iceracer said:
Best way to set camber which is only needed in a turn. Turn the wheel about 15 or 20 degrees. Measure the camber on the outside wheel. This take in effect of caster adding camber .
Good thought, and those same offset ball joints that are being used for more camber can also be used to gain more caster on the ZJ front end.
iceracer said:
I'm confuse on ball joints on a straight axle.
Please enlighten me.
Never mind, I figured it out
I agree with others, since there is no camber change with body roll, 1 or 2 neg. would be enough.
Tire temps helped me get the right set up on my ZX2SR
I'm no expert, but this is what I was thinking as well. IFS would have camber change in body roll but a straight axle won't. I'd start with 1 degree and see how it works.
The other thing is sidewall height and flex. You would need more with 15s and a 75 sidewall ratio versus 18s with a 35 sidewall.
And pics, dammit. I gotta see this beast.
NickD
PowerDork
6/17/19 8:50 a.m.
Sing it with me, folks: One of these things is not like the other...
NickD
PowerDork
6/17/19 9:11 a.m.
rslifkin said:
So... How did it do!?
It was mid-pack in our combined Street Touring/CAM class in the morning, actually. It's still running the 5.5 degrees of camber because he didn't get time to undo the balljoints. He's running 275-width, 17" 240tw Federals on it. Event was pretty rainy, so it wasn't a great indicator of true performance, and I guess the LSD is no longer limiting slip like it once did. On lunch break, he took it to run and get food, and when I got back from lunch, he had loaded it up and trailered it away. Got a message from him that the transmission is dead. But it was pretty flat cornering, seemed easy to control in a slide (and there was a lot of that for everyone) and it wasn't dead last.
If he's not running a big-ass trans cooler on it, he needs one. And probably a turn or 2 on the line pressure screw to firm things up. That's generally enough to make the trans last pretty well (mine is at 249k miles, only thing that's failed is a converter clutch and I think I know how I killed it).
For the LSD, they do wear out. But the clutch kit to rebuild the stock LSD is under $100.
NickD
PowerDork
6/17/19 9:33 a.m.
rslifkin said:
If he's not running a big-ass trans cooler on it, he needs one. And probably a turn or 2 on the line pressure screw to firm things up. That's generally enough to make the trans last pretty well (mine is at 249k miles, only thing that's failed is a converter clutch and I think I know how I killed it).
For the LSD, they do wear out. But the clutch kit to rebuild the stock LSD is under $100.
Okay. Couple other things we were wondering looking at it. Does removing the undertrays for the hood vents make them more functional? Is the front accessory drive for the 5.9Ls all the same across the trucks and Jeeps (He is looking at the 5.9L centrifugal supercharger kits for Rams and Dakotas and hoping it bolts onto the engine and then he just has to fab up an intercooler and charge piping)? And can you wire the overdrive unit to a switch so that you can flip it on and off similar to a Gear Vendors so that rather than shift to 3rd in faster parts of courses he can just flip the overdrive on?
Removing the vent trays entirely is a bit tough because they're what holds the vents on. But I did cut mine up heavily to increase airflow. It definitely makes the vents much more free-flowing. If cooling is an issue, the extra thick radiator I got from Winner Racing on eBay made a huge difference (and seems pretty well built).
Accessory drive is the same up front, but the battery often has to be turned sideways or moved elsewhere to fit a blower in a ZJ. With a blower, trans cooling becomes even more important. I'd also think about a shift kit at that point. With firmed up shifts and a few turns on the line pressure screw, the 46RE will hold a decent bit of power.
For overdrive, no, that won't work. The trans isn't hydraulically capable of engaging OD until it's already in 3rd without serious valve body mods (and I'm not sure it's possible even then). So best bet is to leave OD locked out and run 2nd and 3rd if necessary. I'd be very surprised if he needs to get into 3rd though. Even if he's gone as small as 25" overall diameter for tires, the stock 3.73 gears in the diff will put it at 73 mph in 2nd before hitting the rev limiter at 5300. If the tires are 27" tall, 2nd tops out at just under 79. So on most courses, he can likely just leave the shifter in "2", so it'll launch in 1st, go to second and then just stay in 2nd unless he gets into it hard enough at lower speeds to cause a drop back to 1st.