Colorado Daily-Driven Trail Warrior V2 - 2006 LJ

[JMT]

Paint shades can vary wildly now that our rigs are between 18-27 years old. The BEST option is a local auto paint supply house. They will put a camera ON your paint and their computer will baseline it off the factory paint code. Then they will give you an option of two colors and explain that one is the factory paint match and the other is what’s closest to your current paint color. In my OPINION you want the factory paint match ONLY for a complete paint job/restoration. Otherwise you want what is closest to your current color.

This is Rustoleum Sunrise Red on MY rig. Tailgate skin is the Rustoleum. Corners are factory. Note how close it looks to the right corner and how didfeeent from the left corner. Lighting is weird. YMMV

Same, but look how close it looks in this picture.

This is the auto paint supply color on the A-Pillar armor

This is the same auto paint store color on the corner armor and tailgate skin next to the doors which are OEM paint.

I can tell a difference up close, but I never look that close. The auto paint store match turned out to be GM Victory Red, so obviously my paint has changed color over the last 19 years or the factory guys mixed the paint wrong that Monday morning.

 

[jjvw]

The color match I bought from Spectra Paints for my highlines is pretty good. I think if I polished the existing original paint, it would be even closer.

 

[Apparition]

Paint shades can vary wildly now that our rigs are between 18-27 years old. The BEST option is a local auto paint supply house. They will put a camera ON your paint and their computer will baseline it off the factory paint code. Then they will give you an option of two colors and explain that one is the factory paint match and the other is what’s closest to your current paint color. In my OPINION you want the factory paint match ONLY for a complete paint job/restoration. Otherwise you want what is closest to your current color.

This is Rustoleum Sunrise Red on MY rig. Tailgate skin is the Rustoleum. Corners are factory. Note how close it looks to the right corner and how didfeeent from the left corner. Lighting is weird. YMMV

View attachment 502595

Same, but look how close it looks in this picture.

View attachment 502594

This is the auto paint supply color on the A-Pillar armor
View attachment 502593

This is the same auto paint store color on the corner armor and tailgate skin next to the doors which are OEM paint.

View attachment 502592
I can tell a difference up close, but I never look that close. The auto paint store match turned out to be GM Victory Red, so obviously my paint has changed color over the last 19 years or the factory guys mixed the paint wrong that Monday morning.

I've repainted one piece of my Jeep with the automotive touchup paint and I had another piece painted by a shop. The automotive touchup paint looks better than the shop match. I've never had anybody point out any of it looked off though so they are both good enough.

 

[zachpeakee]

Don't go buy a bunch of cans until you find something...drive the LJ to Dales Paint on N. Circle Dr. They'll have some chips based on your paint code that you can hold up to the jeep and choose the closest match, and they'll mix it up for you. It'll be a base coat that requires a clear, so for best results, buy the spraymax glamour 2k clear while you're there. Be prepared, it's all gonna be in the neighborhood of $25/can.

Don't worry. $25 a can doesn't scare me, seeing that I just paid Oreilly's $17 a can for this garbage...

GM Victory Red turned out to be the closest to my current color after 18 years of environmental impact.

Funny you say that, because I picked up a can of the Victory Red, and thought to myself "damn, THIS looks closer than the Flame Red..."
Then proceeded to buy the Flame Red because I thought it would be correct.

The duplicolor is awful. I bought several cans over the years (red, white, black) and every single can had paint spatter issues and various shades off. Its a close match, but never perfect and inconsistent.

I actually had OPPOSITE results, as far as consistency was concerned.
I sprayed at 62 degrees in the garage, and the coverage/spray was phenomenal.
It sprayed extremely well, with absolute zero spit/spatter issues. I was pretty mindblown.

But that didn't matter, because of how badly the paint matched.

 

[zachpeakee]

Paint shades can vary wildly now that our rigs are between 18-27 years old. The BEST option is a local auto paint supply house. They will put a camera ON your paint and their computer will baseline it off the factory paint code. Then they will give you an option of two colors and explain that one is the factory paint match and the other is what’s closest to your current paint color. In my OPINION you want the factory paint match ONLY for a complete paint job/restoration. Otherwise you want what is closest to your current color.

This is Rustoleum Sunrise Red on MY rig. Tailgate skin is the Rustoleum. Corners are factory. Note how close it looks to the right corner and how didfeeent from the left corner. Lighting is weird. YMMV

View attachment 502595

Same, but look how close it looks in this picture.

View attachment 502594

This is the auto paint supply color on the A-Pillar armor
View attachment 502593

This is the same auto paint store color on the corner armor and tailgate skin next to the doors which are OEM paint.

View attachment 502592
I can tell a difference up close, but I never look that close. The auto paint store match turned out to be GM Victory Red, so obviously my paint has changed color over the last 19 years or the factory guys mixed the paint wrong that Monday morning.

If mine looked like that, i'd be thrilled.

I'm MANY shades off. The "Flame Red" Duplicolor almost has a pink base tone to it, so it's BRIGHT red. Whereas the LJ has somewhat of a rust/orange base tone (I assume due to age).

 

[zachpeakee]

Just got off the phone with Shaun at Tom Woods Driveshaft.

I was planning to swap out my UJoints to see if I could eliminate them as being a culprit for my rear driveline vibrations.
I know for a fact they're old, but they don't appear to be worn out. However, it's only a $20-30 part so easy enough to swap & see.

My only hang-up has been the fact that I KNOW in the future I plan to run a CV style driveshaft with an SYE.
So it's fairly pointless to spend $30 here and there, versus upgrading all-together.
(especially since I now have the money from the TJ sale)

With those thoughts into account, I decided the smartest route would be to get on the phone directly with Tom Woods Driveshaft, and see what they had to say. So I called them up, and spent about 15 minutes on the phone with Shaun, running through and bobbling different options that he thought would work best.

X-Spline / XC model is what Shaun recommended as it's their most common model, and rocks/etc tend to eat up the booted versions.
After a few hard runs on these rocky Colorado trails that could be a concern.

I was also concerned with the Teraflex deal they offer, versus Advance Adapters, at which Shaun felt the Advanced Adapters version of the SYE was the superior product.
He explained that the Teraflex is more expensive, so they discount the shaft price in order to run that "sale".
But ultimately, the pricing of a non-discounted shaft + Advanced Adapters SYE is the same.
With him recommending the Advanced SYE over the Teraflex, that was a simple explanation/solution.

I also had a few concerns on the best way to measure, which he cleared up.
I'm going to rotate my pinion upwards, within the ballpark of where it will be for the SYE, and measure from there to get the most accurate numbers for driveshaft length.

I was also concerned about a mild stretch when the day comes to throwing 35's underneath the LJ.
It was recommended that a 1" wheelbase stretch is FINE on the X spline shaft, but he couldn't recommend that number to go any higher.
It's a suitable length for stretching the wheelbase enough for larger tires, however NOT suitable enough for a full-blown wheelbase stretch of any significant amount.

He said it COULD work, and he has seen it 'work', but it's not optimal past much more than an inch of stretch and he wouldn't recommend it.
However there's only a $70 charge for lengthening their driveshafts in the future, as well as balancing.
So should it come to that, I feel pretty comfortable dealing with Tom Woods given my conversation with Shaun.

All in all, up to this point i've only heard about the good things from Tom Woods but never dealt with them directly, and after talking on the phone with Shaun for 15 minutes or so, I can positively say they're all true.
Very knowledgeable, knows his products and can also explain them in a very realistic/honest manner, and answered all my questions with a straightforward/honest response.

From my 15 minute experience with Shaun, Tom Woods Driveshaft seems to be a 10/10 company if I've ever seen one.

So TW/SYE will be ordered tonight and installed soon.

 

[Apparition]

Just got off the phone with Shaun at Tom Woods Driveshaft.

I was planning to swap out my UJoints to see if I could eliminate them as being a culprit for my rear driveline vibrations.
I know for a fact they're old, but they don't appear to be worn out. However, it's only a $20-30 part so easy enough to swap & see.

My only hang-up has been the fact that I KNOW in the future I plan to run a CV style driveshaft with an SYE.
So it's fairly pointless to spend $30 here and there, versus upgrading all-together.
(especially since I now have the money from the TJ sale)

With those thoughts into account, I decided the smartest route would be to get on the phone directly with Tom Woods Driveshaft, and see what they had to say. So I called them up, and spent about 15 minutes on the phone with Shaun, running through and bobbling different options that he thought would work best.

X-Spline / XC model is what Shaun recommended as it's their most common model, and rocks/etc tend to eat up the booted versions after a few hard runs on rocky trails , ie; Colorado trails.

I was also concerned with the Teraflex deal they offer, versus Advance Adapters, at which Shaun felt the Advanced Adapters version of the SYE was the superior product. He explained that the Teraflex is more expensive, so they discount the shaft price in order to run that "sale". But ultimately, the pricing of a non-discounted shaft + Advanced Adapters SYE is the same. With him recommending the Advanced SYE over the Teraflex, that was a simple explanation/solution.

I also had a few concerns on the best way to measure, which he cleared up.
I'm going to rotate my pinion upwards, within the ballpark of where it will be for the SYE, and measure from there to get the most accurate numbers.

I was also concerned about a mild stretch when the day comes to throwing 35's underneath the LJ.
It was recommended that a 1" wheelbase stretch is FINE on the X spline shaft, but he couldn't recommend that number to go any higher.

He said it COULD work, but it's not optimal past much more than an inch of stretch.
However there's only a $70 charge for lengthening their driveshafts in the future, as well as balancing.
So should it come to that, I feel pretty comfortable dealing with Tom Woods given my conversation with Shaun.

All in all, up to this point i've only heard about the good things from Tom Woods, and after talking on the phone with Shaun for 15 minutes or so, I can positively say they're all true.
Very knowledgeable, knows his products and can also explain them in a very realistic/honest manner, and answered all my questions with a straightforward/honest response.

So TW/SYE will be ordered tonight and installed soon.

When I did mine they sent me the SYE first and then I called in with the measurements once installed and ready for it.

 

[zachpeakee]

When I did mine they sent me the SYE first and then I called in with the measurements once installed and ready for it.

That could be an option, although he didn't mention that.

 

[SoCalGlide]

Just got off the phone with Shaun at Tom Woods Driveshaft.

I was planning to swap out my UJoints to see if I could eliminate them as being a culprit for my rear driveline vibrations.
I know for a fact they're old, but they don't appear to be worn out. However, it's only a $20-30 part so easy enough to swap & see.

My only hang-up has been the fact that I KNOW in the future I plan to run a CV style driveshaft with an SYE.
So it's fairly pointless to spend $30 here and there, versus upgrading all-together.
(especially since I now have the money from the TJ sale)

With those thoughts into account, I decided the smartest route would be to get on the phone directly with Tom Woods Driveshaft, and see what they had to say. So I called them up, and spent about 15 minutes on the phone with Shaun, running through and bobbling different options that he thought would work best.

X-Spline / XC model is what Shaun recommended as it's their most common model, and rocks/etc tend to eat up the booted versions.
After a few hard runs on these rocky Colorado trails that could be a concern.

I was also concerned with the Teraflex deal they offer, versus Advance Adapters, at which Shaun felt the Advanced Adapters version of the SYE was the superior product.
He explained that the Teraflex is more expensive, so they discount the shaft price in order to run that "sale".
But ultimately, the pricing of a non-discounted shaft + Advanced Adapters SYE is the same.
With him recommending the Advanced SYE over the Teraflex, that was a simple explanation/solution.

I also had a few concerns on the best way to measure, which he cleared up.
I'm going to rotate my pinion upwards, within the ballpark of where it will be for the SYE, and measure from there to get the most accurate numbers for driveshaft length.

I was also concerned about a mild stretch when the day comes to throwing 35's underneath the LJ.
It was recommended that a 1" wheelbase stretch is FINE on the X spline shaft, but he couldn't recommend that number to go any higher.
It's a suitable length for stretching the wheelbase enough for larger tires, however NOT suitable enough for a full-blown wheelbase stretch of any significant amount.

He said it COULD work, and he has seen it 'work', but it's not optimal past much more than an inch of stretch and he wouldn't recommend it.
However there's only a $70 charge for lengthening their driveshafts in the future, as well as balancing.
So should it come to that, I feel pretty comfortable dealing with Tom Woods given my conversation with Shaun.

All in all, up to this point i've only heard about the good things from Tom Woods but never dealt with them directly, and after talking on the phone with Shaun for 15 minutes or so, I can positively say they're all true.
Very knowledgeable, knows his products and can also explain them in a very realistic/honest manner, and answered all my questions with a straightforward/honest response.

From my 15 minute experience with Shaun, Tom Woods Driveshaft seems to be a 10/10 company if I've ever seen one.

So TW/SYE will be ordered tonight and installed soon.

I also went with the AA sye and XC driveshaft from TC. All I've got to do is get off my ass and install it.

 

[zachpeakee]

The LJ got a Head Unit Refresh...

As some of you know, I bought a new Head Unit for the LJ the other day, and it finally all arrived this afternoon.

In total I spent $220 on the head unit + $80 on the Double DIN dash kit from Amazon.

Head Unit Link - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKKG6VFB?tag=wranglerorg-20
Dash Kit Link - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFT4BRJZ?tag=wranglerorg-20

I also decided before digging into it to go buy myself a decent set of Ratcheting Wire Crimpers, and heat-shrink insulated butt connectors.
I haven't been enthused with my current selection of crimpers in my toolbox.
The previous crimpers I own all work "okay" but they don't leave that professional/OEM crimp that i'd like to see.

When dealing with wiring stuff, I think that a bit of preparation can save a load of headache in the future.
After all, I am young, I've wired some pretty janky shit in vehicles before, and overall just never took the effort/energy to do it the correct way.
Which ends up biting me in the ass in the long run.

But i'm getting off topic. Back to the head unit.

Factory Head Unit is in great shape, and works as it did from factory.
But one thing I hated in my TJ was using my phone as GPS, and I find the selection of TJ phone mounts to be ugly as hell hanging around the dash.
Not to mention my phone bouncing around, falling across the floor while climbing rocks and such.

The new unit has Wireless Carplay, and should make day to day life with the LJ that much more bearable.
(and to top it off, it's touchscreen WITH a volume knob. This was a deal-maker or breaker for me. I don't mind touch-screen, but HATE units without volume knobs)

So out came the Factory Head Unit...

The dash kit I bought came with the TJ head unit plug adapter, and it was also color-coded correctly so wiring was fairly straight forward.
The new crimper made quick work of the job, and the waterproof insulated heat-shrink connectors made for a clean splice.

Since the wiring was so straightforward and easy, getting the radio ON and working took all of 30 minutes.
Most of which was spending time crimping wires & heating the connectors.

Plugged the new Unit in, and there she was.

I was extremely surprised at how easy the wireless Carplay setup was out of the box.
It's no extra bullshit to wire in, etc.
Wireless Carplay/Android Auto is built into the unit itself, and within 2 minutes of fiddling with settings, my Carplay was fully functional.

Another huge plus, which I did not realize was adapted for Carplay, is that I can use both Trails Offroad AND OnX with the unit.
Displayed right on the screen, can find/track the trails without hiccups.

Now it was time to get it mounted into the dash.
I test-fit the Unit mounting brackets into the dash and realized that the dash simply was not meant to adapt this size screen.

The brackets were making contact with the factory Head Unit tray, and would not slide far enough in the hole to sit flush against the Bezel.

The solution was really quite simple.
The factory Head Unit tray had to come out.

The space was funky, there's a lot of wires to watch out for, and there just really wasn't a "good" way to do this.
It required a little hacking with various Dremel accessories to get it out.
BUT, the point is it came out, and now there was enough space to mount the new Unit in the dash.

The next part was the trickiest, and most time consuming.
There's multiple different mounting holes in the brackets, as well as multiple different mounting holes in the Head Unit.
No instruction as to which holes to use.
So it turned into a guessing game of mounting the radio to the brackets, screw it to the dash, and test fit the bezel.
Move the brackets again, mount to the dash, test fit the bezel.
Rinse & Repeat until satisfied.

Ive read a lot of information about aftermarket Bezels not sitting 'flush' or radios sitting crooked and people often referring to their installs being "good enough" or "still better than the stock radio"... you guys know what I'm talking about.

I'm OCD , so I knew that a crooked or mis-aligned screen would drive me absolutely INSANE.
It just was not an option I was willing to have.
So I took my time to do it right.

Finally on about the 10th time of removing the Head Unit, and adjusting the mounting brackets, I got it sitting very cleanly in the Bezel face.

Then of course, I powered it up again to make sure I hadn't pinched or dislocated any wiring in the process.
This unit has Microphone, GPS adapters, Factory Antenna Adapters, and all kind of stuff in the back.
I hooked all of that up while I was in there.
Mounted the microphone on the steering column below my dash cluster, and mounted the GPS/WIFI reciever at the bottom side of the windshield.
So long story short, there were a LOT of wires behind the new Head Unit..

Overall, I'm extremely happy with it, and the sound quality is up to par with some previous Alpine units i've had in recent years.
Touch screen functionality is AS GOOD as any of the higher priced Alpine Units, and the Wireless Carplay works without issue.
(obviously time will tell)

At this point, after sitting in the LJ and playing with it for about an hour, I can fully say this unit in it's entirety is as good of quality as any of the $400-700 units I have had personal experience with.

And to boot, the LJ now has Wireless Carplay, which I am absolutely stoked about.

Planning to set some time aside in the next day or two to finish wiring the rest of my sound system.

I have two Kicker 10" subwoofers on the garage floor at the moment.
Planning to find a clean way to route/run the power wire from the battery to the rear-tub of the LJ, and get all of my 'boom-boom' set up behind the rear seats.

More 'pointless & stupid electronic shit' to come..

 

[zachpeakee]

Don't go buy a bunch of cans until you find something...drive the LJ to Dales Paint on N. Circle Dr. They'll have some chips based on your paint code that you can hold up to the jeep and choose the closest match, and they'll mix it up for you.

Funnily enough, I realized today that I pass this place multiple times a week, and never payed attention that it was there.

I passed it today heading back from Harbor Freight and thought to myself "OH SHIT, that's the place he was talking about..."

It's only about a 10 minute drive from home, so I'm planning to take the LJ by there today at some point to chat it up with them.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

The LJ got a Head Unit Refresh...

As some of you know, I bought a new Head Unit for the LJ the other day, and it finally all arrived this afternoon.

In total I spent $220 on the head unit + $80 on the Double DIN dash kit from Amazon.

Head Unit Link - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKKG6VFB?tag=wranglerorg-20
Dash Kit Link - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFT4BRJZ?tag=wranglerorg-20

I also decided before digging into it to go buy myself a decent set of Ratcheting Wire Crimpers, and heat-shrink insulated butt connectors.
I haven't been enthused with my current selection of crimpers in my toolbox.
The previous crimpers I own all work "okay" but they don't leave that professional/OEM crimp that i'd like to see.

When dealing with wiring stuff, I think that a bit of preparation can save a load of headache in the future.
After all, I am young, I've wired some pretty janky shit in vehicles before, and overall just never took the effort/energy to do it the correct way.
Which ends up biting me in the ass in the long run.

But i'm getting off topic. Back to the head unit.

Factory Head Unit is in great shape, and works as it did from factory.
But one thing I hated in my TJ was using my phone as GPS, and I find the selection of TJ phone mounts to be ugly as hell hanging around the dash.
Not to mention my phone bouncing around, falling across the floor while climbing rocks and such.

The new unit has Wireless Carplay, and should make day to day life with the LJ that much more bearable.
(and to top it off, it's touchscreen WITH a volume knob. This was a deal-maker or breaker for me. I don't mind touch-screen, but HATE units without volume knobs)

So out came the Factory Head Unit...

View attachment 502749

The dash kit I bought came with the TJ head unit plug adapter, and it was also color-coded correctly so wiring was fairly straight forward.
The new crimper made quick work of the job, and the waterproof insulated heat-shrink connectors made for a clean splice.

View attachment 502750

Since the wiring was so straightforward and easy, getting the radio ON and working took all of 30 minutes.
Most of which was spending time crimping wires & heating the connectors.

Plugged the new Unit in, and there she was.

View attachment 502751

I was extremely surprised at how easy the wireless Carplay setup was out of the box.
It's no extra bullshit to wire in, etc.
Wireless Carplay/Android Auto is built into the unit itself, and within 2 minutes of fiddling with settings, my Carplay was fully functional.

View attachment 502752

View attachment 502753

Another huge plus, which I did not realize was adapted for Carplay, is that I can use both Trails Offroad AND OnX with the unit.
Displayed right on the screen, can find/track the trails without hiccups.

View attachment 502754

View attachment 502755

Now it was time to get it mounted into the dash.
I test-fit the Unit mounting brackets into the dash and realized that the dash simply was not meant to adapt this size screen.

The brackets were making contact with the factory Head Unit tray, and would not slide far enough in the hole to sit flush against the Bezel.

View attachment 502756

View attachment 502757

The solution was really quite simple.
The factory Head Unit tray had to come out.

View attachment 502758

View attachment 502759

The space was funky, there's a lot of wires to watch out for, and there just really wasn't a "good" way to do this.
It required a little hacking with various Dremel accessories to get it out.
BUT, the point is it came out, and now there was enough space to mount the new Unit in the dash.

View attachment 502760

View attachment 502761

The next part was the trickiest, and most time consuming.
There's multiple different mounting holes in the brackets, as well as multiple different mounting holes in the Head Unit.
No instruction as to which holes to use.
So it turned into a guessing game of mounting the radio to the brackets, screw it to the dash, and test fit the bezel.
Move the brackets again, mount to the dash, test fit the bezel.
Rinse & Repeat until satisfied.

Ive read a lot of information about aftermarket Bezels not sitting 'flush' or radios sitting crooked and people often referring to their installs being "good enough" or "still better than the stock radio"... you guys know what I'm talking about.

I'm OCD , so I knew that a crooked or mis-aligned screen would drive me absolutely INSANE.
It just was not an option I was willing to have.
So I took my time to do it right.

Finally on about the 10th time of removing the Head Unit, and adjusting the mounting brackets, I got it sitting very cleanly in the Bezel face.

View attachment 502762

View attachment 502763

Then of course, I powered it up again to make sure I hadn't pinched or dislocated any wiring in the process.
This unit has Microphone, GPS adapters, Factory Antenna Adapters, and all kind of stuff in the back.
I hooked all of that up while I was in there.
Mounted the microphone on the steering column below my dash cluster, and mounted the GPS/WIFI reciever at the bottom side of the windshield.
So long story short, there were a LOT of wires behind the new Head Unit..

View attachment 502764

View attachment 502765

Overall, I'm extremely happy with it, and the sound quality is up to par with some previous Alpine units i've had in recent years.
Touch screen functionality is AS GOOD as any of the higher priced Alpine Units, and the Wireless Carplay works without issue.
(obviously time will tell)

At this point, after sitting in the LJ and playing with it for about an hour, I can fully say this unit in it's entirety is as good of quality as any of the $400-700 units I have had personal experience with.

And to boot, the LJ now has Wireless Carplay, which I am absolutely stoked about.

View attachment 502766

Planning to set some time aside in the next day or two to finish wiring the rest of my sound system.

I have two Kicker 10" subwoofers on the garage floor at the moment.
Planning to find a clean way to route/run the power wire from the battery to the rear-tub of the LJ, and get all of my 'boom-boom' set up behind the rear seats.

More 'pointless & stupid electronic shit' to come..

Nice work, Zach. Clean install. The wireless Carplay is pretty cool.

 

[zachpeakee]

Nice work, Zach. Clean install. The wireless Carplay is pretty cool.

I few years back in a few of my vehicles, I could've cared less about Carplay.
It was cool, but nothing I felt was necessary to have.

We decided to install it into one of my wife's cars about 3 years ago, since then every one of her vehicles has had it.
It's a gamechanger if you drive on the street at all, and the ability to have both Carplay AND radio functions in one device make it that much easier.

(now we'll just have to see how well it holds up over time, because I also have my doubts there)

 

[zachpeakee]

I would like to ask a question regarding Tire/Wheel size.
If any of you guys have any personal bias/opinions I'd like to hear them.

There's a guy about an hour from me selling a set of Nitto Ridge Grapplers (35x12.5 R17) for only $800.
The set is 4 used tires (claiming 75% tread left) as well as a new spare that has never been used.

In new condition, these tires are $400 each ; $2,000 for the set

Here's a photo showing the life of the tires.

I guess my hang-up is the 'taboo' of running larger wheels for our TJ's/LJ's.
I'd obviously need to push up to 17" wheels.

However this opens the door for BMB Big Brake Kit, and also opens the door to a large selection of wheels & bead-lock wheels in the future.

I just don't want to make an $800 mistake.
Is this a terrible thought process, or should I jump on this?

 

[Jamison C]

I would like to ask a question regarding Tire/Wheel size.
If any of you guys have any personal bias/opinions I'd like to hear them.

There's a guy about an hour from me selling a set of Nitto Ridge Grapplers (35x12.5 R17) for only $800.
The set is 4 used tires (claiming 75% tread left) as well as a new spare that has never been used.

In new condition, these tires are $400 each ; $2,000 for the set

Here's a photo showing the life of the tires.

View attachment 503002

I guess my hang-up is the 'taboo' of running larger wheels for our TJ's/LJ's.
I'd obviously need to push up to 17" wheels.

However this opens the door for BMB Big Brake Kit, and also opens the door to a large selection of wheels & bead-lock wheels in the future.

I just don't want to make an $800 mistake.
Is this a terrible thought process, or should I jump on this?

There are a lot of changes that need to be made when going up to 35s the right way. The list grows pretty quickly. My buddies were trying to convince me to skip 33s and go to 35s when we last went wheeling. It turned into “you just need this, oh and this, oh and this too, etc etc.” Is that a commitment you’re ready for in the near future?

That’s a good deal for the tires, especially if the AEV Pintlers in the picture are included. But I’ve also taught myself that just because it’s a good deal doesn’t mean I need to jump on it if I’m not ready.

 

[zachpeakee]

There are a lot of changes that need to be made when going up to 35s the right way. The list grows pretty quickly. My buddies were trying to convince me to skip 33s and go to 35s when we last went wheeling. It turned into “you just need this, oh and this, oh and this too, etc etc.” Is that a commitment you’re ready for in the near future?

That’s a good deal for the tires, especially if the AEV Pintlers in the picture are included. But I’ve also taught myself that just because it’s a good deal doesn’t mean I need to jump on it if I’m not ready

The only changes I would need to make for 35's to run optimally is a Big-Brake kit.
Of which I had planned to do anyways for my current 33'' setup.

Everything else for the most part has been done.

Sadly the AEV Pintlers aren't included. I tried to up the price to snag them.
Seller won't let them go.

 

[JMT]

The LJ got a Head Unit Refresh...

As some of you know, I bought a new Head Unit for the LJ the other day, and it finally all arrived this afternoon.

In total I spent $220 on the head unit + $80 on the Double DIN dash kit from Amazon.

Head Unit Link - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKKG6VFB?tag=wranglerorg-20
Dash Kit Link - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFT4BRJZ?tag=wranglerorg-20

I also decided before digging into it to go buy myself a decent set of Ratcheting Wire Crimpers, and heat-shrink insulated butt connectors.
I haven't been enthused with my current selection of crimpers in my toolbox.
The previous crimpers I own all work "okay" but they don't leave that professional/OEM crimp that i'd like to see.

When dealing with wiring stuff, I think that a bit of preparation can save a load of headache in the future.
After all, I am young, I've wired some pretty janky shit in vehicles before, and overall just never took the effort/energy to do it the correct way.
Which ends up biting me in the ass in the long run.

But i'm getting off topic. Back to the head unit.

Factory Head Unit is in great shape, and works as it did from factory.
But one thing I hated in my TJ was using my phone as GPS, and I find the selection of TJ phone mounts to be ugly as hell hanging around the dash.
Not to mention my phone bouncing around, falling across the floor while climbing rocks and such.

The new unit has Wireless Carplay, and should make day to day life with the LJ that much more bearable.
(and to top it off, it's touchscreen WITH a volume knob. This was a deal-maker or breaker for me. I don't mind touch-screen, but HATE units without volume knobs)

So out came the Factory Head Unit...

View attachment 502749

The dash kit I bought came with the TJ head unit plug adapter, and it was also color-coded correctly so wiring was fairly straight forward.
The new crimper made quick work of the job, and the waterproof insulated heat-shrink connectors made for a clean splice.

View attachment 502750

Since the wiring was so straightforward and easy, getting the radio ON and working took all of 30 minutes.
Most of which was spending time crimping wires & heating the connectors.

Plugged the new Unit in, and there she was.

View attachment 502751

I was extremely surprised at how easy the wireless Carplay setup was out of the box.
It's no extra bullshit to wire in, etc.
Wireless Carplay/Android Auto is built into the unit itself, and within 2 minutes of fiddling with settings, my Carplay was fully functional.

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Another huge plus, which I did not realize was adapted for Carplay, is that I can use both Trails Offroad AND OnX with the unit.
Displayed right on the screen, can find/track the trails without hiccups.

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Now it was time to get it mounted into the dash.
I test-fit the Unit mounting brackets into the dash and realized that the dash simply was not meant to adapt this size screen.

The brackets were making contact with the factory Head Unit tray, and would not slide far enough in the hole to sit flush against the Bezel.

View attachment 502756

View attachment 502757

The solution was really quite simple.
The factory Head Unit tray had to come out.

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The space was funky, there's a lot of wires to watch out for, and there just really wasn't a "good" way to do this.
It required a little hacking with various Dremel accessories to get it out.
BUT, the point is it came out, and now there was enough space to mount the new Unit in the dash.

View attachment 502760

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The next part was the trickiest, and most time consuming.
There's multiple different mounting holes in the brackets, as well as multiple different mounting holes in the Head Unit.
No instruction as to which holes to use.
So it turned into a guessing game of mounting the radio to the brackets, screw it to the dash, and test fit the bezel.
Move the brackets again, mount to the dash, test fit the bezel.
Rinse & Repeat until satisfied.

Ive read a lot of information about aftermarket Bezels not sitting 'flush' or radios sitting crooked and people often referring to their installs being "good enough" or "still better than the stock radio"... you guys know what I'm talking about.

I'm OCD , so I knew that a crooked or mis-aligned screen would drive me absolutely INSANE.
It just was not an option I was willing to have.
So I took my time to do it right.

Finally on about the 10th time of removing the Head Unit, and adjusting the mounting brackets, I got it sitting very cleanly in the Bezel face.

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Then of course, I powered it up again to make sure I hadn't pinched or dislocated any wiring in the process.
This unit has Microphone, GPS adapters, Factory Antenna Adapters, and all kind of stuff in the back.
I hooked all of that up while I was in there.
Mounted the microphone on the steering column below my dash cluster, and mounted the GPS/WIFI reciever at the bottom side of the windshield.
So long story short, there were a LOT of wires behind the new Head Unit..

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Overall, I'm extremely happy with it, and the sound quality is up to par with some previous Alpine units i've had in recent years.
Touch screen functionality is AS GOOD as any of the higher priced Alpine Units, and the Wireless Carplay works without issue.
(obviously time will tell)

At this point, after sitting in the LJ and playing with it for about an hour, I can fully say this unit in it's entirety is as good of quality as any of the $400-700 units I have had personal experience with.

And to boot, the LJ now has Wireless Carplay, which I am absolutely stoked about.

View attachment 502766

Planning to set some time aside in the next day or two to finish wiring the rest of my sound system.

I have two Kicker 10" subwoofers on the garage floor at the moment.
Planning to find a clean way to route/run the power wire from the battery to the rear-tub of the LJ, and get all of my 'boom-boom' set up behind the rear seats.

More 'pointless & stupid electronic shit' to come..

Man, I really like that unit. I wish I had done a double din last head unit change. Great future idea for me.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

I would like to ask a question regarding Tire/Wheel size.
If any of you guys have any personal bias/opinions I'd like to hear them.

There's a guy about an hour from me selling a set of Nitto Ridge Grapplers (35x12.5 R17) for only $800.
The set is 4 used tires (claiming 75% tread left) as well as a new spare that has never been used.

In new condition, these tires are $400 each ; $2,000 for the set

Here's a photo showing the life of the tires.

View attachment 503002

I guess my hang-up is the 'taboo' of running larger wheels for our TJ's/LJ's.
I'd obviously need to push up to 17" wheels.

However this opens the door for BMB Big Brake Kit, and also opens the door to a large selection of wheels & bead-lock wheels in the future.

I just don't want to make an $800 mistake.
Is this a terrible thought process, or should I jump on this?

It may just be an illusion resulting from the tread design but do I see some light feathering/cupping on the inner half of the tire?

No taboo with 17s...if they're wrapped in 35s. I think generally as long as the wheel is no more than half the tire diameter then it looks fine.

 

[nk24]

I would like to ask a question regarding Tire/Wheel size.
If any of you guys have any personal bias/opinions I'd like to hear them.

There's a guy about an hour from me selling a set of Nitto Ridge Grapplers (35x12.5 R17) for only $800.
The set is 4 used tires (claiming 75% tread left) as well as a new spare that has never been used.

In new condition, these tires are $400 each ; $2,000 for the set

Here's a photo showing the life of the tires.

View attachment 503002

I guess my hang-up is the 'taboo' of running larger wheels for our TJ's/LJ's.
I'd obviously need to push up to 17" wheels.

However this opens the door for BMB Big Brake Kit, and also opens the door to a large selection of wheels & bead-lock wheels in the future.

I just don't want to make an $800 mistake.
Is this a terrible thought process, or should I jump on this?

Check the date code on the tires. So many times I’ve seen a good deal on used tire sets with high tread remaining but the manufacture date is already 6+ years old.

 

[zachpeakee]

Man, I really like that unit. I wish I had done a double din last head unit change. Great future idea for me.

I really enjoy the way it turned out.
I'm very particular when it comes to aftermarket audio, and things fitting as well as OEM/Factory.

I messed up on the TJ when I opted to install a generic single-din unit.
I'm glad I did things correctly this go-around.