Hello from Vegas!

TheWeekendWagon

Jeep Owner
Hey everyone! Just wanted to introduce myself. Name is Mike and I have a 2014 JKUR that I bought new in 2014 and has been my daily for over 70,000 miles of joy now! I come from the world of sports cars where I was heavily involved in many different forms of sports car racing (road course stuff) for over a decade but this is my first Jeep so I am having a ton of fun learning a new form of driving...off-road!

My Jeep remained bone-stock until about a year ago as I was just focusing on learning the art of off-road driving and quite honestly was still having plenty of fun sticking to trails that are stock-capable. Once the factory tires wore out though I didn't want to spend my money on replacing them with another set of the same size so I went with 35s and the modding has begun to get them to work properly under there. It's still on stock-suspension and a spacer lift, but hopefully for just a few more weeks as I am waiting on the last bits of a 2.5" lift kit that I have been piecing together. Other than that all I have done to it are some skid plates, front & rear bumpers, a winch, and wheels & tires. Then of course a few small things as well like a CB, trimmed fenders, etc but those hardly count.

I look forward to learning a ton about the JKU on here now that I am starting the modding process!

I am from Las Vegas, but here's a photo from a road trip I went on this past November! This is TIllamook State Forest in Oregon...

 

Pthorpe84

Moderator
Staff member
Welcome Mike! Welcome to being broke! Lol. Your rig looks great.

What all have you got pieced together for your lift?


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TheWeekendWagon

Jeep Owner
Welcome Mike! Welcome to being broke! Lol. Your rig looks great.

What all have you got pieced together for your lift?
Thanks! Believe me, the JK is one of 3 projects in my garage currently, broke is an understatement!

So far for the lift I have front & rear track bars, brake line relocation kit, front control arm relocation brackets, exhaust spacer, rear coil spring alighment/retention kit, and adjustable bump stops. All Metalcloak. I think, from my research, the only missing pieces at this point are the springs & shocks which I am waiting on from a different company. Long story short, I have been a pro sports car racing driver for over a decade and pretty much that entire time I have been working with this company on R&D and development of their street and race suspension systems. They are now wanting to break into the off-road market and are going to start by releasing some basic lift kits for the JK platform so they want me to test out their 2.5" spring & shock kit once it's done...which should be sometime this month hopefully. I know the shocks are ready to go just waiting to get the springs to where they are a true 2.5" lift. They had a 4" lift on display on their company JK at SEMA and it looks amazing for the entry level price point.
 

Brian

Jeep Fanatic
No you have it correct. I had to drive all the way to Oregon for that shot.
Wow, that is a drive! I believe we are going to Oregon this Summer for a vacation. 3 hours from Portland. I think it is called Silver beach. Hoping to rent a Jeep up there since we are flying in.
 

TheWeekendWagon

Jeep Owner
Wow, that is a drive! I believe we are going to Oregon this Summer for a vacation. 3 hours from Portland. I think it is called Silver beach. Hoping to rent a Jeep up there since we are flying in.
We went there as part of a 3000 mile road trip we did in November. We went from Vegas, through Lake Tahoe, then the redwood forests, Oregon Coast, over to Portland, up to the Seattle area, then back down through Bend and Carson City. It was EPIC. We only had two off-road days though. The first of which was in Tillamook State Forest which is about 45 minutes West of Portland and it would be WAY worth taking a day to go out there if you end up getting a Jeep. It was beautiful and there are tons of trails. You have to get an Oregon OHV permit though if the rental doesn't have one already. There's tons of places to get them though and they are cheap.

I have a YouTube Channel and I made a ton of videos from the road trip including if you want to check them out. I don't know where Silver Beach is but it sounds coastal so Tillamook State Forest may be closer to you than Portland is.

Here's one from the Tillamook Forest day...
https://youtu.be/1A9YHhjhf18

Then some full trail videos from the two trails we did there...

Hoodraiser - Super Easy - https://youtu.be/XNYWQnZKHbo
Hog's Back - A little more exciting - https://youtu.be/QlyU5XBmvtg
 

TheWeekendWagon

Jeep Owner
Sorry, It is Sunriver Oregon. It is located in the mountains I believe.
Oh yeah, nowhere close haha. Sorry, can't help ya there. I drove through that area mid-November and it was covered in snow which of course turns any un-plowed road into a fun trail!
 

Xkid

Jeep Fanatic
Welcome to the forum. You have one of the hottest hockey teams right now.


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TheWeekendWagon

Jeep Owner
Welcome to the forum. You have one of the hottest hockey teams right now.


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I know it! I have been going to every game I can. They are super fun to watch. We needed pro sports in Vegas! Raiders are next...
 

Xkid

Jeep Fanatic
Yes the Knights are working really hard. Good coach too. Heard about the Raiders. New coach there. I’m a leafs fan.


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TheWeekendWagon

Jeep Owner
Yes the Knights are working really hard. Good coach too. Heard about the Raiders. New coach there. I’m a leafs fan.
Nice! The last game I went to was New Years Eve against the Leafs! You've gotta come see a game here in Vegas, its an awesome stadium and since it's such a tourist hub the games always have a ton or fans for the away teams. There were blue jerseys everywhere in that game which I think makes it more fun. It felt like it was at least 40% Leafs fans.
 

Xkid

Jeep Fanatic
Haha that’s funny. It shouldn’t be because when they play other Canadian teams, there is a lot of Leaf jerseys. Lots of fans everywhere. Some of the teams have complained.


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TheWeekendWagon

Jeep Owner
Yeah I forgot....your wife is prolly pissed too! Lol

What series did you race in?
Started out with time attack and did that for a while, then some random stuff here and there, and the last 5 years or so have been mostly N.A.S.A. endurance racing.

This is from the 25 Hours of Thunderhill a few months ago. Lost an engine a couple hours into the night though. :(

 

Pthorpe84

Moderator
Staff member
That’s an incredible car. I love racing, no matter the series. My grandfather worked the nascar series in the 80’s and 90’s. And worked with Hooker Hood and Johnny Suggs on the dirt track. It’s just instilled in me through him.

Those endurance races have to be tough. Especially after having Mexican the day before![emoji90]


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TheWeekendWagon

Jeep Owner
That’s an incredible car. I love racing, no matter the series. My grandfather worked the nascar series in the 80’s and 90’s. And worked with Hooker Hood and Johnny Suggs on the dirt track. It’s just instilled in me through him.

Those endurance races have to be tough. Especially after having Mexican the day before![emoji90]
Racing and cars are definitely infectious diseases often hereditary. :)

You are right though, it is definitely tough. We are usually in the car for 2-4 hours at a time with the longest stint I have ever done being 6 hours and by far the most stressful part is trying to find the delicate balance between staying hydrated and having to pee. Only a rookie would have Mexican food on race day! Overcooked chicken and rice only. :)
 
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