Mojave Folks or anyone else that wants to chime in... How fast is too fast?!

[Whittlesey01]

The Mojave is going to feel very very limited with Ivan Stewart (or equivalent) behind the wheel. I am certainly no Ivan Stewart, but I have competed in desert racing off and on for 30 years, in a number of different vehicle classes. I think the small pickup platform is ideal for an off road exploration vehicle. And I know the importance of suspension in an off road vehicle, so that is why the Mojave intrigued me enough to buy one. I'm happy with my Mojave overall, and the suspension is clearly better than other Jeep vehicles I have owned. But the Mojave is no desert racer. The limiting factor is suspension travel. My Mojave has 3 1/2" of up travel in the front suspension before the bump stop makes contact. That is better than the 1 1/2" of up travel with a Rubicon diesel, but it is still very very limited for a go fast off road vehicle. A foot of up travel starts getting you in the realm of a true go fast machine. The Mojave has very good suspension that does a great job of absorbing small bumps and surface irregularities. But as soon as you hit a medium to large bump at speed the Mojave blows through its suspension travel instantly, and bottoms out hard. The Mojave is beefed up compared to other Jeeps, and can certainly tolerate the frequent pad slap from the hydraulic front bump stops, and can even tolerate fully bottoming out the bump stops numerous times. But I wouldn't go out there and push it hard right from the start. Get used to it with slower speeds and then build up speed as you feel comfortable with. If you are bottoming the suspension frequently you are pushing too hard.

Just by way of comparison, I drove a nearby desert course in my Mojave one Saturday at what I thought was a comfortable pace, and it took me 30 minutes to get to the first stopping point, which is a pretty overlook. I did the same course with my current desert machine, also at what I thought was a comfortable pace, and it took 10 minutes to get to the same point. So it depends on what you are comparing it to. Compared to another non-Mojave Gladiator the Mojave is good. Compared to a desert racer, not so impressive.

Makes a lot of sense, thanks! Do you know what the Raptors travel is? I tried looking it up and one site said 14 inches up front, is that really correct?

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[Levi.Butler]

Makes a lot of sense, thanks! Do you know what the Raptors travel is? I tried looking it up and one site said 14 inches up front, is that really correct?

I think it's 14" of overall travel up front... but I'd be willing to bet it's less than 6" up travel.

 

[RavensEyeOffroad]

Haha!

But did you die?

 

[StingGrayJT24]

The upshot is that the Mojave can operate in 4-Lowat up to 50 mph, whereas the Rubicon tops out at 30. But even with the less aggressive gear, the Mojave'scrawl ratio (52.6:1 or 57.3:1, depending on transmission choice) still tops that of its gasoline-powered competition from Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota.Apr 24, 2020

this is one reason I asked. Seems crazy that you would need to drive that fast in 4-low, but that in my head says you can drive pretty fast in some rough stuff

Very interesting. I did not know that. You learn something new every day on this forum.

 

[Munkey Boy]

If you spill your beer = Too fast.

 

[KurtP]

There’s no real concrete answer to this beyond “it depends”. What can you afford to break and how often do you want to service the shocks.

Having broken the coil bucket off a truck before; the frame had more to do with my decision to get the Mojave than the shocks did (although they are great)

Remember race trucks rebuild their shocks after every single race. Hard use pre-runners will often rebuild between 1500-3500 miles. The damping range of these trucks is incredibly stiff, too. To the point you probably wouldnt want to daily it.

Drive it how you want it; but “dont write checks your ass cant cash”

 

[KurtP]

If you spill your beer = Too fast.

Law be damned. There is absolute moral difference between “drinking and driving” and “drunk driving”

 

[Munkey Boy]

Law be damned. There is absolute moral difference between “drinking and driving” and “drunk driving”

 

[Gladiator Brad 704]

I am getting tired of these Mojave buyers saying they bought the truck because it if faster on the trails than a Rubicon. Then they post a video of their truck crawling up some trail. Then they say they can do every thing a Rubicon does. Can someone please direct me to a video of a Mojave going fast on a trail? Any trail anywhere. Thanks.

 

[Gladiator Brad 704]

Not the one from the Jeep commercial. A real life buyer.

 

[syreeves]

Haha!

I don't see any frame bending - OP should be just fine for max attack!

 

[syreeves]

I am getting tired of these Mojave buyers saying they bought the truck because it if faster on the trails than a Rubicon. Then they post a video of their truck crawling up some trail. Then they say they can do every thing a Rubicon does. Can someone please direct me to a video of a Mojave going fast on a trail? Any trail anywhere. Thanks.

Also "racing" and any of the current engines offered in the JT? Not so much. Maybe when they offer the 392 ...

 

[piroman683]

Thanks for the answer, it’s something I haven’t put a lot of thought into, but very curious about. I have watched trophy truck videos and always wondered their speed. How fast do you think this dude is going? Watching the suspension is memorizing. Also I understand that is a 100% different truck from the Mojave.

After recently riding in a TT I'd estimate it at least 100mph.

 

[Wyofuy069]

If it helps I’ve had mine up to about 80-85 on better dirt roads. If you are talking taking jumps I’d say no way. So far the Mojave feels very solid and rattle free. I have added engine and trans skid plates, but that honestly is more for winter when I can’t see the ground. On my last Q7 I smacked the bottom on a few large rocks and did a couple thousand damage. Audi skid plates are made of fiber and disintergrate if you run them through deep snow.

 

[1996XJ]

If it helps I’ve had mine up to about 80-85 on better dirt roads. If you are talking taking jumps I’d say no way. So far the Mojave feels very solid and rattle free. I have added engine and trans skid plates, but that honestly is more for winter when I can’t see the ground. On my last Q7 I smacked the bottom on a few large rocks and did a couple thousand damage. Audi skid plates are made of fiber and disintergrate if you run them through deep snow.

Besides going fast on dirt roads, can you tell me what you think of its off road ability? I plan on taking my Mojave to things that wouldnt require actual rock crawling but more like forest fire service roads, desert roads like you might find in Joshua tree or Mojave national park. But some desert trails can get pretty crazy with rocks and washouts. Im kinda wondering if i picked the wrong Gladiator and should of got the Rubicon. Mine will probably be seeing plenty of highway driving, in town, and not so crazy off road... so i went Mojave.

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