Jeep Wrangler JL - Throttle Control and Rev limiter - How to climb

[Abhishek Chikara]

1 hour ago, DP1011 said:

@Abhishek Chikara - I have got hardly anything left to whats already highlighted. 

One thing that made a huge difference during my FB+ days - Reducing 2 PSIs.

We had a decent size dune, and I noticed compared to @Benjamin Whose climb was as if its onroad, and letting @Gaurav Have a go with my Jeep and then his suggestion to go down 1-2 PSI, so from 11, I went down to 9, and I felt happy that there was nothing wrong with my machine😂 

AND in addition to this, yes ofcourse triptonic, but with AC off also makes a difference at times for steep dunes! 

 

Thank you @DP1011 for your suggestion. I was running 12 PSI on all tires and will keep the pressure in mind going forward. Also, noted on the AC and will keep it off for climbs. Thanks very much again.

[Rafey Hashmi]

1 hour ago, DP1011 said:

@Abhishek Chikara - I have got hardly anything left to whats already highlighted. 

One thing that made a huge difference during my FB+ days - Reducing 2 PSIs.

We had a decent size dune, and I noticed compared to @Benjamin Whose climb was as if its onroad, and letting @Gaurav Have a go with my Jeep and then his suggestion to go down 1-2 PSI, so from 11, I went down to 9, and I felt happy that there was nothing wrong with my machine😂 

AND in addition to this, yes ofcourse triptonic, but with AC off also makes a difference at times for steep dunes! 

 

Deepak sir, I have no more PSI’s left to go down on 😂

I second this, @Frederic made a bold decision to bring down 5psi since then it did wonders for me 💪

[Zubail]

3 hours ago, Rafey Hashmi said:

Deepak sir, I have no more PSI’s left to go down on 😂

I second this, @Frederic made a bold decision to bring down 5psi since then it did wonders for me 💪

@J-P L

[Gaurav]

8 hours ago, Abhishek Chikara said:

Thank you @DP1011 for your suggestion. I was running 12 PSI on all tires and will keep the pressure in mind going forward. Also, noted on the AC and will keep it off for climbs. Thanks very much again.

Don't drop 12 to 9 immediately, as you need to adapt as well to handle smoother curves and absorb bumps proactively.

In case of Deepak made a diff, but after that 1 climb, we inflated back to 10 or 11. Am I correct @DP1011.

You can try 11 on the next drive, then after that try 10 on the following drive.

9 is too low for 4 door Rubicon weight in my opinion. Better to climb 1 less dune, than having pop-out and damaging TPMS on every drive.

[DP1011]

21 minutes ago, Gaurav said:

Don't drop 12 to 9 immediately, as you need to adapt as well to handle smoother curves and absorb bumps proactively.

In case of Deepak made a diff, but after that 1 climb, we inflated back to 10 or 11. Am I correct @DP1011.

You can try 11 on the next drive, then after that try 10 on the following drive.

9 is too low for 4 door Rubicon weight in my opinion. Better to climb 1 less dune, than having pop-out and damaging TPMS on every drive.

As you always say Finding the "sweet spot"🤘🏽🙌🏼

[Gary F]

Agreed @DP1011 finding the sweet spot is crucial and that sweet spot changes on several variables.

As someone whom drives a Jeep Gladiator I’m already at a disadvantage for climbs, carrying an extra 250+kg compared to short and long wheel base Wranglers.

Climbing needs to be approached with care, and momentum which can be hard to maintain with the amount of crosstracks in popular climbing spots around Dubai.

i also use “Part-Time” and off-road plus on alL my drives. Anything in the range of iftar bowl I’ll use tiptronic as my jeep has a terrible habit of change up to the next gear just as momentum is sapped. At the same time the Jeep gearboxes computer also has a terrible habit refusing to change down with a shift not allowed message when it does not like the rev range . 
 

one crucial component of a climb is the slope you are climbing, this is hard to judges visually by the nature of large dunes playing with your visual perception.

for the throttle always feather, as it’s not connected by a linkage it’s always better to have scope push a little harder assuming the jeep computer allows it.

Incidentally I drive lower than 11psi -t the start of drives, but I’m running geolander all terrains the Light truck variant, these have stiff sidewalls and extra layers compared to the regular AT.s

 

my advice next time you are out there at a climbing spot, ask the marshal if you can do a few more practice runs. This immensely helps to build skills and consistency

and then there are some days that no matter what,  you just are not gonna get as far up as you want, don’t push it and accept there will always be another future drive. 

 

[Abhishek Chikara]

Just wanted to update. Went for a short drive today and implemented the suggestions that are given in this thread - 

Apart from the regular checklist (4H Part Time, 12 psi, Traction off, ESC off), as advised, I drove in Offroad Mode 95% of the time (let the auto do the job which was fantastic) and modulated the throttle instead of keeping it firmly pressed during the last drive. There was a world of difference and the experience was much better + I never hit the rev limiter.

Thanks again for the advice.

[Zubail]

@ChrisW hi! Maybe this thread will be helpful for you, Ben and Riad have very detailed description on drive modes!

[ChrisW]

Thanks, @Zubail - should anyone else be reading this thread in the future I can confirm that Ben’s advice is spot on. 
 

I did some long climbs yesterday and they generally worked out well - 4H Part Time, Offroad Plus mode on, long press on the TC button to reduce assistances, and manual on the gear shifter.
 

I was finding that upshifts at circa 4500-5000 rpm on the run in was good, prompt downshifts at 3000-3500 rpm in the run uphill as rpm’s decayed, modulate the throttle from mid to full application, left/right steering to find grip as you go.

A few observations of the car’s behaviour:

1.) Important to feather the throttle to get timely downshifts. I think the Jeep is a little funny about a downshift with 100% throttle being held. 
 

2.) It has a soft limiter for RPM, so when you hit redline it will aggressively limit you to that power setting. I don’t think it backs off, but you will immediately stop accelerating and that loss of momentum is going to hurt how well you do in the next gear up (basically if you hit the limiter you need to seriously consider as to whether you can keep climbing or need to be ready to bail). 
 

3.) With some practice you can use your ear to time the gear shifts. My exhaust has an extremely noticeable note change coming down through 3000 rpm. 
 

All this was done with the Tazor Mini removed - this may have been doing something strange with the transfer case previously. 
 

I suspect that 4H Auto might do even better for getting speed initially (it’s basically an AWD system in that mode - and might help you generate more speed on a run in) - however the trade off is that the auto system can only react to conditions, it can’t anticipate, and that might cost you some performance later. 

[Misha Puskar]

great topic - I have never ever changed the gear on my jeep to manual... I actually dont even know how that works, but so far, I have been able to climb Id say - to where others climb on each of the rides. Is that a problem? Am I hurting my jeep with not changing it to manual?

 

Btw I only drive manual in Europe, so I know how the stick works, just not sure how manual works on an automatic car, I never felt I needed it... I hope am not damaging my precious car  

 

Thanks!