Coal Fire, JLUR build

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Lift and 37 inch km3's installed.

Random observation s
-Lift alone with the stock tires resulted in significantly better than stock ride and handling. Steering tight, much less body roll.
-37's added = bad street manners. Lots of drift, hard to keep straight. Then I noticed that the tire shop didn't follow my request (despite a receipt that said so) to put tires at 32psi. They were at 39-40. Aired down to 34, drives much better, tire contact patches almost uniform. Probably will go to 32 or 30 this evening.
-Dude, this thing is tall! Didn't feel like it initially, but sure is nice to see over top lots of other cars.
-icon 2.5 CDC shocks: soft is nice, but handling just a bit sloppy. Hard works great, but for road riding only. Any bumps make you realize that the tire is your shock . Have it on 5 now, seems about right for no load except a roof rack and a winch.

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Rear installed

 

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Front. Love the location of the remote reservoir.

 

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Pre tires

 

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Post tires with a little flex

 

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Had someone private message me about my set up, thought others may have similar questions. Here's my response on why icon over teraflex.


I'm sure teraflex makes a great lift, but I've heard more than a few people complain about the stiffness of the ride due to the spring rate on the teraflex.

I decided on icon a while ago after being in the Toyota world for a few years, and was always impressed with the icon quality and depth of research and development they put into their products. And, after a few weeks of owning my own icon lift, I'm more than happy.

What made you go with the Icon system? See above.
I saw you mentioned increased flex with the Icon setup, do you see any rubbing issues with that set-up and the 37's? Yes, very minor in the back on that plastic in rear fender that juts forward.

Did you go with the larger bump-stops they recommend for the 37s? I have teraflex's progressive bump stops and two inch extensors in my garage, will be installing the rear ones as soon as I get a minute. Front seems to be fine without it.

Have the road manners gotten better when you aired down the tires like you mentioned in your post? Yes. Vehicle drives straight and true, the 37's do have a tendency to exacerbate any movement but in a delayed fashion. After two weeks of driving I don't really think much about it except under two circumstances: 1) braking. I try not to tailgate ever, though the vehicle stops great even with the 37's. 2) under hard acceleration especially at highway speeds, it pulls a little to the left, and then if I let off the acceleration suddenly, the steering correction I was using results in a pull to the right. I think it is just the geometry of the steering exacerbated by the extra two inches of lift.

Bottom line: tighter steering, excellent ride quality, and I really like the ability to adjust the shock dampening on the cdc valve. Was carrying a 500lb load of deer meat and hunting equipment recently, bumped the shocks up a notch or two and it drove exactly how I wanted.

Stage 8 is awesome...just costs $5000.

 

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Km3 review

Was on the fence between staying with KO2's or going with km3's. I am pleased to say I don't regret the decision one bit.

Noise level: 4/5 just a hair higher than the ko2's, which were pretty much whisper quiet anyway.
Road manners: 4/5 these are as sticky as my lifted jeep could need. I've pushed in corners to the limit on pavement, and the jeep feels tippy before the km3's start sliding. High way riding when at appropriate pressure (28-30psi on stock rubicon wheels) is excellent, not firm but not wallowy either. Just planted. But it isn't my wife's lexus on street tires either.
Snow: 3/5 just endured a two foot drop in two days, tires have done excellent in deep, fresh snow (like mud, clean out with spinning), and pretty good in hard pack and iced road conditions. If I'm in 4wd, unless the road is pure ice, I've got great traction for acceleration and braking. Even with total ice, they keep me pointed straight, just have to work a bit more than the KO2's.
Trail: 5/5 light off roading around my dad's property in some really loose and wet leaves/dirt/big roots, they didn't skip a beat. Total confidence in these to handle what I threw at them.

Overall: 4.8/5 for function of my intended purpose of daily driver with light trail use and overlanding. Only improvement I can think of is some extra siping for snow work. If I was staying in NY I probably would do that, but in moving in 6 months, and so will keep as is. I don't expect to change tires, and if they are still in production in a few years will probably replace with another set of km3's.

 

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A little upstate NY snow fun. Had a light day in the OR, so hit the hills and snowshoed for a couple hours. Light was nice for some shots of ol' Coal Fire.

 

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You know, I started jeeping with a 1997 XJ, added a two inch spacer/shackle lift and 30 inch goodyear MTRs. Learned how to drive technically well, since otherwise I'd get stuck.

Always dreamed of having 37's...

And now rocks I used to think were big are just speedbumps. Grateful for ongoing vehicle development and the opportunity to enjoy it.

 

[Tritonman]

Where in upstate NY are you?

 

[Biohazard]

Where in upstate NY are you?

I live in Albany. You?

 

[Tritonman]

I live in Albany. You?

I Malta, just off exit 12. About 30 minutes from you. I'm the co-founder of a local jeep club here. We have an event coming up on the 11th to discuss next years events. You are welcome to hang out and meet some other local jeepers.

 

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I Malta, just off exit 12. About 30 minutes from you. I'm the co-founder of a local jeep club here. We have an event coming up on the 11th to discuss next years events. You are welcome to hang out and meet some other local jeepers.

Can i FaceTime in? I'm on call at AMC. Wish I could make it.

 

[Tritonman]

Can i FaceTime in? I'm on call at AMC. Wish I could make it.

Unfortunately we cant do that. I will PM you some info.

 

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XG Cargo's sportsman behind the back seat storage is a great addition. Have my recovery and winch gear in the driver’s magellan pack, raingear in the passenger’s, first aid kit + hachet/machete + odds and ends in the seat back packs.

Very high quality, solid clasps and materials, fits great, nice tie downs. Also easy to fit around my maximus-3 roof rack mount.

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