"tiltz" (tiltz)
01/14/2016 at 18:00 • Filed to: Jeep Wrangler, Sad Day
10
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"tiltz" (tiltz)
01/14/2016 at 18:00 • Filed to: Jeep Wrangler, Sad Day | 10
| 21 |
A tribute to my Jeep
A few weeks ago I posted about the dilemma I had about trading my 2012 JK Rubicon for a Fiat Abarth. The itch has been there for the last 6 months or so. The trade would have cost me $0, but after driving the car around, it just didn’t make a lot of since to me. Last week I found something that was a bit more appealing,
The JK was my daily driver for most of the 3 and ½ years and 44K miles that I owned it. There was some downtime when I was working on the modifications, but for the most part, it was driven every day. I put quite a bit of money into the Jeep, but I also spent quite a bit of time wheeling all around the PNW and Moab, Utah.
The JK had all of the suspect modifications, slightly lifted, 37” tires, axle modifications to handle the big tires, steel bumpers, a winch, rock sliders, and under body protection… etc. It did have one pretty unique modification that made it stand out from all of the other JK mall crawlers. That was the stretched rear suspension. I used some off-the-shelf long control arms with custom shock towers that went through the floor and replaced the rear seat. It really added a lot of character, increased the stability on and off road, but decreased the rear storage capacity.
Over the last few years the Jeep has been pretty reliable and it never left me stranded. It only had a few issues… I killed a power steering pump, broke a front axle shaft and twisted one of the rear axle tubes. Those may sound like uncommon repairs, but keep in mind this thing was jumped and pushed through some of the hardest trails on the west coast. I was also able to do a field repair or limp home after each occurrence.
My love of Jeeping is definitely still with me, but DDing the JK was losing its appeal. I loved “not giving a shit” about door dings or curbing the wheels. I could take short-cuts over curbs and park wherever the Jeep would fit. With the 3.6, it had plenty of power so that wasn’t the real issue. But… It wasn’t really refined. While the power was okay, it certainly wouldn’t win any races. Getting the tires re-balanced every 3K miles was annoying (especially since my local Discount Tire is crazy busy with 2+ hour wait times). My girlfriend couldn’t stand how noisy it was and it also didn’t carry much stuff. Most of all, it was looking pretty beat up. The only straight panels were the left fender and the hood. The rest of the body had dents from mild to pretty substantial. The paint had also been worked over from all of the tight trails in the woods and had the signature NW pinstriping.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
After test driving the Abarth and not being all that impressed I set out to find my next vehicle. My criteria were AWD, manual, fast, and fun. I test drove a few vehicles that fit the criteria and landed in a 2016 STI. The 2016 Golf R was a close second, but didn’t have as much fun factor and probably wouldn’t hold its value compared to the STI. It also helped that the dealership gave me $24K for a jeep that had practically been to the moon and back.
It was a sad day and I miss the Jeep after a week, but the new ride is a lot of fun on a day to day basis. I know I can’t stay away from a Jeep because I love going off-road, rock crawling and I have a hard time not tinkering around with things. I plan to get into an older TJ or something similar in the next few months. The next dilemma is if I will get rid of my beloved E36 M3 to support my Jeep habit.
Stay tuned.
Here are some photos from my Jeep adventures
Crawling boulders at Walker Valley ORV Park
Muddy Trails at Evan’s Creek
Snow fun at Tonga Ridge
The infamous Helldorado trail at BFE in Moab
Trying to avoid too much Body Damage in the crack at the Funny Rocks
On the way up to Hawkins Mine
The aftermath of a nasty mud hole with no top on
Looking over the edge of the Cliff Hanger trail in Moab
A few pictures of the suspension setup
7=Gw
Steve in Manhattan
> tiltz
01/14/2016 at 18:13 |
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Real Jeeps have round headlights.
Never forget.
Spaceball-Two
> tiltz
01/14/2016 at 18:15 |
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How was your experience at Chaplin’s? I test drove a WRX a couple of years ago there and they acted like dicks. Great color on the STI
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tiltz
> Steve in Manhattan
01/14/2016 at 18:17 |
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I’m not sure that is totally true
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tiltz
> Spaceball-Two
01/14/2016 at 18:19 |
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The people I dealt with were cool. I didn’t buy one the same day I went in there and they didn’t put the pressure on too high. I was in and out pretty quick after I made the decision to do the deal.
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Spaceball-Two
> tiltz
01/14/2016 at 18:22 |
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Very cool. Nice to see another WA Oppo. We’re trying to get a meet together when the weather gets better.
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Steve in Manhattan
> tiltz
01/14/2016 at 18:23 |
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I can usually ID 90 percent of the cars on the road. I do not know what that is ... probably Chrysler (mit some Chermans!) is to blame. Patriot? Compatriot? Commander? I give up.
HammerheadFistpunch
> tiltz
01/14/2016 at 18:25 |
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Cool stuff but I can’t believe you got 24k for a jeep so heavily modified and clearly abused. I mean. I like what you did im just amazed that it still had that much residual after all that. insane.
AM3R shamefully returns
> tiltz
01/14/2016 at 18:32 |
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Nice jeep, I've been getting the bug for a manual JKU lately because it would be fun and hold value super well. I'd love to see a review of the new STI, those have totally been peaking my interest lately because I just love how they look. Now onto that E36... How much would you want for it/is it estoril blue?
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tiltz
> HammerheadFistpunch
01/14/2016 at 18:33 |
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Its definitely for a specialized buyer. JK Rubicons tend to hold their value really well
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HammerheadFistpunch
> tiltz
01/14/2016 at 18:34 |
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Agreed but it could be argued that what you have there is no longer a jk rubi. Either way, good for you
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tiltz
> AM3R shamefully returns
01/14/2016 at 18:47 |
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Haha, it’s Avus blue. I’d have to think that through. I just replaced the cooling system, struts, power steering hoses, every bushing in the whole car, and am now rebuilding the calipers replacing the clutch, pads and rotors and refreshing the shift pushing and transmission detents....
I’ll definitely do a little oppo review of the stuff after I get some more seat time.
Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
> tiltz
01/14/2016 at 19:00 |
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After they signed the papers, you should have showed them that GIF.
B_dol
> tiltz
01/14/2016 at 19:09 |
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Excellent shot, worthy of a magazine!
It's a "Porch-uh"
> tiltz
01/14/2016 at 19:23 |
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Damnit. You’re not helping with this post.
Since I’m getting rid of my race car, I no longer need a vehicle to tow with, which is currently my 2007 Tahoe LTZ. I like to off-road and the poor Tahoe is covered in brush rash (which got way worse last weekend when I let my 5-year-old drive out in the desert). So I’m taking the Tahoe to get buffed out and sell it.
A Wrangler is on my short list of replacement vehicles, but with two kids still in car seats, it needs to be 4-door. Turns out, 4-door Jeeps are F’ing expensive, which I didn’t expect since every other rig I see out there is a 4-door Jeep. Still thinking of sucking up the cost and getting one anyways.
A WRX is also on my short list, but I’d be looking at an older one
(maybe even a wagon) I can dump a bunch of money into so it can handle some track-day duty as well as dropping the kids off.
Planning a move up to your neck of the woods (Seattle), so I’d love to go do more wheelin’ in the PWC, but an AWD car for my daily seems like a smarter move. Keep in mind I bought a broken E46 M3 to build into a race car, so I’m not super smart.
Tough decisions...
iSureWilll
> tiltz
01/14/2016 at 19:33 |
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Sad to see the JK go! I think you did right on the STI though. It will most certainly hold value better than the R.
Feel free to share more about the JK when you feel like reminiscing.
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AM3R shamefully returns
> tiltz
01/14/2016 at 19:42 |
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Avus blue, my second favorite color! Would love to see some pics. You have some sweet rides. Enjoy them all!
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tiltz
> AM3R shamefully returns
01/14/2016 at 22:13 |
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Thanks, appreciate it!
Here is the bimmer
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tiltz
> It's a "Porch-uh"
01/14/2016 at 22:18 |
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I’ve never had a proper race car, but I imagine the disease is similar to the Jeep stuff.
A car that can handle DD and track duties is a good balance. You don’t really need a AWD in Seattle unless you plan on going to the mountains in the winter. The couple of snow days we get per year paralyze the whole city, but it usually melts off after about a day.
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tiltz
> B_dol
01/14/2016 at 22:22 |
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That old Sony phone could take some impressive pictures!
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It's a "Porch-uh"
> tiltz
01/14/2016 at 22:25 |
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The AWD more so for all the water on the roads (I’m from CA), but also I see many more trips to the mountains for snow sports in my future.
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AM3R shamefully returns
> tiltz
01/14/2016 at 23:05 |
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Love the ACS type 3's... One of my favorite wheels.