Beginning my build - looking for guidance

t00th

t00th

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 26, 2019
Messages
238
Location
SE PA
Hey all. Have a little question about how to order next steps of my planned build.

2000 4.0L/5-speed. Stock height.

As of now my mods/upgrades/purchases have been of the non-mechanical/creature comfort/preparedness variety. CB, Tuffy security trunk, sun shade, dog nets, fog lights, compressor, tow points, various gear, etc.

Mechanically, I've had a plan in mind for a while to upgrade to 31" AT's from the 30" highway tires the jeep came with, followed down the road by a 2.5" OME lift. And ZJ tie rod eventually.

I just ordered a set of Dick Cepek Trail Country EXP's on 15" steel rims from Quadratec. I'll be putting those on some upcoming weekend. Being a hybrid tire, I liked the capabilities while maintaining good road manners (it's my daily). And couldn't argue with the price.

But it'll be a couple months until time and $$$ make the lift possible, so I'll be 31's on stock height for a while.

So — now for my question. Should I install sway bar disconnects NOW or wait until after the lift? I wonder if without the lift, the additional suspension articulation plus extra inch of rubber will be problematic off road?

Am I just overthinking it?
 
Cornbread said:
31's won't be an issue with 2.5" of lift. I'd do the disco's after the lift.
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Sorry, I realize now I wrote that kinda unclearly. I know the 31's won't be an issue with 2.5" of lift--that's my ultimate endgame. I was just wondering if WITH 31's but WITHOUT the lift, the extra articulation from disco'd sway bar could end with me bottoming out/damaging something.

Thing is, I don't wanna wait for the lift to start getting out and wheeling (everyone says the best "mod" is experience, right?). But I've also read time and again that you're gonna have a much harder time if not disconnected and aired down.
 
What back spacing did you get with the new wheels? I'd wait on the discos till after the lift, IMO.
 
Yeah that's what I'd been reading and I was really looking for 3.75" of BS, but after lots of pricing and research into different local and shipped options, wheel/tire combos, I decided .25" of compromise is no problem to get an otherwise good mix of utility/availability/price.

I still get the stance I wanted and saved a good bit of cake on the whole thing (minus the price of a few washer stacks, of course).
 
I’m curious what led you to this tire selection. I’m in the market myself for tires and they seem well priced.
 
Midtenn said:
I’m curious what led you to this tire selection. I’m in the market myself for tires and they seem well priced.
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After shopping around and pricing out tires and knowing how much off-road use I'd be getting from them, I had all but settled on General Grabber ATX's (basically a clone of the BFG Ko2 tread). About $150/tire, good reviews, and aggressive but too aggressive (My Jeep is my daily and primary vehicle) and a lot of the other A/T's in that price range seemed to have a less aggressive, more highway-oriented tread than I wanted.

But couldn't find them online from a site that also had wheels I wanted in my price range (the steel D-windows I got were cheapest on Quadratec by over $20/wheel) and these Trail Countrys were what quadratec had in my price range for a mounted and balanced set.

I could've bought the General Grabbers from one site and the wheels from another, but would likely have had to pay shipping, plus the additional time and expense to have them mounted/balanced locally. So I felt the Trail Countrys were a fine compromise to be able to have everything shipped to me ready to put on the Jeep myself.

They're a hybrid tire, so a mix of All Terrain and Mud Terrain and more aggressive than I had initially been in the market for, but I did some research on them (on-road manners, impact on fuel economy, etc) and was comfortable with the compromise.


Aaaaand sorry for the long-winded answer.
 
Thanks for the long winded answer. I’m in a similar boat. I’ve found them in 33 for about $600 installed. I too was considering the generals but these are a lot cheaper due to a sale and I was debating on pulling the trigger. I appreciate your feedback.

have you ridden on them yet?
 
Midtenn said:
Thanks for the long winded answer. I’m in a similar boat. I’ve found them in 33 for about $600 installed. I too was considering the generals but these are a lot cheaper due to a sale and I was debating on pulling the trigger. I appreciate your feedback.

have you ridden on them yet?
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Damn, thats a really good price, that'd definitely clinch the choice for me.

I have not ridden on them yet though. They just shipped today. But as you'd imagine, terribly anxious to test em out.
 
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