Prime8 is always right thread...
- Thread starter MTG
- Start date
OverlanderJK
Resident Smartass
Ok a few things, this thread was rather funny. Second, I gave 10frank9 your name Prime8 since I am a master web wheeler. And lastly those of you that think you have any rights on a private forum are funny. You have no rights on this site.
Anyway carry on, tis funny. :thumb:
Anyway carry on, tis funny. :thumb:
Prime8
New member
A.) why/how do you have my name?
B.) why did frank want it in the first place?
Seems awfully sketchy to me...
OverlanderJK
Resident Smartass
Idk why he wanted it. You posted on Facebook with the big ass green jeep as you cover photo, how else would I know? I although did not tell him to post it up because I don't feel the need to use people's real names on the forum. Just because I might know doesn't mean I need to post it. I'm fine with calling you prime8.
I thought you said you didn't have Face Bookie Adam... Did you sign up? Can I send you a friend request?
OverlanderJK
Resident Smartass
You don't need an account to see the Wayalife page. But thanks for your two cents.
Boo; and I was genuinely hoping we could be friends.... someday Adam we will be friends:friends:
Prime8
New member
I felt the need to contribute to this thread after a prolonged absence because of not only the phenomenal Experience I had (see what I did there?), or the great people I met, but also because in years past I personally couldn’t get enough JKX pictures/news/reviews. The Gentlemen from Discount Tire were awesome guys and a blast to wheel with. RESQ1 is a truly unique rig and was very cool to see in person. Also great to see the legends I had only witnessed in pictures: EVO1, Moby, and Dave’s rig, that inspired me to go for Gecko.
Without further ado, I will continue what Discount started (and even try to keep their format)…
Guts
I never had the overheating issues that plagued RESQ1 in the 2013 JKX, so I don’t have exciting news to report performance wise. What I can say is that the stock 2013 Pentastar engine and the auto transmission performed great on the trail and highway. While keeping up with Mel can be a challenge even with the best set-up, I feel that this new motor/trans combo is FAR better than the old 3.8 (I know, old news), even with the 5.38 R&P and 37” Grapplers, plus all of the weight of the armored vehicle and gear.
View attachment 101958
View attachment 101959
[A little background: After I got the call from Mel inviting me to the 2014 JKX, I immediately started making a list of the mods that I needed vs the mods I wanted. The needs were obvious: meet requirements. So I ordered the RockHard 4x4 cage. Next I wanted to add mods that would allow me to wheel all week with the lowest risk of breaks and without the constant worry of damage. Since this is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure for me, I didn’t want to break on day one and be sidelined for the week. So after putting together a list of mods to the axles, I decided a used set of Dynatracs might be a more worthwhile investment than fully modding the stock D44’s. A buddy had a fully loaded ProRock 44 and semi-float ProRock 60 (with ARB locker and chromoly shafts) that he was selling so I picked those up. This lead to me calling ORE and purchasing their Bolt-on Coilover kit because I had decided that while the axles were torn out it would be the perfect time to upgrade the suspension from the Double D on shocks and springs to a coilover set-up. The axles and suspension, as well as the custom switch panel (thanks again Ricky) weren’t completed till about 2 weeks before I had to load the Jeep on a truck for shipment to Northridge for the JKX, so I didn’t have the chance to wheel it ahead of time…]
The Dynatrac axles and ARB lockers performed great all week. The new 5.38 gearing made crawling easier and the EVO spec King suspension was nice and flexy. We did hit some problems once we got to the first sand dunes… With the full weight of our weeks gear, we had some serious bottoming-out issues on fast, deep rhythm sections (the same reason why I decided not to jump it). After talking with Mel and his support staff, we decided to tune in the coilovers better but ultimately, they couldn’t be optimally tuned for both rock crawling and high speed desert driving. As this was my first experience with a coilover suspension, I had no clue how to adjust them to optimize the different springs and maximize flex. At the amazing Suncadia resort, we utilized the parking lot to dial in the suspension for crawling. I was a spectator while Stan and Harris shared their knowledge and explained the adjustments they were making to my suspension.
View attachment 101960
View attachment 101961
The stock, 1.5 year-old battery also decided to rupture and spew on Day 1, so I grabbed a replacement 5-year Duralast that evening (but the damned thing spewed all over my beautiful King shocks and boiled that sexy blue paint!)
Tires
My 37” Nitto Trail Grapplers performed great, no matter the terrain. Having beadlocks allowed me to run 8psi all week and I had no issues with poor grip on the rocks or mud retention on the trail. The tires took a beating all week and definitely look war torn, but I’m happy to say that I had no blow outs. As a matter of fact, nearly all of the rigs this year ran Nitto’s and there were only two flats (one of those two was due to Randy driving off a cliff at about 50mph during the Trucklite night run, so I don’t really count that!). I somehow lost an inner tread block in the rear and had a few gouges (one similar to the one Northridge suffered that blew their tire) but they are holding air just fine and still ride smooth (for an off road tire) on the road.
View attachment 101962
View attachment 101967
View attachment 101968
Interior
Dust, dust, and more dust. Flying down gravel and dirt roads at 50+mph plus two different trips to the dunes really coated the interior with a thick layer of fine dust. Other than that though the interior didn’t suffer any major setbacks except for the metal drillings all over the back seat. (When installing the cage, you drill into the top of the cage at the B-pillar to attach the center sections. As this is a rectangular tube, the drillings collect inside the tube and when bouncing around, slowly trickle from the holes in said tube…) Hopefully they are all out now.
Recovery Gear
The Warn Powerplant HD performed flawlessly all week for both recovery of ourselves and also righting Randy when he flopped at Moon Rocks. The compact compressor isn’t the fastest model out there, but definitely fast enough and filled up the tires day in and day out without fail. I did realize that maybe the 50’ tow strap that I got from Desert Rat back in college isn’t the only strap I should be carrying… That became evident in the winch challenge when my co-driver had to quadruple-up the strap before winching. Looks like I’ll be calling ORE, NR4x4, or Trail Jeeps for an ARB strap and tree saver in the near future.
View attachment 101963
Exterior
The Trucklite headlights and “waffle” lights I mounted to the bumper were a huge upgrade and served us well in the Trucklite night run in Browns Woods. Unfortunately, the rock lights didn’t make it past the flexing of Day 1. After talking to Eddie about his write up, he let me know that he busted his too and had to relocate them higher (next mini-project!). There is a lot of brush-pinstriping, a few deep scratches, and a little crushed area on the hard top from kissing a tree or two, but otherwise not much to report. As expected, the skids are torn up but the EVO Protek system lived up to its name. The tire carrier took a bit of a beating as well coming off of the exit gate-keeper on Day 1 (the video posted on the JKX Facebook page) but still functions perfectly.
View attachment 101964
View attachment 101965
Final Assessment and Thoughts
I mirror Discount Tires thoughts of “When can we do it again?” I’d also like to say that while the wheeling was awesome, it was the people that made it an “Experience”. From all of the work put in by the Wade’s and their support staff: planning, reserving, spotting, wrenching, leading, etc… To the sponsors who would just as happily discuss their product/service or just BS with you over a drink… To the other invited guests who banded together so well and helped each other with parts and wrenching, it is a truly unique adventure. Eddie and Cindy: it was great to meet you and we can’t wait for the videos!
View attachment 101966
Without further ado, I will continue what Discount started (and even try to keep their format)…
Guts
I never had the overheating issues that plagued RESQ1 in the 2013 JKX, so I don’t have exciting news to report performance wise. What I can say is that the stock 2013 Pentastar engine and the auto transmission performed great on the trail and highway. While keeping up with Mel can be a challenge even with the best set-up, I feel that this new motor/trans combo is FAR better than the old 3.8 (I know, old news), even with the 5.38 R&P and 37” Grapplers, plus all of the weight of the armored vehicle and gear.
View attachment 101958
View attachment 101959
[A little background: After I got the call from Mel inviting me to the 2014 JKX, I immediately started making a list of the mods that I needed vs the mods I wanted. The needs were obvious: meet requirements. So I ordered the RockHard 4x4 cage. Next I wanted to add mods that would allow me to wheel all week with the lowest risk of breaks and without the constant worry of damage. Since this is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure for me, I didn’t want to break on day one and be sidelined for the week. So after putting together a list of mods to the axles, I decided a used set of Dynatracs might be a more worthwhile investment than fully modding the stock D44’s. A buddy had a fully loaded ProRock 44 and semi-float ProRock 60 (with ARB locker and chromoly shafts) that he was selling so I picked those up. This lead to me calling ORE and purchasing their Bolt-on Coilover kit because I had decided that while the axles were torn out it would be the perfect time to upgrade the suspension from the Double D on shocks and springs to a coilover set-up. The axles and suspension, as well as the custom switch panel (thanks again Ricky) weren’t completed till about 2 weeks before I had to load the Jeep on a truck for shipment to Northridge for the JKX, so I didn’t have the chance to wheel it ahead of time…]
The Dynatrac axles and ARB lockers performed great all week. The new 5.38 gearing made crawling easier and the EVO spec King suspension was nice and flexy. We did hit some problems once we got to the first sand dunes… With the full weight of our weeks gear, we had some serious bottoming-out issues on fast, deep rhythm sections (the same reason why I decided not to jump it). After talking with Mel and his support staff, we decided to tune in the coilovers better but ultimately, they couldn’t be optimally tuned for both rock crawling and high speed desert driving. As this was my first experience with a coilover suspension, I had no clue how to adjust them to optimize the different springs and maximize flex. At the amazing Suncadia resort, we utilized the parking lot to dial in the suspension for crawling. I was a spectator while Stan and Harris shared their knowledge and explained the adjustments they were making to my suspension.
View attachment 101960
View attachment 101961
The stock, 1.5 year-old battery also decided to rupture and spew on Day 1, so I grabbed a replacement 5-year Duralast that evening (but the damned thing spewed all over my beautiful King shocks and boiled that sexy blue paint!)
Tires
My 37” Nitto Trail Grapplers performed great, no matter the terrain. Having beadlocks allowed me to run 8psi all week and I had no issues with poor grip on the rocks or mud retention on the trail. The tires took a beating all week and definitely look war torn, but I’m happy to say that I had no blow outs. As a matter of fact, nearly all of the rigs this year ran Nitto’s and there were only two flats (one of those two was due to Randy driving off a cliff at about 50mph during the Trucklite night run, so I don’t really count that!). I somehow lost an inner tread block in the rear and had a few gouges (one similar to the one Northridge suffered that blew their tire) but they are holding air just fine and still ride smooth (for an off road tire) on the road.
View attachment 101962
View attachment 101967
View attachment 101968
Interior
Dust, dust, and more dust. Flying down gravel and dirt roads at 50+mph plus two different trips to the dunes really coated the interior with a thick layer of fine dust. Other than that though the interior didn’t suffer any major setbacks except for the metal drillings all over the back seat. (When installing the cage, you drill into the top of the cage at the B-pillar to attach the center sections. As this is a rectangular tube, the drillings collect inside the tube and when bouncing around, slowly trickle from the holes in said tube…) Hopefully they are all out now.
Recovery Gear
The Warn Powerplant HD performed flawlessly all week for both recovery of ourselves and also righting Randy when he flopped at Moon Rocks. The compact compressor isn’t the fastest model out there, but definitely fast enough and filled up the tires day in and day out without fail. I did realize that maybe the 50’ tow strap that I got from Desert Rat back in college isn’t the only strap I should be carrying… That became evident in the winch challenge when my co-driver had to quadruple-up the strap before winching. Looks like I’ll be calling ORE, NR4x4, or Trail Jeeps for an ARB strap and tree saver in the near future.
View attachment 101963
Exterior
The Trucklite headlights and “waffle” lights I mounted to the bumper were a huge upgrade and served us well in the Trucklite night run in Browns Woods. Unfortunately, the rock lights didn’t make it past the flexing of Day 1. After talking to Eddie about his write up, he let me know that he busted his too and had to relocate them higher (next mini-project!). There is a lot of brush-pinstriping, a few deep scratches, and a little crushed area on the hard top from kissing a tree or two, but otherwise not much to report. As expected, the skids are torn up but the EVO Protek system lived up to its name. The tire carrier took a bit of a beating as well coming off of the exit gate-keeper on Day 1 (the video posted on the JKX Facebook page) but still functions perfectly.
View attachment 101964
View attachment 101965
Final Assessment and Thoughts
I mirror Discount Tires thoughts of “When can we do it again?” I’d also like to say that while the wheeling was awesome, it was the people that made it an “Experience”. From all of the work put in by the Wade’s and their support staff: planning, reserving, spotting, wrenching, leading, etc… To the sponsors who would just as happily discuss their product/service or just BS with you over a drink… To the other invited guests who banded together so well and helped each other with parts and wrenching, it is a truly unique adventure. Eddie and Cindy: it was great to meet you and we can’t wait for the videos!
View attachment 101966
Attachments
OverlanderJK
Resident Smartass
Two questions. Did you bitch about everything that was involved with JKX like you bitched on here? And how many people did it take to lift that tire?
Back story? :thinking:
Sharkey
Word Ninja
Do you seriously lift your own tire? If so, how much do you bench?
10frank9
Web Wheeler
He probably bitched about having to change the tire, told someone to do it for him, then bitched about how they did it and how he could have done it better.... :crazyeyes: :bleh:
Can't believe I missed the return of the great Prime8....
Please note that the most recent posts on this thread were originally posted here...
http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?20428-Jk-Experience-Survivor-Reports
... and have been moved by request of the OP.
http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?20428-Jk-Experience-Survivor-Reports
... and have been moved by request of the OP.