New to CO - looking to wheel

[Mike02]

Hello CO,
Just arrived from Southern Oregon where I am a member of the Jefferson State Cruisers which is a TLCA club. I am just trying to quickly get into some wheeling out here. I am back and forth between Denver and Vail. I do have to ask this question though - How do you guys with the FJZ80 keep up on I70? I have always, and no offence, thought that my rig was underpowered for how big it was - but wow I'm hitting 2nd gear on only 6% grades!! I am heading towards Vail tonight and I'm sure I will get into some 8% grades. Hopefully you guys know the answer! Thanks and hope to meet some new people -- Mike

 

[mountainmanryan]

Mike, You might want to look up the "Rising Sun" club. They are the Denver area TLCA club. CLC is the Colorado Springs/Southern CO group.

As far as your question about I70, it might just be a tune-up/ mixture issue coming from lower elevations to CO. I took my 96 FZJ with 206K up to Copper Mt. in the snowstorm on Wednesday and had no problem cruising at 55-65mph up the passes. Do you have a roof rack, lift, or anything else creating drag? If I were making that drive on a regular basis I would only use stock sized snow tires and leave the oversized All-terrains at home till summer.

 

[nanuk]

What is the altitude where you came from in Oregon?
And how long have you been here?
If you just recently got here and came from a lower altitude, you might try unhooking the battery for a while and then trying again. The puter will be forced to learn everything quicker versus doing it on it's own.
Our 96 with 285's & stock gearing does OK up 70, but not fast lane.
The 93 with 315's & 4.88's doesn't do quite as good, but it's only went up 70 once.

 

[Mike02]

Yea,
I drove the Cruiser from MN to OR in August and it had a hell of a time going over the Tetons. I am running a 3" lift with 295/75's with stock gearing so I do understand that has something to do with it. When I got to OR I wondered if I was loosing compression (head casket or something) but did a couple different tests and all was perfect. I just don't think it's right to have to use 2nd gear @ about 4,000 rpms to maintain 50 mph on a 6% grade is all. Only thing that I see fixing it would be to put a nice big V8 in the beast - just don't have the time/skills/money/patience ect.

 

[LCPilot]

Vacation time = lots more weight in the truck. It sounds as if you have extra weight in bumpers and a higher ride with more wind resistance added in. My stock '94 hated hills and extra weight. You notice the limit of power more than when you are driving around town or on the flat land.

 

[PPFJ60]

Engines loose about 3% of the horse power per 1000 feet so at 10,000 feet you are loosing 30% of the horse power.

That's why I put in a 383 V8 when the 2F was shot. I still think I could use more HP when going up the mountain passes at highway speeds.

Now as for the wheeling part, we just made a snow run North of Woodland Park and had a good time.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/co-colorado-land-cruisers/344343-327-snow-run.html

We have a scheduled club run January 23 to run Shubarth Road. If you are free that day please join us.

TrailDamage.com - Schubarth Road

Otherwise keep an eye on the CLC site to see what other types of unscheduled runs pop up.

 

[dfmorse]

Mike; there's nothing wrong with ur 1994 FZJ80. That big 6 is doing its best. Of course, if u throw a supercharger on it - u will notice mucho improvement. The FJ100 with the V8 is also good in the hills.