Chris Gearhart
Member
DAY ONE
So I’m out for a couple days of “field testing” with the Mopar 2” lift with 1.75” spacers wearing Cooper STT 37”x 12.5” tires on stock Rubicon 17” wheels. I aired down to a conservative 15psi.
(Sorry, no pictures. It was cold and very muddy and I was lazy. Tomorrow I’ll try to grab some, but I’m no Cindy.)
Day one I wanted to ease in to test my install prowess or lack thereof, so I took it slow. No earth-shattering articulation, but it wasn’t trivial either. No rocks yet—mostly mud, and boy there was lots of it.
My observations in no particular order of intelligence:
Spacers: The wheels didn’t fall off. But with the tires out from the flares, I noted awesome mud patterns in every conceivable direction. I felt like a tie dye artist.
Mudding: Holy crap! The combination of the JLUR and the STT 37’s is astonishingly capable in mud. I started out conservatively because I was alone with my winch in the garage awaiting a winch plate. But by the end I confess to feeling adulated by the watching masses. One guy said to me, “I just pulled a Bronco outa there. I wouldn’t.” Now, not exactly a daunting warning, lol, but still, they were stunned I made it through. I tried not to get cocky, but . . . I tried everything that wouldn’t get my butt wet (from outside water getting in, anyway).
Rubbing: I didn’t really push this, but I wasn’t even close to hitting the flares. I crawled over some moderate twists and didn’t break a sweat. So, while jury is still in debate, moderate off roading with this setup doesn’t seem to be a deal-breaker.
Steering: One thing for sure, the factory steering damper isn’t up to the 37s. Maybe Eddie or another experienced wheeler can chime in, but I attributed my inability to keep
my line to the damper. I mean, I stuck my head out the window while turning hard left in pitted mud tracks and watched the tire turn from almost straight to full left. Either the stabilizer is made of a hypodermic syringe, or there’s something wrong with my steering. Or I suck at installing a lift.
Power: I never once noticed any reduction of power with the 37’s pulling the 8-speed. Wow, very impressed with the stock JLUR. Who knows how long my Cs, axles, gears and underwear will hold out, but so far it’s all creamy.
Tomorrow I will get my butt out of the seat and take some pics of an empty Jeep sitting in stupid locations. I will try my hardest to rub but not destroy the flares, and I will now be sure to hit manual shift when I’m in 4-lo (Thank you eddie [emoji1303])
If I don’t reply tomorrow, send someone after me with a winch, and a post-it note with the word “manual” on it.
Sent from my iPhone using JL Wrangler Jeep Forum mobile app
So I’m out for a couple days of “field testing” with the Mopar 2” lift with 1.75” spacers wearing Cooper STT 37”x 12.5” tires on stock Rubicon 17” wheels. I aired down to a conservative 15psi.
(Sorry, no pictures. It was cold and very muddy and I was lazy. Tomorrow I’ll try to grab some, but I’m no Cindy.)
Day one I wanted to ease in to test my install prowess or lack thereof, so I took it slow. No earth-shattering articulation, but it wasn’t trivial either. No rocks yet—mostly mud, and boy there was lots of it.
My observations in no particular order of intelligence:
Spacers: The wheels didn’t fall off. But with the tires out from the flares, I noted awesome mud patterns in every conceivable direction. I felt like a tie dye artist.
Mudding: Holy crap! The combination of the JLUR and the STT 37’s is astonishingly capable in mud. I started out conservatively because I was alone with my winch in the garage awaiting a winch plate. But by the end I confess to feeling adulated by the watching masses. One guy said to me, “I just pulled a Bronco outa there. I wouldn’t.” Now, not exactly a daunting warning, lol, but still, they were stunned I made it through. I tried not to get cocky, but . . . I tried everything that wouldn’t get my butt wet (from outside water getting in, anyway).
Rubbing: I didn’t really push this, but I wasn’t even close to hitting the flares. I crawled over some moderate twists and didn’t break a sweat. So, while jury is still in debate, moderate off roading with this setup doesn’t seem to be a deal-breaker.
Steering: One thing for sure, the factory steering damper isn’t up to the 37s. Maybe Eddie or another experienced wheeler can chime in, but I attributed my inability to keep
my line to the damper. I mean, I stuck my head out the window while turning hard left in pitted mud tracks and watched the tire turn from almost straight to full left. Either the stabilizer is made of a hypodermic syringe, or there’s something wrong with my steering. Or I suck at installing a lift.
Power: I never once noticed any reduction of power with the 37’s pulling the 8-speed. Wow, very impressed with the stock JLUR. Who knows how long my Cs, axles, gears and underwear will hold out, but so far it’s all creamy.
Tomorrow I will get my butt out of the seat and take some pics of an empty Jeep sitting in stupid locations. I will try my hardest to rub but not destroy the flares, and I will now be sure to hit manual shift when I’m in 4-lo (Thank you eddie [emoji1303])
If I don’t reply tomorrow, send someone after me with a winch, and a post-it note with the word “manual” on it.
Sent from my iPhone using JL Wrangler Jeep Forum mobile app
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