begginers luck or better trails?!

[in4aride]

first let me start by saying im new to all this so dont knwo what should be hard and what should be easy.....and i have an 86 xj with a small lift 33's a 4 banger 5spd and open diffs.

i am basically brand spankin new to this wheelin bit and recvently headed up to eagle rock with a buddy of mine.....we came a cross some rubicons and other xj's....all were locked and most had long arm kits and good sized lifts...we helped a few get unstuck and watched them gradually creep their ways up the hill.....now out of the 15 or so jeeps that were there.....i had the only open diff 2.5litre......and i only had one trouble spot going up.....granted i was peddaling it the whole way up....i DID make it up easier than a lot fo teh rubicons with lockers front and rear..:shocked:..WTF?!......is it begginers luck or are there other trails i need ot be trying to get through?......


suggestions?!.....................

 

[DutchVDub]

the main thing about eagle rock is that is not overly hard if you can maintain speed, what gets people hung up is that they slow down and get caught in the sand/mud while trying to get over the rocks.

 

[in4aride]

oh ok....ya i noticed a lot of the guys were going super slow on the right with a lot of the smaller rocks so i stayed left where teh larger rocks were and kept the pin it to win it mentality cuz of being open diffs

 

[neversummer369]

another thing that might have helped is your gearing, im pretty sure the 4 bangers came with 4.56s?? not sure if thats right but i know it has better gearing then the straight 6

 

[Frank Z]

Gearing only matters if the tires are larger than stock.

You had an easier time because of your wheelbase.

 

[DutchVDub]

Its 4.10 gears btw, and the reason they have them is because the 4cyl engine needs them just to spin the tires. The 4.10's would only help if he was running a 4.0. For him 4.10 gears are just like the 3.07 gears in a 4.0 5spd or 3.55 gears in a 4.0 Automatic.

Eagle Rock is a decently fun and challenging trail, but not overly difficulty. I took both my Samurai's up Eagle Rock when I was stationed at Ft Carson. My first one was completely stock and my second one had a 2" AAL lift and some larger tires, by larger tires I mean something roughly equivalent to a XJ's stock tire size. They both made it without too much difficulty, just some blisters on my hands from no power steering.

Also, the "floor it and pray" method is pretty good at getting vehicles through stuff they normally wouldn't, its also good for destroying them. I started out wheeling in a 2wd S-10 longbed w/ a welded rear end and 31's. it was my first truck and I was going for the pre-runner look. Made that thing a lot of places much to the chagrin of Jeeps and Yotas. Having a beefy front skid and no axle to smash allowed me to not car about smaxking it into rocks, as such I was able to simply power my way over obstacles. Not the best way to wheel, and not the greatest for the life of the trail either.

I'd suggest as you are new to the wheeling thing that you go out to some easier trails and learn how to take lines and finesse your way up the trail a bit. When I first got into my 99 XJ I made sure to wheel the piss out of it stock and learn all i could about its capabilities. Now that I'm in a lifted and locked XJ I can do stuff I couldn't before, but I know what to watch out for and where all my snag points are. I also try and keep the "my vehicle is stock" mentality while on the trail so I don't do anything overly stupid that'll only damage my ride.

 

[WB9YZU]

Eagle Rock was my first "Colorado Trail".
I thought the hardest thing about Eagle Rock was the shelf road leading to it - LOL! IIRC the group I was with had a stock Trooper or Pathfinder in the mix, and he did it with only slight damage around the rock.


There are a number of scenic trails West of the Springs that are not too challenging. Also, there are a number of trails off I70 by Idaho Springs that are a good time, and very doable with a high clearance vehicle with good tire placement. Same could be said about Carnage-Boulder.


Get a copy of Charles Wells Colorado 4WD trails book(s). As your experince increases, you may find that a number of the trails he marks as "Difficult" are doable with a bit of fore thought and/or a good spotter.

Always go with another vehicle, perferably better equipped than you are This Forum or Colorado4X4.org is a good place to pick up impromptu trail rides.


Ron

 

[in4aride]

ya i have one of those books i got from my work...how i found eagle rock......

i tried to do the smoth throttle and good line thing but with 33's that 2.5 doesnt reaaly have the grunt even in for low for some things.......

but thanks for the advice.....gonna go back up on saturday and ro try eagle rock with a lil more patience and advice...thanks!