Got my rig back from David @ Northridge!!!
04-15-2008, 12:27 PM
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Got my rig back from David @ Northridge!!!
So I got it back, and I am so happy I can't hardly stand it.
Here's what has been done so far:
--Full Traction 4" Long Arm Lift
--JE Reel Drivelines
--5.13.1 Superior Gears
--Aussie Locker in front differential
--HyperTech Max Energy
--Bestop Pocket Flares
--American Racing Chamber Teflon 18x9.5 wheels
--Kuhmo Road Venture KL71 35x1250 r18 Tires
--Durango4x4 full width front bumper
--T-Max winch w/Synthetic line
--Durango4x4 rear bumper w/Tire carrier
--MyGig (UConnect enabled with Mopar Mirror & upgraded to 120GB 7200rpm Hard Drive)
Here's what's coming soon (in no particular order):
--Cobra 75 CB w/4' Firestick (just waiting on the Teraflex mount to be delivered)
--RockHard Diamond plate rocker guards
--Woods Evap relo kit (ordering today)
--CoolTech Cat back Exhaust
--SPod
--Back-Up Camera
--Import Topo Maps to MyGig
--ARB lockers
--Quick Discos (See below)
--Regear Tranny???
Lest anyone complain, here are some pics -- thoughts on the upgrades after the images.
So here's my thoughts --
First, if you have the opportunity to work with David @ Northridge4x4, JUST DO IT! He is great to deal with and took excellent care of me and my rig. He was very responsive, up front and patient with me and my demands. He will continue to get business from me in the future.
The Lift: I love the lift -- it rides great (better than factory) and gives the JK the stance that it should have had from the factory. I haven't taken it off road yet, but will this coming weekend and I'll let you know how it performs there. I am a bit concerned about the location of the Zerks on the lower control arms... I doubt that they will survive their first offroad trip, but I imagine that FT will redesign them soon (I have one of the first lifts they have produced) and I'll upgrade once that is figured out. My only other issue is with the quality of the Quick Discos that ship with this premium kit. I'll definitely be upgrading those.
The Gears: I'm very pleased that my set are not making any noticeable noise at all, but I'm still unsure about going with 5.13s. I do a fair amount of freeway driving and at 65 - 70 mph, I'm turning some pretty high RPMs. I've gone from 6th Gear being all but useless to 1st gear being a granny gear and shifting into 6th at 45 mph. If I upgrade to 37s in the future this will be less of an issue, but that won't be for a while as I'm very happy with the tires I've got now. I'm not certain that I'd have been happier with the 4.88s, but I think 5.0s would be the perfect compromise (unfortunately nobody offers them at this time).
The Tires: All I can say is WOW... They behaved great on wet pavement and are extremely quiet and smooth for such an aggressive tire. I'm very happy.
The Wheels: I was a bit concerned when I originally ordered the Teflon wheels that they might be a bit brownish in color, but they are not at all. In fact, under some lighting conditions, they look almost as if they were painted to match my steel blue JK. At other times, they look almost black... Only time will tell if the teflon coating will flake or wear off. I sure hope not.
The Flares: I really do like the pocket flare look, but the front flares are enourmous... in my opinion, about an inch too wide. They dwarf the 35x1250s. The rears are perfect... they look great . All in all, I will probably be considering a flat fender solution in the future as these flares don't really offer more clearance that the stock ones, just more coverage (which is important in my area as the friendly neighborhood revenue officers like to hassle those of us with a desire to modify our stock vehicles)
The Bumpers: For the price, I'm very happy with the bumpers, although they were not exactly bolt on. I did have to break out the smoke wrench a couple of times to get them on. I believe the issue is that Durango4x4's tolerances are much tighter than DCX's. They are extremely stout, which is a great thing... I'm no longer worried all that much about inattentive Soccer Mom's in parking lots. The only other issue I have is with the latch on the tire carrier... I think I'll be taking that apart in the near future to see if I can improve it. While these minor issues do exist, I am still very happy with the bumpers and would buy them again.
The Winch & Line: I've never owned a T-Max winch before, but I've heard good things about them and decided to give it a try since I got a great deal on it. I've only used it once, to pull a 30' box truck half full of furniture out of my neighbor's back yard. It worked admirably. I particularly like the fact that it comes out of the box with a wireless remote that was very convenient as I moved back and forth between the truck I was pulling out and my jeep.
The MyGig Mods: I am and probably always will be a strong advocate of the MyGig -- I'm very happy with it and the mods I've made. I'm looking forward to the power of this device and how HB will unlock it in future software releases.
While I'm nowhere near done with modding this rig, I'm very happy with the progress I've made so far and excited for what is yet to come.
--Sky
Here's what has been done so far:
--Full Traction 4" Long Arm Lift
--JE Reel Drivelines
--5.13.1 Superior Gears
--Aussie Locker in front differential
--HyperTech Max Energy
--Bestop Pocket Flares
--American Racing Chamber Teflon 18x9.5 wheels
--Kuhmo Road Venture KL71 35x1250 r18 Tires
--Durango4x4 full width front bumper
--T-Max winch w/Synthetic line
--Durango4x4 rear bumper w/Tire carrier
--MyGig (UConnect enabled with Mopar Mirror & upgraded to 120GB 7200rpm Hard Drive)
Here's what's coming soon (in no particular order):
--Cobra 75 CB w/4' Firestick (just waiting on the Teraflex mount to be delivered)
--RockHard Diamond plate rocker guards
--Woods Evap relo kit (ordering today)
--CoolTech Cat back Exhaust
--SPod
--Back-Up Camera
--Import Topo Maps to MyGig
--ARB lockers
--Quick Discos (See below)
--Regear Tranny???
Lest anyone complain, here are some pics -- thoughts on the upgrades after the images.
So here's my thoughts --
First, if you have the opportunity to work with David @ Northridge4x4, JUST DO IT! He is great to deal with and took excellent care of me and my rig. He was very responsive, up front and patient with me and my demands. He will continue to get business from me in the future.
The Lift: I love the lift -- it rides great (better than factory) and gives the JK the stance that it should have had from the factory. I haven't taken it off road yet, but will this coming weekend and I'll let you know how it performs there. I am a bit concerned about the location of the Zerks on the lower control arms... I doubt that they will survive their first offroad trip, but I imagine that FT will redesign them soon (I have one of the first lifts they have produced) and I'll upgrade once that is figured out. My only other issue is with the quality of the Quick Discos that ship with this premium kit. I'll definitely be upgrading those.
The Gears: I'm very pleased that my set are not making any noticeable noise at all, but I'm still unsure about going with 5.13s. I do a fair amount of freeway driving and at 65 - 70 mph, I'm turning some pretty high RPMs. I've gone from 6th Gear being all but useless to 1st gear being a granny gear and shifting into 6th at 45 mph. If I upgrade to 37s in the future this will be less of an issue, but that won't be for a while as I'm very happy with the tires I've got now. I'm not certain that I'd have been happier with the 4.88s, but I think 5.0s would be the perfect compromise (unfortunately nobody offers them at this time).
The Tires: All I can say is WOW... They behaved great on wet pavement and are extremely quiet and smooth for such an aggressive tire. I'm very happy.
The Wheels: I was a bit concerned when I originally ordered the Teflon wheels that they might be a bit brownish in color, but they are not at all. In fact, under some lighting conditions, they look almost as if they were painted to match my steel blue JK. At other times, they look almost black... Only time will tell if the teflon coating will flake or wear off. I sure hope not.
The Flares: I really do like the pocket flare look, but the front flares are enourmous... in my opinion, about an inch too wide. They dwarf the 35x1250s. The rears are perfect... they look great . All in all, I will probably be considering a flat fender solution in the future as these flares don't really offer more clearance that the stock ones, just more coverage (which is important in my area as the friendly neighborhood revenue officers like to hassle those of us with a desire to modify our stock vehicles)
The Bumpers: For the price, I'm very happy with the bumpers, although they were not exactly bolt on. I did have to break out the smoke wrench a couple of times to get them on. I believe the issue is that Durango4x4's tolerances are much tighter than DCX's. They are extremely stout, which is a great thing... I'm no longer worried all that much about inattentive Soccer Mom's in parking lots. The only other issue I have is with the latch on the tire carrier... I think I'll be taking that apart in the near future to see if I can improve it. While these minor issues do exist, I am still very happy with the bumpers and would buy them again.
The Winch & Line: I've never owned a T-Max winch before, but I've heard good things about them and decided to give it a try since I got a great deal on it. I've only used it once, to pull a 30' box truck half full of furniture out of my neighbor's back yard. It worked admirably. I particularly like the fact that it comes out of the box with a wireless remote that was very convenient as I moved back and forth between the truck I was pulling out and my jeep.
The MyGig Mods: I am and probably always will be a strong advocate of the MyGig -- I'm very happy with it and the mods I've made. I'm looking forward to the power of this device and how HB will unlock it in future software releases.
While I'm nowhere near done with modding this rig, I'm very happy with the progress I've made so far and excited for what is yet to come.
--Sky
04-15-2008, 12:46 PM
#2
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Join Date: Jun 2007
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There is a great explanation of what aussie lockers are here: www.offroadlockers.com.
Very cheap (when compared with ARB lockers) with the drawback being that you cannot 'disengage' them -- although due to the differential acction that allows one wheel to move at a higher speed than the other, you don't really need to.
--Sky
Mods, please don't get upset at me for posting a link to a non-sponsor's site, I've tried every way I can to remove the URL tags, but the forum keeps putting them back on when I save my changes.... feel free to edit the link out, and if there is a way that I can remove them myself, pm me so I don't break the cardinal rule again. --Thanks
Very cheap (when compared with ARB lockers) with the drawback being that you cannot 'disengage' them -- although due to the differential acction that allows one wheel to move at a higher speed than the other, you don't really need to.
--Sky
Mods, please don't get upset at me for posting a link to a non-sponsor's site, I've tried every way I can to remove the URL tags, but the forum keeps putting them back on when I save my changes.... feel free to edit the link out, and if there is a way that I can remove them myself, pm me so I don't break the cardinal rule again. --Thanks
Last edited by Robar; 04-15-2008 at 03:00 PM. Reason: Please do not post direct non sponsor links.
when u take the jeep offroad, write more about the tires... love the wheels also
04-15-2008, 12:52 PM
#5
JK Junkie
Sky congrats, I kept seeing that thing on the lift there and was wondering what it would look like once done and it looks AWSOME.
Can't wait to see it in person saturday in Tahoulia.
Can't wait to see it in person saturday in Tahoulia.
04-15-2008, 01:02 PM
#6
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Do they advertise it that its an outback thing? What a load of croc!
--Sky
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04-15-2008, 01:08 PM
#8
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Nice, very nice. I want to hear how you like the Aussie. Let us know after you have driven on it a while. Looks great.
