OP
Nikki's yellow throwback Jeep
- Thread starter Nickgsjeep
- Start date
Did you ever find the set of camel interior panels? I'm looking for clean set of Agate or any grey or black. Yours look like they are decent condition.
OP
No, not yet. I’m still searching. These panels are not in the best condition. They’re not broken or anything but they’ve seen their share of sunny sandy days. Did you have a set to trade?
Looks good! Went from slightly annoying wind noise to Holy crap! I can't hear myself think! Don't try to paint it pretty. Lol!
I have a set of grey panels for the halfies that are REALLY cranky and need to be repaired. I am not concerned about fading. It's the cracks that are issue.
I had my full door inner panels dyed. It was the same color, but they had faded a lot and looked like crap before. Maybe that would work for you? As I understand the process, the panels are warmed slightly and the dye is applied. It actually soaks into the panel, rather than sitting on the panel like paint would. Far more durable. Today mine look like the day I had them done.
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OP
I don't know what I'm talking about. Mine is pretty noisy with the soft top and full doors, so I was just imagining the noise level with half door/soft uppers.
OP
Honestly it’s not that bad. Made the 3.5 hour drive to Big Bear yesterday afternoon and it was … tolerable lol. For the daily grind I’ll keep the full doors on but the half doors are so fun for the trails. I love how open the jeep feels while still protecting my legs/torso from branches etc. With me being me though I’ll worry about the uneven color fade of the top vs the upper… conundrum
We all have our personal tolerances for noise vibration and harshness. My 2nd vehicles have always been motorcycles, so my Jeep, even with soft top and half doors with soft uppers, doesn't bother me much.
OP
Just got back from an awesome trip up to Big Bear Lake. @GregBelleville set up the run for Saturday morning and we did Gold Mountain with a great group. Then on Sunday I ran John Bull with a guy from the group with a nicely built XJ. This post will be less about the trail runs and more of a cumulative review of a few things having to do with my current setup and the changes coming. Thanks Greg for setting up the run such a fun time with good people. Looking forward to the next one.
First of all, I can’t believe how capable and behaved my little TJ is. What @mrblaine does to a jeep is absolutely astounding. This is in no way in relation to anyone’s rig that ran the trails this weekend but plainly an objective (some will say subjective) observation over time since having my jeep after Blaine made the modifications. I am continually intimidated by obstacles when I see rigs that go before me in the pecking order on 35’s, 37’s, and even occasionally 40’s buck, kick, bounce, hop and slide all over the obstacles, throwing rocks and spewing dirt while hammering the gas pedal. They reset all to do the same thing over again. Eventually it’s my turn and my little TJ in 4low and first gear will slowly motor up to the obstacle and just slowly tractor over it. With minimal tire spin (if ever any), zero bucking or hopping, and I’m just left flabbergasted by how well my jeep handles daunting obstacles. Thank you Blaine, I have more fun and learn so much about what my jeep can do each time I go out.
Now while on the trails this weekend, specifically John Bull, I noticed that on the steep downhill obstacles even with the 241 transfer case, when my jeep would have to climb over rocks while going steeply down hill, I was having to deal with the throttle burst the jeep (pcm?) does in order to avoid stalling, quite a bit. This “feature” that I’m sure is easily mitigated by more experienced drivers who anticipate it, is a dangerous “bug” when one is focused on their line. For this reason alone is why I am switching to an automatic transmission. The 4:1 ratio of the 241 has changed the game for me drastically in the rocks. I have an immense amount of control over my jeep with it. But still the rev of the engine when the jeep is attempting to avoid engine stall while negotiating downhill rock obstacles has got to go in my opinion. So for those wondering why I want the automatic, that is why. Focusing on my line and throttle control will be my only concerns.
The Goodyear MTRs are no more so I switched to Nitto Trail Grapplers. My first observation was they are very very nice on the road. The ride is smooth, they balance well, and are equally as quiet as the MTRs. I’ve now ran Gold Mountain twice, once with the MTRs at 10psi, and now the Nittos at 10psi. I had minor slippage in various spots with both tires and I am extremely happy with how well the Nittos did both days on Gold Mountain and on John Bull. Not once did I feel like I needed them to do any better than they did. So I am very pleased with them both on and off road and will more than likely be sticking with them.
Another thing I hope to remedy is the difficulty steering while the front is locked while negotiating more complex and technical challenges in the rocks. I hadn’t really had to deal with this until John Bull. The difficulty steering was not a minor inconvenience.
I have a new phone holder that I am going to review in another post because I forgot to take pictures of it. Sorry I don’t have more videos of the trails, we were either trying to get over them or spotting others over them. Overall a great weekend.
First of all, I can’t believe how capable and behaved my little TJ is. What @mrblaine does to a jeep is absolutely astounding. This is in no way in relation to anyone’s rig that ran the trails this weekend but plainly an objective (some will say subjective) observation over time since having my jeep after Blaine made the modifications. I am continually intimidated by obstacles when I see rigs that go before me in the pecking order on 35’s, 37’s, and even occasionally 40’s buck, kick, bounce, hop and slide all over the obstacles, throwing rocks and spewing dirt while hammering the gas pedal. They reset all to do the same thing over again. Eventually it’s my turn and my little TJ in 4low and first gear will slowly motor up to the obstacle and just slowly tractor over it. With minimal tire spin (if ever any), zero bucking or hopping, and I’m just left flabbergasted by how well my jeep handles daunting obstacles. Thank you Blaine, I have more fun and learn so much about what my jeep can do each time I go out.
Now while on the trails this weekend, specifically John Bull, I noticed that on the steep downhill obstacles even with the 241 transfer case, when my jeep would have to climb over rocks while going steeply down hill, I was having to deal with the throttle burst the jeep (pcm?) does in order to avoid stalling, quite a bit. This “feature” that I’m sure is easily mitigated by more experienced drivers who anticipate it, is a dangerous “bug” when one is focused on their line. For this reason alone is why I am switching to an automatic transmission. The 4:1 ratio of the 241 has changed the game for me drastically in the rocks. I have an immense amount of control over my jeep with it. But still the rev of the engine when the jeep is attempting to avoid engine stall while negotiating downhill rock obstacles has got to go in my opinion. So for those wondering why I want the automatic, that is why. Focusing on my line and throttle control will be my only concerns.
The Goodyear MTRs are no more so I switched to Nitto Trail Grapplers. My first observation was they are very very nice on the road. The ride is smooth, they balance well, and are equally as quiet as the MTRs. I’ve now ran Gold Mountain twice, once with the MTRs at 10psi, and now the Nittos at 10psi. I had minor slippage in various spots with both tires and I am extremely happy with how well the Nittos did both days on Gold Mountain and on John Bull. Not once did I feel like I needed them to do any better than they did. So I am very pleased with them both on and off road and will more than likely be sticking with them.
Another thing I hope to remedy is the difficulty steering while the front is locked while negotiating more complex and technical challenges in the rocks. I hadn’t really had to deal with this until John Bull. The difficulty steering was not a minor inconvenience.
I have a new phone holder that I am going to review in another post because I forgot to take pictures of it. Sorry I don’t have more videos of the trails, we were either trying to get over them or spotting others over them. Overall a great weekend.
It was great getting to wheel with you Nick, would definitely love to get back out on the trails with you again soon!
You're going to love the auto. It will be a game changer.
OP
I recently got a new phone and with it a new mount. I now have the otterbox defender with Mag safe case for my phone and figured I would try the otterbox mag safe windshield mount. I will admit I was very skeptical. But I thought if I didn’t like it or if it didn’t hold I would just return it. So keep in mind you need to have no case or a mag safe case to use the mount. With the mag safe mount you just touch your phone to the mount. That’s it. It’s held in place magnetically. I opted for the non charging version because of how skeptical I was and the charging version is pricier. But I think I might change to the charging version to eliminate the cord I have installed. Well @Zorba I know your dying to know, It’s been 6 months since I’ve installed the mount and I love it. It holds my phone perfectly in place and my phone has not fallen off once. I’m not a fan of dash mounts because I don’t like the idea of modifying the dash to make them work when phone tech changes ever 6 months. The mount held my phone fast while on the highway, around town with construction and pot holes, driving 30+ on unmaintained fire roads and yes while rock crawling as well.
OP
@Nickgsjeep what Model Soft Top Did you buy? Sailcloth or Twill? How do you like it? Its a great look!
I tried and failed miserably at fixing that horrid color scheme.