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Kreepin1

Kreepin1

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From there we went to Ouray Colorado for a few days. Drove Last Dollar road and hooked up with some folks from Texas in the campground the next day to run Red Mountain Pass. Both of these are easy, but I could sure feel the effect of 11,000 feet on the 3.6's power! Had to shift into low range to navigate one section.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors IMG_3462.JPG


Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors DSC_0157sm.JPG


Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors DSC_0172sm.JPG


Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors DSC_0189sm.JPG
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AnnDee4444

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Mojave Sway Bar
Extra points if you noticed the Rubicon sway bar is missing in the photo above. One downside to the Excessive GTC front bumper is that you lose all protection for it. So I elected to replace it with one from a Gladiator Mojave. This mod isn't for everyone as you also have to leave the sway bar connected all the time or manually disconnect and reconnect for technical trails.

I got the following from MoparSalesDirect. I can't recommend them as the bar arrived bare with just the ends wrapped in some leftover packing material. Really? How hard would it have been to wrap the whole bar...
Mojave front swaybar, Mopar 68341373AB, $158 shipped
4 - 6512814AA Hex Flange Head Bolt (or use blue locktite and reuse the existing bolts)
For Rubicon also need one Mopar 68370016AC Stabilizer Bar Bushing Retainer
Synergy Quick Disconnects #8859-01

The contours of the Mojave bar are nearly identical to the Rubicon bar and the 21mm diameter is the same. However, the Mojave bar is hollow which saves a little weight and more importantly reduces stiffness by 20%. My plan is to leave the bar connected for touring, dunes, and easy trails where stability is welcome but the softer bar will give a better ride. For rocks and moderate trails I'll go through the hassle of disconnecting/reconnecting the bar.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors DSC_0189sm.JPG


The rings for the bushing are like 1/8" further apart, which was no problem:
Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors DSC_0189sm.JPG
Interesting! Do you happen to know if all the other sway bars are identical (Sport/Sahara/JT/etc.)
 
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Kreepin1

Kreepin1

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Interesting! Do you happen to know if all the other sway bars are identical (Sport/Sahara/JT/etc.)
My research shows that all Wranglers and Gladiators except Rubicon and Mojave models use the same front swaybar, Mopar 68251035AB. All Wranglers and Gladiators use the same front sway bar bushing Mopar 68251376AB. This means all of them have the same 32mm outer diameter, although the Mojave is hollow and softer.

I am much less confident about rear bars. Here are my notes:
JT Rubicon bar is 21mm while Mojave is 20mm (18% softer) - not likely it will fit a JL
Note bushing retainer is the same for all three versions:
Mopar 68247952AA JL Wrangler (appears to be used on all 2 and 4 door models)
Stabilizer Bar Bushing - Mopar 52060013AA (all models 2007-2021)
Mopar 68412192AA 2-Door with performance suspension (2-door Rubicon, Sport and Sport S)
Stabilizer Bar Bushing - Mopar 68412193AA (2-door Rubicon, Sport and Sport S 2018-2021)
Mopar 68247953AA Unlimited with performance suspension (4-door models)
Stabilizer Bar Bushing - Mopar 52060012AC (most recently 4-door models, but others back to 2007)

What I don't know is if performance suspension equates to a thinner or thicker bar.
 

rcadden

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Midland MXT115 GMRS and Uniden CMX660 CB Radio
The off road community is in an awkward transition period when it comes to comms. When I run with some groups CB radio is used while others have adopted GMRS. I didn't want to clutter up the interior with a lot of stuff. What to do? I elected to install a mount in the center console that allows me to swap radios, run a single cable to the back, and switch between antennas to match whichever radio I'm using at the time.

The first step was pulling the console which went pretty smooth except for pulling the knob on the manual transmission. Pro tip: use a large gear splitter to get a good grip and then just yank it off. It turns out you don't need to pull the console, just remove the back section by removing two screws at the top and popping it rearward. Here is where I drilled a hole to feed the power and antenna wires through:
Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors DSC_0189sm.JPG


Then I attached the Midland mounting bracket to the bottom of the console lid:
Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors DSC_0189sm.JPG


The microphone is mounted on the front of the console:
Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors DSC_0189sm.JPG


And I put an external speaker up under the steering wheel. It's aimed through the fabric around the steering wheel so hopefully I'll be able to hear pretty well.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors DSC_0189sm.JPG


Here's the wiring alongside the console. This is the only advantage of removing the console:
Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors DSC_0189sm.JPG


I found this 2" long NMO to PL259 adapter on Ebay and opened up one of the holes in my Teraflex mount to 5/8" so that I can switch between antennas.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors DSC_0189sm.JPG


Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors DSC_0189sm.JPG


Next I made an adapter for the Uniden CB so that it works with the same mount as the Midland GMRS:
Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors DSC_0189sm.JPG
I love the idea of mounting that in/on the console. Very clean, out of the way, yet still accessible.
 

rubiRI77

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Warn HS9500i Winch
Here is my take on winches. You need one sized to your vehicle's weight but the most important spec is no-load line speed to keep the line tight as 1) you help by driving up the obstacle or 2) some idiot you just rescued tries to drive over your rope.

I've had this winch for years and just washed it up and treated it to a new line and fairlead from Custom Splice. Really great small business. Highly recommended.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors DSC_0189sm.JPG


35x11.5R17 Nitto Trail Grapplers
I really had my heart set on a set of 37" KM3's but with a national backorder on them, four month (and counting) lead times on AAL fender braces and Paramount liners I just had to lower my expectations. I must say these tires fit an un-lifted Rubicon with stock wheels perfect. They measure 34-3/4" tall, 11" wide at 37 psi and the width is nearly identical to stock; 9-1/4" tread and just under 11-1/4" sidewall on a 7.5" wheel. The front tires just kiss the inside of the fender at full stuff. Rears clear by 1/4" or so. I'll need to get some more trail time to see if there are any clearance issues but I'm pretty optimistic they'll be fine.

Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors DSC_0189sm.JPG


Being load range C they ride pretty nice and for a new tire flex better than I expected on the trail. I think 12 psi was too low for rocks. Next time I'll try 14.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors DSC_0189sm.JPG
Awesome build, and great thread, very well documented with tons of details and great ideas so thank you.

I have been thinking of doing the same tires with basically no lift which is how I found your thread. Question - Why did you go with the JK rims? From what I can find the JK rims have slightly less backspacing? It looks like you are not running wheel spacers, so I am curious as to whether or not the stock jl rubicon rims would work with this tire.

On a slightly different topic, I have a set of 3/4" coil spacers already that I have not installed yet. Do you think that will make enough room for the 35's? I saw in a later post that you had to do some minor trimming. I would like to keep it close to stock as possible. (At this point anyway - haha) but we just back from a Jeep Jamboree where we did two fairly difficult trails, and Yes I could use some more height! But would still rather not lift it. But the skid plates really got a workout! I sold a well built TJ to buy the JL and going back to stock height and 33's has been a learning experience offroad that's for sure.

Thanks for any info you could give, and really cool Jeep! Well Done.
 

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Kreepin1

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I love the idea of mounting that in/on the console. Very clean, out of the way, yet still accessible.
Thanks! I gave it a pretty good workout over the last month. Ran with one group using GMRS and an old friend using CB. I like the OEM look but being able to communicate on the trail. The speaker under the steering wheel works great, even on the hiway with the top off. The extra weight prevents the console top from staying open, so it's a bit of a hassle to get stuff out unless you have two hands free. The GMRS wasn't reaching out very far, I suspect that the tight bends I put in the antenna cable is the culprit... At any rate it worked fine when we were with the group but when I followed a broken Jeep back to the parking lot I could hear the rest of the group but they couldn't hear me.
 
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Awesome build, and great thread, very well documented with tons of details and great ideas so thank you.

I have been thinking of doing the same tires with basically no lift which is how I found your thread. Question - Why did you go with the JK rims? From what I can find the JK rims have slightly less backspacing? It looks like you are not running wheel spacers, so I am curious as to whether or not the stock jl rubicon rims would work with this tire.

On a slightly different topic, I have a set of 3/4" coil spacers already that I have not installed yet. Do you think that will make enough room for the 35's? I saw in a later post that you had to do some minor trimming. I would like to keep it close to stock as possible. (At this point anyway - haha) but we just back from a Jeep Jamboree where we did two fairly difficult trails, and Yes I could use some more height! But would still rather not lift it. But the skid plates really got a workout! I sold a well built TJ to buy the JL and going back to stock height and 33's has been a learning experience offroad that's for sure.

Thanks for any info you could give, and really cool Jeep! Well Done.
Thanks for the props!

For the most part JK, JL and Gladiator wheels are identical. They have the same width, hub bore, offset and backspacing. JL studs are slightly larger but the holes in a JK wheel slide on them fine. I was able to use the factory JL lug nuts no problem.

There are two exceptions I know of. You can't use the 16" steel JK wheels, they won't clear the brake caliper. The Mojave wheel has a +37mm offset so it would move the tire out about 1/4".

There is a big bump at the rear of the rear liners and that is the part I removed. You can get similar results with a heat gun. I worked the Jeep really hard and can tell you that even after removing this bump the tires still barely kiss the liners at all four corners. The outside of the tire made a thin line all across the top in the rear. In the front there are several bumps in the liners and I was touching 4-5 of them. I found this totally acceptable, but there it is, on my Jeep when totally flexed this tire on OEM wheels touches.

Personally, I think you will need bump stop spacers in addition to the spring spacers. In the shop at full flex the coils were nearly binding (turning into a solid block). This is a bad thing.
 

rubiRI77

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Thanks for the props!

For the most part JK, JL and Gladiator wheels are identical. They have the same width, hub bore, offset and backspacing. JL studs are slightly larger but the holes in a JK wheel slide on them fine. I was able to use the factory JL lug nuts no problem.

There are two exceptions I know of. You can't use the 16" steel JK wheels, they won't clear the brake caliper. The Mojave wheel has a +37mm offset so it would move the tire out about 1/4".

There is a big bump at the rear of the rear liners and that is the part I removed. You can get similar results with a heat gun. I worked the Jeep really hard and can tell you that even after removing this bump the tires still barely kiss the liners at all four corners. The outside of the tire made a thin line all across the top in the rear. In the front there are several bumps in the liners and I was touching 4-5 of them. I found this totally acceptable, but there it is, on my Jeep when totally flexed this tire on OEM wheels touches.

Personally, I think you will need bump stop spacers in addition to the spring spacers. In the shop at full flex the coils were nearly binding (turning into a solid block). This is a bad thing.
that is what I was thinking too. Thanks very much for the info
 

BagPipesActual

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Awesome thread, I am a bumbling cave man when it comes to pretty much anything mechanical and I understood roughly 4% of this entire thing, even though it is awesome and well written. I got the Wilson comment and the Raphie reference for sure...bottom line I am convinced I became a better man just having read it. And I am glad there are wicked sharp people like you in this world. Very cool Jeep sir.
 
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Awesome thread, I am a bumbling cave man when it comes to pretty much anything mechanical and I understood roughly 4% of this entire thing, even though it is awesome and well written. I got the Wilson comment and the Raphie reference for sure...bottom line I am convinced I became a better man just having read it. And I am glad there are wicked sharp people like you in this world. Very cool Jeep sir.
Don't sell yourself short. Look at this a a journey. You are just starting yours, I've been doing this for over 40 years. Heck, 20 years ago I was working on the floor of my garage with a 1/2" drill and a hand file. I didn't even have a vise, just a clamp. Now I do most of my own welding and have a well equipped machine shop to play in... where will you be in 20 years?
 

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Kreepin1

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Mid-July found us in Pennsylvania with a great group of folks. We spent two days at the Anthracite Offroad Adventure Area. We ran green and blue rocky trails. The suspension of the JL really shone here. The guy following me in his TJ on 33's commented that he would be bouncing from side-to-side watching the pups in my Jeep calmly walking around in their crates. When he saw them hunker down he knew it was time to hold on tight! I was amazed at how well the Jeep idles over obstacles in first and even second gear. Totally loving this powertrain!
Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors Pic_14


Most people went left or right on this obstacle. I took it "right down the middle" thanks to the awesome flex!
Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors Pic_17


Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors Pic_01


Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors Pic_02


Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors Pic_04


Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors Pic_05


Here is a shot on the above obstacle from the side. I'm used to softer, grippier Super Swampers and the Nitto's harder compound lacks a little bite. Some of this might be the Load Range C sidewall which flexes so much I have to run 14-15 psi on the trail and 30 psi on the street. With Swampers I run 8-10 psi on the Samurai and 5 psi on the CJ-7.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors Pic_12



This obstacle favored 2-doors. I had to back and change lines but it walked right up something that lifted 4-doors on 37's struggled with.
Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors Pic_22



Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors Pic_25


Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors Pic_27


What a great time running with the Pirates! Arrrrgh!
Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors Pic_13


Pic_24.jpg
 

rubiRI77

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Looks like a good time! Awesome action shots. My 35 x 11.5's are getting mounted up tomorrow, and hopefully this weekend I will be putting on the 3/4" coil spacers, and 1-1/2" extended bump stops. Going by my fuzzy math, that should be just about right. We will find out. Thanks again for your input.
 
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After two days at AOAA we had barely scratched the surface of the 6,000 acre park but it was time to move on to Rausch Creek. As usual we started upping the difficulty level as the week went on running mostly blues with a few reds and blacks thrown in to keep things interesting. The group was moving pretty fast with a little trail carnage thrown in for good measure, both CJ's were taken out of action. One by tipping the fan into the radiator when high centered and the other ripping a shackle hanger completely off the frame. As a result I didn't get many pictures, we were moving too fast!

Here's the entry to Crawl Daddy. Wilson walked right up it but it did give the skid plate a workout. I mentioned to one of the other guys that I might have to lift it after all and he said "Dad and I are lifted with 37's and we're still hitting the skid plates..."
Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors IMG_3468.JPG


Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors IMG_3469.JPG


Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors IMG_3470.JPG


Jeep Wrangler JL Wilson - a Sting Gray touring and trail JLR w/half doors IMG_3472.JPG
 

Namakan

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I've enjoyed your posts and look forward to more. My Sting-Gray 2dr Soft-Top Willys with Half Doors should be delivered in about 2 weeks!
 
 



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