I have actually thought about selling my TJ and buying a low mileage stock TJ....
I miss having a stock TJ.
I miss having a stock TJ.
Basically stock Jeeps doing stock Jeep stuff...
- Thread starter StG58
- Start date
OP
Lol, TJ skids are notorious for getting hung up. Mine's telling me it needs front LCA skids and a better belly skid. Not a tuck necessarily, but something that doesn't get hung up so easily.
A buddy in a full sized truck had the same experience. But his front bumper probably weighed almost as much as my SE with all the crap hung on it. (Hyperbole alert) He took it off and went much lighter.
Idaho few years ago before any significant mods.
I mostly use the TJ for trout fishing, bird hunting and other pursuits. Stock works great for me, and I'm not afraid of the rougher stuff at all. I've done LED lights, front receiver/receiver winch, new KO2 tires, a bunch of safety, recovery, and convenience mods, that's about it!
OlYellerTJ
New Member
JC123
TJ Enthusiast
TJ2
TJ Expert
OP
As promised, here's some shots of the recent Elk trip. The really thrilling parts weren't photographed because I was busy driving and the wife was busy hanging on. Only lifted a tire three or four times, so it wasn't horrible.
OP
I have come to consider additional weight as less significant than I initially thought when studying spring rates. Since springs hold up the weight of the Jeep, if you upgrade to a higher rated spring you can still maintain the same lift height. (0", 1", whatever that may be) and add some additional things like a winch or aftermarket bumper. I'm more into function over form, so I'm thinking of those kinds of additional weight items. Once we learn how to calculate spring compression by using our sprung weight, uncompressed spring length and spring rate, we can basically put a reasonable amount of additional weight on our Jeeps without any lift penalty. Just thought I'd throw this out there as some food for thought.
OP
Exactly. That's where my H&R springs came from. I needed additional weight capacity (my stock springs were tired) to support my load out. I wasn't looking for lift. The H&R's gave me the additional capacity I needed without a major increase in lift height. They are stiffer and slightly longer. The issue was getting numbers to calculate with. Those are harder to come by than you would suspect. And not always reliable in my experience. I also worked from loaded weight and not curb weight. Seems to be working out so far.
My weight budget has more to do with driving an SE and having poor low end torque than anything else.
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Smart. But I already knew that!
I figured the four angry squirrels were a large factor in your build. Good stuff. I myself am thinking of getting a 4-banger.
The Jeep is basically stock except for a bit more aggressive tire, stock suspension, and some C/L take off Rubicon rocker guards. The LJ took me this far and my feet will take me to that knob left of center to look for Indian Ruins.
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OP
Lol...I love mine. It's small, and it's going to stay that way because a lot of the trails around here are very tight. Like can't open the doors tight. Specialized TJ for special conditions. Plus, it makes me grin when somebody asks me how I got my rig into someplace and I tell them "Uh, I drove it?".
Zaythedad
TJ Enthusiast
Hell yeah love to see these stock babies like mine. Nothing but upgraded 31s on my Jeep and a new bumper but alot of maintenance under the hood that has been done.
Love this thread! I'm doing an engine swap right now and I've been trying to decided if I want to do a lift or re-gear for my diesel engine swap! Seeing this thread makes me want to keep my dirt cheap 235/75r15 Goodyear Wrangler tires and re-gear my Wrangler to a 3.55 vs my 3.73s.
Picture of my rig before I started tearing it down last month!
-Grant
Picture of my rig before I started tearing it down last month!
-Grant
My last Jeep was a stock CJ5 with a GM 4 cyl. The only mod I ever did was switch to a stockish size mud tire. I drove that jeep as a daily driver and "woods runner" for several years like that. Off road, I'd put it in 4hi and only use 4 low to get me out of something that 4hi couldn't handle. Never did put a winch on it as it's light weight and 4 low always got me out of my misdeeds.
And while I've only had it a couple of weeks now, the LJ is twice the Jeep my old one was. My plans for it are to just keep it stock with some convenience mods. Although Mrs Willy told me that it would look a lot better with a winch on the front.
And while I've only had it a couple of weeks now, the LJ is twice the Jeep my old one was. My plans for it are to just keep it stock with some convenience mods. Although Mrs Willy told me that it would look a lot better with a winch on the front.