Road trip part B
I was really fortunate to be invited down to the Off Road Expo show in Pamona, California by Milestar Tire to display the #LX45 in their booth. I was a really awesome experience overall, and another bucket list item to check off for me. I have to admit, I was very nervous to have thousands of people, including some BIG industry players look over my little garage build. In the end it went great. I actually got to work into the booth both days and interact with people asking questions about the build. Lots of people where very impressed that I drove it.....now some 1650 miles out to the show.
The return trip back home to Colorado brought the final total for the shakedown run to just over 2400 miles!
Overall, for a first run, I couldn't be happier.
Some more reflection and review of the build from my notes....
The suspension of this thing is a TOTALLY different league from the
flat fender. I hope you get to go for a ride in it to compare to your
TJ. The road manors are really good. It is easy to drive on the
highway at modern 70-80mph speeds with one hand on the wheel and it
doesn't require constant attention. It doesn't seem to wander. There
is no steering wheel shimmy or shake. It doesn't seem to need a front
sway bar. You can toss it around pretty good and exceed most posted
corner speed signs without any issues.
The spring rates seem to be good, even the rear end ( which I thought
was going to be too stiff ). The stance is just about what I would
want. For REALLY big trips with more gear I might even swap in the
taller rear springs. The other really nice thing....it doesn't seem to
bottom out, or at least I can't feel it. I can't tell when the front
foam bumpstops engage either, they just basically 'catch' the axle
without any noise or drama which is so nice. I didn't notice the rear
suspension bottom out either, and it doesn't even have the big foam
stops yet. I think the good shocks really help and probably the best
thing is a decent amount of uptravel. I ended up with ~6" in front and
5" on the rear suspension ( 10.6 front shock travel, 10.1 rear shock
travel ).
In the entire 2400 mile trip I only had one butt-pucker moment on the
road. I was passing a group of motor-homes on a 2-lane highway in the
four corners area. This is basically on the 'res' and the roads are
crap. I was going about 75-85mph during the pass and hit a section of
repaired road with big 'rollers' in the pavement. I think any vehicle
would have gotten tossed around a bit.....getting tossed around a bit
on 40s at 23psi is a bit interesting. It was the only time I
specifically remember needing both hands on the wheel and having to
'try' and drive it through the issue. I think the rollers where big
enough and spaced just right to act basically like big whoops. I'm not
saying I went airborne.....but that is what it felt like....
The tires don't rub.....much....on the body. The rear tires just KISS
the lower edge of the fender when it is twisted all the way up. The
inside of one tire rubs on the bed panel a little....but the other
doesn't. I think it has something to do with how the panhard allows
the suspension to articulate. The front tires don't rub anything that
I could detect lock to lock. This is also with the new wheels which
have a bit more backspacing than I originally built it with. I think
the original wheels would make things even better.
Off road I really like the suspension also. I didn't get to do much
spirited driving yet, the Rubicon isn't really like that, but what
little I did felt really nice. Using all OEM bushings in everything
seemed like a big plus. There isn't any squeaking or clunking in the
suspension as it articulates or hits bumps.
The only real downside to the suspension I have found is how exposed
the rear frame side lower control arms are. They get hit. You can
drive around them to a degree, but you still hit them. I should
probably get them plated in a layer of 1/8-3/16 material in the
critical area. That would be a good winter project.
The vehicle seems to WANT to climb things. I think it is a lot of
things coming together.....suspension geometry, weight bias, lower
overall weight, etc. Overall I really like the vehicle size and
wheelbase. It feels bigger than the flat fender, but not HUGE. I was
the only one in the group to make Soup Bowl on the Rubicon. That felt
really good, especially with no seat time.
...cut....
