I’m disappointed that I came get the new KO3s in 35/12.5/17 in a C or D rating. E is way to stiff for a Wrangler, and I’m itching to try these compared to the Baja Boss ATs I’m running.
A Perpetual Picture Of Your Car Thread
- Thread starter heySkippy
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So I realized the (original) bulb in the glove box light in the 930 is burnt out (shockingly). I pulled the housing down to check the bulb sizing, not realizing the underdash is bare metal, so I arced the damn thing and blew the fuse. Which I have spares for...in my loft. So that was a two minute thing that ended up burning 20 minutes of time.
Always unhook the battery. I'm lucky I didn't wreck something expensive.
Always unhook the battery. I'm lucky I didn't wreck something expensive.
One of the minor drawbacks of the new ZJ was that it came with fairly old tires. While the raised-white-lettering (mounted inside) still had the blue tint on the letters, they had eight-year-old date codes. They weren't cracked, so I was originally going to give them a little while, but two of them had slow leaks. Do I really want to fight that fight for eight-year-old Big O specials? Even if they probably had only about 5,000 miles on 'em? Ugh.
Conveniently, about two weeks ago, BFG released the KO3 in the stock size for the '98 Grand Cherokee Limited. I had the KO2 on my previous ZJ, and they were good. Not great in snow, but not terrible. Not too noisy. The KO3s are supposed to shore up some of the wet/snow support that the KO2 wasn't as good at.
The idea behind this rig is that I want to be able to drive almost any forest service road in America and not hate getting to them, either. The KO2 was really pretty good for that, and the KO3's supposed to be even better for that latter part.
I was at Costco on Friday and asked the tire guy if they could get their hands on them yet. "Looks like there are four on the truck coming here this afternoon." Well, then.
This morning I took the thing up into Pike National Forest to put twenty or so miles of dirt under the truck. The shocks are old, so I figured when I got back I'd need to put in an order for the Bilsteins I had on the ol' Doghauler. Nope, not yet, at least. They handled the washboard quite nicely.
The really impressive thing was getting those tires back on the pavement. Aside from the fact that I was throwing small chunks of Rampart Range Road into my wheel wells for ten miles after getting back on the pavement, they were quiet. At the moment, this rig is quieter on the highway and around town than my wife's RAV4. (Now quite as quiet as my HI5, though. Electric's good for something...)
So now, aside from some time giving the sunroof switch or control board some TLC, the vehicle now needs nothing. Well, it could use a pair of license plates, but that's in process, and the Arizona temporaries are good 'til the middle of July.
Took a long lunch today with a grad school friend I have not seen in person since 2002! Took one of the red cars.
Nice looking ZJ. Now to find a winch mount and 3” lift.
Thanks! A winch might happen (if I can get my hands on ARB's bull bar, particularly...), but three inches of lift will not. She's already got the factory Up Country suspension, which should be sufficient for what I want to do with the thing-- at least while one can still buy tires small enough to fit under it.
If I really want to scratch a lifted-and-35s itch, I've got the wrong rig.
You should see some of the WJs and ZJs in my club...Thanks! A winch might happen (if I can get my hands on ARB's bull bar, particularly...), but three inches of lift will not. She's already got the factory Up Country suspension, which should be sufficient for what I want to do with the thing-- at least while one can still buy tires small enough to fit under it.
If I really want to scratch a lifted-and-35s itch, I've got the wrong rig.
There is that. I just think there's easier ways to get there from here. 'course, 3" of lift only gets you to 31x10.5 on this rig without some fender mods or clearance issues, so I'm not even playing fair by suggesting 35s.
'course, if money's no object, sure, I wouldn't mind a build something like the Grand One from EJS a few years back (it's more "tuck more tire in up under it" rather than "lift over big tire": https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a...rand-cherokee-zj-gets-another-day-in-the-sun/) but if I were gonna do something like that, I'd start with a ZJ that needed some work...
My brother has a pair of Wranglers (one TJ, one JK Unlimited) that I'd really enjoy for that sort of thing, but he keeps talking about buying a trailer to haul them to places like Moab because they don't exactly soak up the miles on the highway. I've driven his TJ cross-country and I didn't think it was that bad (but I also had no delusions the thing's intended to keep up with 80mph traffic, either; that bothers him a lot more than it does me), but it's certainly not as comfortable over the long haul as a ZJ. Plus, I can throw a bed in the back of the ZJ if I move the front seat forward, the TJ would require me to hack my legs off at the knees.
Took in the M2 for annual service - brake fluid and oil change being the main things. I dunno what it is about HK but, guess what, it will be due for replacement/new 'dampers' by the next service interval. Fuckin hell, I have never replaced a damper on a G wagon but boy do we seem to eat them here in HK.
The rubber dodad that sits above the shock. They disintegrate over time.
Its this, what I shall refer to as a dodad - the cracking and slowly breaking apart rubber bit
edit - sticking in just for reference the Z4 one
I call them dampers as my understanding is if you bottom things out a bit something hits that wear part and that damps the impact and is why they crack over time. Very different setup/system between m2 and z4 but these rubber 'dodads' need replacing. The z4 seems to eat them, think I have done them at least 3 times. This is the first time for the m2 (well, next year). Both vehcles are at same mileage of around 89,000 kms.
edit - sticking in just for reference the Z4 one
I call them dampers as my understanding is if you bottom things out a bit something hits that wear part and that damps the impact and is why they crack over time. Very different setup/system between m2 and z4 but these rubber 'dodads' need replacing. The z4 seems to eat them, think I have done them at least 3 times. This is the first time for the m2 (well, next year). Both vehcles are at same mileage of around 89,000 kms.
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I'd've called that a bump stop.
I probably wouldn't be replacing it because of a few cracks on anything other than an autocross or track rat NA or NB Miata-- if you're hitting the thing in just about anything else, you're probably doing something wrong.
Of course, I don't live in Hong Kong, where other folks may weigh in with opinions on my bump stops...
I probably wouldn't be replacing it because of a few cracks on anything other than an autocross or track rat NA or NB Miata-- if you're hitting the thing in just about anything else, you're probably doing something wrong.
Of course, I don't live in Hong Kong, where other folks may weigh in with opinions on my bump stops...
I had a BMW convertible over a decade ago. It loved to eat those things. In fact, all of its rubber deteriorated enthusiastically in Houston’s climate. Which is similar to HK’s.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they needed replacing.
Yea, Houston would be hotter but HK would be well more humid. Neither would be good for these rubber dodads.
Some interesting cars lurking in the back of shot there, Mordac…
Dare we ask why the coolant bleed?
Dare we ask why the coolant bleed?
I got to zoom around the Goldfields area in Victoria the other day, playing navigator. The weather has been unseasonably warm, so we had the top down the whole time. It was fun!
Seasucker Talon
https://www.seasucker.com/products/talon
https://www.seasucker.com/products/talon
The MR-2's tend to get air bubbles in the coolant system and tend to overheat. This stops it from happening. They come with tubes just for that. Most normal people just tape them to the underside of the hood.
n=1, but I like it a lot. It's probably the best balance of non-destructive + removable that I'm likely to find. It's easy to put on and take off. I can keep it in the trunk, and it doesn't move slide and bang around because the rubber cups are high friction.
My only "complaint" is that at low speeds on bumpy roads there's a lot of side-to-side motion which makes the roof make a lot of scary noise. The bike's not going anywhere, but car roofs are quite thin so you hear crinkling and popping. I'm not worried about it falling off or hurting the roof, but it's unpleasant. So every time I leave the house, it's bad, because my road is a disaster. Above 30mph seems better, and the side-to-side motion is much less.
It always surprises me how cheap these are to pick up today, but you don’t see a lot of Zimmer Golden Spirit’s out in the wild. This example needs some TLC, but it was in the parking lot when I went to get tea.
I’ve got to do my oil change, transfer case, and both diffs before the weekend. Assuming the weather allows it, and the replacement Valvomax oil container arrives today.
If you’ve never tried it, it’s an amazingly easy way to keep oil off the driveway. There’s a one way valve you replace your oil drain plug with. Come oil change time you connect a drain hose to the valve, and it connects to a collection bladder.
If you’ve never tried it, it’s an amazingly easy way to keep oil off the driveway. There’s a one way valve you replace your oil drain plug with. Come oil change time you connect a drain hose to the valve, and it connects to a collection bladder.
Yeah, I've used those in the past too. Stumbled across these and they are nice. I just wish they had valves for my Diffs and Transfer case.
It’s the real life version of the Homer!It always surprises me how cheap these are to pick up today, but you don’t see a lot of Zimmer Golden Spirit’s out in the wild. This example needs some TLC, but it was in the parking lot when I went to get tea.
Cars & Coffee pic from this morning.
How is this glorious thread on page two? To the top!
Yes, medium illegal park as usual for its locale but taking up 1/3rd of roadway with others on the other side still leaves a third of a roadway so its all good.
Yes, medium illegal park as usual for its locale but taking up 1/3rd of roadway with others on the other side still leaves a third of a roadway so its all good.