Required expert opinion on buying 1998/99 jeep XJ

[sertac]

For Xterra you don't need manual gearbox. Automatic as well good enough to do whatever you need. 

[Zed]

22 hours ago, ShereenMK said:

@Zed you are always welcome to give a try, any recommendation on power increase is welcome. Well just for your info i raised my shocks using profender, when i met REDFOX team during our full day trip to yellow truck, they mentioned that I just did a "what they call as sharjah lift" thats the issue of loosing power. I didnt get time to discuss with them what to do next, well what i felt is i will have to change the top front arms of both side as it is not changed yet. Other than that i am in the dark.

hi @ShereenMK I haven't met RedFox but I assume this is a garage, or an offroad team affiliated with a garage? Any advice, even from me, should be taken with a grain of salt and think abut it for a while before you decide on something 🙂

With that in mind, I don't see how a lift, with any brand (from ProFender to Kings) can affect power, as the main purpose is for better suspension during offroad and an extra 1"-2" higher ground clearance. Let's instead use Physics and see how we can tackle our original problem: losing power (assuming this is during a climb)

1. Newton's third law of motion: Buy new tires & deflate

Basically the road is pushing the tires to move forward. So the tires need to have a good grip (high friction) in order to move the car forward. Sometimes when you buy old car, the tires are also old, so it's better to replace them. Once you get new rubber for the car, read the sand and deflate between 10-12 psi. Sweihan and Liwa are 10 psi sand. Yes you may get pop-outs, but that's for another lesson 😃 You want to get friction on the sand as this will help your car accelerate, otherwise even a powerful 300hp engine will just dig itself into the sand 😁

2. Power = Torque  X  angular motion : Drive in 4H 1st Gear (for LC)

The Power of a car remains constant. According to LC Wikipedia, your Inline-6 has a higher horsepower of 241hp compared to my V8 that only has 228hp. Torque is needed to move the car from parking position, once you get momentum, torque is reduced and you shift into higher gears. So, during a climb, to get maximum power, you need to be in 4H 1st Gear (lower angular motion) in order to produce the maximum torque to get the maximum power. Do not shift into 2 or even drive in D automatic (LC100 has a lazy automatic tuned for fuel saving and not power).

3. Newton's second law of motion: Throw away Junk and reduce weight

The good thing with big SUV is that they come with engine with enough power to move the total weight of car + 7 passengers + some cargo. So imagine if you make the car lighter: remove the 3rd row seats and put them in your living room as extra chairs. Remove the side-steps to save 30kg each left & right. Drive with just 1 passenger in the car next to you. You will help the engine a lot to move the car forward by reducing some weight...

4. Reduce inefficiencies between engine and wheels: Fluids Maintenance

That 241hp rated engine is only at the FlyWheel (when the factory does the dyno with just the engine). So imagine your LC100 produces 241hp, then it goes to the Torque Converter, then to 4-speed Transmission/Gear Box, then to Transfer Case, then to Propeller Shafts, then to Differentials, then finally to Wheels. Along the way, it will never stay true to 241hp... you will lose some power along the way.... So to make it smoother from engine to wheels, you need to ensure all the fluids are lubricating the parts properly: Automatic Transmission Fluids, Transfer Case Gear Oil, Drive Shaft Grease, Diff Oil, and check no play in Axle Flange holding the axle to the wheel.

Once you have done the above 4 points, let's test your LC100 again in Sweihan 😁

 

[Frederic]

34 minutes ago, Zed said:

hi @ShereenMK I haven't met RedFox but I assume this is a garage, or an offroad team affiliated with a garage? Any advice, even from me, should be taken with a grain of salt and think abut it for a while before you decide on something 🙂

With that in mind, I don't see how a lift, with any brand (from ProFender to Kings) can affect power, as the main purpose is for better suspension during offroad and an extra 1"-2" higher ground clearance. Let's instead use Physics and see how we can tackle our original problem: losing power (assuming this is during a climb)

1. Newton's third law of motion: Buy new tires & deflate

Basically the road is pushing the tires to move forward. So the tires need to have a good grip (high friction) in order to move the car forward. Sometimes when you buy old car, the tires are also old, so it's better to replace them. Once you get new rubber for the car, read the sand and deflate between 10-12 psi. Sweihan and Liwa are 10 psi sand. Yes you may get pop-outs, but that's for another lesson 😃 You want to get friction on the sand as this will help your car accelerate, otherwise even a powerful 300hp engine will just dig itself into the sand 😁

2. Power = Torque  X  angular motion : Drive in 4H 1st Gear (for LC)

The Power of a car remains constant. According to LC Wikipedia, your Inline-6 has a higher horsepower of 241hp compared to my V8 that only has 228hp. Torque is needed to move the car from parking position, once you get momentum, torque is reduced and you shift into higher gears. So, during a climb, to get maximum power, you need to be in 4H 1st Gear (lower angular motion) in order to produce the maximum torque to get the maximum power. Do not shift into 2 or even drive in D automatic (LC100 has a lazy automatic tuned for fuel saving and not power).

3. Newton's second law of motion: Throw away Junk and reduce weight

The good thing with big SUV is that they come with engine with enough power to move the total weight of car + 7 passengers + some cargo. So imagine if you make the car lighter: remove the 3rd row seats and put them in your living room as extra chairs. Remove the side-steps to save 30kg each left & right. Drive with just 1 passenger in the car next to you. You will help the engine a lot to move the car forward by reducing some weight...

4. Reduce inefficiencies between engine and wheels: Fluids Maintenance

That 241hp rated engine is only at the FlyWheel (when the factory does the dyno with just the engine). So imagine your LC100 produces 241hp, then it goes to the Torque Converter, then to 4-speed Transmission/Gear Box, then to Transfer Case, then to Propeller Shafts, then to Differentials, then finally to Wheels. Along the way, it will never stay true to 241hp... you will lose some power along the way.... So to make it smoother from engine to wheels, you need to ensure all the fluids are lubricating the parts properly: Automatic Transmission Fluids, Transfer Case Gear Oil, Drive Shaft Grease, Diff Oil, and check no play in Axle Flange holding the axle to the wheel.

Once you have done the above 4 points, let's test your LC100 again in Sweihan 😁

 

You deserve a Carnity medal for this post @Zed 

So transparent and true 

Not sure if Wikipedia is correct, i found this below on the DA website:

[sertac]

Even if it is 212 HP. @Mehmet Volgais taking his 190hp Pajero to top of Super Bowl with the experience he has. Which was looked like impossible to him when he was less experienced. I am sure this LC100 can do amazing things as well. If it is well maintained and if the driver have enough experience. I believe Shereen all you need is time to understand how to find best line, how to get best out of your car. 

[Frederic]

11 minutes ago, sertac said:

Even if it is 212 HP. @Mehmet Volgais taking his 190hp Pajero to top of Super Bowl with the experience he has. Which was looked like impossible to him when he was less experienced. I am sure this LC100 can do amazing things as well. If it is well maintained and if the driver have enough experience. I believe Shereen all you need is time to understand how to find best line, how to get best out of your car. 

Totally agree. But the Landcruiser is a lot heavier than the Pajero unfortunately. But yes with practice and finding the right lines you can achieve much more than most would expect. 

[Lawrence_Chehimi]

2 hours ago, Zed said:

With that in mind, I don't see how a lift, with any brand (from ProFender to Kings) can affect power, as the main purpose is for better suspension during offroad and an extra 1"-2" higher ground clearance. Let's instead use Physics and see how we can tackle our original problem: losing power (assuming this is during a climb)

@Zedthis time I will disagree with you. Suspension plays great role keeping your wheels on ground giving you the required traction, once the car starts bouncing you will start losing power, or sometimes it makes the wheels slip reducing your climbing momentum.

[Zed]

17 minutes ago, Lawrence_Chehimi said:

@Zedthis time I will disagree with you. Suspension plays great role keeping your wheels on ground giving you the required traction, once the car starts bouncing you will start losing power, or sometimes it makes the wheels slip reducing your climbing momentum.

thank you @Lawrence_Chehimi for correcting me, you're right bro: during Bumpy Climbs you will lose momentum due to the bumps (wheel off the sand) + the time the wheel goes back to the sand (suspension rebound). In that case, you will benefit from Suspension Systems that can be adjusted to High/Firm Compression and Low/Soft Rebound...  cc @ShereenMK this may be what RedFox is trying to say, but note this kind of suspension is expensive 😃

Although for Carnity drives I'd just use the cheat method: choose a new path that has no bumps 😁

[M.Seidam]

After one and a half year driving in desert with or without Carnity I became convinced to remain on my stock suspension or at least the factory height level of my Xterra as till this moment I never had the need to increase the ground clearance or stiffens or  adjust my suspension as I adopted long time the method of Carnity : choose a different path which is less bumpy 😅( this is is only me )

[ShereenMK]

21 hours ago, Zed said:

hi @ShereenMK I haven't met RedFox but I assume this is a garage, or an offroad team affiliated with a garage? Any advice, even from me, should be taken with a grain of salt and think abut it for a while before you decide on something 🙂

With that in mind, I don't see how a lift, with any brand (from ProFender to Kings) can affect power, as the main purpose is for better suspension during offroad and an extra 1"-2" higher ground clearance. Let's instead use Physics and see how we can tackle our original problem: losing power (assuming this is during a climb)

1. Newton's third law of motion: Buy new tires & deflate

Basically the road is pushing the tires to move forward. So the tires need to have a good grip (high friction) in order to move the car forward. Sometimes when you buy old car, the tires are also old, so it's better to replace them. Once you get new rubber for the car, read the sand and deflate between 10-12 psi. Sweihan and Liwa are 10 psi sand. Yes you may get pop-outs, but that's for another lesson 😃 You want to get friction on the sand as this will help your car accelerate, otherwise even a powerful 300hp engine will just dig itself into the sand 😁

2. Power = Torque  X  angular motion : Drive in 4H 1st Gear (for LC)

The Power of a car remains constant. According to LC Wikipedia, your Inline-6 has a higher horsepower of 241hp compared to my V8 that only has 228hp. Torque is needed to move the car from parking position, once you get momentum, torque is reduced and you shift into higher gears. So, during a climb, to get maximum power, you need to be in 4H 1st Gear (lower angular motion) in order to produce the maximum torque to get the maximum power. Do not shift into 2 or even drive in D automatic (LC100 has a lazy automatic tuned for fuel saving and not power).

3. Newton's second law of motion: Throw away Junk and reduce weight

The good thing with big SUV is that they come with engine with enough power to move the total weight of car + 7 passengers + some cargo. So imagine if you make the car lighter: remove the 3rd row seats and put them in your living room as extra chairs. Remove the side-steps to save 30kg each left & right. Drive with just 1 passenger in the car next to you. You will help the engine a lot to move the car forward by reducing some weight...

4. Reduce inefficiencies between engine and wheels: Fluids Maintenance

That 241hp rated engine is only at the FlyWheel (when the factory does the dyno with just the engine). So imagine your LC100 produces 241hp, then it goes to the Torque Converter, then to 4-speed Transmission/Gear Box, then to Transfer Case, then to Propeller Shafts, then to Differentials, then finally to Wheels. Along the way, it will never stay true to 241hp... you will lose some power along the way.... So to make it smoother from engine to wheels, you need to ensure all the fluids are lubricating the parts properly: Automatic Transmission Fluids, Transfer Case Gear Oil, Drive Shaft Grease, Diff Oil, and check no play in Axle Flange holding the axle to the wheel.

Once you have done the above 4 points, let's test your LC100 again in Sweihan 😁

 

@Zed man thank you for taking ur time for me. Ok lets go point by point.

1. already have 275/70/R16 2021 Geolanders. well after installing that i did see the difference. Now the issue is I wanted to reduce till 10-12 psi but always ends up 14psi. My hand is holding me from reducing more. Maybe too much worried about pop outs. Next time will definitely try with 12 psi.

2. I always drive in gear 2. While climbing i will start with 2 then on the middle when i feel like loosing momentum shift to 1, so that will get a booster effect and will push little more. Anyway will try to start with 1 from bottom itself.

3. I have my 3rd row seat removed. Now only left is me with 100+ KG. I need to shed some weight 🤔. As mentioned will remove side steps, i am installing my bash plate 10mm aluminium, so definitely need to compensate with side step.

4. Always check engine oil, will check with my garage friends with all other oils and stuffs.

 

[Srikumar]

14 psi is definitely high for a Geolandar. 12 psi should be fine for the front and maybe you can try 11 psi at the back. Also, pop out has a lot to do with drive style, so if you avoid fishtails and hard bumps you can probably go down to 10 psi as well.