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HAVOC
Original article:
http://jk-adventure.com/JKA/showthread.php?2304-JK-ADVENTURE-COM-s-official-SEMA-build-HAVOC
JK-Adventure.com's latest build "HAVOC" is a unique JK. Built from the
point of view that you can have a rough and tough JK able to run hard
core trails without breaking the bank. For most owners, this build can
be accomplished over time as your budget allows. This JK build model is
for the guy who has maybe already eked his way into 35's or 37's on
stock axles and a 2.5-4in lift, maybe some gears, but fears breakage as
the trails get more aggressive. This is for the guy who wants to "take
it to the next level". We approached Bond over at Rebel offroad and
asked if he would like to be the "build master" on this project. Now it
was time to started putting together the components to create ""HAVOC".
The main issues we wanted to address were:
Building up the axles to accommodate Toyo 38" tires without the fear of breaking.
Fender and side armor to minimize trail carnage from aggressive trails.
Suspension performance for 12" of travel.
Engine performance for a better street-able ride.
Overall rock crawling performance.
We kept a few of the mods we had done up to this point, as they already
helped in our endeavor. Some of these mods are: Rubi lockers, 5.13
gears, 10k LB winch, 4:1 Rubi T-case, steel bumpers, root pax gas cans
etc.
Building up the axles:
We decided that new front
D60's, although tempting, was out of the budget and for our purposes not
necessary. We chose to build up the stock D44 instead. We started by
trussing it with a Treks Offroad Equiptment truss along with the already
installed EVO gussets for axle housing strength. Then we installed RCV
axle shafts, Tom Woods drive shafts, Poly Performance Ball Joints, Rock
Krawler Aluminum tie-rod and Reid Racing high steer knuckles to build up
the remaining weak parts in the front. We also went with a Spyntec
locking hub assembly to minimize front vibrations, better our gas
mileage and the ability to unlock if we break something up front. This
mod was a bit on the extra side providing your budget allows. In the
rear, we added Superior cromoly shafts. Running larger Toyo 38x13.5xR20
tires also urged us to install PSC's Hydro-assist steering kit to help
with the added stress on the steering components. In addition, Rebel
Offroad's "RESTRAINT" breaks where put on to help with stopping the 38"
Toyo's. We mounted these Toyo tires on a 20x10 Spyerlock beadlock wheel
for a high performance beadlock and specifically for their 3.5" back
spacing to get the tires away from the Jeep enough not to rub at full
stuff.
Fender and side armor:
When it came to side armor,
you can take a look at both sides of the jeep and tell we are no
stranger to trail damage. We wanted to prevent further damage while
being able to hit the trail hard. Although there are some great options
out there, for this build, Co-Owner Troy, had to have Metalcloak fenders
and side armor. The look alone sold him on them. The reinforced
structure and removable feature, as well as the rear side armor and rear
corners sporting L.E.D.'s made it a done deal. We also wanted to
address the B pillar vulnerability on the 4dr JK. Troy fabbed up the
"Exo Rack", as he puts it, for B pillar protection and to protect the JK
in leu of a flop or an off-camber handshack with a big rock. We also
had Dominion Offroad add side steps to the stock rubi rocker guards to
protect the rock rails and provide a step.
Suspension performance:
We decided that the Rock Krawler 12" 2.0 coil over in the front was the
way to go for overall road and trail performance. We paired that with
Rebel Offroad's bolt on mounts. For ultimate flex, we went with
Teraflex's long arms. We also installed their 6in coils in the rear and
12" Elka shocks to match the better ride of the coil overs. Teraflex's
dual-rate sway bar was chosen to keep the on-road stiffness yet have a
flexible sway bar on the trail. Their speed bumps where added to give us
pre-runner performance on whoops and trails as well.
Engine performance:
When it came to our under powered stock 3.8LT engine, we HAD to do
something to power the 38" Toyo's. We looked into a hemi swap, but that
went against our point of view in creating a JK that was in an
affordable ballpark. We then researched Superchargers and decided that
for the money to power increase ratio that we would be able to achieve
with a RIPP supercharger, we were sold. We had it installed over at
Rebel and took it out for a spin. Yup, that worked. It turned a bogged
down JK on 38's into a fun, peppy Jeep ready for the freeway (the way it
should be form the factory). Considering the added heat from the
supercharger, we decided to install hood louvers. We called the guys
over at Run Cool Hood Louvers. We took their advice on which hood
louvers would work best for our JK in both function and style. We are
extremely happy with their customer service and product! Not only did
these hood louvers give the function of venting heat that we needed, but
they also added that special custom look to "HAVOC".
Overall rock crawling performance:
There were a few more things that we felt needed to be addressed to get
our rig ready for Moab, the Rubicon, trails in "The Hammers" and more.
Air: We needed an air source to air our tires. For a long term
sustainable solution for airing up we chose the Viar OBO system from
Dominion Offroad. We didn't stop there. We also wanted to be able to air
up faster and use air tools for repairs. We HAD to put a Powertank on
the "HAVOC" build too. We got the 10LB tank and the new X-FLO coupler.
We also drilled and tapped our Spyderlock wheels and installed
Powertank's Monster Valves. We also ran air chucks to both bumpers,
lines to hook up all four tires and the option to chose CO2 or OBO.
Winch rope: We wanted to go with the highest quality and strongest
synthetic winch rope. Dominion Offroad served up a 90ft synthetic line
that has a breaking strength of 18,000 LB's.
Light: Although we
still have our rock lights to install, we went with what we considered
the most important addition to our lack of light. Scorpion LED's 52in
Light bar. It is bad ass! That baby lights up everything! It provides
beam light in the middle and flood light on the ends. It is great for
night wheeling and even night pre-running!
Approach/Departure
angle: To improve our approach angle, we added a stubby Smittybilt
crawler front bumper. For our Departure angle, we took our existing
Hansen rear bumper and modified the tire carrier to mount the spare on
an angle. We think it looks great too.
Shade: We are based in
California and run the JK topless most of the time. We found it
necessary to add a Spiderwebshade JK4Dr TrailMesh to keep the sun out of
our eyes.
Also, a BIG part of this whole process has been the
installation of all of these goodies. Although JK-ADVENTURE.COM
co-founders Allan and Troy braved a wrench or two along the way and
custom built the "Exo Rack", Rebel Offroad has been there every step of
the way. From welding to fabbing to "making things fit", their "we sell
it, we can install it" modo has proven to be true. Many thanks to the
guys at Rebel for pulling off our "HAVOC" build in time for SEMA too! We
also couldn't do a JKA build without tattooing it up a bit. For the
decals we went to a well priced, high quality and trustworthy company in
Santa Ana, CA - American Decal Company.
Although we don't
claim to be done forever, our "HAVOC" build is ready to brave the rocks
with the big dogs. Stay tuned as we bring you some video footage in the
coming weeks of "HAVOC" in action!!
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