Finally got my ZJ done!

dm_bunnell · May 1, 2008

it doesnt take much to come cloe or even surpase the 5.9. bore the cylinders over, bigger pistons, port and polish some 360 heads for it (or magnums), a slightly bigger cam, and a new intake manigold, and possibly some headers.

Rathbun · May 1, 2008

Jesus...nice jeep.

rtingdds · Jun 16, 2008

Went to Big Bear Forest Fest the weekend.
I did 2 black diamond trails with bunch of Wranglers and Broncos. I am the only ZJ. Minimum tire sizes of the groups are 35".

The first day, went out with 25 cars on John Bull Trail. I air down to 11 front & 8 rear. The Prorock 60 still gave more clearance than front D44 with merely 8 pounds of air. I got though everything rather easily. (I think it got to do with the 8 pounds rear air down & great clearance, Dynatrac Prorock 60 is definitely a great investment). I winch rescured a stuck TJ, definitely turn a lot of eyes. They were really suprised by what ZJ can do.

The second day, I did the "White Mountain" black diamond trail with 6 Wranglers. This trail has 2 very steep climbs. One with rock, the other on dirt. On the first climb, one TJ almost flopped. 3 other simply bailed out, and I did it without problem. On the second dirt climb, I was the only one that ops for the climb with the trail boss. All the other Wranglers decided to go on bypass. Finally, one wrangler decided to go for it & another one went after I went though it easily.

Afterwards, Everyone came to compliment me and my ZJ. Asking question about my set up. The the trail boss said to them "Oh, this ZJ is definitely properly set up"

I am very happy about the performance of the ZJ. The most important thing
is that, ZJ was proved to all the Wrangler & bronco owners there "anything you can do I can do better" Even with the uni-body & smaller tires Plus the "great" longer wheel base. You guys sould have been there to see those Wrangler owners jaws drop! It was a good ride. (as you guys know, pictures never do justice to steep hills) Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of pictures myself. I have to wait for other people to e-mail me more of my pictures.
By the way, the rear AntiRock sway bar set up was just right. great flex yet hold the side tipping pretty well. like it a lot more than Addco rear sway bar I had before. And MoabZJ was right, 3.5" suspension up travel is definitely adequate for ZJ.

I love my ZJ more than ever!

Cody · Jun 16, 2008

Nice!

Looking good. I'd be interested in seeing how the rear anti-rock is set up.

rtingdds · Jun 17, 2008

I posted some pics on the previous page about the antirock.

ZJ · Jun 17, 2008

Sweet pics, and beautiful rig man! [smilie=bal_cool.gif]

gonzoman · Jun 18, 2008

Cant say it enough. That rig is awesome!

RockZJ · Jun 18, 2008

Did you take the rear ACOS out or just lower it down? Im trying to find the rear ACOS for mine, cant really afford the full price haha

RockZJ

RockZJ · Jun 18, 2008

Skip that, saw it in the pics haha. So how does she perform off-road? Any issues?

RockZJ

rtingdds · Jun 18, 2008

I only have slight rubbing on front driver side of the spring against track bar mount when off roading, not on road.
the 3.5" up travels make the ZJ gain a lot of down travel. Which is great when one tire drop off a big rock so the car won't tip or swing too much. Some of the Wranglers almost tip over side way getting off the rock on one part of the trail. But my increased down travel made my tire catch the ground earlier and the shock just catch & stop the side swing and prevent violent tipping of the car. It felt very stable indeed. (Thanks again to MoabZJ's persistence to get this up travel idea across me)
If I would have set up my ZJ again, I might not buy the Dynatrac D44 front (because it is too expansive and Solid D44 front axle are cheaper with better brake plus ready to set up Hi Steer) I don't see any advantage of using Dynatrac D44 front than other name brands. But the ProRock 60 rear axle is definitely a huge plus on the ground clearance (~1" more than D44 & ~2" more than regular D60). I was able to deflate the rear tires more for the traction & comfort. Which is the advantage none of the wranglers had on the trip.

Cody · Jun 19, 2008

rtingdds said:
I only have slight rubbing on front driver side of the spring against track bar mount when off roading, not on road.

All 3 of my lifted ZJ's did this. Never solved it, never caused a problem other than annoying me and causing everyone to think something is drastically wrong

the 3.5" up travels make the ZJ gain a lot of down travel. Which is great when one tire drop off a big rock so the car won't tip or swing too much. Some of the Wranglers almost tip over side way getting off the rock on one part of the trail. But my increased down travel made my tire catch the ground earlier and the shock just catch & stop the side swing and prevent violent tipping of the car. It felt very stable indeed. (Thanks again to MoabZJ's persistence to get this up travel idea across me)

Low is how to go. We don't drive buggy's but there is a reason that they run 90% down travel. I'm glad it worked out for you.

I was able to deflate the rear tires more for the traction & comfort. Which is the advantage none of the wranglers had on the trip.

You can over deflate and lose sidehill stability from the sidewall folding over, and possibly pop off the inner bead. It's a game of give and take like anything. You'll find a perfect balance of tire pressure for your tires and rig eventually. It's just another one of those finer details that takes trail time and patience to figure out. My buggy ZJ was 6/4 front/rear, my rig now I've been running 14 front 13 rear, but I don't have my beadlocks mounted (pure lazyness--mounting beadlocks is not fun for me) and I really haven't played much with it.

anyway, keep the pictures coming of your trail rides. that pretty country out there.

rtingdds · Jun 24, 2008

More pics from my friend on those days:

rtingdds · Aug 5, 2008

Just got the Hi Steer & Ram assist done, so far I am still trying to get use to it. It feels like I am driving a 70's Oldsmobile. Kind of too much power & the steering also feels too quick. I had to get rid of my Dynatrac heavy duty diff cover & replace with regular D44 cover & a skid because of clearance issue

(I really like the cover ) But it definitely looks hot!! Will post pics in a few days. I will test it out in Rubicon next weekends.

Cody · Aug 5, 2008

the stock d44 diff cover is about the only thing that is beef about a 44. I've rammed it into rocks at speed and barely dented it.

RockZJ · Aug 5, 2008

Ahh that sucks man! Those covers arent cheap. Glad you got some new parts in place of it though. Post up pics of the setup, sounds really nice

RockZJ

AndyZJ · Aug 5, 2008

You what, when you have people standing on the hills and/or running on them you can actually see how steep they are. Note to self.

faststang1 · Aug 6, 2008

[smilie=worthless.gif]

AndyZJ · Aug 7, 2008

Did you look at the top of this page. There a couple pictures up there slick.

RockZJ · Aug 8, 2008

AndyZJ said:
Did you look at the top of this page. There a couple pictures up there slick.

Andy, dont give him too much credit man haha. I am still madly in love with your ZJ man, its gorgeous!

RockZJ

RockZJ · Aug 8, 2008

I agree with what Andy said, those hills are insanely steep! The guy holding the ZJ down gives a good idea of angle as well as the guy running

RockZJ

Finally got my ZJ done!

dm_bunnell

Rathbun

rtingdds

Cody

rtingdds

ZJ

gonzoman

RockZJ

RockZJ

rtingdds

Cody

rtingdds

rtingdds

Cody

RockZJ

AndyZJ

faststang1

AndyZJ

RockZJ

RockZJ

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