Project "Thanos" Build
- Thread starter iRonin
- Start date
Mybadjk
Caught the Bug
Slabs are one of my next purchases. Like seeing more pictures of the 1/4 pounder without the stinger. Hoping I like mine when It comes this week.
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Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
iRonin
Member
Thanks y'all 
Starting soon here in May I should finally have time for actual wheeling; been a crazy year!
I really dig it. The plate design seems to hog less visibility than DOM tube style and the fit/finish was good. Honestly glad this came out while i was saving for a cage as i was previously going to default to a Rock Hard.
Starting soon here in May I should finally have time for actual wheeling; been a crazy year! I really dig it. The plate design seems to hog less visibility than DOM tube style and the fit/finish was good. Honestly glad this came out while i was saving for a cage as i was previously going to default to a Rock Hard.
AZ Explorer
Caught the Bug
I have those same tube door myself. I get more compliments when I run them and most people say it just makes the Jeep complete. I'm sure you will love them. Great progress, it looks awesome! :thumb:
Exodus 4x4
New member
iRonin
Member
Thanks fellas - super excited, and just the excuse I needed to get a few more upgrades underway... stay tuned hehe
iRonin
Member
Project "Thanos" Build
Once again in May, Mel & the gang were kind enough to come back out to Texas for the 2nd Annual Jeep Xperience. This event is open to all Jeeps (not just JKs), and the groups are broken out into difficulty/capability levels.
This year the focus was on Mason, Texas, which is home to not just one, but two world-class offroad parks that focus on rock crawling. The event centered around Katemcy Rocks (aka K2), where the guests and vendors set up camp for the weekend. The second park, Wolf Caves, is just a short drive from K2 which made for a fun convoy. The attendees were split up into their category groups and then further broken out such that half the groups would wheel at K2 one day and then Wolf Caves the next, and vice-versa. This allowed the large turnout to be smoothed out over smaller groups which meant plenty of wheeling time for both days.
Seeing as how the 6 or so rigs that signed up for the "Difficult/Extreme" group were like...buggies.. we opted to sign Thanos up for the Medium group which still carried with it locker and 37" tire requirements, and opted to roll with the group heading to Wolf Caves for the first day. I was in good company - joining me on this weekend's adventure were Granite Head & TDougherty81 from the board, wives and sons in tow. Here we were lined up at the entrance to K2 getting ready to convoy over to Wolf Caves:
Convoy pic as we turned into Wolf Caves;
Once there, we lined up into our respective groups:
Driver's Meeting:
And with that, we were off! Wolf Caves offers some really nice winding crawls through Granite outcroppings that offer TONS of traction.
After a full day of wheeling, the convoy headed back to camp in K2 and set up for a night of raffles, bbq, and live music.
The next morning, it was our turn to stay in the park, and check out what Katemcy had to offer. It did not disappoint-
There was a fun optional obstacle a few of us dared (Thanos made it, but I think Ali was the only one filming/photoing, so I'm trying to bribe him for the proof):
And we even got to see EVO1 in action later on as he caught up to our group:
The day finished out with a nice photo-op and some kind words from Mel and one of the K2 Owners, Randy Kruse.
Overall it was another really fun event, I still geek out at getting to see and wheel with folks like Mel, Randy, Loren, Ali, and others here in Texas!
For more info/visuals of the event, check out the write-up on DrivingLine. As Granite and Stick pointed out.... next up is the full blown JKXperience in September - really humbled to have been selected and looking forward to the adventure.
I've got some nice upgrades coming to for the front suspension to install over the next few months, and a long checklist of maintenance items to work with to ensure Thanos is ready for whatever comes his way! Onward and upwards!
Once again in May, Mel & the gang were kind enough to come back out to Texas for the 2nd Annual Jeep Xperience. This event is open to all Jeeps (not just JKs), and the groups are broken out into difficulty/capability levels.
This year the focus was on Mason, Texas, which is home to not just one, but two world-class offroad parks that focus on rock crawling. The event centered around Katemcy Rocks (aka K2), where the guests and vendors set up camp for the weekend. The second park, Wolf Caves, is just a short drive from K2 which made for a fun convoy. The attendees were split up into their category groups and then further broken out such that half the groups would wheel at K2 one day and then Wolf Caves the next, and vice-versa. This allowed the large turnout to be smoothed out over smaller groups which meant plenty of wheeling time for both days.
Seeing as how the 6 or so rigs that signed up for the "Difficult/Extreme" group were like...buggies.. we opted to sign Thanos up for the Medium group which still carried with it locker and 37" tire requirements, and opted to roll with the group heading to Wolf Caves for the first day. I was in good company - joining me on this weekend's adventure were Granite Head & TDougherty81 from the board, wives and sons in tow. Here we were lined up at the entrance to K2 getting ready to convoy over to Wolf Caves:
Convoy pic as we turned into Wolf Caves;
Once there, we lined up into our respective groups:
Driver's Meeting:
And with that, we were off! Wolf Caves offers some really nice winding crawls through Granite outcroppings that offer TONS of traction.
After a full day of wheeling, the convoy headed back to camp in K2 and set up for a night of raffles, bbq, and live music.
The next morning, it was our turn to stay in the park, and check out what Katemcy had to offer. It did not disappoint-
There was a fun optional obstacle a few of us dared (Thanos made it, but I think Ali was the only one filming/photoing, so I'm trying to bribe him for the proof):
And we even got to see EVO1 in action later on as he caught up to our group:
The day finished out with a nice photo-op and some kind words from Mel and one of the K2 Owners, Randy Kruse.
Overall it was another really fun event, I still geek out at getting to see and wheel with folks like Mel, Randy, Loren, Ali, and others here in Texas!
For more info/visuals of the event, check out the write-up on DrivingLine. As Granite and Stick pointed out.... next up is the full blown JKXperience in September - really humbled to have been selected and looking forward to the adventure.
I've got some nice upgrades coming to for the front suspension to install over the next few months, and a long checklist of maintenance items to work with to ensure Thanos is ready for whatever comes his way! Onward and upwards!
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Tylersilverjku
Member
Super awesome! I'm jealous! Can't wait for my turn on the JKX! Someday [emoji106][emoji106]
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Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
Mike_JK_Houston_711
New member
Awesome man. Enjoy it! Looking forward to see what upgrades you have planned.
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Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
TrainWreck618
Caught the Bug
Mybadjk
Caught the Bug
Looks awesome! May have to make a trip out ther for jeep experience.
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Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
iRonin
Member
VeruGE*144
Caught the Bug
Congrats
I am looking forward to seeing this installed.
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iRonin
Member
Whew, it's been a minute. Last few months were a whirlwind of activities between "work" work and working on the Jeep to get it ready for two back-to-back adventures.
Keeping Granite appraised along the way, in the end the JKX took a bit too much out of Thanos to safely warrant making it another couple thousand miles for the Texas Exodus right after. I'm bummed, but we'll make it out next year.
So as the dust settles and things calm down, I figure I can finally update the build thread covering the mods (and repairs) up to this point, and probably do a separate Destinations & Beyond post for the actual JKX trip.
More to come.
Keeping Granite appraised along the way, in the end the JKX took a bit too much out of Thanos to safely warrant making it another couple thousand miles for the Texas Exodus right after. I'm bummed, but we'll make it out next year.
So as the dust settles and things calm down, I figure I can finally update the build thread covering the mods (and repairs) up to this point, and probably do a separate Destinations & Beyond post for the actual JKX trip.
More to come.
iRonin
Member
EVO Front Bolt-On Coilover Kit, King Air Bumps, & Currie Anti-Rock Swaybar
One of the... annoyances... of my front suspension setup came from a combination of factors between the log arm, unlimited axle, and coil setups. The the long arm pushed the axle ~ 1/2" forward, causing the plush ride coils to sit more at a curve, which then led to swaybar links rubbing the coils, and under extreme flex, a "catching" of the upper coil on the bump cup causing a loud PANG! on compression.
The swaybar rub was annoying enough that I was literally running without a swaybar at all for the better part of a year.
So, with the JKX coming up, and with upgrades like moving to c/o's already on the "go faster" evolution path, I decided to clean things up with the bolt on LCG kit for the front, and with that came a really good deal on a front antirock that made it appealing enough to throw on over just going back to stock swaybar.
Out with the old...
In with the new!
Another thing I did while I was at it was upgrade the ends on the Synergry tie-rod from the gross old spring-held boots to the new low-misalignment style boots. For $12, these things are great and eliminate the classic toe-rod flop:
The anti rock was... pretty straight forward I guess, I only snagged a single picture from having to seat the bushings:
After that it was off to test flex and dial in the bump stops. With the coilover retreated back from the normal tower slot, it was nice being back to having clean spacing between components.
The other thing I noticed having the front c/os and air stops was how much less i felt rocks at speed going over non-technical rocky terrain. Not that I barrel through things, per se, but lots of trails have little rock gardens just before or after obstacles that normally have to be taken slow just to avoid the shaken-baby syndrome trying to move through them efficiently (10-15mph). With the new setup it just feels like I float over the rubble and hardly feel it up front.
One of the... annoyances... of my front suspension setup came from a combination of factors between the log arm, unlimited axle, and coil setups. The the long arm pushed the axle ~ 1/2" forward, causing the plush ride coils to sit more at a curve, which then led to swaybar links rubbing the coils, and under extreme flex, a "catching" of the upper coil on the bump cup causing a loud PANG! on compression.
The swaybar rub was annoying enough that I was literally running without a swaybar at all for the better part of a year.
So, with the JKX coming up, and with upgrades like moving to c/o's already on the "go faster" evolution path, I decided to clean things up with the bolt on LCG kit for the front, and with that came a really good deal on a front antirock that made it appealing enough to throw on over just going back to stock swaybar.
Out with the old...
In with the new!
Another thing I did while I was at it was upgrade the ends on the Synergry tie-rod from the gross old spring-held boots to the new low-misalignment style boots. For $12, these things are great and eliminate the classic toe-rod flop:
The anti rock was... pretty straight forward I guess, I only snagged a single picture from having to seat the bushings:
After that it was off to test flex and dial in the bump stops. With the coilover retreated back from the normal tower slot, it was nice being back to having clean spacing between components.
The other thing I noticed having the front c/os and air stops was how much less i felt rocks at speed going over non-technical rocky terrain. Not that I barrel through things, per se, but lots of trails have little rock gardens just before or after obstacles that normally have to be taken slow just to avoid the shaken-baby syndrome trying to move through them efficiently (10-15mph). With the new setup it just feels like I float over the rubble and hardly feel it up front.
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iRonin
Member
WTO Ram Assist, Front Adam's Driveshaft
The remaining weak spot in my drivetrain was the stock front driveshaft that had been with me since Day 1, so I decided to upgrade it to match the rear 1350 from Adams.
And finally, during the JX in TX, and while I was out flex testing at Hidden Falls, it became more and more apparent that fighting my steering during technical obstacles was not going to be very fun on the JKX, so I decided it would probably be a good idea to get a ram assist going rather than risk stressing the steering box to the point of failure. I went with the Redneck Ram Assist simply because it works, and the price point is hard to beat.
The synergy track bar bracket doesn't give you much room for ram tabs between it and the high steer knuckles, so the tabs were positioned just enough to still be able to get a socket on the track bar bolt while remaining level:
On the tierod side, we used a well built OD clamp and welded the tabs to it:
Finished product came out pretty damn close to parallel and clears nicely at full turn:
Oh, and during the ram install, as we pulled out the intake to make room, we noticed a hairline fracture on the thermostat housing that was leaking coolant. It's a messy job, but only a $30 fix to get a complete new housing + thermostat:
The remaining weak spot in my drivetrain was the stock front driveshaft that had been with me since Day 1, so I decided to upgrade it to match the rear 1350 from Adams.
And finally, during the JX in TX, and while I was out flex testing at Hidden Falls, it became more and more apparent that fighting my steering during technical obstacles was not going to be very fun on the JKX, so I decided it would probably be a good idea to get a ram assist going rather than risk stressing the steering box to the point of failure. I went with the Redneck Ram Assist simply because it works, and the price point is hard to beat.
The synergy track bar bracket doesn't give you much room for ram tabs between it and the high steer knuckles, so the tabs were positioned just enough to still be able to get a socket on the track bar bolt while remaining level:
On the tierod side, we used a well built OD clamp and welded the tabs to it:
Finished product came out pretty damn close to parallel and clears nicely at full turn:
Oh, and during the ram install, as we pulled out the intake to make room, we noticed a hairline fracture on the thermostat housing that was leaking coolant. It's a messy job, but only a $30 fix to get a complete new housing + thermostat:
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