Finally, the Jeep JL build

[sizmtrz]

Great work though! I'm jealous of you guys that do your own installs. I'll put it all in but am fearful of wiring the amps in.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

May want to consider upgrading the tailgate hinges to the Mopar/Teraflex HD model. ??

This thread hasn't been updated in some time and I'm not sure if OP is still active here but I do wonder how those hinges are holding up to that weight. I've seen door hinges start getting a lot of play in them when dudes do big door buildouts.

 

[sizmtrz]

This thread hasn't been updated in some time and I'm not sure if OP is still active here but I do wonder how those hinges are holding up to that weight. I've seen door hinges start getting a lot of play in them when dudes do big door buildouts.

LS is around, he refered me to this post cause I asked about his build in another post. Thanks for looking out though.

 

[LsGuy]

Hinges were upgraded, but not posted here because I did them when I put the jeep on 37s. Toyo open countries, 100 lbs for just the tire. Definitely had to upgrade the hinges lol

Also, this hasn't been updated in a while because nothings changed, I'm not 100% satisfied with it, but not dissatisfied enough to actually work on it lol. And I'm currently tied up in my Subaru build

 

[sizmtrz]

Hinges were upgraded, but not posted here because I did them when I put the jeep on 37s. Toyo open countries, 100 lbs for just the tire. Definitely had to upgrade the hinges lol

Also, this hasn't been updated in a while because nothings changed, I'm not 100% satisfied with it, but not dissatisfied enough to actually work on it lol. And I'm currently tied up in my Subaru build

Sorry, I know this is a car audio site, but have you had any drive line issues resulting from the 37's? I was sure to order the max tow package so I could get 4.10s withouth the rubi cost just so I could run the 37's!

 

[LsGuy]

Sorry, I know this is a car audio site, but have you had any drive line issues resulting from the 37's? I was sure to order the max tow package so I could get 4.10s withouth the rubi cost just so I could run the 37's!

Nah no driveline issues, I have around 20k miles on the 37s, and I have either 3.43 or 3.73s. I have the Dayna 40 rear but the smaller front axle, I haven't beaten it too hard until I get the front upgraded. I've considered regearing, but honestly I may not even do that now, it drives fine

 

[LsGuy]

37s no lift, 2021 willys

 

[sizmtrz]

View attachment 35591
View attachment 35592

37s no lift, 2021 willys

Nice. Thats my look. LOL Mine will be a Gladiator with a Scrambler strip kit though. Thanks! What fenders are those? Are you on the JL/JT or wrangler fourms?

 

[LsGuy]

Nice. Thats my look. LOL Mine will be a Gladiator with a Scrambler strip kit though. Thanks! What fenders are those? Are you on the JL/JT or wrangler fourms?

I'm on the JL forums under the same username, and I believe they are the Deegan 38's

 

[Firewalker]

Got a set of MT Deegan's myself on my other set of wheel for my Explorer. Cooper makes Mickey Thompson as well. My Deegan's have the same tread pattern as the AT3's that Cooper makes. IIRC there is 2 or 3 different sets of Deegan's MT makes with ranging from the aggressive tread patterns to the less aggressive pattern like mine has.

 

[LsGuy]

Got a set of MT Deegan's myself on my other set of wheel for my Explorer. Cooper makes Mickey Thompson as well. My Deegan's have the same tread pattern as the AT3's that Cooper makes. IIRC there is 2 or 3 different sets of Deegan's MT makes with ranging from the aggressive tread patterns to the less aggressive pattern like mine has.

For sure, I've spent a lot of time at Coopers main plant fixing their cnc machines and robots. However, I was talking about the fender flares, the tires on this jeep are Toyo open country MT 37"

 

[Firewalker]

AH yeah I missed that part DOH! I hear Deegans and my mind goes to the MT Tires instantly,lol.

I've been in a Coopers plant as well same with Firestone/Bridgestone. God the stink in there. Company I worked for in Plainfield did the alarm systems in a few tire plants in the Chicago area. Got to know a few of the guys there who always said to call when I needed tires they would give me their discounts so I keep in contact with some of those guys. Same with when I ran Auto Parts stores got to know a lot of the distributors of course and those contacts always save me money when I need parts.

I had a '00 Jeep Wrangler 2 door with a 4.0 and a 5 speed. Damn thing would go through anything. I remember one night I had it buried up to the bottom of the windows in mud/water before I got stuck in 2wd. Threw it in 4H and flew out of it while the two guys one had a 3/4 ton Chevy with a 454 the other a Ford 3/4 with the 460 both got stuck bad,lol. I came flying through their spot in 4H with no issues.

Love them Jeeps! Would buy a 4 door if I could afford one. Deep black or a deep maroon color are nice on any Jeep. We've had 3 Jeeps only one of them was a pos and that was that German '05 Jeep Liberty mom had god what a pile of garbage.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

I'm not 100% satisfied with it, but not dissatisfied enough to actually work on it lol.

Not a bad place to be. For the sake of posterity, what do you feel is lacking and if you were to get a do-over on this what would you do different?

 

[LsGuy]

Not a bad place to be. For the sake of posterity, what do you feel is lacking and if you were to get a do-over on this what would you do different?

I've spent a lot of time thinking about that over the last 25k miles. The system sounds amazing, everybody is blown away honestly. But when you listen for that many hours, you definitely pick it apart.

Subs. Still trying to figure out exactly where I want to be here. I started with the 6.5" ported, and while I enjoyed them, they had limitations that I wasn't really able to overcome. So, I swapped those JL shallows in there with a ported box. They were insane for slim subs, but it was a little too peaky, fell on their face with higher bass frequencies. I tried them sealed and wasn't satisfied with the output. Pulled those and am currently running a couple Boston G510's sealed. They are fantastic, I think I will be keeping them. However, the box they are in is massively oversized. They are free air capable so no damage concern, but it really limits vehicle function. I'll figure out a better setup eventually.

The kicker amps have been wonderful, no complaints. However, I would go with a 6 channel instead of 2x 4 channels so that I could locate everything under the seats, wouldn't need a third sub amp in the cargo area.

Midbass and honestly lower mids period are pretty bad. The combination of the honestly mediocre Morel 6.5's and their location, plus the tiny sealed boxes they are in make it impossible to pull any performance out of them. I honestly don't have a solution for this. Kick panels are pretty much out, really no room to spare there. I could do custom door mounts, but that defeats the purpose of owning a Jeep. I could do sound bar, but that throws the stage off.

Upper mids are not quite where I want them to be. The Morel 2.5 mids and tweets are very good, but I've reached the limits of what can be done in the dsp, and have come to the conclusion that it's just placement. On axis tweets and windshield fired mids, I need to build custom pods. Slightly more difficult here because of the A pillar grab handles.

Just things I have to modify. Takes time, and honestly a lot of trial and error. Not a vehicle meant for audio enthusiasts, that's for sure.

 

[sizmtrz]

I've spent a lot of time thinking about that over the last 25k miles. The system sounds amazing, everybody is blown away honestly. But when you listen for that many hours, you definitely pick it apart.

Subs. Still trying to figure out exactly where I want to be here. I started with the 6.5" ported, and while I enjoyed them, they had limitations that I wasn't really able to overcome. So, I swapped those JL shallows in there with a ported box. They were insane for slim subs, but it was a little too peaky, fell on their face with higher bass frequencies. I tried them sealed and wasn't satisfied with the output. Pulled those and am currently running a couple Boston G510's sealed. They are fantastic, I think I will be keeping them. However, the box they are in is massively oversized. They are free air capable so no damage concern, but it really limits vehicle function. I'll figure out a better setup eventually.

The kicker amps have been wonderful, no complaints. However, I would go with a 6 channel instead of 2x 4 channels so that I could locate everything under the seats, wouldn't need a third sub amp in the cargo area.

Midbass and honestly lower mids period are pretty bad. The combination of the honestly mediocre Morel 6.5's and their location, plus the tiny sealed boxes they are in make it impossible to pull any performance out of them. I honestly don't have a solution for this. Kick panels are pretty much out, really no room to spare there. I could do custom door mounts, but that defeats the purpose of owning a Jeep. I could do sound bar, but that throws the stage off.

Upper mids are not quite where I want them to be. The Morel 2.5 mids and tweets are very good, but I've reached the limits of what can be done in the dsp, and have come to the conclusion that it's just placement. On axis tweets and windshield fired mids, I need to build custom pods. Slightly more difficult here because of the A pillar grab handles.

Just things I have to modify. Takes time, and honestly a lot of trial and error. Not a vehicle meant for audio enthusiasts, that's for sure.

I imagine the only option for us jeepers are these...

JL Jeep & JT Jeep Gladiator American SoundBar- Empty Enclosure | American SoundBar

Exclusive DS18 Overhead Bar System for JL/JLU, JT Jeeps (4x 8" Speakers 4x Tweeters) Black JT Jeep Gladiator DS18 speakers SoundBar – ds18caraudio

Exclusive DS18 Overhead Plug & Play Bar System for JL/JLU, JT Jeeps (2 – ds18caraudio

... and then find the proper 8" mid base to fill them with. Then we would be faced with adding more Subwoofer to keep up. It never ends, and its partially on us for buying the hardest vehicle built to make sound good. LOL