Just got back from a week of "wheeling"!

[TWDJ]

Hey all! Got back from a week of wheeling around Lake Tahoe and Hope Valley. This was our first opportunity to go off-road to any great degree and we had a blast. Some of the trails had deteriorated since the guide books were written, but that is why we overbuild our rigs, right? Initially, I was going to take it easy and work my way into some tougher trails but the class 3 and 4 sections approached 5 and 6 ... pretty interesting what a ahlf dozen Sierra winters can inflict on trails. All this did bring up some questions.

When installing the 2-1/2" RE lift kit, I did not reinstall the sway and track bars because I drive pretty easy and wanted the articulation. All this was fine until we came back over the Carson Pass and had winds gusting to 60 MPH. Made for some excitement on the corners, to be sure! So the sway bar is definitely going back on but ...

1 - Who has used the telescoping/locking front track bar and what kind of success did you have while using it? Did it perform as advertised?

2 - Has anyone found it necessary to reinstall the rear track bar?

3 - When did they put the head sized rock on the last 3 miles (eastern end) of the McKenzie-Rubicon Trail? That stretch took me a little over an hour to negotiate. Whew!

I will say the articulation and overall performance of the RE kit was "top notch". The Jeep was definitely able to handle situations that had significant "pucker factor" on my part.

Thanks for the assist!

 

[TwistedCU]

A buddy of mine had the JKS adjustable trackbar. He won it at a Jeep show. It is a pretty nice mod, and worked great. Basically all you do is loosen it up for the trail and it telescopes in and out as needed. Lock it before you hit the road and it works like the stock one.

I never had rear trackbars in my YJ's once they were lifted. They make very little difference as the rear axle tracks behind the frame mounted end of the leaf springs.

I plan on doing a shackle reversal for my next mod. I may remove the front track bar to see if it makes any difference once the shackle will be in back of the front axle.

 

[Laph]

Hey all! Got back from a week of wheeling around Lake Tahoe and Hope Valley.

so were are the photos?

 

[TWDJ]

Pics are still in the camera ... one of those digital single use/mailin numbers. As soon as I get them back, I'll put on a separate post.