This past weekend was Tierra del Sol (tds4x4.org) out in Ocotillo Wells, California, just southeast of the Salton Sea. Any jeeper from So Cal knows about the importance of this event, and as usual we were there to take in the awesome wheeling.
While Doug and Robin were taking care of magazine stuff, I was out with Rubicon Express and Bilstein shocks working on dialing in the new long arm suspension on our JK Project. Currently the Jeep is equipped with 4.5-in springs and set of 37s, while we wait for our 35-inch beadlocks to come in. We tested R.E.'s new steering system, as well as the suspension at full articulation, and took note of any issues that needed to be addressed.
We’ll cover it more in depth in a future issue of the magazine, but R.E.’s suspension changes the rear 4-link to a radius arm design, similar in principle to the old Land Rovers and Mercedes G-wagons. This setup allows for good handling, good torque management, cleaner travel, and a smooth ride. It also allows long arms without changing the fuel tank location. Some people have voiced their opinions about going to radius arms, but after testing we really had nothing but positive things to say about the kit.
The new suspension did not disappoint us once. It performed beyond our expectations, with no quirky or scary characteristics. It is a kit you can put on your wife’s Jeep and not worry about her.
Once the shocks were dialed in, we hit the whoops of San Felipe wash at speeds between 40-50mph and the Jeep just floated over the smaller chop, although we did have to slow a bit for the big stuff. With high speed testing completed, we headed up to Blowsand hill and worked the sandy hill climbs, lastly we headed off to test the Jeep in the rocks and were incredibly impressed at the capability of the long wheelbase on 37s. The Jeep just walked up obstacles and the suspension gave plenty of articulation while providing an outstanding ride on the way home, you can't ask for much more than that.
We also had a chance to play with tire pressures as we recently had Kilby's on board air added to our Jeep. This is hands down the cleanest and fastest, and probably best compressor system on the market, we couldn't be happier with its performance.
In case you want to know more about how the Long Arm kit performs, we strapped a lipstick camera to the side, as well as had a video camera on the outside to capture our testing on video. As soon as we get a movie put together, we'll post it up on FW.com for you to check out.
Here are a few photos for you to enjoy. We think our JK is coming along nicely, now we just need to settle on a name...
--Sean
Tech Editor - Four Wheeler Magazine