welp, bought a 99 jeep wranger

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nutbar78
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Postby nutbar78 » Sun Dec 01, 2013 6:55 pm

Looks like you're really enjoying your newsed (read: new used) Jeep. Didn't you say in your OP that you were buying it for your wife since here Volvo is only FWD? You driving it more than her these days?

Anyways, my real question is, how is it for day to day driving? How is the handling, fuel economy? How is the motor/acceleration? How is the braking? Can you compare any of these aspects to the PF?


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doctahjones
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Postby doctahjones » Sun Dec 01, 2013 10:18 pm

well i wasn't buying it -for- the wife, i was buying it so that if it got nasty she could take my pathy and i'd take the jeep.....

can't really compare them, i mean the pathy is 9 years newer, weights ALOT more, etc, etc. however, the gas mileage is about the same. braking is half and half- jeep doesn't have abs, doesn't dive in hard stops, but seems to not stop as quick now that i have the much larger 33's on (came with ~29's). jeeps doesn't like going much over 75mph, and 'wanders' on the highway. but it does corner ALOT better than the pathy, but it's alot lighter, shorter and has wider tires. it's hella bumpy and is very loud inside (even with the hard top on). but, it's a jeep, and it's tons of fun.

over the summer i was taking it out on the trails, but i haven't done any trails in awhile. we did have a small snow storm that came though last week so i was able to test it out on ~2in snow on top of ice. basically with the geo ats i have on it, it's a death trap. i took it out on purpose to -make- it slide around, and it was very easy to do so. braking doesn't work very well (read: no abs), and acceleration is easy to get loose (even in 4wd). however, it will get me around town in a pinch if need be. plus it's much cheaper/less worrysome if wrecked than my pathy or the wife's '12 volvo.

i took the pathy out in the same storm and while it did still slide around, it's ALOT more controllable with abs and traction control. also seemed like my bfgs would recover traction alot quicker (when playing around with vdc off) than the jeep, even though i think my pathy weighs 2x as much as the jeep.

but i didn't buy the jeep to be a comfort vehicle. it's a toy that i'll use as a 'snowmobile' if i need to in the winter, and is an offroad/convertible toy for the summers. i definitely would not use this as a daily driver, but it's a fun alternative for grocery getting and errands during the week.

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nutbar78
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Postby nutbar78 » Mon Dec 02, 2013 7:33 am

doctahjones wrote:basically with the geo ats i have on it, it's a death trap.
One of the best lines I've read in a while.

Thanks for the info Doc. I guess the issue is that it's just too light to get any real traction in slippery conditions.

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doctahjones
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Postby doctahjones » Mon Dec 02, 2013 7:45 am

eh, i really think it's just the tires. feels like back when i had the OEM bfg long trails on my pathy. night and day difference in snow now that i have the bfg ats.

if i get to keep her (might sell her later to have cash for down payment on a house), then i'll switch to bfg ats, and probably cut down to 11.5 or 10.5 wide instead of the 12s.

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doctahjones
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Postby doctahjones » Wed Dec 04, 2013 9:24 am

snowing pretty good down here in the south 'burbs of denver...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fHEKermCh0&hd=1

battery died though (it had 2 out of 3 bars when i started?!?), so gotta let it charge before i go back out in an hour or so :)

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doctahjones
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Postby doctahjones » Wed Dec 04, 2013 9:33 am

oh yeah and it's confirmed that those yok geo ats i have are -crap- in snow and/or ice. even with vds off my pathy doesn't slide around 1/2 as much. yes, in the video i am 'hotdogging' it alot more, but if i tried the same thing in the pathy, my bfgs aren't that easy to spin and seem to recover traction alot quicker.

now, -maybe- it's because the tires are too wide and the jeep is too light for them to really bite in or something, but i can at least say that those particular 33x12.5x15's on my jeep suck ass.

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nutbar78
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Postby nutbar78 » Wed Dec 04, 2013 7:45 pm

Maybe they'd be a little better in mud?


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