No, this isn't a blog about a BMW, although my brother-in-law used to own a 535i 5-speed, and I thoroughly enjoyed driving it. This blog is about the "Klipsch: The Ultimate Sound Experience" license plate and the 1999 Jeep Cherokee attached to it.
Klipsch more than likely ripped off the tag line from BMW, not a stretch considering several people at Klipsch drive them.
Some years ago, all the employees got said license plates, and I proudly attached mine to the front bumper of my Jeep. Since the Jeep is also black it matched perfectly. Also if you look closely at my avitar you can see that I am a member of JP Frog Offroaders, www.jpfrog.org, dedicated to the mangling of sheetmetal and the snapping of axle shafts. My aspirations don't quite extend that far, but a few months ago, after the loan was paid and after a few years of neglect, the Cherokee got a much needed supension lift, tow hooks, and 31" tires. Not large by any means, but adequate for semi-serious excursions off the beaten path. The "normal" Jeep in my club rides on 35"-37" tires, and about half of them have axles swapped in from full-size trucks. A couple more own Wranlger Rubicons which come from the factory with Dana 44 axles, locking differentials (I'll get to that later) and a 4:1 transfer case. A week ago we went to the Wilstem Ranch between Paoli and Frenck Lick, Indiana. One guy even brought out his brand new 4-door Rubicon, with only 1,000 miles on the ticker.
Needless to say, while most of the rest of the group were climbing of two-and-a-half foot rock ledges, I was taking the bypass.
I took the girls along for the 'wheeling/camping trip, partly because I had taken the boys out earlier this year, a partly because of the tightwad factor (children under six are free, and Allison is 4).
A few times I had to make a second or third run up the trail to get through or unstuck, but my Jeep was no match for one partiular ravine. It had a couple large flat rocks, which when wet were a slick as ice. When I tried to drive across, I slid sideways further down the ravine. At the low end my right rear tire slid into hole filled with loose rock and sand. On the other corner, the tire was lifted about six inches off the ground, and hence no power at the front axle. Without any traction at either corner, forward and reverse travel came to a halt. After a few tries it was ovious that I would only succeed in digging a deeper hole under the right rear and out came the winch cable.
A "locker" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locking_differential would have made the difference, since I still had adequate traction at the other two wheels. 'Wheeling the Cherokee is an interim step, as I'm in the middle of a very long build up of a 1984 Jeep CJ-8 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeep_CJ#CJ-8. The current plan is fiberglass body, 4" lift, 33" tires, front and rear lockers, 4.10:1 axle ratio, and a Ford truck T-18 transmission http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/t18_t19.htm, which I have already rebuilt and adapted to the Jeep transfer case.
The Cherokee performed admirably, as well as the Scrambler in stock configuration on 31"s. Here are a few pictures of my "stuck." (Note the Klipsch license plate.)
