"Oki": 4x4tographer's 2018 Jeep JLUR

[4x4tographer 3,642]

7 minutes ago, theksmith said:

how will you remove the tank once you have a hard-top? ;)

Hahaha! Good eye!

 

Whenever I snag a hardtop, I’ll be able to flip the tank from “outboard” to “inboard”. All the soft top mechanics are currently in the way 😁

[4x4tographer 3,642]

Couple of favorites from today's Crown King run!

 

Edited February 4, 2024 by 4x4tographer

[4x4tographer 3,642]

Had a great time out on Terminator with the crew this past weekend. Some nice challenging lines, awesome people, and great times!

 

 

 

Quick little mod a few weeks back - changed out my ditch lights from BlackOak LED scene lights to some nice yellow SSc1 pods from Diode Dynamics. 

 

 

The BlackOaks weren't sealed very well, leaking every time they got wet, and had started its own little terrarium world of water and mold inside of the housing. 🤢 

 

The new SSc1's match the color/tone of the Diode Dynamic pro series fog lamps I already have. I've really come to love the yellow colored lights as they seem to help relieve some of the eye strain I have when running them at night. 

 

 

 

I also took some time to tear apart the center console to track down an issue I was having with the emergency brake. More often than not, I was receiving a loud "popping" noise when cranking down the brake handle. 

 

Overall, it was a pretty simple job to remove the console, with just 4 bolts and the shift boots to remove. I was more than a little shocked how nasty it was in there, including pine needles from my many trips to Northern AZ. 

 

 

I don't know the technical term for it, but the adjuster bracket that connects to both rear brake lines was extremely loose (here's a video). A few cranks with a 10mm wrench and we were back in business. 

 

Edited March 13, 2024 by 4x4tographer

[4x4tographer 3,642]

67,200 miles

 

Took the Jeep to visit our good friend Joe over at @OnPointOffroad. Looking forward to towards the Rubicon and Hole-in-the-Rock trips, was looking to get a few things taken care of. 

 

Joe and Vince took care of a leaking oil cooler, replaced spark plugs, and did the pulleys and serpentine belt. They even power washed the engine bay!

 

 

 

[OnPointOffroad 77]

• You are very welcome sir! Typically,  we wash every 3.6 prior to removing the upper intake or lower. As we all love our Jeeps, the 3.6 tends to store dust and dirt in strange places. So, to avoid any internal contamination, its best to clean them first!

[4x4tographer 3,642]

New meats!

 

 

The trusty Yokohama G003s in 35x17x12.5 have been replaced with another flavor of Japanese rubber in the form of Toyo Open Country R/T Trail tires in 37x17x12.5.

 

The Yokohama's lasted 3 years (LITERALLY to the day) and 30,500 miles. The last 6 months I've been dealing with some pretty bad cupping of the tires that have had me chasing down a pretty noticeable wobble that reliably occurred at 40-45mph and when aired down any less than 34 PSI. Additionally, they've gotten excessively loud to the point where I need to keep the windows up when I'm above 60mph (I've measured sustained noise in the cabin at 97dB with the windows down, not an enjoyable experience).

 

All-in-all I've been happy with the performance of the tire off road. I've never felt like I didn't have enough grip, zero flats, nice flex/deformation over obstacles, and very comfortable when aired down to about 13-18 PSI off road. They've taking a lot of abuse and have their fair share of battle scars and chunking, but no missing lugs and punctures. 

 

Here are a few photos of the condition of the tire at the time of their departure:

You can really see the cupping on this shot--

 

 

 

Looking ahead to this year, I've got several long trips lined up and it was time for a change. I've been really looking to go up a size and also try "something new" in terms of the type of tire. 

 

The new Toyo's are a literally new version of their popular Open Country R/T tire - called the Open Country R/T TRAIL. The R/T stands for "rough terrain" and are a hybrid tire that tries to blend the best of the mud terrain and all terrain worlds. The tread pattern is more aggressive than an A/T, with larger lugs, deeper gaps, "stone ejectors" and decent siping - but aren't as aggressive as a full-blown M/T. 

 

 

 

 

The R/T/ Trails come with a 45,000 mile tread life warranty. The 37's are Load Range E, which is the same as the 35” G003 Yokohamas.

 

Another spec that drew me to the Toyo's was the weight - they clock in at 75lbs. The Yokohamas were 70lbs each. Many of the tires in the 37" range are pushing 80-88lbs which I'm a little wary off without more extensive driveline/axle upgrades.

 

One last comment - inflation SUCKS. I paid $288 for the Yokohamas in 2021 - the price has climbed over 40% and they're now $405 per tire. Outrageous. The 37" variant of the same Yokohama was $488/ea. 😳

 

I was able to take advantage of the new Total Offroad's "tax sale" where they pay the sales tax. The tires were $404 each - about as cheap and lightweight as you can get in 37's without going to a Milestar Patagonia. 

 

 

Here's a few close-ups of the new tires.

 

 

First impressions on the drive home - they're QUIET. I was able to hold a conversation with my daughter in the car with the windows down - that was nice.

The road-feel is "smooth" in terms of not being able to "feel" the lug rumbling down the road - and best of all - the "wobble" was gone as far as I can tell.

 

I'm feeling a little power loss (still on factory 4:10 gears) but the 8 speed automatic really helped there with around the town driving on the way home. I've got to get it on the highway still - the run up the i17 will be a good test.

 

I need to do some flex testing, but with all of the clearance the Jeep JL's have in the wheel wells I'm thinking I'm scot-free without needing to do anything extra. I might possibly have to adjust my bump stops in the front, but the rears look pretty clear.

 

More to come!

 

Edited April 16, 2024 by 4x4tographer

[shellback91 2,305]

9 hours ago, 4x4tographer said:

New meats!

 

 

The trusty Yokohama G003s in 35x17x12.5 have been replaced with another flavor of Japanese rubber in the form of Toyo Open Country R/T Trail tires in 37x17x12.5.

 

The Yokohama's lasted 3 years (LITERALLY to the day) and 30,500 miles. The last 6 months I've been dealing with some pretty bad cupping of the tires that have had me chasing down a pretty noticeable wobble that reliably occurred at 40-45mph and when aired down any less than 34 PSI. Additionally, they've gotten excessively loud to the point where I need to keep the windows up when I'm above 60mph (I've measured sustained noise in the cabin at 97dB with the windows down, not an enjoyable experience).

 

All-in-all I've been happy with the performance of the tire off road. I've never felt like I didn't have enough grip, zero flats, nice flex/deformation over obstacles, and very comfortable when aired down to about 13-18 PSI off road. They've taking a lot of abuse and have their fair share of battle scars and chunking, but no missing lugs and punctures. 

 

Here are a few photos of the condition of the tire at the time of their departure:

You can really see the cupping on this shot--

 

 

 

Looking ahead to this year, I've got several long trips lined up and it was time for a change. I've been really looking to go up a size and also try "something new" in terms of the type of tire. 

 

The new Toyo's are a literally new version of their popular Open Country R/T tire - called the Open Country R/T TRAIL. The R/T stands for "rough terrain" and are a hybrid tire that tries to blend the best of the mud terrain and all terrain worlds. The tread pattern is more aggressive than an A/T, with larger lugs, deeper gaps, "stone ejectors" and decent siping - but aren't as aggressive as a full-blown M/T. 

 

 

 

 

The R/T/ Trails come with a 45,000 mile tread life warranty. The 37's are Load Range E, which is the same as the 35” G003 Yokohamas.

 

Another spec that drew me to the Toyo's was the weight - they clock in at 75lbs. The Yokohamas were 70lbs each. Many of the tires in the 37" range are pushing 80-88lbs which I'm a little wary off without more extensive driveline/axle upgrades.

 

One last comment - inflation SUCKS. I paid $288 for the Yokohamas in 2021 - the price has climbed over 40% and they're now $405 per tire. Outrageous. The 37" variant of the same Yokohama was $488/ea. 😳

 

I was able to take advantage of the new Total Offroad's "tax sale" where they pay the sales tax. The tires were $404 each - about as cheap and lightweight as you can get in 37's without going to a Milestar Patagonia. 

 

 

Here's a few close-ups of the new tires.

 

 

First impressions on the drive home - they're QUIET. I was able to hold a conversation with my daughter in the car with the windows down - that was nice.

The road-feel is "smooth" in terms of not being able to "feel" the lug rumbling down the road - and best of all - the "wobble" was gone as far as I can tell.

 

I'm feeling a little power loss (still on factory 4:10 gears) but the 8 speed automatic really helped there with around the town driving on the way home. I've got to get it on the highway still - the run up the i17 will be a good test.

 

I need to do some flex testing, but with all of the clearance the Jeep JL's have in the wheel wells I'm thinking I'm scot-free without needing to do anything extra. I might possibly have to adjust my bump stops in the front, but the rears look pretty clear.

 

More to come!

 

Very nice! I am running the Toyo Open Country A/T  III tires on my rig and love them.  They seem to be good quality tires so far.

[theksmith 5,778]

i like how far the sidewall lugs come in - for both the aesthetic and potential extra grip.

[4x4tographer 3,642]

Met up with @theksmith tonight over near Lake Pleasant to do a little flex test to check clearance with the new 37's. 

 

Pretty good at full flex - some rubbing in the front fender liners due to their one-piece design and barely touching in the rear. 

 

Planning to add 1" of bump stop to the front and rear and will recheck - but pretty confident that should do it. 

 

 

[4x4tographer 3,642]

I recently picked up Rough Country's knock off of the ARB Twin - while the design and features are very similar, the build quality might be a little suspect. K recommended swapping out the two relays inside as his burned out shortly after installing his twin compressor. When replacing mine, I discovered the manufacturer did a shoddy job with their soldering and heat shrink. 

 

I also recently took a few interesting (at least to me) tire measurements to compare the Yokohama Geolandars to the Toyo R/T Trails, mostly because I was curious. I also was interested in seeing how quickly my new air compressor could air up my tires from the typical off-road pressures I normally run.

 

 

Yokohama Geolandar G003 | 35x17x12.5

Tire height with vehicle weight @ 36psi

• Fronts 85cm / 33.46”
• Rears 85.5cm / 33.66”

 

Tire height with vehicle weight @ 13psi

• Fronts 83cm / 32.67”
• Rears 83.5cm / 32.87”

 

Air Up Speed Test:

• 11psi to 33psi: 6min 35seconds
• 13psi to 35psi: 7min 3 seconds

 

 

Toyo Open Country R/T Trail | 37x17x12.5

Tire height with vehicle weight @ 30psi

• Fronts: 90.5cm / 35.62”
• Rears: 90.5cm / 35.62”

 

Tire height with vehicle weight @ 19psi

• Fronts: 89cm / 35.03”
• Rears: 89.5cm / 35.23”

 

Tire height with vehicle weight @ 13psi

• Fronts: 88.5cm / 34.84”
• Rears: 88.5cm / 34.84”

 

Air Up Speed Test:

• 14psi to 30psi: 5min 35seconds

 

 

With the new tires I was surprised they didn't loose as much height when aired down to "trail height"... they really only lost an inch! If I had the presence of mind, I should have measured ground clearance at the axle and differential, since that's probably a more meaningful metric.