CJ's98XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Where the heck is Moyock, NC?
I've always ben a big fan of Rubicon Express. Tonight I can say that I really put their stuff to the test.
Eralier this afternoon my wife, 2 year old son and I were driving down the street, less that 200 yards from our home. (a residential 25 mph street) I slowed down and began to crowd the right shoulder a little in preperation to make a U turn at the next intersection. Apparently the kid in his Cadillac STX didn't like the 4x4 in front of him going so slow and decided to pull into the opposite lane, romp on the gas and pass me.................just as I began to make my turn. The front passenger corner oh his car first grazed my rear driverside door and ran down the side of my Jeep till it hit the front wheel and basicly became wedged into the wheel well. This is where the real force of the impact occurred. He hit the Jeep so hard that it sheered my roof rack off, and high lift jack and all went into his windshield. He pushed the Jeep almost 30 feet past the intersection, and both of his airbags depolyed.
Thank God himself that no one was even slightly hurt. Even with his airbags deployed he didn't even have a mark on his face. Kinda tells ya how far back he had his seat. He turned out to be a decent kid, admitted to the police officer that he was speeding and gave what I think was a sincere apology before he left.
I went over to my wounded buddy and looked under it to assess the suspension damage. The real hard impact occurred when he got to the front wheel. I expected the entire front suspension to be a mess.
The tire and steel wheel.............smoked. Basicly everything right behind the wheel looked pretty well done too. OEM Tie rod... bent. Yada Yada Yada. I quickly noticed that everything that was broken or bent was painted black. Everything painted gray looked just fine. A standing ovation for the quality of Rubicon Express components.
The next time you read a thread about someone wondering if RE's stuff is worth the extra money, just tell'em to stand some RE stuff up and put the other stuff right next to it and run a Cadillac into them about 40 mph. From now on, at least to me, it's a non-decision. Every Jeep I own will have a Rubicon Express lift.
Eralier this afternoon my wife, 2 year old son and I were driving down the street, less that 200 yards from our home. (a residential 25 mph street) I slowed down and began to crowd the right shoulder a little in preperation to make a U turn at the next intersection. Apparently the kid in his Cadillac STX didn't like the 4x4 in front of him going so slow and decided to pull into the opposite lane, romp on the gas and pass me.................just as I began to make my turn. The front passenger corner oh his car first grazed my rear driverside door and ran down the side of my Jeep till it hit the front wheel and basicly became wedged into the wheel well. This is where the real force of the impact occurred. He hit the Jeep so hard that it sheered my roof rack off, and high lift jack and all went into his windshield. He pushed the Jeep almost 30 feet past the intersection, and both of his airbags depolyed.
Thank God himself that no one was even slightly hurt. Even with his airbags deployed he didn't even have a mark on his face. Kinda tells ya how far back he had his seat. He turned out to be a decent kid, admitted to the police officer that he was speeding and gave what I think was a sincere apology before he left.
I went over to my wounded buddy and looked under it to assess the suspension damage. The real hard impact occurred when he got to the front wheel. I expected the entire front suspension to be a mess.
The tire and steel wheel.............smoked. Basicly everything right behind the wheel looked pretty well done too. OEM Tie rod... bent. Yada Yada Yada. I quickly noticed that everything that was broken or bent was painted black. Everything painted gray looked just fine. A standing ovation for the quality of Rubicon Express components.
The next time you read a thread about someone wondering if RE's stuff is worth the extra money, just tell'em to stand some RE stuff up and put the other stuff right next to it and run a Cadillac into them about 40 mph. From now on, at least to me, it's a non-decision. Every Jeep I own will have a Rubicon Express lift.
!
