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Moving from FL to CO - What are the must have performance upgrades
Hey folks,
So I'm moving from sea level here in Florida to the Rockies in Colorado. I'm really in between selling my XJ and just buying a new 4WD vehicle, or making my Jeep work up there.
I'm wondering what are some of the essentials to have while driving at high elevation in the winter.
Not looking for aesthetic upgrades, but rather stuff that will make sure my baby doesn't get stranded out there.
I keep my spare in the back with the seats folded down,and I have a stock transmission cooler.
Thanks!
XJM
2001 Sport, 2-Door, 4.0, 4WD, Auto, 130k
Known issues:
Front and rear seal oil drip (very minor, never have to add extra)
Still have stock gearing and it's a bit of a pain with the lift/tires
Occasionally has a rough idle after being run here in hot-*** Florida, even with the heat shield installed
Upgrades during ownership:
3-inch Zone heavy-duty lift with nitro shocks
31x10.50 Pro Comp AT Sport
JKS rear shackles (+.75 inches)
Front coil spacers (+.75 inches)
RC adjustable control arms, upper and lower
RC adjustable track bar
RC quick disconnects
DEI heat shield
K&N cold air
Interstate MT-34 battery
Putco wiring harness upgrade
Repairs/replacements during ownership:
Thermostat
Valve cover gasket
Front crank seal
Waterpump
Serpentine belt
Spark plugs
Fuel injectors
A/C compressor
Brake calipers, hoses, and pads
Brake rotors resurfaced
Power steering pressure hose assembly
Cooling fan assembly
Coolant temperature sensor
Front stub axle joints
Ideas before I go:
Fog lights
Beefy tie-rod with new ends
?
Last edited by xjohnmatrix; 09-20-2018 at 03:22 PM.
Thats a clean 2-door you got there. Anyway, a bigger trans cooler is a must, especially in the moutains. I'm suprised you havent had issues yet. My old 95 with 31's would overheat the tranny above 60 here in flat Delaware.
Ya some driving lights would be nice . Do you have a posi in the rear end ? that would be good in the snow . maybe a block heater so it will start in the cold ,
regular maintenance, no add on transmission cooler.
I don’t think you need to do my thing special. Make sure your coolant has a good mix and be prepared to feel underpowered compared to sea level. Also, unless you like hearing your motor scream don’t expect to go the speed limit climbing uphill on I70.
Other than that that keep a coat gloves and hat in the back during winter.
also, keep in mind most of Colorado has more days of sunshine than San Diego and summer is long and hot. It’s not a winter wonderland all year like the movies portray it to be.
I actually did the reverse last summer. Temporarily moved from Denver to Tarpon Springs - trailered all my stuff down behind the XJ
The best mod I did was gears. I went to 4.88's (35" tires, AX15 5-speed) which was freaking awesome for Colorado. In FL it is geared way too high though, even with 35's. I like to run 75-80 on the highway and it sits at 3K rpm at 80mph which is less than ideal. But I should be back in CO in another 8 months or so.
Trans cooler and fresh fluid is absolutely critical if you have an auto. As well as having high quality gear oil (amsoil or redline). Things really heat up after pulling +6% grades for an hour or more at a stretch.
Brakes- super freaking important if you have an auto. With a manual trans I can just gear down, but again - those long grades. With an auto you end up heat-soaking the brakes more. I would highly recommend doing the rear ZJ/KJ disc brake swap. Fluid flush once a year.
Winter - snow tires for the win. The skinnier the better - General Artic, Nokian, and Bridgestone Blizzak are all great options and really not that expensive. Complete game changer for snow-day hooning.
Lights - also critical. I would stay halogen unless you are picky about lighting. If that is the case, my retrofitted Bi-Xenon projectors were usually able to keep a small circle free of snow/ice unless it was wet spring snow. Halogens wouldn't ever ice up like that. Backup lights (some halogen fog/off-road style lights) are one thing I always needed to do.
Hella or Blazer is a good option. Get something with a "driving" or "fog" pattern instead of an off road light
For what it's worth, Colorado can get hotter than FL in the summer. My 98 has no issues in either heat - AC blasting and 115*F in the middle of the rocks in the summer. Gets REALLY hot in Colorado. No injector wrap or heat shield, using some Bosch 4-hole injectors, AND I have a "short-ram" intake (AKA HOT AIR INTAKE). I am not that familiar with the coil-on-plug 00+ XJ's though.
And lastly, make sure you spray bomb exposed metal on the undercarraige to prevent corrosion. Washing the engine bay, underbody, and all door jambs once a month in the winter is critical otherwise you will get corrosion in hard to see places which sucks. A CB or VHF/UHF is really nice to have if you like to 4-wheel. I have a CB mounted in the XJ and a handheld Baofeng VHF/UHF which was adequate but I would probably skip CB and go straight to UHF/VHF to be honest
Last edited by investinwaffles; 09-21-2018 at 08:13 AM.
I actually did the reverse last summer. Temporarily moved from Denver to Tarpon Springs - trailered all my stuff down behind the XJ
The best mod I did was gears. I went to 4.88's (35" tires, AX15 5-speed) which was freaking awesome for Colorado. In FL it is geared way too high though, even with 35's. I like to run 75-80 on the highway and it sits at 3K rpm at 80mph which is less than ideal. But I should be back in CO in another 8 months or so.
Trans cooler and fresh fluid is absolutely critical if you have an auto. As well as having high quality gear oil (amsoil or redline). Things really heat up after pulling +6% grades for an hour or more at a stretch.
Brakes- super freaking important if you have an auto. With a manual trans I can just gear down, but again - those long grades. With an auto you end up heat-soaking the brakes more. I would highly recommend doing the rear ZJ/KJ disc brake swap. Fluid flush once a year.
Winter - snow tires for the win. The skinnier the better - General Artic, Nokian, and Bridgestone Blizzak are all great options and really not that expensive. Complete game changer for snow-day hooning.
Lights - also critical. I would stay halogen unless you are picky about lighting. If that is the case, my retrofitted Bi-Xenon projectors were usually able to keep a small circle free of snow/ice unless it was wet spring snow. Halogens wouldn't ever ice up like that. Backup lights (some halogen fog/off-road style lights) are one thing I always needed to do.
For what it's worth, Colorado can get hotter than FL in the summer. My 98 has no issues in either heat - AC blasting and 115*F in the middle of the rocks in the summer. Gets REALLY hot in Colorado. No injector wrap or heat shield, using some Bosch 4-hole injectors, AND I have a "short-ram" intake (AKA HOT AIR INTAKE). I am not that familiar with the coil-on-plug 00+ XJ's though.
And lastly, make sure you spray bomb exposed metal on the undercarraige to prevent corrosion. Washing the engine bay, underbody, and all door jambs once a month in the winter is critical otherwise you will get corrosion in hard to see places which sucks. A CB or VHF/UHF is really nice to have if you like to 4-wheel. I have a CB mounted in the XJ and a handheld Baofeng VHF/UHF which was adequate but I would probably skip CB and go straight to UHF/VHF to be honest
All good points, most of which I suppose I don’t think twice about having driven here and in snow all my life.
Headlights are are very important. You need heat to keep them clear of snow/ ice/ slush during the winter. After having LEDs in another car I won’t again. I just upgraded the harness and went with Autopal lenses and bulbs.
I have have never bought snow tires, a decent AT for the truck and SUV is all I’ve needed and regular all season tires on the car. That being said, if you’re not accustomed to driving in snow and ice a set would be a huge benefit.
Disc brake upgrade is one of the first mods I did. Again I never thought much of mentioning it as I’m used to driving on steep grade highways and steep mountain passes and trails. That and I just don’t like drums.
Also so due to all the steep grades I do change my oil every 3k, half change my trans fluid every year (pan drain and fill) as well as check coolant mix and condition every 6 months and change it every 2 years religiously.
Change your fuel filter and air filter when you get here. You WILL notice the loss of power but it’s not as extreme as you would think.
At at some point I’ll re gear (more than likely when new tires are in order and I step up in size again) and I have a trans coooler in the garage I haven’t gotten around to installing yet.
Hope you enjoy Colorado, it’s a beautiful state.
Last edited by zmzamarripa; 09-21-2018 at 08:47 AM.
All good points, most of which I suppose I don’t think twice about having driven here and in snow all my life.
Headlights are are very important. You need heat to keep them clear of snow/ ice/ slush during the winter. After having LEDs in another car I won’t again. I just upgraded the harness and went with Autopal lenses and bulbs.
I have have never bought snow tires, a decent AT for the truck and SUV is all I’ve needed and regular all season tires on the car. That being said, if you’re not accustomed to driving in snow and ice a set would be a huge benefit.
Disc brake upgrade is one of the first mods I did. Again I never thought much of mentioning it as I’m used to driving on steep grade highways and steep mountain passes and trails. That and I just don’t like drums.
Also so due to all the steep grades I do change my oil every 3k, half change my trans fluid every year (pan drain and fill) as well as check coolant mix and condition every 6 months and change it every 2 years religiously.
Change your fuel filter and air filter when you get here. You WILL notice the loss of power but it’s not as extreme as you would think.
At at some point I’ll re gear (more than likely when new tires are in order and I step up in size again) and I have a trans coooler in the garage I haven’t gotten around to installing yet.
Hope you enjoy Colorado, it’s a beautiful state.
Honestly - drive a Jeep with a 242 t-case and dedicated snow tires and you will be shocked. Easily capable of Ken Block levels of hooning.
So much fun I have been tossing around the idea of building an ax15 + 242 turbo XJ at stock ride height, some sort of panhard bar for the rear or a coil spring conversion.
Almost purely for the winter
Also really really nice when you are avoiding traffic on the back roads going up to A-Basin in a whiteout.
Good point on the fluid mix. I forgot to check one winter and had done a few coolant flushes over the summer. Of course the coolant mix was mostly water and I ended up cracking the radiator endcap. Could have been worse - luckily the freeze plugs and bock were all good.
Honestly - drive a Jeep with a 242 t-case and dedicated snow tires and you will be shocked. Easily capable of Ken Block levels of hooning.
So much fun I have been tossing around the idea of building an ax15 + 242 turbo XJ at stock ride height, some sort of panhard bar for the rear or a coil spring conversion.
Almost purely for the winter
Also really really nice when you are avoiding traffic on the back roads going up to A-Basin in a whiteout.
Good point on the fluid mix. I forgot to check one winter and had done a few coolant flushes over the summer. Of course the coolant mix was mostly water and I ended up cracking the radiator endcap. Could have been worse - luckily the freeze plugs and bock were all good.
agreed, I have a 242 in the xj and have had the full time TCs in both my ZJs and WJs. The full time really does make a difference in winter driving.
Complete fluids flush, if you have never ran your heater( just making an assumption as your moving from Florida), i would make sure the heater core is not cracked and works while at full blast. New u-joints. Do a complete coolant change, and make sure it passes for at least -35. yes. NEGATIVE 35F. Yellow Driving lights really help in a whiteout situation.
agreed, I have a 242 in the xj and have had the full time TCs in both my ZJs and WJs. The full time really does make a difference in winter driving.
I have a 242 with TrueTracs front and rear. It is an absolute beast in the snow. And it's great when you're driving in mixed conditions where you go back and forth between drifts, ice, wet, and dry pavement.
I have a 242 with TrueTracs front and rear. It is an absolute beast in the snow. And it's great when you're driving in mixed conditions where you go back and forth between drifts, ice, wet, and dry pavement.
That is like the perfect setup for a daily driver/mountain smasher combo for Colorado.
Does it drift well with the LSD's front and rear?
EDIT:
I guess clutch based LSD would be better for that, since the tru-track is designed to minimize slip as much as possible, which you might not want when drifting an AWD platform. But I have no idea
That is like the perfect setup for a daily driver/mountain smasher combo for Colorado.
Does it drift well with the LSD's front and rear?
EDIT:
I guess clutch based LSD would be better for that, since the tru-track is designed to minimize slip as much as possible, which you might not want when drifting an AWD platform. But I have no idea
I never really tried drifting it. But yeah, it is the ideal winter beater/driver for around here. Lots of traction to get where I need to go when I need to get there.
I have my JK with 35s (the XJ is on 31's) with lockers and I use that for snow bashing trails. The Duratracs it has just eat up deep powder and keep clawing through long after you thought you'd get stuck.
As someone who's driven a good portion of Colorado, wheeled all over, and has had many an XJ here:
1.) Engine Cooling system - The passes can be pretty hard on cooling systems, especially if not geared. It's the #1 thing I've seen vehicles pulled over on the side of the road for (even when it's below zero out).
2.) Trans Cooling - Same thing with the passes, a trans cooler can be a life saver. While it's not 100% needed, its something I would definitely recommend.
3.) Brakes - Declines will take their toll here, hell there are "brake check areas" scattered around I-70 and the various passes. Make sure your brakes are good, and look into a rear disc swap at some point.
Other than that, I'd recommend a fluid go over. Been a while since you've replaced it, or can't remember when you did last? Do it again. As far as the trans, given the distance. I'd do a drain and fill every 500 miles or so for a good clean flush.
A lot of this was probably mentioned but here is my checklist. This is my list for living at 11k, but will probably apply to most the state if your in the mountains.
1. Good snow tires - at 11k elevation I liked the general grabber at2 best (good traction and decent offroad in the summer)
2. Good clean coolant.
3. Fresh trans fluid - possibly a better cooler, but I never really had the need.
4. Front end tow hooks (and good tow strap for pulling texans out of the ditch )
5. Good brakes - ( rear disc swap would be amazing!)
6. Jumper cables, gloves, etc. Also heet for gas for those 30 below mornings. It will save your battery on those days.
7. A good ice scraper! Good wipers
8. Upgrade headlights, upgrade headlights, upgrade headlights!!!!!!!!!!!!!
9. Winch to pull yourself out of situations if noone else is around. while you can get by without it fine, ive used mine more times than I would have ever thought.
09-20-2018, 03:11 PM
Moving from FL to CO - What are the must have performance upgrades
Anyway, a bigger trans cooler is a must, especially in the moutains. I'm suprised you havent had issues yet. My old 95 with 31's would overheat the tranny above 60 here in flat Delaware.
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