This Issue

Jerry Paduano (jerry94yj) editor
Steve Simkovic (ErieJeepSteve) President (January 2010)
Bill Moses(XJBill) Vice President
This Issue
Membership renewal
EJP Thanksgiving dinner
Turkey trail ride
EJP Christmas party/dinner
EJPer
coils or leafs?
2010 Officer elections
Message from ErieJeepSteve,
Time to RENEW your membership for 2010!
I'd like to thank all of the people who served as EJP officers last year
and made it one of the best year's yet! I'd also like to thank all of the
members for their support and their time that they volunteer to make events
like the EJP Ride-n-Roast a reality. Everyone's hard work made for some
great events and their input has lead to many new ideas that we can
continue into 2010.
2010 Officer elections are under way!
Jan. 1st thru Jan. 16th. Candidates have
been nominated and are campaigning for
your vote!
Get to the pole on the web page and make
your selections soon!
Steve Smikovic
(ErieJeepSteve)
ErieJeepSteve)
Well, this one’s a little different, Steve has been president since he an a friend ( Bob Hill )
decided to start the club back in 2003, He’s also the most senior member. Lets face it if it
weren't for that none of us would be here! That alone should qualify for EJPer of the month
but there is much more to the story (read on)……..
The Jeep 1994 YJ 4.0L (Canadian Model)
- Neat fact about Canadian YJs. Canadian gauges have oil
pressure in bars and engine temp in Celsius. Canadian Jeeps
also have a heavy duty alternator and wiring and come with a
factory installed block heater.
Suspension: Stock spring SOA (using 4 rear hardtop springs
with extra main leaf added), 2" BL, anti-wrap bar, Ford F250
shock towers
Axles / Driveline: NP231 w/SYE, AX15, front Waggy 44 (4.56,
ARB, Hi-steer, 1-ton steering), rear Waggy 44 (4.56, Detroit,
trussed)
Tires and wheels: 36"x13.5"x15" Super Swamper IROK's, AR-767
with homemade welded-on beadlocks
Engine: Borla Stainless header, free-flow cat, Flowmaster 50
muffler, all exhaust pipe upsized to 2.5", 1" motor mounts, York
OBA with 5-gallon reserve tank above rear axle.
Misc: Homemade front and rear bumpers, homemade 1/4" rocker
guards, Genright tub corners, Rhino-lined interior, hand throttle
Erie Jeep people is entering its 8th year,
which is quite a milestone as jeep clubs go.
Many clubs have been started over the past
decade, yet only a handful remain active.
Why? Well, I believe it’s because of the
people, if you think about it, if your members
aren’t involved and enjoy what they do and
see at club functions then there is, no club.
The fact that EJP I still going strong is a
direct reflection on its members, and
particularly the leadership. I think that many
of us loose sight of that fact.
Every trail ride and event takes planning and
work by club officers’ to accomplish. I
believe EJP has a member base that truly
care about their fellow members and the
direction of the club, if not I wouldn’t stick
around.
My hat’s off to you Steve, for starting us on
this adventure, and keeping it together with
your leadership the past 7 years. And
welcome, finally to the EJPer of the month
archives.
And here’s a little club history by:
ErieJeepSteve
In 2000, I drove to York, PA
to participate in the PA
Jeeps show and got my first
taste of wheeling on their
obstacle course. Here's a
picture showing the mad
flex that my Jeep had at the
time.. lol:
- I bought my Jeep 9/28/99 which just happens to be the numbers
that used to be on the side of my hood when I had the military paint
scheme.
In 2001 and 2002 I went to the Jeep Jamboree in Bradford,
PA with Bob Hill and had such a great time, I didn't want to
wait until the next Jamboree. I knew I wouldn't be able to
afford the $250 fee every time I went wheeling so Bob and I
decided to start an off-road club.
The original name for the club was Erie Area Jeep People. It
was shortened to Erie Jeep People shortly after. The name Erie
Jeep People came about because on multiple occasions when I
met new people and they saw my Jeep they would say "You must
be one of those Jeep people"
The first logo for the club
was:
An updated logo
followed shortly after:
Then it was:
Finally the mountain logo that we
still use today:
We had 29 people that attended the EJP Thanksgiving dinner Nov. 21st at Jerry
and Suzette’s home.
The buffet style dinner was great, and the dinning /living room made an excellent cafeteria.
Was a great evening of food and fun! After dinner and desert, we entertained each other with
quite an animated game of Gestures, similar to (Charades).
Guys against gals, and I don’t recall who won, but if it was the girls, it was because I helped
them out at the end. (LOL)!
Turkey Trail ride at Acer offroad Nov.28th.
•
Everyone that attended had a great time despite a long list of carnage.
Not surprisingly for the end of November, the trails out there were slick and muddy.
Carnage list included
•
2 broken drive shafts
1 broken axle
2 caved in doors
A mirror
A rear yolk
Broken windows
Tail pipe
A sway bar link
And lots’ of mud on everyone’s paint.
•
•
The EJP annual Christmas dinner / party was once again held at the Erie elks club on
Peninsula dr.
And once again it was a huge success. The food was great and everyone seemed to
really enjoyed the way the gift exchange went this year. Even though it kinda blows the
whole “sprit of giving” theme right out of the water! There was more conniving
thievery going on than a cat burglar convention! Great fun!
Birthday boy !!
BB
Gun !
Pick a
gift or
steal
a gift !
This is two opinions about coil vs. leaf from Four Wheeler Magazine.
Opinion 1. Sprung On
Coils, And Proud Of It!
•
Opinion 2. Leaf Springs: Simple,
Functional.
•
•
Take a look around. The auto industry has
already graduated from the
high-friction horse-and-buggy technology of
yesteryear. Abandoned for good
reason, leaf-pack technology has almost
completely disappeared in favor of
the compact, precise, and better-riding coil
spring of today. We dare you
to find a new car that still has leaf springs under
it from the factory.
The pickings are slim if any.
The reason for this shift in technology is
obvious. Coils weigh less. When
it comes to new vehicle production, weight
savings is a top priority. Coils
are also now much simpler to manufacture than
leaf springs, and they
require less raw material to start with. The basic
nature of a coil-sprung
link-type suspension also eliminates that
dreaded axlewrap. Just compare a
Jeep YJ to the newer TJ or JK; coils have a lot to
do with the Wrangler's
improved performance.
The basic function of springs in a suspension
system is to change
mechanical motion into heat energy, and our
centuries-old leaf-spring
technology does that very well. However, when
you consider the weight and
the intense friction created by multiple layers of
metal rubbing against
each other as a leaf spring flexes, you have to
wonder why this method is
still in use today. Another place where coils have
been proven over and
over is in desert racing; when was the last time
you noticed a set of leaf
springs under a Trophy Truck? Bound for
success, coils are the new gold standard.
Note from seven slot news editor:
In my humble opinion both arguments above
have there own merit, ultimately the decision for most of
us is predetermined by how our jeep was equipped
when purchased. I have seen coil conversions done on
leaf sprung jeeps and have seen coils replaced in the
rear at least, with leafs. So who really knows witch is
better? When it comes right down to it, I believe a jeeps
performance is determined more by what's behind the
steering wheel that what’s under it.
JP
The leaf spring has been the standard for
suspension systems since the dawn
of the automobile, and the mighty leaf isn't
going anywhere anytime soon.
Coil springs may be less expensive to produce
when compared to a leaf
spring, but that savings is offset by the fact
that a coil-spring setup
requires links to locate the axle. These links
add cost and weight and
require a fair amount of configuring and
subsequent testing to work
correctly. If they're not installed correctly, they
can actually limit the
steering radius because the tire will come in
contact with links. The leaf
spring, in all its glory, doesn't require any links
because the spring
locates the axle by itself. That's simplicity, and
simplicity is good.
Another benefit to leaf springs is their
strength and stability. Leaf
springs are stronger than a coil spring, they
have more load-carrying
capacity, and they also help reduce sway.
While we're on the subject of capacity, let's
talk about ride quality
because the misconception is that leaf springs
can't offer a high capacity
while providing a smooth ride. Hogwash.
Clearly, the balance between the
two is a tradeoff in any spring design, but a
custom leaf-spring
manufacturer can work with you to make
springs for your rig that achieve an
acceptable balance.
Let's talk wheel travel. Sure, we've all seen
coil-sprung rigs that have
incredible wheel travel. What did it take to get
that? Well, it probably
took gobs of time-consuming engineering,
custom long-arm links that
required relocation or custom fabbing of the
link mounts, and expensive
spherical rod ends or some kind of highfalutin' flexy joint. Sure, it
probably impresses the heck out of their
friends, and its way prettier than
a simple leaf-spring pack, but it takes lots
more time and money. With the
leaf spring, you don't have to deal with any of
that. We've seen
gut-wrenchingly simple leaf-spring setups that
offer crazy axle flex.
Bottom line: They're not perfect, but leaf
springs offer a variety of
benefits in a simple, cost-effective package.