Off-road excursions

I haven't been off-roading since last December, what with Lena's pregnancy and then the twins taking all my free time. Well, the twins are now 8 months old, so I got some free time to go playing off-road, with my good friend Dionysis and his Mitsubishi Pajero. This was the first off-road outing for the lifted Cherokee, so I was anxious For this short excursion, we selected an unofficial Moto-Cross field, which is about 20 minutes away from my house, up on Penteli's mountain.

The XJ entering the moto-cross field. The opening was quite narrow, but thanks to the tall tires etc., we entered fine. The Pinin followed easily.

The Cherokee is now ready to start down one of the "roads" that the bikers have created (read: dug). Time to disconnect the antisway bar, as soon as we find a level area.

With the sway bar disconnected, we started our way down the track, which was really eaten up both by the bikers and the recent rains that have fallen over Athens, the last couple of months. Here, I got the first idea of how much the Cherokee could flex, with its new suspension.

Here you can see how well the front wheel has been stufffed inside the fender. Unfortunately, with the wheels the Cherokee featured at that time, the tire rubbed on the spring tower.

Here, you can see how the opposite wheel has extended. It hasn't consumed all its travel yet, so the front suspension is indeed quite flexible.

Here, you can see the suspension flexing in the opposite way.

Showing off its ditch crossing capabilities.

Same spot as above, from a different angle.

Going down a water-erroded hill. Is that a UFO watching me at the top right?

Ditch-crossing again, without any problems.

Showing off after the ditch.

Even though we didn't travel far to reach this area, the variety of terrain of the moto-cross ground was such, that allowed us to enjoy ourselves for a couple of hours. I was really amazed at how easily the XJ was absorbing all the irregularities, and overcoming all the obstacles. Changing the wheels to new ones with proper backspacing and installing a set of Air Lockers with 4.56:1 gears will make this truck a top notch off-roader.

One thing I have to notice, is how well the little Pajero performed on this playground. Even though it didn't make it through all the obstacles the XJ crossed, given its low stance, it did fine. The rear Torsen diff helped it a lot, however it is no substitute for a locker. It is a pity that no one makes a locker for this little 4x4.

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