Old school vs New school

[GCM 2]

Regarding what GCM 2 said about TeraFlex rocker guards

Mine were a lot worse than this, and on both sides. I actually liked the design and think they are great looking sliders, but definitely not made for the amount of abuse we are giving to them out in the west. I also really liked my Teraflex front bumper I ran for years, it showed zero signs of abuse and was a solid peice of gear, infact I passed it off to a friend who now runs it. So again, I revert back to one of my other posts in this thread; buy what your budget can cover, but only expect a certain level of performance at each price point in a category of parts. Buy the best piece of kit you can within your budget :thumb: I think all that I, Wayoflife, and a few others are trying to impart to the guys here are facts gained from personal experience with equipment, not Internet rumors. We are not trying to offend anyone, just set things straight and help our brothers on this forum make the best educated decision they can.

 

[1yellowjk]

For me personally, "best quality" is always the determining factor when buying products for my Jeep - NOT "best deal". I would never suggest that ALL American companies make the best quality products but, I rarely find Chinese products that can offer anything more than a best deal. Of course, that's just me. :yup:

I guess when I say best "deal" I am lumping quality, price and customer service all into one group, I'm in no way an expert product tester or a QC guru, but I also look at the amount of "quality" vs the overall cost when buying...that goes with almost everything I buy. Of course there are things I buy that I know are going to be limited use so I will buy soley on cost (ball joint press/tool is a good example of just buying Harbor Freight "quality" over a very high priced "name" brand...at least for my limited use)

In a realistic world price plays a huge roll in what the normal 9-5 guy/gal can purchase, and if some areas suffer (powder coating, fancy gadgets, gold plated exhaust tips (I made that up) but it still gets the job done and lasts a reasonable timeframe, I will go with that...not saying if I didn't have tons of money or sponsors that I wouldn't have top of the line on everything, but on my budget if I had to save up for the "best of the best" with everything I would be to old to ever enjoy my Jeep...again that's just me. :beer:

 

[wayoflife]

I think all that I, Wayoflife, and a few others are trying to impart to the guys here are facts gained from personal experience with equipment, not Internet rumors. We are not trying to offend anyone, just set things straight and help our brothers on this forum make the best educated decision they can.

Yup, what he said :yup:

I guess when I say best "deal" I am lumping quality, price and customer service all into one group, I'm in no way an expert product tester or a QC guru, but I also look at the amount of "quality" vs the overall cost when buying...that goes with almost everything I buy. Of course there are things I buy that I know are going to be limited use so I will buy soley on cost (ball joint press/tool is a good example of just buying Harbor Freight "quality" over a very high priced "name" brand...at least for my limited use)

In a realistic world price plays a huge roll in what the normal 9-5 guy/gal can purchase, and if some areas suffer (powder coating, fancy gadgets, gold plated exhaust tips (I made that up) but it still gets the job done and lasts a reasonable timeframe, I will go with that...not saying if I didn't have tons of money or sponsors that I wouldn't have top of the line on everything, but on my budget if I had to save up for the "best of the best" with everything I would be to old to ever enjoy my Jeep...again that's just me. :beer:

:cheesy: Yeah, us rich sponsored guys just like to spend our money with reckless abandon. How else would we have gotten to where we are at. God forbid that any of us have ever really worked for a living or had to save up for years to build up our Jeep :crazyeyes:

Having said that, I won't lie, I get paid to do what I do and have had the opportunity to install and test out a myriad of products made by a lot of different companies. And, based on my experiences over the last 20 years, I can tell you this - just because something costs a lot of money doesn't mean it's the "best of the best". Likewise, just because you choose to buy a product that's more affordable doesn't mean there aren't better options available for about the same price range and with the same if not better customer service. But hey, if you're happy with the best deals you've gotten, that's all that should matter. It's your Jeep and being able to sleeping well at night is important. :beer:

 

[NFRs2000NYC]

I guess when I say best "deal" I am lumping quality, price and customer service all into one group, I'm in no way an expert product tester or a QC guru, but I also look at the amount of "quality" vs the overall cost when buying...that goes with almost everything I buy. Of course there are things I buy that I know are going to be limited use so I will buy soley on cost (ball joint press/tool is a good example of just buying Harbor Freight "quality" over a very high priced "name" brand...at least for my limited use)

In a realistic world price plays a huge roll in what the normal 9-5 guy/gal can purchase, and if some areas suffer (powder coating, fancy gadgets, gold plated exhaust tips (I made that up) but it still gets the job done and lasts a reasonable timeframe, I will go with that...not saying if I didn't have tons of money or sponsors that I wouldn't have top of the line on everything, but on my budget if I had to save up for the "best of the best" with everything I would be to old to ever enjoy my Jeep...again that's just me. :beer:

Your logic is sound. However, often times, people equate price with quality, and we know that's not the case. I am VERY happy with my EVO protek skids, but they are far cheaper than other brands...are they worse? Furthermore, there is a law of diminishing returns (or no returns.) Sometimes the product might be a bit better (or as good) but cost 2x+ as much and it just isn't worth the price hike.

 

[NFRs2000NYC]

:cheesy: Yeah, us rich sponsored guys just like to spend our money with reckless abandon. How else would we have gotten to where we are at. God forbid that any of use have ever really worked for a living or had to save up for years to build up our Jeep :crazyeyes:

Having said that, I won't lie, I get paid to do what I do and have had the opportunity to install and test out a myriad of products made by a lot of different companies. And, based on my experiences over the last 20 years, I can tell you this - just because something costs a lot of money doesn't mean it's the "best of the best". Likewise, just because you choose to buy a product that's more affordable doesn't mean there aren't better options available for about the same price range and with the same if not better customer service. But hey, if you're happy with the best deals you've gotten, that's all that should matter. It's your Jeep and being able to sleeping well at night is important. :beer:

Agree with this 100%. You need to stop screwing around and get Wild Turkey to sponsor you.

 

[wayoflife]

Agree with this 100%. You need to stop screwing around and get Wild Turkey to sponsor you.

:cheesy: I wish but, I think they're happy with the current arrangement of me sponsoring them :crazyeyes:

 

[NFRs2000NYC]

:cheesy: I wish but, I think they're happy with the current arrangement of me sponsoring them :crazyeyes:

You're doing it wrong. hahah :cheesy:

 

[Dusty]

Thx Eddie, I'm saving up for a warn zeon 10s, so far I've only put US items on her and looking at Shrockworks rails, not necessarily in that order just depends on funds.

 

[wayoflife]

Thx Eddie, I'm saving up for a warn zeon 10s, so far I've only put US items on her and looking at Shrockworks rails, not necessarily in that order just depends on funds.

I've run other winches in the past including ones made in China but now, I only run WARN's. They do cost more but, they've always served me well. I've run Shrockworks rails in the past and they are a great choice to go with. If there's one beef I have with them, it's that they take forever to get. But, I suppose the same can be said about a lot of products that don't show up in shipping containers.

 

[KPM171]

Regarding what GCM 2 said about TeraFlex rocker guards, pictures are worth a 1,000 words - I simply cannot make this stuff up. One hit of a rock and see how much it deformed the rocker guards...

I should note, these were NOT hard hits. I can't imagine what these rocker guards would have looked like if they were.

Thank you for this pic. I am currently shopping around for rocker protection & these just fell off my list.


Regarding SmittyBilt stuff, it really depends. They sell some great products while other stuff in their catalog may be complete junk. Go wheel around stock for a bit and talk to the folks on trail. Check out the Smittybilt stuff first hand that they are running and how it performs. Some may impress you, some you might think is crap. I personally run Smittybilt's XRC line of winches and think they are great. I winch almost every time I'm on trail and they've never let me down. I have also used Warn winches in the past but didn't find them to be any better than the Smittybilts I'd been running.

Regarding SmittyBilt's brand image... Well, that also depends. I wouldn't call them the Mercedes-Benz of Jeep parts, but I wouldn't call them the Yugo either.

Just my $0.02 on the subject. Try not to spend them all in one place or on one face!

 

[NFRs2000NYC]

Thank you for this pic. I am currently shopping around for rocker protection & these just fell off my list.


Regarding SmittyBilt stuff, it really depends. They sell some great products while other stuff in their catalog may be complete junk. Go wheel around stock for a bit and talk to the folks on trail. Check out the Smittybilt stuff first hand that they are running and how it performs. Some may impress you, some you might think is crap. I personally run Smittybilt's XRC line of winches and think they are great. I winch almost every time I'm on trail and they've never let me down. I have also used Warn winches in the past but didn't find them to be any better than the Smittybilts I'd been running.

Regarding SmittyBilt's brand image... Well, that also depends. I wouldn't call them the Mercedes-Benz of Jeep parts, but I wouldn't call them the Yugo either.

Just my $0.02 on the subject. Try not to spend them all in one place or on one face!

Check out the LOD, the Poison spider, the JKS fab and EVO sliders. If you are on a budget, I have been hearing very positive reviews on the ACE Engineering sliders.

 

[catahoula]

Regarding what GCM 2 said about TeraFlex rocker guards, pictures are worth a 1,000 words - I simply cannot make this stuff up. One hit of a rock and see how much it deformed the rocker guards...

This was a light hit but still, you can see how it deformed the rocker guard...

I should note, these were NOT hard hits. I can't imagine what these rocker guards would have looked like if they were.

Yes that would be very disappointing. Aren't they also made out of aluminum as well? Nice design too bad they did not use a better substrate. Also, after watching the Heartland video and the way the warn winch pulled Mel out of that gunk was very impressive. I'm sold on warn. Mel is impressive too when he pulled GCM2 up that little mountain in the Florence video!

 

[GCM 2]

....... Aren't they also made out of aluminum as well? Nice design too bad they did not use a better substrate. Mel is impressive too when he pulled GCM2 up that little mountain in the Florence video!

Yes they are aluminum, pretty light and they are nicely designed. But again, I don't think Teraflex had the kind of abuse in mind that guys are putting jeeps through these day.

You know I was the last one up the waterfall in that video. What we learned as each jeep that went after EVO1, there really was so little effort needed to crest the top. In fact, I am still convinced we could have gotten Moby over the top without the winch, Eddie needed so little winch to climb over it was almost ridiculous. I was definitely the lightest jeep on the run that weekend and it shows with Mel pulling up by hand :icon_crazy:

 

[wayoflife]

Yes they are aluminum, pretty light and they are nicely designed. But again, I don't think Teraflex had the kind of abuse in mind that guys are putting jeeps through these day.

You know I was the last one up the waterfall in that video. What we learned as each jeep that went after EVO1, there really was so little effort needed to crest the top. In fact, I am still convinced we could have gotten Moby over the top without the winch, Eddie needed so little winch to climb over it was almost ridiculous. I was definitely the lightest jeep on the run that weekend and it shows with Mel pulling up by hand :icon_crazy:

And here I thought it was just my lack of driving skills that day :grayno: :crazyeyes: :cheesy:

 

[GCM 2]

And here I thought it was just my lack of driving skills that day :grayno: :crazyeyes: :cheesy:

Yes, and after i said that ........We know how karma worked out for me that day!:cheesy:

 

[wayoflife]

Yes, and after i said that ........We know how karma worked out for me that day!:cheesy:

:ahhhhh: Well that was far from an equivalent exchange - now I wanna know what else you were up to that day

 

[Millerj87]

And Grabbing my beer and popcorn:beer::cheesy:

Hahaha!!! Lets see how this round unfolds ding ding ding!!!

 

[MobyJR]

Ive had mostly good experiences with smittybilt. HOWEVER just like a few before have mentioned, fitment issues.... My bumper didn't go on very easy. The weird textured finish they use gets inside the screw holes and makes it very difficult not to cross thread nuts and bolts when installing. My stinger bumper was a pain in the ass because of that. The earlier stingers they made aren't gusseted either. Their new ones are though. I buy smittybilt sometimes because I'm poor and even if I saved, it would just take me way to long to buy the better stuff.

 

[crowrb29]

Ive had mostly good experiences with smittybilt. HOWEVER just like a few before have mentioned, fitment issues.... My bumper didn't go on very easy. The weird textured finish they use gets inside the screw holes and makes it very difficult not to cross thread nuts and bolts when installing. My stinger bumper was a pain in the ass because of that. The earlier stingers they made aren't gusseted either. Their new ones are though. I buy smittybilt sometimes because I'm poor and even if I saved, it would just take me way to long to buy the better stuff.

So would you say the stubby, winch, stinger combo would be worth it if I was o a wife and two kids type budget.

Sent from my EVO using WAYALIFE mobile app

 

[MobyJR]

So would you say the stubby, winch, stinger combo would be worth it if I was o a wife and two kids type budget.

Sent from my EVO using WAYALIFE mobile app

My honest opinion would be yes. As much as I like buying American and going with the best product, I can't always do it. So smittybilt is your next best option. That's my opinion anyway. I'm happy with my bumper. Ill end up putting a harbor freight 12k winch on it soon.(cheap) My lift is a RC too lol but hey my jeep still does pretty well.