Hi Everyone. The post got a bit longer than I'd anticipated. There are some questions at the end.
To give you a bit of background on how I got here, I work overseas regularly, including a 2 year stint in Thailand from 2015-2017. While I was there, I rode scooters, as one does in Asia. Upon returning home to Michigan, I wanted to buy a Harley. Same concept as the scooter, but something more fit for American roads. My wife was against the idea as we had a baby boy while we were in Thailand, and suggested a Wrangler instead. She believed it was a much more family friendly option. I'd had an XJ in college as it was a bit more attainable than a Wrangler at the time, but a Wrangler was what I'd always wanted. So the search was on. For about 6 months or a year, I looked on and off for a Wrangler. Had to be a TJ or YJ with the 4.0L and a manual. Those were really my only requirements.
So this brings me to my purchase. In April of last year we had baby number 2. Two weeks after that, I found my Khaki TJR. My wife refers to this as my midlife crisis. This is more or less what it looked like when I bought it. It does have both tops and full doors, although I pulled the top and doors off as soon as I got it and didn't put them back on until October.
My plan was to drive it around for the summer to ensure it was a good vehicle before I dumped a bunch of money into modifying it. Well I did, and I'm in love. I've mostly done maintenance items so far, but with a few very other very minor things (belt, brakes, getting all lights working properly, adding spare tire, sunshade, etc.) I wanted to do most of the mods over the winter so it was ready for summer 2020, but I got the opportunity to bring my family to Dubai for the winter on another extended business trip, so I've been here since January. It was a very nice experience before the Corona lockdown, but over the last few weeks, the only thing I can think about is how I wish I was stuck in my home in Michigan working on the Jeep!
As far as use, I've used it to go to some off-road spots I know of, but no official parks as of yet. Going forward, I'd like to be able to take it Silver Lake Sand Dunes on the west side of the state as well as some of the other parks in Michigan and Indiana. These would be camping / 4 weeling trips with my son and a friend of mine. I'd be driving to and from these places so road manners are quite important in addition to off-road capability. Really not going for the 35" rock crawler. Just a bit of increased capability.
If all goes well, I'm going to be returning to Michigan in two weeks so I want to order some parts to get started when I get back. Here's what I'm thinking about doing:
Tire Size — I'm currently running the factory tire size. I think it's 245/75 R 16, but I can't remember exactly not being with the car. Goodyear Kevlar MTR. I'd like to go up to 32" or 33" without having to do too many special things. I'm looking at KO2s. The two sizes I was considering are 265/ 75R16 and 285/75R16. Both are load range E, but I'd really like to keep the Moabs so it seems that's what I'm stuck with.
Lift — I'm looking at the OME 2" kit. I'm pretty set on the OME brand as I've had good experiences with ARB in the past and I like the idea of a fairly complete kit rather than piecing together different shocks and springs. I don't plan on aftermarket bumpers at the moment, but I will add a winch. So I'm thinking about getting the heavy version to get a bit of extra clearance.
Winch — I'm thinking of adding a winch plate and getting one of the Smittybuilt XRC gen 2 winches. This seems a good budget option since I'll likely be using it for recovery within a park (and thus around other vehicles if there is a problem) rather than miles from other cars as it seems people often are out west.
On my questions:
Tire size — I'd really like to go with the 285 if possible. I do have the Metalcloak fenders (I know they don't offer much additional clearance, but I seem to recall reading a thread that said the gains are more in the 32-33" tire range than they are in the 35-37" tire range). Can this tire size be done with the OME lift? Do you think an inch or so wheel spacers would help / be required?
I don't intend to regear. Would this affect which tire size I should go with? Or do you think either or both tire sizes I'm considering would be fine with the factory 4.10s? Would i struggle on the highway with either? That is a big concern of mine given how far I'll need to travel to get to some of these offroad parks.
On the lift — what else am I missing, or would I be OK to run this with the OME kit alone? I'm thinking specifically of the control arms as it seems these lifts often pull the wheelbase shorter. Will there be a noticeable difference with his kit, and would adjustable control arms be a must have or a nice to have? I'm also a bit unclear about SYE and if they would be required either for this lift height and / or with the Rubicon in general.
Is there anything else I'm missing or I've forgotten about? Really looking forward to everyone's feedback - any input is welcome. I'll update with what I go with and post some more photos when I get home.
Thanks in advance!
To give you a bit of background on how I got here, I work overseas regularly, including a 2 year stint in Thailand from 2015-2017. While I was there, I rode scooters, as one does in Asia. Upon returning home to Michigan, I wanted to buy a Harley. Same concept as the scooter, but something more fit for American roads. My wife was against the idea as we had a baby boy while we were in Thailand, and suggested a Wrangler instead. She believed it was a much more family friendly option. I'd had an XJ in college as it was a bit more attainable than a Wrangler at the time, but a Wrangler was what I'd always wanted. So the search was on. For about 6 months or a year, I looked on and off for a Wrangler. Had to be a TJ or YJ with the 4.0L and a manual. Those were really my only requirements.
So this brings me to my purchase. In April of last year we had baby number 2. Two weeks after that, I found my Khaki TJR. My wife refers to this as my midlife crisis. This is more or less what it looked like when I bought it. It does have both tops and full doors, although I pulled the top and doors off as soon as I got it and didn't put them back on until October.
My plan was to drive it around for the summer to ensure it was a good vehicle before I dumped a bunch of money into modifying it. Well I did, and I'm in love. I've mostly done maintenance items so far, but with a few very other very minor things (belt, brakes, getting all lights working properly, adding spare tire, sunshade, etc.) I wanted to do most of the mods over the winter so it was ready for summer 2020, but I got the opportunity to bring my family to Dubai for the winter on another extended business trip, so I've been here since January. It was a very nice experience before the Corona lockdown, but over the last few weeks, the only thing I can think about is how I wish I was stuck in my home in Michigan working on the Jeep!
As far as use, I've used it to go to some off-road spots I know of, but no official parks as of yet. Going forward, I'd like to be able to take it Silver Lake Sand Dunes on the west side of the state as well as some of the other parks in Michigan and Indiana. These would be camping / 4 weeling trips with my son and a friend of mine. I'd be driving to and from these places so road manners are quite important in addition to off-road capability. Really not going for the 35" rock crawler. Just a bit of increased capability.
If all goes well, I'm going to be returning to Michigan in two weeks so I want to order some parts to get started when I get back. Here's what I'm thinking about doing:
Tire Size — I'm currently running the factory tire size. I think it's 245/75 R 16, but I can't remember exactly not being with the car. Goodyear Kevlar MTR. I'd like to go up to 32" or 33" without having to do too many special things. I'm looking at KO2s. The two sizes I was considering are 265/ 75R16 and 285/75R16. Both are load range E, but I'd really like to keep the Moabs so it seems that's what I'm stuck with.
Lift — I'm looking at the OME 2" kit. I'm pretty set on the OME brand as I've had good experiences with ARB in the past and I like the idea of a fairly complete kit rather than piecing together different shocks and springs. I don't plan on aftermarket bumpers at the moment, but I will add a winch. So I'm thinking about getting the heavy version to get a bit of extra clearance.
Winch — I'm thinking of adding a winch plate and getting one of the Smittybuilt XRC gen 2 winches. This seems a good budget option since I'll likely be using it for recovery within a park (and thus around other vehicles if there is a problem) rather than miles from other cars as it seems people often are out west.
On my questions:
Tire size — I'd really like to go with the 285 if possible. I do have the Metalcloak fenders (I know they don't offer much additional clearance, but I seem to recall reading a thread that said the gains are more in the 32-33" tire range than they are in the 35-37" tire range). Can this tire size be done with the OME lift? Do you think an inch or so wheel spacers would help / be required?
I don't intend to regear. Would this affect which tire size I should go with? Or do you think either or both tire sizes I'm considering would be fine with the factory 4.10s? Would i struggle on the highway with either? That is a big concern of mine given how far I'll need to travel to get to some of these offroad parks.
On the lift — what else am I missing, or would I be OK to run this with the OME kit alone? I'm thinking specifically of the control arms as it seems these lifts often pull the wheelbase shorter. Will there be a noticeable difference with his kit, and would adjustable control arms be a must have or a nice to have? I'm also a bit unclear about SYE and if they would be required either for this lift height and / or with the Rubicon in general.
Is there anything else I'm missing or I've forgotten about? Really looking forward to everyone's feedback - any input is welcome. I'll update with what I go with and post some more photos when I get home.
Thanks in advance!
Welcome home!
