar, safari bar and bumpers, huge lift and tires, but is spotless underneath.

 

[CKDC]

Funny thing is that they seem to have to most upgrades like the massive light bar, safari bar and bumpers, huge lift and tires, but is spotless underneath.

And the good thing Is that the "Mall crawlers" support the industries that make gear for actual users. Without them, all those accessories, even the Jeep itself would be a lot more expensive due to a more limited demand.

 

[gadget73]

Having a large enthusiast community is definitely great for giving you upgrade options. I have two different 80s Lincolns that have no sizable following and parts just don't exist. Handily everyone and their brother has Mustangs, F150's and Explorers, and a lot of those parts can be adapted if you are clever about it. I don't think anyone makes a performance part specifically for a 1986 Lincoln Town Car though.

 

[usedto]

It cracks me up when I see people driving them in the city. Trucks that never has any dirt on them and give the impression they only go to the mall but they are prepared to get to the mall in all sorts of weather.

By the same token, those people are probably amused by folks who buy 4 wheel drive vehicles just so they can try to climb rocks or go through mud holes when there are perfectly good roads around them.

 

[misterj]

Well I see a lot of useless gear for me, like the light bars. If I got one I would never have the need to use one.
Crazy batmobile looking bumpers and fenders that give you more approach and departure angles, I don't do crazy rock crawling so that's also just looks to me.

All I want is higher ground clearance, by lift and tires.

The environment I see most is dirt trails, heavy mud, and occasional rocks I have to climb over to continue the road.

I'm more adventure based than extreme offroad.

 

[misterj]

Sorry about the heavy breathing, my dogs wanted a hike.