need more power? lower gears? help!!

aaronstephen

aaronstephen

New member
ok, so here's the deal. was out wheeling with some friends a few weeks ago on a fall color tour in northern michigan. mostly two track trails through the woods and an occasional fun obstacle. nothing too difficult. but still felt the need to air down to 12 psi and disconnect the front axle. we eventually made it over to a rather large sand hill called Bull Gap?? The sand hill was at least a 1/4 mile long and at a fairly steep angle. I was wheeling with guys who had TJ's and XJ's. The only rigs that made it up was a TJ with an LS V8 with 400hp and a STOCK TJ! :eek: LOL. I failed on two attempts. Like I said, I was aired down to about 12 psi on my 33" duratracs. I have 2.5" of lift and 2009 2dr. I've wheeled before on sand (at silver lake, mi) but that was with my 2012 with the better motor. Here's what was happening. As I gave it lots of gas the front end would skip, as if the tires were bouncing. when I reached about 5000 rpm's the motor would cut and I would drop down to about 1500 rpm's. I just couldn't keep the momentum especially with the motor cutting out like it did. I felt like I could've easily made it if the motor would've maintained at 4000-5000 rpms OR if the front end would've stayed firmly planted.

so here are my questions...

1. should I have connected my front axle when we got to the sand?
2. do I just need more power?
3. what about gears? I have 3.73's, but the plan is to install 4.88's this winter. will that help fix this problem?

Thanks for your thoughts.
 
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cozdude

cozdude

Guy with a Red 2-Door
aaronstephen said:
ok, so here's the deal. was out wheeling with some friends a few weeks ago on a fall color tour in northern michigan. mostly two track trails through the woods and an occasional fun obstacle. nothing too difficult. but still felt the need to air down to 12 psi and disconnect the front axle. we eventually made it over to a rather large sand hill called Bull Gap?? The sand hill was at least a 1/4 mile long and at a fairly steep angle. I was wheeling with guys who had TJ's and XJ's. The only rigs that made it up was a TJ with an LS V8 with 400hp and a STOCK TJ! :eek: LOL. I failed on two attempts. Like I said, I was aired down to about 12 psi on my 33" duratracs. I have 2.5" of lift and 2009 2dr. I've wheeled before on sand (at silver lake, mi) but that was with my 2012 with the better motor. Here's what was happening. As I gave it lots of gas the front end would skip, as if the tires were bouncing. when I reached about 5000 rpm's the motor would cut and I would drop down to about 1500 rpm's. I just couldn't keep the momentum especially with the motor cutting out like it did. I felt like I could've easily made it if the motor would've maintained at 4000-5000 rpms OR if the front end would've stayed firmly planted.

so here are my questions...

1. should I have connected my front axle when we got to the sand?
2. do I just need more power?
3. what about gears? I have 3.73's, but the plan is to install 4.88's this winter. will that help fix this problem?

Thanks for your thoughts.
Click to expand...

yes gears would help prob a little bit. considering you have 33's and 3.73 gears i dont see why that would be a huge problem for the motor

question back for you. were you in D or did you drop it down to 2 or 1 at all before the hill climb?
if you were in D that may be why it downshifted. if you stay in 2 or 1 for that climb you could have kept your RPM's up.

as far as the bouncing goes the longer wheel base of the 4 door would of helped prevent that. i think eddie mentions that in one of his moab videos of how the 4 door can climb up hills easier than a 2 door
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
The skipping you were seeing is normal and nothing short of good coil overs and/or bypass shocks would help that much. More power is what you really need and with a 3.8L motor, re-gearing would have helped a lot here.
 
jeeeep

jeeeep

Hooked
aaronstephen said:
ok, so here's the deal. was out wheeling with some friends a few weeks ago on a fall color tour in northern michigan. mostly two track trails through the woods and an occasional fun obstacle. nothing too difficult. but still felt the need to air down to 12 psi and disconnect the front axle. we eventually made it over to a rather large sand hill called Bull Gap?? The sand hill was at least a 1/4 mile long and at a fairly steep angle. I was wheeling with guys who had TJ's and XJ's. The only rigs that made it up was a TJ with an LS V8 with 400hp and a STOCK TJ! :eek: LOL. I failed on two attempts. Like I said, I was aired down to about 12 psi on my 33" duratracs. I have 2.5" of lift and 2009 2dr. I've wheeled before on sand (at silver lake, mi) but that was with my 2012 with the better motor. Here's what was happening. As I gave it lots of gas the front end would skip, as if the tires were bouncing. when I reached about 5000 rpm's the motor would cut and I would drop down to about 1500 rpm's. I just couldn't keep the momentum especially with the motor cutting out like it did. I felt like I could've easily made it if the motor would've maintained at 4000-5000 rpms OR if the front end would've stayed firmly planted.

so here are my questions...

1. should I have connected my front axle when we got to the sand?
2. do I just need more power?
3. what about gears? I have 3.73's, but the plan is to install 4.88's this winter. will that help fix this problem?

Thanks for your thoughts.
Click to expand...

This is a case where keeping your front connected would have helped transfer that energy to the wheels...next time try it with front connected, lock out OD if you have an automatic and also disable your traction control.
When you reach the max rpm's it'll trigger the safety limiter and go into limp mode.

IMO 4.88's and the size tires you're running would be too low and cause your tires to want to dig in too much as well as hit the upper limit rpms faster so it wouldn't really benefit you in the sand.
 
David1tontj

David1tontj

New member
^all of this, but you also need to let more air out of your tires!! That is the number 1 thing in the sand! The guys I go with all drop down to like 6-8psi with rigs varying from jeeps, 4runners, toy pickups, k5 blazers, and f350s just to name a few.. I very much agree that you need to keep it from shifting.. Lock it into 1 or 2 and when you get up towards redline, don't give it so much throttle.... Just hold it at like 4,000 rpm. Yes, the #2 biggest thing in sand is power, but with proper air pressure and descent wheel spin, you should be able to conquer most things...


05 Tj, long arm, one ton, lockers, winches, 39.5" Iroks
 
aaronstephen

aaronstephen

New member
ok... so what i'm hearing is there are some things I can do behind the wheel that can help. that's assuring. thank you. I was a little nervous airing down anymore than I did, but you think I'll be ok going as far as 6-8 psi without beadlocks?

thanks for the thoughts. it was a bit frustrating that day and I am glad to know there are a few things I can do to remedy this.
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Oh yeah, going lower in your PSI will help a lot and won't be a problem on sand. There's no need to be disconnected on sand too but really, I don't think it'll make that much of a difference if you were just getting axle hop. 4.88's in low range will drop you too low but in 4HI, it should give you more power. Last but not least, you need to remember that your JK is a lot heavier than a TJ (let alone one with a v8) and without at least new gears, you will be at a disadvantage with your wimpy 3.8L motor.
 
David1tontj

David1tontj

New member
aaronstephen said:
ok... so what i'm hearing is there are some things I can do behind the wheel that can help. that's assuring. thank you. I was a little nervous airing down anymore than I did, but you think I'll be ok going as far as 6-8 psi without beadlocks?

thanks for the thoughts. it was a bit frustrating that day and I am glad to know there are a few things I can do to remedy this.
Click to expand...

Watch your tire, you want it to bulge really good in the sand... The only times I've had the bead break are on hard corners or slamming into stuff with the wheel turned... Avoid doing donuts when aired down that much and you should be fine.

You should not be able to go all the way to 6, but you should be able to go less than 12.. Maybe try 9-10... Carry a compressor and you can always put air back in..

It's not the same because I have iroks, which have heavier sidewalms, but I go to 4psi in the sand without beadlocks.. It floats right over/up/ and around everything


05 Tj, long arm, one ton, lockers, winches, 39.5" Iroks
 
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David1tontj

David1tontj

New member
aaronstephen said:
Thanks a ton everyone. Very helpful.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

After I posted that, I remembered duratracs have thin sidewalls.. You won't be able to go super low, but I would still venture down to like 9 or 10. It all depends how your rig is loaded down and how aggressive you're gonna drive it.. Now get out there and try again!


05 Tj, long arm, one ton, lockers, winches, 39.5" Iroks
 
Rottenbelly

Rottenbelly

New member
Were you in 4 h? Did you have the traction control turned off?
That would explain the rpm drop. Cuts back when the wheels are spinning.
 
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