Matt's 392 Build

[Re Rods 392]

Tires / Lift / Shocks / Steering:
My overall initial post lift impressions are that it drives and handles great, the steering is super tight (much better than stock), and the adjustable Falcon valved shocks are not even comparable to the stock monotubes. You can absolutely feel the Hemi working harder to turn those big tires, and there is a noticeable loss of acceleration and feeling of power. It also handles a little more like a truck now and feels a little less 'sporty'. However, I don't mind that at all given I bought my 392 for its off-roading capabilities, not on road performance.

Surprisingly the 38s fit just fine (at least for on road use) without wheel spacers with the 3.5” lift. I have no rub at all under full lock of the steering. I haven’t yet taken it out on the trails, so not sure if that will hold up under full flex situations. I will report back once I start wheeling again in the spring.

The Falcon steering stabilizer really tightens up the steering, and the front end feels rock solid with the Steer Smarts parts up there. Note that the bracket that the Falcon stabilizer comes with is not compatible with the Steer Smarts XD Tie Rod. Had to get a bracket to mount. The link is below:

Teraflex Falcon Nexus EF Steering Stabilizer Tie Rod Clamp Kit (1-5/8in)

Assembly Tie Rod Mount for Falcon Nexus steering stabilizer Kit 1 58in Tie Rod

www.northridge4x4.com

I love these Falcon adjustable shocks too. Still playing with the adjustability. So far I like setting 2.4 the best for local in town driving, which allows the shocks to absorb the bumps a little more while keeping body roll down, and 3 (firmest setting) for highway driving. I’ll probably use setting 1 (softest setting) for off road use.

In case anyone is wondering what the current market is for our take-off parts, I sold the stock XR tires, suspension and steering components, driveshafts, and tire carrier / hinge gate reinforcement for $1,400, about an hour after I posted an ad for it all on the JL Wrangler Forum. Sold locally, I’m in PA and buyer came up from MD today (1/1/23).

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I love what you have done to your ride. I recently picked up a 2021 392 and have scheduled to have the same lift installed as you in a week. I am also getting new tires & wheels, going with BFG AT's (35") & Fuel Covert's (Bronze). I would love to keep the stock rims but am being told they are too small (17"X7"). It appears that you have 38" rubber on the stock rims?

 

[7.62x392]

I love what you have done to your ride. I recently picked up a 2021 392 and have scheduled to have the same lift installed as you in a week. I am also getting new tires & wheels, going with BFG AT's (35") & Fuel Covert's (Bronze). I would love to keep the stock rims but am being told they are too small (17"X7"). It appears that you have 38" rubber on the stock rims?

I have the XR which are 8” wide, I believe the non XR ones are 7.5” not 7”. 8” is fine for a 12.5” wide tire, 7.5” is a little skinny and prob out of spec for a 12.5” tire but I know many run 12.5” tires on the stock non-XR wheels. Best of luck with the build, would love to see pics when it’s done!

 

[7.62x392]

I FINALLY got around to installing my Swtich Pros today, after sitting and gathering dust in my garage for almost 3 months. Between a major renovations on our house, vacations, craziness at work, and my wife being due with our second child any day now, time has been at a premium this summer.

Install was very straight forward. Took about four hours but I was taking my time and trying to clean up wiring and break down the old Baja harness in the process. I ran the controller cable into the cabin through the driver side cowl so I didn’t have to poke a hole through the firewall.

Overall I’m pretty impressed with this unit and I cleaned a lot of wiring in the process, including cutting out probably 30+ feet of cable. The built in lockout function is pretty cool, so I was able to get rid of the bulky Baja harness. I still need to hook up the ARB switch to the switch pros tomorrow, it’s currently on the Kraken under the seat.

Mounted unit:

Old Baja harness:

Finished product:

 

[BrentField]

Check out the motobilt mount. They 3d printed it fits in front of lighter. Very clean

 

[dpip4x4]

very nice rig dude

 

[7.62x392]

I FINALLY got around to wiring the KC Cyclone chase lights on the back of the 392 to the SwitchPros (time is at a premium with a 2 month old at home). I’m impressed how bright they are and how much light they give off for such small lights. I have them dimmed to 50% for use as chase lights.

Wiring was a PITA as always, but managed to get everything hidden and built a harness so I can quickly disconnect in the back when I take the top off. I ran the wiring through the base of the weatherstripping to avoid drilling in the hardtop.

 

[Warped]

I FINALLY got around to wiring the KC Cyclone chase lights on the back of the 392 to the SwitchPros (time is at a premium with a 2 month old at home). I’m impressed how bright they are and how much light they give off for such small lights. I have them dimmed to 50% for use as chase lights.

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Wiring was a PITA as always, but managed to get everything hidden and built a harness so I can quickly disconnect in the back when I take the top off. I ran the wiring through the base of the weatherstripping to avoid drilling in the hardtop.

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I could have used those lights on tonight's night run with so much dust. Looks great.

 

[WHLN392]

I FINALLY got around to wiring the KC Cyclone chase lights on the back of the 392 to the SwitchPros (time is at a premium with a 2 month old at home). I’m impressed how bright they are and how much light they give off for such small lights. I have them dimmed to 50% for use as chase lights.

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Wiring was a PITA as always, but managed to get everything hidden and built a harness so I can quickly disconnect in the back when I take the top off. I ran the wiring through the base of the weatherstripping to avoid drilling

Looks awesome. I may have to steal this idea

 

[Earl 392]

Been a little while since posting in here, have been crazy busy with work the past few months.

Did a little winterizing today. Had my local shop coat the suspension components, underside of the body, and inside of the frame rails with fluid film. Smells terrible, but the shop owner said that should go away in a week or so. To prep for the winerizing I sanded down and painted over some rust spots on the control arms and control arm brackets from bashing them against the rocks.

Overall very happy with the result, this should do a good job protecting against the brine over the winter.
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Looks like Jerry curl

 

[Apex392]

Thanks! The pictures don’t really do it justice, looks much better in person.

I want to wire the rock lights to the curtesy lights in addition to the aux switch so they turn on when I unlock the Jeep as well, but I have to figure if possible because the curtesy lights dim off and the voltage drop can cause the lights to do funky things and damage the controller. I’ve seen people successfully wire white only rock lights without a controller to the curtesy lights but not RGB ones with a controller.

Turn on rock lights temporarily when unlocking the doors?

so the courtesy wire is the YELLOW, not the green/white as pictured above. I want them only on as part of the courtesy lighting. 21 JLUR with Aux Package. Tacking this project soon. Much thanks all!

www.jlwranglerforums.com

I currently plan to do the same! I started up a thread discussing tapping into that unique Jcase fuse that runs the courtesy lights. As mentioned in my thread, I want to activate the rock lights when the courtesy lights are activated, as well as manually with an aux switch. Thread on this below.

⚠️Courtesy light Fuse Tap Trouble

Hey all, New to the forums! Tapping into the F20 courtesy light fuse to power on some rock lights when the courtesy lights are enabled. The fuse tap I purchased does not fit the larger 30amp “J case” fuses, any insight on other options to tap into the courtesy lights? I would prefer not to tap...

www.jlwranglerforums.com

 

[7.62x392]

I currently plan to do the same! I started up a thread discussing tapping into that unique Jcase fuse that runs the courtesy lights. As mentioned in my thread, I want to activate the rock lights when the courtesy lights are activated, as well as manually with an aux switch. Thread on this below.

⚠️Courtesy light Fuse Tap Trouble

Hey all, New to the forums! Tapping into the F20 courtesy light fuse to power on some rock lights when the courtesy lights are enabled. The fuse tap I purchased does not fit the larger 30amp “J case” fuses, any insight on other options to tap into the courtesy lights? I would prefer not to tap...

www.jlwranglerforums.com

The issue I came across is that the curtesy lights dim on and off, and in the process reduce power to the rock light controller (the rock lights are dimmed by the controller). This was causing the lights to flicker and do other weird things for the first second or two when the curtsey lights were activated. I think this can also damage the rock lights controller so I ended up just giving up on it.

 

[Apex392]

The issue I came across is that the curtesy lights dim on and off, and in the process reduce power to the rock light controller (the rock lights are dimmed by the controller). This was causing the lights to flicker and do other weird things for the first second or two when the curtsey lights were activated. I think this can also damage the rock lights controller so I ended up just giving up on it.

Sorry to hear that man; did/would you consider stripping the wires from their respective control box plug ins and hard wiring them together and tap into the aux switch wire?

I also realize you have RGBW so you probably wouldn't know what color would even be displayed without the control box. With my version, I am using the same lights I put together for my RSE sliders to act as the rock lights, just wired separately. They are a solid white.
Perhaps my idea could be an option for you as well? This "Rock Slide Engineering light kit" costs $75 from their website, and I recreated it with the identical parts for $15, and mine included 3 light panels on each step instead of two. Check out the thread below for that.

How to make Rockslide Engineering Step Slider Lights

I bought some used rockslide engineering steps for my new JL and wanted to add the step lights. I had a hard time spending ~$90 with shipping on 4 led lights with weather pack plugs so I did a little Amazon research to see if I could make my own. SPOLIER: My total was $33.05, I built 2 sets...

www.jlwranglerforums.com

 

[Viking Jeeper]

I currently plan to do the same! I started up a thread discussing tapping into that unique Jcase fuse that runs the courtesy lights. As mentioned in my thread, I want to activate the rock lights when the courtesy lights are activated, as well as manually with an aux switch. Thread on this below.

⚠️Courtesy light Fuse Tap Trouble

Hey all, New to the forums! Tapping into the F20 courtesy light fuse to power on some rock lights when the courtesy lights are enabled. The fuse tap I purchased does not fit the larger 30amp “J case” fuses, any insight on other options to tap into the courtesy lights? I would prefer not to tap...

www.jlwranglerforums.com

I am on the jlwrangler forum but spend little time there. I am also looking for a fuse tap for my GMC truck. I would like to disable the tailgate release button at times. GM uses what I think are called M Case fuses. My thought was if I could get a switch in line with the fuse that controls that it would be easy but ran into the same problem. I even bought this kit off amazon but the size is not right. It takes two male blades to fill the slot in the fuse. (Yes, I just typed that)

 

[Viking Jeeper]

I am on the jlwrangler forum but spend little time there. I am also looking for a fuse tap for my GMC truck. I would like to disable the tailgate release button at times. GM uses what I think are called M Case fuses. My thought was if I could get a switch in line with the fuse that controls that it would be easy but ran into the same problem. I even bought this kit off amazon but the size is not right. It takes two male blades to fill the slot in the fuse. (Yes, I just typed that)

Whoops, forgot the picture.

 

[Apex392]

Whoops, forgot the picture. View attachment 46494

Very interesting! I came across this video and intent to use the 2.8 size female end with how this guy does it in the video. Maybe this will help?

 

[7.62x392]

Been a while since I’ve posted, life has been very busy over the past year or so between the birth of my second child, sale of the accounting firm I’m a partner at, and a broken foot! Needless to say, haven’t been able to take the beast off-road much or do a whole lot to the Jeep over the past year (other than enjoying the beautiful weather this summer topless and doorless around town of course!).

Anyway, about to roll over 30,000 miles, and after about 3 and a quarter years on the factory air filter, it was time to put in a new one. The filter was pretty nasty and the change was way overdue. Maybe I’m crazy but I do feel like the Jeep is running a bit smoother in the first drive since the filter change. Filter was about $25 shipped to my house from a local dealer, OEM part number is 68501780AB in case anyone needs.

Looking forward to the next 30K, hoping to get up to AOAA sometime this fall. As always I’ll dump the pics on the forum if I’m able to get up there.

 

[Rdobosh]

Winch:
Thankfully I haven’t yet had to use the winch, so no first impressions on use yet, however I will say that the install process was very straight forward and took about 4 hours. Only snag I ran into on install was that the winch plate didn’t align perfectly with the 8 mounting holes in the frame so had to drill out some of the holes a bit. I also installed the Warn Power Interrupt Kit which is hardwired into the stock Aux 4 switch, so power is only supplied to the winch when Aux 4 is turned on.

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Hi, can I ask your opinion of the Borla exhaust ? Would you ever get it ?

 

[7.62x392]

Hi, can I ask your opinion of the Borla exhaust ? Would you ever get it ?

I have the AWE exhaust and absolutely love it and wouldn’t change it out for anything frankly. Between the sound, the look, and the clearance for off-roading - it’s just perfect.