I finally had a chance to get out and do some real wheeling in the jeep.
Some friends and I headed up HLT and took a shot at Steve's Loop last week.
Friday we headed up HLT and hit some decent snow,
especially for this time of the year.
We slowly trudged our way to the top,
with yours truly being the only to reach the summit.
Who said skinny tires are a bad thing?
They look a bit funny with 4" or more of lift,
but they really excel in the snow.
I was also finally able to test the new shocks limits
and see what they were capable of.
The jeep flexed out great up front,
out back still leaves me wanting more.
Eventually we'll get there.
Here are the HLT pictures.
The other jeep is my friend Kanin's YJ.
He was testing out his new rear axle and 37" tires.
In my last post I showed a picture of some WARN Rock Sliders I needed to install.
As you saw in the pictures above,
they made their way onto the jeep.
I also had the chance to pick up some Smittybilt Rear Tube Fenders.
They are dirt cheap, and appear to be well made.
I do wish there were slight differences about them,
but for a very small fraction of the price of the competition's fenders,
I can absolutely live with the few tiny issues.
I need to upgrade the hardware to grade 8.
I had to cut small sections of the jeep's body off.
There were small sections that hung below the flares,
and I knew they get chewed up by rocks,
so I cut the body flush to the new flares.
It worked well and I guess I gained a bit more clearance.
Here are the slider and flare detail shots.
I also found myself in need of a location for my mag-light.
What better place than at your finger tips?
And finally, here are the Steve's Loop trail run pictures I mentioned earlier.
The trail isn't terribly difficult,
but with open differentials, relatively small tires and a manual transmission,
the trail can give you plenty of headaches.
Overall, I was very pleased with how the jeep performed.
As you can see in the pictures,
my open differentials made for an interesting day.
We made it through though,
no one had any real damage
and we all had a blast.
Thanks to Kanin for the pictures of me wheeling through the trail.
Wheeling through Steve's Loop helped me come a come a realization.
I want to go bigger,
both in tires and axles to handle those tires.
Steve's Loop isn't the hardest trail, but I was left wanting more clearance
and I needed more help in the traction department.
I think I am going to go with 35x12.5x15 BFG KM2 tires,
and a Ford 8.8 rear axle, and a High Pinion Dana 30 front.
Those axles match very well and should be plenty strong for 35" tires.
I think that combination will serve my jeep very well.
I'll stick with 4.88 gears,
and won't add any more lift to the jeep.
I already need to add a bit more bumpstops up front,
but the rear should be set.
I'll have to add wheel spacers as well,
and that will give me a better, and wider stance too.
Should be fun.
