98' XJ Sport.. Another XJ Thread

[V1GiLaNtE]

Hookay,

Time for the XJ's first shake down. And this was quite an adventure. Harrisonburg for the weekend and a few buddies and I piled into the XJ to go beat it up on the usual local trail. Flagpole/Reddish knob run. Called for some flurries for the day but otherwise we saw nothing the whole way up to trail head.





Until some magic switch was flipped...



Most of the way up we were riding in others tracks. However right before the first big meadow and the entire ride to the second meadow we were treading in virgin snow. This trail is the not the most difficult or challenging trail but when you add ankle deep snow to the mix..Makes for an interesting ride. Lots of sliding and with some of the more rocky sections some-what ice covered the XJ performed admirably! 4high most of the time to keep from sliding and 4low only a few times with the appropriate skinny pedal on really steep rock sections and the jeep pulled herself all the way up. We ran about 15psi on the tires.




Buddy Samer checking out the view from the first meadow



Virgin snow the rest of the way



Little flex test. Rear packs had A LOT more way to go, but mind you the front was still connected. Those discos are going to really set this thing up properly.




We ended up finishing the day with a stunning view of the valley from Reddish knob. All untouched snow all the way to top..Except for what appeared to be the tracks from somebody taking their pedal bike up there.. :bow:









Overall I'm pleased with the XJ's first shakedown.

Some thoughts and impressions to take away.

- Damn, even with +-1/4 tread at 15 psi those BFG's could hook up on anything. Even packed full with snow
- Armor, she's going to need more of it. Gas tank and diff covers are next
- Discos, Still need to order those up
- Suspension performed wonderfully. No rubbing on all four corners. Even with 3 guys, all my usual gear, and the full size tire in the cargo area.

I grabbed Justin's old roof rack off Rexy and threw that on this weekend. Jeep is pretty much set up to how I want it for DD. Looking forward to my next trip/adventure.