Bought my 2006 SE in October of 2017. 57lk original miles and bone stock aside from the rims and Kenwood stereo. The day I brought it home.
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Evolution of DaveC's 2006 SE 4.0
- Thread starter DaveC
- Start date
OP
What it looks like today after a few minor mods:
New fender flares
31/10.5/r15 A/T's
2" Rough Country spacer lift
Rough Country shocks
K&N cold air intake
Bartact seat covers
New fender flares
31/10.5/r15 A/T's
2" Rough Country spacer lift
Rough Country shocks
K&N cold air intake
Bartact seat covers
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Hammer24
TJ Enthusiast
Hey Hammer,
I put a K&N intake on mine too, read the hype, saw some good reviews.
Why do you believe in sticking with the stock airbox, sincerely asking for your opinion on this as the only difference I noticed was a slightly better throttle response. I never took a baseline with stock to determine mpg, although I was thinking about doing that in the future.
I do value the opinions here.
Thanks for any input.
OP
Thanks! Like jimsmith29841, I'd welcome your opinion about going back to the stock air box. Like him, I also seem to notice better throttle response and slightly better ability to maintain speed when climbing a sustained grade on the highway. Granted, it's not a huge difference, but I'm wondering whether I should be concerned about potential for more harm than good.
Hammer24
TJ Enthusiast
I should point out that I've never run any cold air intakes so my knowledge on this is from second hand experience. Basically the cai pod filters tend to suck in a lot more dust than the stock paper filter, and the extra air you're getting through isn't really necessary because the stock set up isn't exactly a weakness of the 4.0L. I'll link you to one of Chris' posts about them that should explain it more thoroughly.
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/cold-air-intake-faq.3087/
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/cold-air-intake-faq.3087/
OP
Great information; thank you. One of the reasons this forum is so great; a wealth of info and helpful people. Definitely rethinking my decision on this one!
A cold air intake on a 4.0 is a gigantic waste of money, and will do your engine more harm than good, particularly if you off-road!
That thread is very informative and contains actual quotes from the TJ engineers themselves, who have mentioned on a number of occasions that there is nothing to be gained from intakes on the 4.0.
That thread is very informative and contains actual quotes from the TJ engineers themselves, who have mentioned on a number of occasions that there is nothing to be gained from intakes on the 4.0.
OP
After a year on the Rough Country budget boost, I realized it wasn't the right choice. While it did provide more wheel travel, the ride wasn't good on or off-road - fortunately not too expensive of a mistake.
So, after much research on this forum, talking with local off-road shops and picking the brains of a number of friends who own and have built multiple off-road rigs, I decided to replace with DPG Off-Road's 2.5" Ultimate Hybrid kit.
OME springs
OME Nitrocharger Sport shocks
JKS rear links
JKS Quicker Disconnects
JKS adjustable front and rear track bars
After doing the first lift with a buddy in the driveway with jackstands, spring compressors and hand tools, a friend of a friend offered up his lift for us to remove the old and swap in the new. Man, that was nice!!
So, after much research on this forum, talking with local off-road shops and picking the brains of a number of friends who own and have built multiple off-road rigs, I decided to replace with DPG Off-Road's 2.5" Ultimate Hybrid kit.
OME springs
OME Nitrocharger Sport shocks
JKS rear links
JKS Quicker Disconnects
JKS adjustable front and rear track bars
After doing the first lift with a buddy in the driveway with jackstands, spring compressors and hand tools, a friend of a friend offered up his lift for us to remove the old and swap in the new. Man, that was nice!!
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OP
Cleaning up/reorganizing pics stored in various places and figured I should pick up where I left off here - looks like it's 'been a minute.' 
Let's see, from here I ran the TJ on 31s and open diffs for a while. Went lots of places and saw lots of cool things. Along the way, spruced up the inside a bit with some creature comforts.
Converted everything to LED...huge improvement!
Let's see, from here I ran the TJ on 31s and open diffs for a while. Went lots of places and saw lots of cool things. Along the way, spruced up the inside a bit with some creature comforts.
Converted everything to LED...huge improvement!
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OP
Added some Bartact seat covers, grab handles, a phone mount, leather steering wheel wrap and a dead pedal. Tough to say which of these is my favorite; the dead pedal, LEDs and Bartacts all really step up the driving experience.
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OP
Went to lots of cool places, learned how well a TJ can do in 'near stock' condition...
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OP
Somewhere about this time, I set it up to flat tow for when on extended hunting trips/those that required more gear than I could stuff in the TJ, or are a long ways away. Also added some protection to the rockers. Some TJR takeoff rocker guards, followed by some body mount mounted rock rails.
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OP
OP
After a couple of years wheeling the TJ in it's then current form (31s, open diffs) and time spent on the forum learning, I wanted to keep the rig pretty simple, yet light and capable - almost a 'sleeper' of sorts.
That brought on the tummy tuck and pushing the TJ a bit more, which resulted in a squished rear OEM bumper, and the decision to get something a little more substantial that would protect the tub corners. Went with the UCF aluminum hybrid.
That brought on the tummy tuck and pushing the TJ a bit more, which resulted in a squished rear OEM bumper, and the decision to get something a little more substantial that would protect the tub corners. Went with the UCF aluminum hybrid.
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OP
Somewhere around this time, I made the decision that I would eventually want to run 33s and was lucky enough to score a great deal on a very gently used Morryde kit from another forum member.
About the same time, I was able to wrap up a nearly 2 year search for a matching 5th rim for my spare. The rims were on the TJ when I bought it and really grew on me, so I wanted to try to find a match if I could. Some research lead me to discover these were MB Motoring, the Discount Tire in house brand, and a model that went out of production around 2009. Found one that was the same with the exception of black powder coated accents - so after a little clean up and a can of Plastidip...a near perfect match!
About the same time, I was able to wrap up a nearly 2 year search for a matching 5th rim for my spare. The rims were on the TJ when I bought it and really grew on me, so I wanted to try to find a match if I could. Some research lead me to discover these were MB Motoring, the Discount Tire in house brand, and a model that went out of production around 2009. Found one that was the same with the exception of black powder coated accents - so after a little clean up and a can of Plastidip...a near perfect match!
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OP
After more time in the seat and stepping up the trail game a bit, I realized I'd made a mistake with the rock rails/sliders I had. Took a couple of unexpected hard hits and understood why body mounted sliders aren't advised. Fortunately no damage, but the experience made me want to take action to upgrade sooner than later.
Decided I'd save up and splurge for the Savvy sliders.....but we all know how that goes. After a year of missing out on the onesies and twosies that would pop up in stock occasionally, research brought me to Shrockworks as the next viable option I'd be happy with.
Decided I'd save up and splurge for the Savvy sliders.....but we all know how that goes. After a year of missing out on the onesies and twosies that would pop up in stock occasionally, research brought me to Shrockworks as the next viable option I'd be happy with.
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OP
Probably a year later, I decided to make the jump from JKS Quicker Disconnects, which had worked just fine, to a SwayLoc. Dealing with the discos was a minor inconvenience, which I would have been happy to avoid, but research on the SwayLoc and the improved feel and control both on and off road is what really sealed the deal - after all, you only live once!
Also figured I'd freshen up the front bumper in the process.
Also figured I'd freshen up the front bumper in the process.
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OP
At this point, the TJ was going to be 'done' for a couple of years until it was time for new tires. That was all well and good until I was cleaning it after a day on the trails and noticed dry rot on my 14 month old tires. Took it down to Discount Tire where they confirmed what I thought and told me 'that's what happens when tires get old'.
When I pulled out my receipt and they realized that they'd sold me tires that were 4 and 5 years old 14 months prior when I bought them, they immediately offered full credit of my purchase price for new shoes. The manager was pretty shocked that they'd allowed stock that old to be sold (date codes were only on the side mounted inward, so I'd never thought to check them).
Had a big decision to make; get another set of legitimately new 31s and push out the jump to 33s another few years or take the plunge. So I did what any rational TJ owner would do and rolled out on a shiny new set of 33x10.5x15 BFGs.
When I pulled out my receipt and they realized that they'd sold me tires that were 4 and 5 years old 14 months prior when I bought them, they immediately offered full credit of my purchase price for new shoes. The manager was pretty shocked that they'd allowed stock that old to be sold (date codes were only on the side mounted inward, so I'd never thought to check them).
Had a big decision to make; get another set of legitimately new 31s and push out the jump to 33s another few years or take the plunge. So I did what any rational TJ owner would do and rolled out on a shiny new set of 33x10.5x15 BFGs.