Eyebrow

My wife wanted the angry eyes look but without the over the top grills that seem to be popular so we agreed that the UnderCover Night Hawk molded and painted eye brow would fit the bill. Fairly simple install, just remove the factory weather stripping, tape into place then use two zip ties to hold down the front piece to the grill. The edges are held down factory clips but they also shipped brand new ones which I used to make sure it was a nice tight fit. The hardest part was removing the adhesive residue from the old weather stripping but otherwise a simply install. I took the grill off to make it easier to line things up and also get the zip ties mounted. Hopefully it doesn't fly off at speed but it seems pretty secure. 

Eye brow

Hopefully it doesn't fly off at speed but it seems pretty secure. Reviews seem pretty mixed on this part so we'll see how it fairs in a few months. 

Hunter Mountain Adventure with NORA 4x4

When my wife got the Jeep last year I thought it'd be important for her to experience it in the environment they're designed for and learn a thing or two. Jeeps make decent daily vehicles but it's off road where they really shine and when I saw that Northeast Off-Road Adventures (NORA 4x4) was hosting a Hunter Mountain off-roading tour specifically catered as a family event suitable for even beginners, I knew I had to sign her up. 

Hunter Mountain Snow Tubing Lodge - 5-30-2022

The day started off with everyone meeting up at the base of the mountain by the snow tubing lodge. There were 32 vehicles participating in this tour, mostly Jeeps but several Toyota 4Runners as well. It was a hot but overall gorgeous day so it was perfect for opening up the new Bestop Sunrider to get as much open air as we could. Scott, who runs these events, was very good about making sure everyone was safe. We broke up into two groups with an experienced lead and trailing vehicle and everyone had FRS radios to get heads up on trail conditions and tricky sections at all times. 

Heading up the mountain

Once the convoy started going and we got everyone on gravel, they had all driver shift to 4WD Low. The vast majority of our drive was going to be at 3-5mph in rough terrain but nothing overly difficult for these vehicles. We ventured up and then through the woods until we hit the mud pit. If you didn't want to get your vehicle dirty there was a "chicken ridge" you could take off to the side. Some people took the out but several did decide to have some fun. Due to the rain the day before it was a thick muddy soup and the first vehicle through immediately got stuck and had to be recovered to get out. This continue on with the vast majority of the vehicles ahead of us needing to be recovered by the car in front of it. My wife was insistent she was going to get through so I gave her the game plan of maintaining momentum and cutting a wider line to avoid the giant rut every vehicle before us kept making deeper by getting stuck and spinning tires. "Whatever happens", I said, "don't hesistate and lift, just keep at it with steady power". She got a nice run into the pits and maintained a solid 3-4mph through it all and just like that she was clear of it all. It was pretty amazing actually since about 80% of the vehicles that attempted the run in our group needed some recovery or assistance. She did that with her Jeep with no lockers!

Talk about getting muddy

Successfully through the mudpit with no assistance

The big smile said it all. One more achievement unlocked. Just 6 months ago she had barely driven her entire life despite getting a license some 20+ years ago and here she is now in her own Jeep wheelin' it and getting all kinds of dirty and having fun. After about 3 hours of driving (well including 30 minutes or so of pulling vehicles out of the mud), we made it to the summit.

At the Summit

At the Summit

We stayed up in the summit for about 30 minutes so people could eat any food they had packed with them and get a bio break. We then spent the next 20 minutes doing the summit loop which consistent of some fairly tight, rocky trails that required a bit of careful maneuvering. It was important to keep the vehicle in front and behind you within eyesight so no one took the wrong turn and ended up trying to drive down a black diamond instead. 

Navigating the tight trails of the summit loop

There were definitely a few sketchy spots here and there and I was glad we were in a 2-Door JK making it a bit easier to squeeze through. Once we completed the loop we took the steep road down then across the ski slopes to get back to our starting point.

Heading back down from the summit

We had a great time and I was glad this Jeep isn't just another mall crawler. There was mud in all kinds of crevices and we had all kinds of branches wedged under it that I had to go and yank out but overall Chopper did really well. No issues whatsoever during the entire ride. We had the AC blasting to help take some of the edge out of the humidity and not even a tiny issue with cooling. The BFG K02s were fantastic in making sure we could get through anything with no drama. My wife and I had a great time. Yes, even me, even though I was riding shotgun the entire time. We've gone wheeling before in Jeeps in Hawaii and Colorado with me as the driver and I loved it and it was great that my wife could experience this for herself in her own Jeep. The event is so well run and organized, we're going to be signing up for their Fall drive as well as maybe some additional off-road courses with NORA 4x4. If you're in the NY area, have a 4WD vehicle and want to get a taste of going off the beaten path, this is a great way to do it with experienced people that know what they're doing.

All done for the day....dirty but so much fun!

I took the Jeep today to car wash in Secaucus just to get as much of the mud off as I could. The undercarriage still probably needs another solid pressure wash which I can do myself but it's looking half-way decent again. 

Cleaning up the evidence - 5-22-2022

Last Autocross For A Few Months

I was still a bit tired from yesterday's track day but today was the last autocross at NNJR for at least a few months since I'm not running the SCCA ProSolo next weekend. The weather looked like it was going to hold so I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

NNJR SCCA - Metlife Stadium - 5-14-2022

This time I set the tire pressures to the correct pressures based on previous notes of 27psi all around and I was really enjoying the grip and balance. The course was a bit technical but still fast. Gave a few folks a ride along which was also fun (aka Enabling 101). Ironically I set my fastest time with Jenna Farkas in the car. Having issues with one of my GoPros randomly dropping frames so this combined video looks weird even though they start in sync but it is what it is. Had an absolute blast and I'm definitely glad I signed up for today's event.

NNJR SCCA - 5-14-2022
Taking Jenna for a ride

I have a new set of Bridgestone RE-71RS tires on order so I'm looking forward to seeing how those will stack up against the A052s. I know it's supposed to have a bit less grip but I'll be going from a 235/265 to a 255/275 in hopes of getting better stopping distances which is something I definitely notice when I hop back into the Cayman from the S2000 which runs 255 square. 

NYST Uptown with S2K Takeover

After my disappointing time at Lime Rock last month that was cut short by oil pressure issues, I was excited to get back out on track again. Although I had no issues at the autocross last month after replacing the oil pressure sender and fixing the wiring, only doing long track runs would really tell me if I fixed it. The 18 corners in about 2.5 miles at NYST is a sure fire way to make sure we're truly in the clear.

NYST Uptown - 5-13-2022

I took the first two sessions as installation sessions to both make sure my oil pressure issues were gone but to also feel out the Continental ExtremeContact Force. Glad to say not a single warning light even as much as blipped. For the tires, I was expecting lower grip and the back definitely wanted to slide out a bit more under trail braking now. I had to catch the rear several times on the first two sessions. I took out some rear pressure ending up 30psi front and 28psi rear cold and that really helped the rear settle down. I was able to push harder slowly work towards finding the limits. 

Bumblestook @ NYST Uptown - 1:43.9

Although they do hit a peak, they tend to plateau and stay there. Even with a bitch first sector and having to slow a bit to deal with track debris, I was able to get to within a few tenths of my personal best on Yokohamas. There was definitely more pace out there but some minor incidents in each session that resulted in track debris put a damper on really seeing what they could do. Overall I'm super satisfied with this tire choice. They're not going to win you any time trials but if you want a track tire that has consistent feel each lap once they hit their peak, this is one tire to consider. 

The old track crew

It was also great to see Rad and Dhariel back out on track. Last time we went to the track together was almost 13 years ago. Also great seeing some OG S2K faces I hadn't seen in a minute and practice my mind blowing magic tricks. 

Buncha weirdos

NYST Uptime
Photo By: Peter Levins

Bestop Twill Sunrider for Hardtop

Now that the weather's starting to warm up we've been enjoying taking the freedom panels off the Jeep when going for drives. We normally put the panels in a storage bag and stick it in the back in case we need to put it back on if it rains or gets cold. While this process isn't hard, it's still a bit cumbersome and getting those panels into the storage bag can be a bit of a pain if you're doing it solo. What we really needed was some some kind of soft top just for the front part of the Jeep since we like to keep the hardtop on. Thankfully, Bestop makes one called the Sunrider. We got it in twill which is a very nice black thick cloth, the kind you might see on a very nice convertible. Installation was fairly easy at about an hour and required some basic tools and no non-reversible modifications to the Jeep. 

Freedom panels removed

The first step is to remove the freedom panels. Then you can install the side rails which bolt up to the factory rollbar for a very secure fit using big threaded knobs making it a tool-less endeavor. You then lay the actual sunrider on top and use more threaded knobs to secure it into place and reuses the factory mushroom knob that would normally secure the freedom panels to hold down the center portion. 

Top installed and bolted down

The only tool you need is a T30 Torx bit. I was happy to see this since I saw some reviews online where people complained about the 4mm allen bolts they previously used rounding out and being hard to remove later without drilling the bolts out. The T30 torx holds down some extra brackets to secure the rear of the top.

Rear Brackets

Since it was bit colder today, it took a moment to get the cloth stretched out so I could actually close the top. I didn't want to force it so I let it naturally and slowly stretch on its own in the garage.

Top fully installed, stretched out and closed

Overall I'd say the install was very easy and I'm happy with the results. It raining out so it'll be a good test of how good the seals are. This jeep has no leaks whatsoever and hopefully this won't change that but only time will tell. For now, just glad that we'll be able to open and close the top easily anytime we want to enjoy some open air. This should be fine to leave on or the winter too but it's easy enough to remove and put back the freedom panels if we choose to later.