To Steel or not to Steel (Aluminum?)

[mrblaine]

Think of it like this.. Strap a 50# pack on your ass and hoof it up a tall hill.
Take it off and repeat. Which was harder?

You make a great point Erik, even better would be to take that 50 lb pack and extend it about 3 feet behind you so that it also affects your balance and then hoof it up a trail.

[Double AA]

Kind of OT, but has Erik or any of the Savvy guy's weighed their Jeeps. If so, what axles and tires are you running and what else was in the rig that would affect the weight i.e. tools, spare parts, cooler...

[Mitch]

Mr. Blaine,

Thanks for the info. I guess if I lost 70 lbs it would do it also (and I could do that with still some spare lbs to go). I remember the 3 grand I spent on my mountain bike to lose extra weight. I just think that would be the same with horsepower and gearing.

Thanks

Mitch

[NAILER341]

Kind of OT, but has Erik or any of the Savvy guy's weighed their Jeeps. If so, what axles and tires are you running and what else was in the rig that would affect the weight i.e. tools, spare parts, cooler...

Stock curb weight for my jeep is 4400 lbs.
My current weight is 4030 lbs.
I am on 35's with atlas, 8.8, super 30, coilovers, winch, roll cage, big brakes, custom chrome moly steering 1.25", etc etc...

With all of the goodies, I am ~400 less than the weight it had when it left the showroom floor.

Before making these changes to the aluminum parts, and putting my jeep on a diet I had all of the steel stuff on there.
I had the steel corners, gas tank skid, engine skid, center skid, rockers, etc. The weight that was saved without any shadow of a doubt made a clear difference in the way my jeep performs in the rocks, on the road and most certainly in the whoops.

On the trail, it holds the line better without the weight trying to pull it down.

on the road it stops and accelerates better.

In the whoops, it "floats". I have a much easier time getting on top of the whoops and staying there at speeds.

With the weight, I had a very difficult time getting to the tops of them without slamming and bottoming out the jeep. This made it very difficult to get the speed it takes to stay on top of them.

Bear in mind, I do drive my jeep to and from the trail, I wheel the shit out of it, then turn around and drive home. In most cases, I tow my 'twinkie' to and from the trail for a cozy place to sleep

[inVERt'D]

400# is a lot!

[Lumpy Grits]

400 lbs. is a ALLOT.
Did you go from a hard top to a soft or was the 4400 lbs. with a soft top when you first checked the weight?
FWIW: When I put a Currie 9" in the back of my Jeep that 9" had to be almost twice a heavy as the Mod. 20 OEM was.
Respectfully,
LG

[NAILER341]

Sadly, I didnt get a weight before the mods. The 4400 is on the sticker on the door.

Just figure the weight of the parts.
My total weight loss was more than 400#. I'm estimating 400# from the back of the jeep alone.

Add the bumper ~50# gas tank skid ~70# steel corners ~ 65# spare tire ~80# (35 on al. wheel)
I also had a steel rack in there with a bunch of stuff welded to it for holding spare axles, tie rod, etc...

add in the center skid ~60# steel rocker guards ~70# removal of miscellaneous scrap from under the jeep and it adds up quick. These weights are conservative and there are a lot of things I'm leaving out of the equation.

[NAILER341]

400 lbs. is a ALLOT.
Did you go from a hard top to a soft or was the 4400 lbs. with a soft top when you first checked the weight?
FWIW: When I put a Currie 9" in the back of my Jeep that 9" had to be almost twice a heavy as the Mod. 20 OEM was.
Respectfully,
LG

Agreed... I'm sure my trussed 8.8 with chrome moly axles is heavier than the dana 35 as well

coilover shocks and links are lighter than leaves. It all adds up to substantial weight loss, which in turn converts to performance.

[Lumpy Grits]

Hi, if 4400 is your curb weight. What is your Jeeps GVW then?
FWIW: My CJ-7(6cly was a h/top at one time)has a 4150 lb GVW. The last time I checked(CHP scales)I was at 3720 lbs.(with my butt out of it)ready to "wheel".
Respectfully,
LG

[Double AA]

Stock curb weight for my jeep is 4400 lbs.
My current weight is 4030 lbs.
I am on 35's with atlas, 8.8, super 30, coilovers, winch, roll cage, big brakes, custom chrome moly steering 1.25", etc etc...

With all of the goodies, I am ~400 less than the weight it had when it left the showroom floor.

Manufacturers are notorious for underestimating the vehicle's weight. Your actual savings is probably quite a bit more.

I would be surprised if a leaf spring suspension is lighter than a link suspension. When you add the weight of the links, joints, cross members, coil overs, brackets and trusses I would think it would be at least the same if not more.

Thanks for the info. My CJ's gone through what I consider three major build ups, and this is the first time it lost weight.

[TJ Clay]

4400 is probably your GVW. Most stickers don't list the empty weight of a vehicle.

[mrblaine]

Mr. Blaine,

Thanks for the info. I guess if I lost 70 lbs it would do it also (and I could do that with still some spare lbs to go). I remember the 3 grand I spent on my mountain bike to lose extra weight. I just think that would be the same with horsepower and gearing.

Thanks

Mitch

Mitch, until you wheel consistently where it makes a difference and put your rig on a diet to the point where you understand implicitly what we're talking about, we can go back and forth all day and you still won't understand.

I also suspect without going and checking that you're running a 35" tire or very similar on a swing out tire carrier. Please note that I said "suspect". If I'm wrong, please correct me.

[Mitch]

Mr Blaine,

I ain't fighting you on this. If you guy's run the Hammer trails, that's more hardcore than I'll ever run. I'm not doubting you on this, I just didn't realize that it made that big of difference. And I'm sure that it doesn't matter on easy trails like Bullfrog, John Bull, Heartbreak Ridge, all of which are no problem for me or my Jeep. You and some others do run bad ass trails (Hammers) and that's out of my league and I can see where that would make a difference.

Thanks for the info.

Mitch

[JeepGal]

Ya know, My Jeep hasnt yet seen any of the Hammers trails (although one day it may...).

That said, When we run Rubicon, or any of the trails that require my Jeep to be fully loaded, or even more important, If I had the rear seat in and were carrying passengers, it would be nice to know that all that extra weight isnt in addition to an already heavy Jeep.

Tam

[RubiKat]

Thanks Tam that is a very good point...