1st outing in the JLUR

wagonwheel

wagonwheel

Member
I got to get out in the new to me JLUR this weekend. I went exploring in the Daniel Boone area. After coming off of a JKUR and before that a JTR, I was excited to see what a mostly stock JLUR could do. When I say mostly stock, the jeep does have a 2" Mopar lift and 37" Patagonia tires, but I wanted to take a different approach on this JEEP and see what it could do BEFORE I started spending money on it. Money matters these days, so spending it on what it needs vs. what I want is the prime objective. I was Shocked at how well this JEEP is as it sits.

PROS
  • the wheelbase IMO, is actually perfect. I was felt planted and never had a moment where i was wishing for a shorter wheelbase. Which was a contributing factor to me replacing my JT with a JKUR
  • the manual transmision is great. I really the engagement zones
  • the crawl ratio is spot on.
  • I dont know much about the Mopar lift, but it seemed to preform great and never struggled to do what i asked from it. Although anything more i feel like i would run out of controlled articulation.
CONS
  • my sway bar will not disconnect in 2wd. Thats very annoying
  • lockers are dependent on t-case position
  • the Patagonia tires are horrible. I don't know what peoples fascination is with these things. They are not good tires in anything, and on slick mud and wet rock, they really limit your confidence
  • driver side mirror is pointed to far in. i tried moving it out more, but it feels like it might break if try any harder. (am I missing something here)
  • JEEP tends top wonder on the road. Caster is way to low at only 4 degrees. I would have thought the Mopar lift would have corrected this....
So, what's next?
  • Tazer
  • I got some metal cloak Adj control front control arms....so maybe this week after work I'll install those.
  • Cooper SST pro tires
  • proper rock rails.
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wagonwheel said:
  • the Patagonia tires are horrible. I don't know what peoples fascination is with these things. They are not good tires in anything, and on slick mud and wet rock, they really limit your confidence
  • JEEP tends top wonder on the road. Caster is way to low at only 4 degrees. I would have thought the Mopar lift would have corrected this....
Click to expand...
Yes, Patagonia tires are horrible and I don't know if people have a fascination with them so much as social media whores convinced them to buy them and now, they're unwilling to be honest with themselves and admit that they may have made a mistake.

As far as the wandering goes, your Mopar lift came with new longer lower control arms and that would have given you a bit more positive caster. A lot of what you're feeling now is most likely being caused by your tires.
 
wagonwheel said:
I got to get out in the new to me JLUR this weekend. I went exploring in the Daniel Boone area. After coming off of a JKUR and before that a JTR, I was excited to see what a mostly stock JLUR could do. When I say mostly stock, the jeep does have a 2" Mopar lift and 37" Patagonia tires, but I wanted to take a different approach on this JEEP and see what it could do BEFORE I started spending money on it. Money matters these days, so spending it on what it needs vs. what I want is the prime objective. I was Shocked at how well this JEEP is as it sits.

PROS
  • the wheelbase IMO, is actually perfect. I was felt planted and never had a moment where i was wishing for a shorter wheelbase. Which was a contributing factor to me replacing my JT with a JKUR
  • the manual transmision is great. I really the engagement zones
  • the crawl ratio is spot on.
  • I dont know much about the Mopar lift, but it seemed to preform great and never struggled to do what i asked from it. Although anything more i feel like i would run out of controlled articulation.
CONS
  • my sway bar will not disconnect in 2wd. Thats very annoying
  • lockers are dependent on t-case position
  • the Patagonia tires are horrible. I don't know what peoples fascination is with these things. They are not good tires in anything, and on slick mud and wet rock, they really limit your confidence
  • driver side mirror is pointed to far in. i tried moving it out more, but it feels like it might break if try any harder. (am I missing something here)
  • JEEP tends top wonder on the road. Caster is way to low at only 4 degrees. I would have thought the Mopar lift would have corrected this....
So, what's next?
  • Tazer
  • I got some metal cloak Adj control front control arms....so maybe this week after work I'll install those.
  • Cooper SST pro tires
  • proper rock rails.
View attachment 426855

View attachment 426856
Click to expand...
Also, if you go with the STT pros, rotate them ALL the damn time, like every 3k, or they’ll cup.
 
Mike Pierson said:
Also, if you go with the STT pros, rotate them ALL the damn time, like every 3k, or they’ll cup.
Click to expand...
This for sure ^^^

I don't know what happened but STT Pros used to be great tires and for those who know me well, they know I used to run them all the time. Lately, I haven't been as impressed. Not sure what changed - maybe them being bought out by Goodyear :rolleyes:
 
Also, there is downside to adding in too much positive caster, especially if you're running an aftermarket u-joint style double cardan front drive shaft and that's drive line vibes.
 
wayoflife said:
Yes, Patagonia tires are horrible and I don't know if people have a fascination with them so much as social media whores convinced them to buy them and now, they're unwilling to be honest with themselves and admit that they may have made a mistake.

As far as the wandering goes, your Mopar lift came with new longer lower control arms and that would have given you a bit more positive caster. A lot of what you're feeling now is most likely being caused by your tires.
Click to expand...

Interesting ...Ill have to report back after i swap out the tires and let you know if the wondering goes away. I think Caster should be around 6-7 degrees...am i mistaken on that?

I would agree with you on the social media hype...which is proof to be skeptical of sponsored channel reviews and/or scenarios where ALL the influencers are peddling the same shit at the exact same time.

Which tires are you running on MOBY? sucks to hear about SST going to shit. i loved that tire. BFG KM# are just so damn expensive its hard to swallow that bill.
 
wagonwheel said:
Interesting ...Ill have to report back after i swap out the tires and let you know if the wondering goes away. I think Caster should be around 6-7 degrees...am i mistaken on that?
Click to expand...
Factory is +4°. +7° is WAY TOO MUCH and you WILL get really bad vibes. +6° is max.
wagonwheel said:
Which tires are you running on MOBY? sucks to hear about SST going to shit. i loved that tire. BFG KM# are just so damn expensive its hard to swallow that bill.
Click to expand...
Running Nitto Trail Grapplers on Moby.
 
wagonwheel said:
damnit, that sucks...I loved my SST tires. Which tires are you running? im always up for suggestions.
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I loved them too but they’re too expensive to take a chance. They had half-life on the tread and they were sold for $500 for a full time trail rig as I understood. Jokes on him, they were hard too. Couldn’t climb shit. 😆

Running Nittos, this time on Ridge Grapplers, next will try the Trail Grapplers.
 
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