TJEli
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
Hey Guys,
Thought I would post up a trip report with some real world experiences and numbers. I was by myself in my JLUR with 2" Daystar, Falcon 2.1s and 37x12.50 KO2s.
I needed to go down to see my parents who live just outside of Branson MO. On the trip down (From Iron Mountain, MI) I took mostly 2 lane roads through WI, IA, IL and MO. This gave me a really good idea of how the gearing and suspension worked at speed on choppy back roads. I was able to stop and see some places I had not seen in over 20 years.
Here is a scenic overlook in Spring Green WI. You can see the deck from the House on the Rock in the background.
The ONLY thing that I began to notice was the stock steering stabilizer letting a little wobble come through on uneven bumps. That night at the hotel I contacted Marcus at River City Offroad and had him ship a Nexus 2.2 to my parents house. Everything else was fantastic. Handling and ride was great and the transmission did an excellent job. It does not spend as much time in 8th gear but it DOES use it. Steep hills at speed and on cruise it rarely drops below 6th. At this point in the trip I was averaging 18.8 MPG with my computer recalibrated for the 37s. (to actual GPS speed) The tires are smooth and quiet all the way up to 98 MPH.
After arriving at my parents house I got to spend some time driving around to Ozarks. I got to do a little light wheeling and finally got to max the suspension out with 2 tires off the ground. With 2" bumpstops the tires just barely kiss the back of the rear liners and the top of the front liners. Just enough to make dirt marks.
My dad spent time driving it as well and was blown away with how well it drove and how comfortable it was. Fuel mileage driving easy around Ozark mountain roads was a solid 20-21 MPG. Stopped at one of my favorite distilleries for a glass of their gold metal winning Bourbon.
Stopped at a dealer and parked next to a stock Rubicon. Also drove a 2.0L for the first time. It sounds like my lawn tractor.
The Nexus 2.2 steering stabilizer showed up and did not fail to impress. Even on its "soft" setting it takes all of the bump steer feedback out of the wheel. The "Firm" setting was amazing for blasting down the interstate at speed in cross winds. I can highly recommend this upgrade.
The trip back was all interstate because I had to make time. Most of the time I ran on cruise at 75MPH. If the wind was light it would use 8th gear on the flats and downhills and go down to 7th or 6th on the climbs. Fuel mileage at this time was about 17.5. When I crossed into IL I ran into a steady 15MPH head wind. Running 76 MPH, Jeep stayed in 6th gear and mileage dropped to 14.8 Worst of the trip. Even in the wind the Jeep drove great. One hand on the wheel at 75-80 MPH.
I drove 900 miles yesterday and it did not feel like I did it in a Wranger. Especially not one with 37" tires. I was impressed with the mileage it got and it never felt short on power. My overall trip mileage wound up in the low 18s. It was a fun week and was really nice to spend some time with my parents.
FWIW, YMMV
-Eli
Thought I would post up a trip report with some real world experiences and numbers. I was by myself in my JLUR with 2" Daystar, Falcon 2.1s and 37x12.50 KO2s.
I needed to go down to see my parents who live just outside of Branson MO. On the trip down (From Iron Mountain, MI) I took mostly 2 lane roads through WI, IA, IL and MO. This gave me a really good idea of how the gearing and suspension worked at speed on choppy back roads. I was able to stop and see some places I had not seen in over 20 years.
Here is a scenic overlook in Spring Green WI. You can see the deck from the House on the Rock in the background.
The ONLY thing that I began to notice was the stock steering stabilizer letting a little wobble come through on uneven bumps. That night at the hotel I contacted Marcus at River City Offroad and had him ship a Nexus 2.2 to my parents house. Everything else was fantastic. Handling and ride was great and the transmission did an excellent job. It does not spend as much time in 8th gear but it DOES use it. Steep hills at speed and on cruise it rarely drops below 6th. At this point in the trip I was averaging 18.8 MPG with my computer recalibrated for the 37s. (to actual GPS speed) The tires are smooth and quiet all the way up to 98 MPH.
After arriving at my parents house I got to spend some time driving around to Ozarks. I got to do a little light wheeling and finally got to max the suspension out with 2 tires off the ground. With 2" bumpstops the tires just barely kiss the back of the rear liners and the top of the front liners. Just enough to make dirt marks.
My dad spent time driving it as well and was blown away with how well it drove and how comfortable it was. Fuel mileage driving easy around Ozark mountain roads was a solid 20-21 MPG. Stopped at one of my favorite distilleries for a glass of their gold metal winning Bourbon.
Stopped at a dealer and parked next to a stock Rubicon. Also drove a 2.0L for the first time. It sounds like my lawn tractor.
The Nexus 2.2 steering stabilizer showed up and did not fail to impress. Even on its "soft" setting it takes all of the bump steer feedback out of the wheel. The "Firm" setting was amazing for blasting down the interstate at speed in cross winds. I can highly recommend this upgrade.
The trip back was all interstate because I had to make time. Most of the time I ran on cruise at 75MPH. If the wind was light it would use 8th gear on the flats and downhills and go down to 7th or 6th on the climbs. Fuel mileage at this time was about 17.5. When I crossed into IL I ran into a steady 15MPH head wind. Running 76 MPH, Jeep stayed in 6th gear and mileage dropped to 14.8 Worst of the trip. Even in the wind the Jeep drove great. One hand on the wheel at 75-80 MPH.
I drove 900 miles yesterday and it did not feel like I did it in a Wranger. Especially not one with 37" tires. I was impressed with the mileage it got and it never felt short on power. My overall trip mileage wound up in the low 18s. It was a fun week and was really nice to spend some time with my parents.
FWIW, YMMV
-Eli
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