A Little Late To The Game

Tim Redman

Tim Redman

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
May 25, 2018
Messages
167
Location
Tampa Bay, FL
So, been here for quite a while, but haven't been a registered user for quite as long. However, I don't think I properly came in here, introduced myself, and thanked everyone for the insight I've gotten from these forums so far.

I'm a first time Jeep owner at 49, but I've been wanting one since I was a teenager. I've had her for about a year now, and really, no serious complaints, except that I don't have nearly the money or resources to do all of the things I'd like to with it. Doesn't mean I won't give it the old college try, though.

Anyway, enough about me. She's a 2005 Wrangler X 4.0L 6-speed, christened "Bad Wolf". When I bought her, she was pretty much stock, but had 18" Rubicon wheels and a cat back exhaust. Since then, I've swapped out the Rubi wheels with a set of 33" Ironman mud tires mounted on 15" black aluminum alloys. It has a simple 2.5" budget boost on it (coil springs and shocks), with a 1" transfer case drop, adjustable track bar, and sway bar quick disconnects. Everything between the steering box and tie rod are brand new. Round that out with new heavier duty front and rear bumpers, winch and accessory lighting.

On the near term upgrade list (next year or so): heavy duty tie rod, hardened rear axle shafts, SYE and CV rear drive shaft, new ball joints, and flat hurricane fenders.

Longer term (once I decide I'm keeping her for the long haul and not swapping out for another): Regear to 4.11/4.56, either a Super35 with Detroit Locker or swap for a Dana 44 rear, 4" lift, adjustable short control arms.

I'm sure there are a ton of other things on those lists, but that's what comes to mind right now.

Anyway, thanks to everybody who's helped me with her up to this point, and to the help I'll no doubt get from y'all in the future.

Tim

sansa-wheels.jpg
 
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Tim, I was around the same age (50) when I picked up my X in 2016 & I’ve done some of the things you mentioned - 33s with 4.56 gearing (excellent combination), upgraded shafts (I opted for the S35), upgraded steering, adjustable trackbar, winch/bumper, & the SYE-CV. All of that has been very worthwhile & if you’re planning to off road it a good bit you’ll get your money’s worth with those kinds of modifications. If/when you do the SYE you may as well throw some adjustable upper rear control arms in your cart too so you can tweak the pinion angle as is necessary for the CV shaft.

Good luck & I hope you don’t “swap her out for another”, you’ve already got the best platform going with a TJ
 
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Westtown Willy said:
Tim, I was around the same age (50) when I picked up my X in 2016 & I’ve done some of the things you mentioned - 33s with 4.56 gearing (excellent combination), upgraded shafts (I opted for the S35), upgraded steering, adjustable trackbar, winch/bumper, & the SYE-CV. All of that has been very worthwhile & if you’re planning to off road it a good bit you’ll get your money’s worth with those kinds of modifications. If/when you do the SYE you may as well throw some adjustable upper rear control arms in your cart too so you can tweak the pinion angle as is necessary for the CV shaft.

Good luck & I hope you don’t “swap her out for another”, you’ve already got the best platform going with a TJ
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Thanks, Willy. I don't plan on doing a whole lot of heavy duty rock crawling. Here in Florida, we don't have much of that, mostly just mud and sugar sand. As it is, I already do some light off-roading, but I won't be scared to push her in the future once she's set up appropriately.

At the moment, I live in an apartment without a garage, so I'm limited to the work that I can do. But I find ways.

lowranger said:
Welcome. Your Jeep is looking good. Nice upgrades.....and good ones in the future. Oh and I like the color too! :)
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lowranger, it did not escape me that the first two comments were from guys who drive redheads. :)
 
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You can never go wrong with a red Jeep... that's a fact!

Good call on ditching the 18" rims. 17" looks fine with 35s, but 18" is a bit to big IMHO.

Either way... get ready to empty all your pockets. These things are money pits, but in the best of ways!
 
Chris said:
You can never go wrong with a red Jeep... that's a fact!

Good call on ditching the 18" rims. 17" looks fine with 35s, but 18" is a bit to big IMHO.

Either way... get ready to empty all your pockets. These things are money pits, but in the best of ways!
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Somebody once referred to it as the "Bankruptcy Starter Kit", and it kinda stuck in my head.

Even if I go the route of the Super35 or Dana 44, I'll probably stick with 33's for the time being. They're more than enough for me, unless I start traveling down different roads in the future.
 
Tim Redman said:
Somebody once referred to it as the "Bankruptcy Starter Kit", and it kinda stuck in my head.

Even if I go the route of the Super35 or Dana 44, I'll probably stick with 33's for the time being. They're more than enough for me, unless I start traveling down different roads in the future.
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@bobthetj03 likes to talk about boats being money pits... I don't know though. Seems to me at this point maybe a boat would be cheaper than all the money I've dumped into my TJ!

I've owned a lot of cool cars though... the Wrangler is by far the best of them all.
 
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Really nice looking TJ, welcome. I've never heard of an 18" Rubicon wheel, I have to say. The TJ Rubicons came with 16" Moabs, and the JK Rubicons had 17" wheels...
 
Chris said:
@bobthetj03 likes to talk about boats being money pits... I don't know though. Seems to me at this point maybe a boat would be cheaper than all the money I've dumped into my TJ!

I've owned a lot of cool cars though... the Wrangler is by far the best of them all.
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I had a boat once....too close to call, IMO. :)
 
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glwood said:
Really nice looking TJ, welcome. I've never heard of an 18" Rubicon wheel, I have to say. The TJ Rubicons came with 16" Moabs, and the JK Rubicons had 17" wheels...
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If I recall, the JK 2007-12 Rubicons came with an option for the 18, but they're also only 7.5" wide, earning the name "pizza cutters". I really didn't like they way they looked. Even after I added the lift, they still looked too big for the Jeep, but I think that had to do with the fact that they were so much wheel and so little tire (the A/Ts I had on there were effectively 32"). I'm actually quite shocked that they fit the factory suspension as well as they did, although a couple of trips to the local trail showed that they didn't COMPLETELY fit. Lots of rubbing on the fenders. Then again, I never did enough flexing or bouncing for them to contact the wheel well. That'll change soon enough.

I'm actually looking for a local buyer for those rims, if anybody knows somebody in Florida who's looking. These things are cast alloy, and weigh easily twice what my 15x10.5 alloy wheels weigh, about 45-ish lbs, so I really don't wanna ship them if I don't have to. (see picture for how they look on the vehicle; the tires were severely worn and out of balance, and have long since been unmounted from them).

old-cast-alum-wheels.jpg
 
Tim Redman said:
If I recall, the JK 2007-12 Rubicons came with an option for the 18, but they're also only 7.5" wide, earning the name "pizza cutters". I really didn't like they way they looked. Even after I added the lift, they still looked too big for the Jeep, but I think that had to do with the fact that they were so much wheel and so little tire (the A/Ts I had on there were effectively 32"). I'm actually quite shocked that they fit the factory suspension as well as they did, although a couple of trips to the local trail showed that they didn't COMPLETELY fit. Lots of rubbing on the fenders. Then again, I never did enough flexing or bouncing for them to contact the wheel well. That'll change soon enough.

I'm actually looking for a local buyer for those rims, if anybody knows somebody in Florida who's looking. These things are cast alloy, and weigh easily twice what my 15x10.5 alloy wheels weigh, about 45-ish lbs, so I really don't wanna ship them if I don't have to. (see picture for how they look on the vehicle; the tires were severely worn and out of balance, and have long since been unmounted from them).
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Those were the stock wheels for a JK Sahara.
 
bobthetj03 said:
A 35 truly looks more proportioned with a 17" wheel, IMO. I always thought 35's on 15's look too ballooned. No offence to those with that setup. Just my own personal taste.
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I agree 100%. I started looking at 35s on 15s, and it did indeed look a bit too ballooned for my taste. Now granted that in a real rocky situation, that might be better to have more sidewall, but I was looking at it partially from a visual perspective as well. 17s work really nicely with 35s, while 33s look awesome with 15s.
 
I actually had a local guy try to talk me out of 15's for 33's. Said they were falling out of favor and that manufacturers of both rims and tires were starting to dial things back on making them. After some research, I'm not sure where he came to that conclusion. The market for 15's, and 33's to fit them, seems pretty healthy to me.

Of course, then you see the price difference just between 15's and 17's, especially considering the flashy inventory they had (some wheels get flipping ridiculous), and I'm pretty sure he was just bucking for the commission.
 
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Tim Redman said:
I actually had a local guy try to talk me out of 15's for 33's. Said they were falling out of favor and that manufacturers of both rims and tires were starting to dial things back on making them. After some research, I'm not sure where he came to that conclusion. The market for 15's, and 33's to fit them, seems pretty healthy to me.

Of course, then you see the price difference just between 15's and 17's, especially considering the flashy inventory they had (some wheels get flipping ridiculous), and I'm pretty sure he was just bucking for the commission.
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Stupid advice from that guy. The market for 15s and 33s is incredibly healthy, and it won't be going anywhere anytime soon. The majority of off-roaders I see are either using 15s or 17s. There's other size wheels you can run, but the tire selections are much thinner for those uncommon sizes. Ask me how I know, since I came from 16s.
 
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Another Flame Red TJ, and an X at that! I’m an 05, your old twin by one year! :D

Good calls on the mods. Similar build here. I finally got my Dana 44 a couple weeks ago. It’s in process...Looking forward to seeing yours grow
 
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