Episode 400 – NEXEN Tires and Jessi Combs

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This Week In Jeep:

Wait, Jeeps can fly now?

I’m likely not going to shock or offend anyone when I say mother nature is a bitch. Or at least she can be. It’s all fine and dandy to get a little sprinkle to knock down the dust on the trail. And it’s hard to beat an awesome day of wheeling out in some fresh snow fall. And when Mother Nature cooperates like that, things can be amazing. But when she turns fickle, boy, WATCH OUT! Which would have been sage advice especially for the people living around the Campbell County, Wyoming area this last week. It was there where mother nature decided to throw a fit. Ordinarily, it can be argued that Jeeps were designed to go offroad. That one of their primary purposes on this planet is to ferry us adventurists to those hard to reach and remote areas and to have a little fun off road.

But I dont think that FCA had this in mind when they recommend Jeep owners to “leave the pavement behind.” As it turns out, there was a brand spanking new 2019 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon that was PARKED in the southeast corner of the lot at White’s Energy Motors around 6:45 p.m. on Aug. 25th. Well, mother wasn’t having it. Whether it wasn’t feng-shui enough for her, or she was just taking her anger out on that particular Jeep…. Either way it left the parking lot and not under its own power. 

One eyewitness reported seeing the Jeep airborne. Another said he thought the driver of the Jeep was racing to take cover from the storm that was hitting the area.  But that’s when the Jeep veered into a retaining wall and flopped over on its side near the intersection of Skyline and Westover roads. Not exactly what you’d call normal driving behavior for a Jeep owner. Initially, you’d think “oh – drunk driver!”  Or the person behind the wheel was having a medical emergency like a heart attack or seizure or something. But what if I told you that mother nature was the one driving that Jeep? The General Manager Cody Brown said he had even asked the officer responding to the wreck to take a picture to verify the Jeep was in park. Which it was.  After dodging the bullet all summer, more than 200 vehicles at White’s Energy Motors sustained hail damage in this storm. Including one particular Jeep Wrangler, who mother nature decided to pick up and take for a joy-ride.  The price tag on the brand new Jeep was just over $51,000. Brown said it’s up to insurance to decide whether the vehicle is totaled. With body damage, broken mirrors, a bent axle and a shattered drive line, it could probably go either way.

707HP Gladiator – YES PLEASE!

Ok, so remember the two stories we’ve reported on over the last month or so about the price gouging going on with the new Jeep Gladiator Pickups? Well here’s one for the record books. As most of you within the sound of my voice already know, the Jeep community has been masochistically demanding and clambering for a V8 version of the truck. It just makes sense, but unfortunately, FCA ain’t gonna do it anytime soon. Even though a Hellcat V8 will essentially drop right in, FCA has nixed the idea stating safety concerns. Hell even Jeep head Tim Knuskis has told countless press officials, the Hellcat motor fits in a Jeep like a glove. But that’s not the problem. Jeep claims the vehicle would no longer have a crumple zone in the front with all that motor shoved under the hood. It would plain and simply never pass a crash test. And there is also a question of fuel economy and emissions. Most of us would say to that, WHO CARES!?!? You’ve seen them on youtube and all over the internet. People buying a crate Hellcat motor and dropping them into JK’s, JKU’s and yes, now even the Gladiator. Despite FCA’s safety warnings the Hellcat Gladiator exists nonetheless, and one could be yours for just $150,000. The 707-horsepower Gladiator is for sale at a dealership in Phoenix, Arizona called Mark Mitsubishi. The actual list price is $147,992, (if the extra $2,008 off influences your purchasing decision), and it’s listed as pre-owned with 1,456 miles. There are logos for America’s Most Wanted 4×4 all over the pickup, which is a shop that advertises things like Hellcat, Demon and Hellephant engine swaps on Gladiators and Wranglers. This particular swap was done on a Gladiator Rubicon trim, which starts at $43,545 on the configurator with Jeep’s standard 285-HP, 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 in it. America’s Most Wanted 4×4 advertises its Gladiator Hellcat conversion kit—the important word there being “kit”—for $58,850. 

The question, then, is whether the extra 422 HP, all swapped, pretty and ready to go, is worth the extra $100,000 in labor it takes to install said kit. The answer is “maybe if you are the type of person who uses $100 bills as dish towels.” 

Ah, well. It’s only money, right?

Jessie Combs Death

The motorsports industry lost an icon this week.  36 yr old, Jessi Combs has passed away. “Fastest woman alive” Avid offroad racer, Has competed in KOH, Former host of Xtreme 4×4, Mythbusters, Overhaulin’, All Girls Garage, Truck-U, and “The List” among many other TV appearances. Set the current land speed record of 398 MPH in 2013 with a top speed of 440 MPH…which for any of you out there interested in the math behind that…. It would be like travelling the distance of over two football fields in one second. Combs died two days ago (as we record this) on August 27th, while she was attempting to break her own 2013 land speed record when she crashed the high speed jet powered vehicle, with the vehicle bursting into flames. Details on the crash and its aftermath haven’t been released, but Combs’s family said she was surrounded by loved ones when she died. The incident is under investigation by both Oregon officials and Jessi’s team. One of her last social media posts said this: 

“It may seem a little crazy to walk directly into the line of fire… those who are willing, are those who achieve great things. People say I’m crazy. I say thank you,” she wrote, adding the hashtags #gottabreak512 #aimingfor619.

….and from all of us here at the Jeep Talk Show, our condolences and deepest sympathies go out to her family and friends. 

Godspeed Jessi.

Listener Email:

Tom Writes into the show and asks about washboard roads

“Good afternoon Jeep Talk Show. Ever try and drive a half mile on a dirt road that’s grated like a washboard??  Holy crap, It’ll knock the fillings out of your teeth! Even at 20 mph. I know some say to air down tires but that’s not practical for that short distance, then the road  goes back to paved and leads to the highway. Any idea why this happens?  Thanks for your thoughts. Love the show you guys.”  – Tom

Wrangler Talk:

Update on My OffRoad Journey

The Official Trans American Route across the US was created by Sam Correrro back in the late 1970’s early 1980’s. It’s a route of dirt roads, old farm roads and trails. He continues to update the trail to this day. Don’t be fooled by others who say they have maps of the TAT for free. Those maps are not the official maps and you could be driving on private lands or end up on a dead end gated road or even on national forestry lands you are not supposed to be on. Neil and I are excited to be working with Sam and checking out the route and hopefully being able to hook up with him along the way.

Interview with:

Paul Jho – Senior Motorsports Manager for NEXEN Tires.  Paul has been in the automotive industry for 29 years and in the past 12 years was in tire industry.  8 years in Hankook Tire and 4 years in Nexen Tire managing motorsports and events. Paul is still new to off road market but have been out on the mountain rock crawling occasionally in the past couple years.  Currently in the process of building a Jeep JKU for SEMA along with a couple other vehicles. Not a college graduate nor an engineer but through experience and adapting to the environment with passion, automotive industry is life.

The Roadian MTX features an aggressive design that is extremely versatile for on- and off-road driving. Each tire boasts a dual sidewall design that allows you to customize the look of the tire on your vehicle. The Roadian MTX also features a standard 3-Ply design and F-Load weight rating that makes it extremely capable for heavy hauling. With such rugged traits you wouldn’t expect the Roadian MTX to be as quiet as it is on the highway, but thanks to its patented tread block design the road noise has been minimized.

Tech Talk With Jeep Talk:

Brake Talk – Top 8 signs your brakes are going bad.

In episode 398 I started talking about brakes. Specifically, one of the most common issues facing Jeepers and our brakes, and that’s the glazing of the pads. This isn’t Krispy Kreme we’re talking about here, and glazing is nothing you want to have happen to the pads on your own Jeep. Then I got to thinking, there;s a TON of other issues that can diminish the performance of our Jeeps brakes. And I felt like I left you hanging a bit in the information department. So it’s time for me to put on the lab coat, and take you to class, as we’re going to start going over all the things that can go wrong with Jeep brakes, why it happens and what to do about it. I’m going to “brake” (no pun intended) this into several parts as this is a topic that can get pretty entailed. But you donty have to be an expert or an ASE mechanic to wrap your head this stuff. A lot of it is nothing more than common sense, and some of it, the brakes are going to be telling you what’s wrong, all you need to do is know how to listen. To start things off, I’m going to go over the top 8 signs that you might have or are developing a brake issue. This may go without saying, but if you hear, feel, or experience any of the following, that means it’s time for some maintenance or repairs, or to get things checked out by a professional. 

1.) One of the easiest ways to tell if you have a brake issue is to look at the dash. More modern Jeeps have all sorts of warning lights in the instrument panel that can warn you of impending issues. When one of the red or yellow brake indicators on your dashboard lights up it may mean you’re just due for an inspection. It could also be your vehicle’s smart electronics alerting you to a problem. An engaged parking brake could also cause the light to go on. Be sure it’s fully released to confirm that’s not the issue. 

2.) Squealing, Squeaking or Grinding Noises are a good indication that something is wrong with the braking system of your Jeep. If you start hearing a high-pitched squealing or squeaking noise that stops when you apply the brakes, that’s likely the sound of the brake pad wear indicators. They’re made of steel so they make this sound when they start contacting the rotor. They’re letting you know that your pads are worn out and need to be replaced before you get rotor damage, which can be an expensive fix. Grinding noises are another story though. This is a more severe noise that you may  also feel in the pedal. This could just be something as simple as some gravel or a rock that has gotten caught in between the caliper and the rotor. This is an easy fix.

But it could also mean that you have gone too long without servicing your brakes. The brake pads may be worn through, and you’re hearing metal on metal that could be creating grooves in the brake rotor. Not good. Not to mention, you don’t have the stopping power you did when you still had brake pads. Grinding could also be an indicator of lack of lubrication in vehicles with rear drum brakes. The brake shoe (the component that presses on the rotor to slow the vehicle) could be scraping on metal contact points like the backing plate, due to rust. A very common issue on older Jeeps in the Midwest or other places where harsh winters and salt on the roads in more common. If you hear any of these sounds, get your brakes looked at right away to head off more expensive problems.

3.) Wobbling, Vibration or Shaking in the steering wheel when braking may be the result of an uneven rotor. Often referred to as warped rotors. Brake rotors are big discs that sit inside of the wheels. When you hit the brake pedal, the brake pads are clamped down on by the caliper, and the pads hug the rotors, slowing them and your vehicle. You want brake rotors to be smooth and completely even in thickness for safe and reliable performance. Over time and thousands of wheel revolutions, it’s normal for the rotor surface to get slight variations. Surface rust can also sometimes develop, which is completely normal. During brake servicing, the face of the rotor is often machined, or turned on a special device that removes small amounts of material from the surface to even things out. This work has to be done exactly to your vehicle’s specifications. The tiniest differences in disc thickness — we’re talking thousandths of an inch, about three sheets of paper in width — can cause a wobbly feeling when you brake.

An uneven rotor surface may also cause the rotor to hit one of the brake pads as it spins, causing some of the pad material to transfer onto the rotor in that spot. Then you’ll feel shaking when braking, as the pad hits that bump in the rotor. Another possible cause of rough braking is the brake caliper not releasing properly. The job of a brake caliper is to squeeze the brake pads against your brake rotors, which slows your vehicle down. It’s the motion of the piston inside the caliper unit that causes this contact.

Due to wear from heat or road debris, the piston can get sticky. It may not retract the pads back into the full “off” position when you let up on the brake pedal. This can create brake drag, squealing, and premature brake pad wear. Regular inspections can help ward this off before it happens.  A fourth cause of bumpy braking could be damage to your brake components from improper wheel lug nut installation. (The lug nuts are the big bolts that clamp your tire and wheel onto the hub of your Jeep.)

Any time the tires are removed, it’s crucial for the lug nuts to be put back on in the right order, evenly, and at just the right tightness (torque). It has to be done in a star pattern, with just the right pressure. If not, you’ll get uneven, premature rotor wear and be back for service sooner rather than later. Not to mention the effect this will have on the driveability of the Jeep.

I’ve got at least four more ways to tell that you’re about to have some brake issues, and then we’re going to get into what to do about all this stuff and what sort of upgrades we can make along the way. But that’s going to have to wait till the next show. So stay tuned for the next few episodes of the jeep talk show as we cover (brakes) in tech talk.

Must Have Stuff for your Jeep:

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Nicky G:

Wheels alone…?!?!

Wheeling Where:

Iowa All Breeds Jeep Show
September 21st – 22nd
Cambridge Offroad Park – Cambridge, Iowa

More Info: http://www.iowajeepshow.com/

Join us for a weekend of Jeep & 4×4 action!  All makes & models of 4x4s welcome. Jeep & 4×4 car show Saturday morning Man-made obstacle course Saturday & Sunday Wooded trail ride Saturday & Sunday 4×4 & other vendors will be present! Food available for purchase Central Iowa R/C addicts demonstrations Kids paint-a-car

Sand Sports Super Show
September 13-15
OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, California

More Info: https://www.sandsportssupershow.com/

Each September, hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of attendees come together for the biggest and most exciting dune and dirt sports EXPO in the world. Join us for three days of fun and get up close to the latest Sand Rails, UTVs, ATVs, Side x Sides, accessories, apparel and a whole lot more! Take part in the world’s largest sand sports expo!

Links Mentioned in Episode 400: 

Xtreme Terrain’s  Clean Trails Grant Program (CTP).

https://www.extremeterrain.com/clean-trail-initiative-program.html