The Frog Blog

[american_zero]

You will do fine on on Strawberry with 31" tires. In fact, you might have more fun than those on taller tires, as long as you have some protection and recovery points. Let me know if you want to wheel that trail and I will get some guys together.

It may be a little while before I take you up on that. I only have a TC skid, working on front hooks, and grad school is taking up most of my time until next May. I'll keep this offer filed away in the back of my brain for now.

I have the Canon T1i, bought it last year and at the time it was the best for the price, and the first to offer HD video. I use Arcsoft Panorama Maker, just some program on a cd that came with an older point and shoot but it works great. I hear Microsoft ICE (image composits editor) works well and you can tweak the pics even more. I also use Adobe Lightroom (best tool ever) and an HDR program (not used here...yet) called Photomatix.

Looks like a nice camera setup. I'm not familiar with Canon, but they do take nice photos from what I've seen. I shoot a Nikon D90 and edit in Photoshop CS5. The software is total overkill for my needs but I got a great deal on it as a student. I have heard that Photomatix works really well and Lightroom is a nice product too. Good stuff! :thumbup:

For those HDR shots - how many exposures and how many stops between each?

 

[100K XJ]

I like Canon more than Nikon, both take amazing pictures though, rivals since the beginning.... One of those products where you grow into the brand and never want to leave after that. Lightroom is essential, photomatix is more for fun and creativity.
For the HDR's, my camera only lets me bracket up to 3 photos which is fine, although sometimes it would be cool to have 5 or 7. I can change how much between each (max 2 stops) and then I can shift the 3 depending on the desired exposure.

 

[rocknxj]

OK, as promised, here are some recovery pics from Sierra Fest.

The first photo is Kevin getting some strap assistance on Strawberry Pass. Painted Rock has a history of reducing the Green Machine to a Smurf.

Next up is someplace on Deer Valley. Sure, I got hung up on the same spot just seconds after this photo was taken, but I don't mind sharing...

While I'm at it, I might as well post a pic of Tayman hung up at Painted Rock as well.

My trusty winch got a workout that weekend, but I'm happy to use it whenever I can.

 

[XJensen]

Looks like you guys don't mind putting a strap on. Glad you had fun, looks like you had a good day.

 

[rocknxj]

Looks like you guys don't mind putting a strap on. Glad you had fun, looks like you had a good day.

Deer Valley beat on my rig pretty badly. I've got a screwed drive shaft, vibes past 55 mph, shot leaf bushings, busted bump stops, new body damage, hurt pride, and I'm pretty sure the kid fared about the same. We had a blast, though. I look forward to doing it all over again next year.

 

[XJensen]

Were those the new extended bump stops you just bought?

 

[rocknxj]

Were those the new extended bump stops you just bought?

I never got them on in time for the DV run. Thankfully OceanJet gave me two pucks to get me by so I survived without too much damage to the fenders. I still plan to install the extended bump stops but I will need a spring compressor to get them on, and honestly, I may wait and go for the ACOS and shorter 4.5" coils in front and Iron Man adjustable shackles in the rear.

 

[Rammin97]

Hey Kelly, Nice meeting you and Kevin at DV. I did the fendor trim and remounted the flares up higher and didnt hurt them at all at DV. I did tear out the liners and lost a horn but that was it. Might be worth it for you. Good Luck and sorry about the damage. I managed to come out unscathed but my RMS let loose 15 miles from home. I thought I blew it up when I saw the plume of smoke pooring out the back.. LOL!!

 

[rocknxj]

Here are some pics from Strawberry Pass. 100K XJ, Tayman, and I met up and ran this trail prior to Sierra Fest 2011.

Here's Taylor giving the standard "forward and right" signal.

Next came the "forward and stop" signal. Hmmm.

Well, that didn't work.

 

[rocknxj]

Ooops...

My new Curry steering. Worked well.

 

[FlexdXJ]

Curry Steering? That stuff stinks..........

 

[rocknxj]

Curry Steering? That stuff stinks..........

The only thing I don't like is the overall difficulty I'm having lubing the ends. Not sure if it is me or just the design. Otherwise it works well and seems to be plenty strong. The RE steering may be a tad cheaper and Ruff Stuff looks stronger, but it hits a good balance.

 

[rocknxj]

Here are a couple of shots from the Deer Valley portion of Sierra Fest 2011. I'll start off with a good shot of my kid on his first trip through the gate keeper.

This was my first "oops" moment of the day. There were plenty.

Here's another "oops" moment. Try to not straddle logs.

 

[rocknxj]

I love this rock...

My kid's torn driveshaft boot. It was completely gone by the time we got home but Tom Woods send a new one.

 

[#S194]

Great pics...you two have a nice pair of XJs.

 

[srmitchell]

I want your kid's tires. 32x11.5 might look great on mine And kevlar.......

 

[rocknxj]

I want your kid's tires. 32x11.5 might look great on mine And kevlar.......

I know what you mean. I will have a hard time deciding which tires to run after I wear out my KM2's. I'll definately go with wider meats this time and the Kevlars look great, but there are several makes that I need to consider. Buy my KM2's and I'll swap early...

 

[Letterman]

My kid's torn driveshaft boot. It was completely gone by the time we got home but Tom Woods send a new one.

If you have not put on the new one, you might want to run with out it, seems all they do is fill up with water and mud and after time it will wreck your drive shaft.

Shock boots do the same, I always cut them off before installing.

 

[rocknxj]

Got this (SONY CDX-GT350MP) from Quadratec yesterday. Looks like I'll be doing some installation work Saturday. Quadratec was cool and cut my shipping fees in half. I didn't even have to ask them.

 

[FlexdXJ]

The only thing I don't like is the overall difficulty I'm having lubing the ends. Not sure if it is me or just the design. Otherwise it works well and seems to be plenty strong. The RE steering may be a tad cheaper and Ruff Stuff looks stronger, but it hits a good balance.

NO i meant this......http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry

My Indian neighbors at the apartment used to make it, stuff Smells horrid! uke: