New guy looking for suggestions

FergieRay

FergieRay

New Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2019
Messages
19
Location
Utah
Hi everyone. First time Jeep owner, poster, newbie...all of that.

Right before this past summer I purchased my first Jeep. 2003 Sahara, black, manual trans. Only has 83k miles.

Anyways, at the time and up until recently I intended to keep it essentially stock, as it is. During the summer I had a mesh top, 6 inch circle mirrors for when the doors are off, and a Bluetooth FM transmitter in the secondary outlet. Other than that it’s bone stock.

Now I’m looking to put some beefier tires on, maybe a lift, brush guard, locker, and a few small things like oh shit handles and what not.

I really don’t want to go overboard as this is my daily driver as well, but I would like some tasteful upgrades. But I don’t know where to begin. Pics below and thanks for any info and suggestions. As for budget, it’s similar to my idea for the Jeep itself. I don’t want to break the bank but I don’t want to go cheap either. Thanks.

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I would skip the brush guard and get a good bumper. What do you want to ultimately do with it? What is your budget? You can put in some lunchbox lockers to get you by. I would look at how much lift you want compared to your tires you plan on installing. Stay away from a long arm kit for now. Do some homework and lots of reading before you decide on anything firm. Regearing is necessary if you are going to bigger than 31" tires, that is about $1k for parts and labor alone. What part of Utah are you in? I am in the north Ogden area. Tim
 
I’d vote 2” lift and 31s as a modest start. Locker and engine skid if you plan to off-road any.
 
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i've done the lift etc. I'm now back to a stock suspension with a highline and 33s. I like this soo much more. Jeep did a great job on the handling, ride, durability with a stock Jeep.

Lots will say a highline is expensive but hey, be honest, add up the cost of getting a lift right. With a great ride, handling, reliability. A highline is no harder or complex than a lift. And trust me, it is cheaper long run.

It has zero effect on reliability or usability.

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billiebob said:
i've done the lift etc. I'm now back to a stock suspension with a highline and 33s. I like this soo much more. Jeep did a great job on the handling, ride, durability with a stock Jeep.

Lots will say a highline is expensive but hey, be honest add up the cost of getting a lift right. With a great ride, handling, reliability. A highline is no harder or complex than a lift. And trust me, it is cheaper long run.
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Yeah, but having a lift is more practical in Utah if he hits any of the trails, just 2-3 inches is more than enough. Low CG is better up north where the roads are slippery. Tim
 
Thanks for the input. That sounds along the lines of what I intitially was thinking. A lot of ‘research’ I’ve done was saying a 4’’ and 33 was the way to go, but I like this idea.
 
A 1-2” suspension lift is mild and you could run 31’s. I really wouldn’t recommend a stand alone 1.25” body lift because let’s face it, your suspension is 15 years old. Your springs are already sagging, so 1.25” will probably just bring it slightly above stock height, and your suspension is tired. So, I recommend a 1-2” lift, new shocks to fit that size lift and running some nice AT 31’s at 28psi.
 
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billiebob said:
i've done the lift etc. I'm now back to a stock suspension with a highline and 33s. I like this soo much more. Jeep did a great job on the handling, ride, durability with a stock Jeep.

Lots will say a highline is expensive but hey, be honest, add up the cost of getting a lift right. With a great ride, handling, reliability. A highline is no harder or complex than a lift. And trust me, it is cheaper long run.

It has zero effect on reliability or usability.

View attachment 75072

View attachment 75075

View attachment 75076
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Last pic looks similar to what I have in mind. Driveable but still ‘rugged’
 
Going to 33’s is a lot more money than the above suggestion for 31’s, but then again, Jeeps are a rabbit hole.
 
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astjp2 said:
I would skip the brush guard and get a good bumper. What do you want to ultimately do with it? What is your budget? You can put in some lunchbox lockers to get you by. I would look at how much lift you want compared to your tires you plan on installing. Stay away from a long arm kit for now. Do some homework and lots of reading before you decide on anything firm. Regearing is necessary if you are going to bigger than 31" tires, that is about $1k for parts and labor alone. What part of Utah are you in? I am in the north Ogden area. Tim
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What I’d like to do is trail around some but keep it reliable as a daily driver. I’m on the base up here so I’m close to you. Went trailing a bit last summer whilst all stock and had a blast. Everything went well but I’d just like to ‘beef’ it up a little bit still be able to get back and forth to work everyday.
 
JMT said:
Going to 33’s is a lot more money than the above suggestion for 31’s, but then again, Jeeps are a rabbit hole.
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It’s got 30’s on it now, probably some more aggressive 31’s and a small lift as mentioned above would probably scratch my itch but yea I hear you, my buddy told me when I first got it, that everyone doesn’t intend to spend money on them but it happens so I’m just easing into it.
 
JMT said:
let’s face it, your suspension is 15 years old. Your springs are already sagging, so 1.25” will probably just bring it slightly above stock height, and your suspension is tired.
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Your pep talk needs some work @JMT haha
 
S
JMT said:
A 1-2” suspension lift is mild and you could run 31’s. I really wouldn’t recommend a stand alone 1.25” body lift because let’s face it, your suspension is 15 years old. Your springs are already sagging, so 1.25” will probably just bring it slightly above stock height, and your suspension is tired. So, I recommend a 1-2” lift, new shocks to fit that size lift and running some nice AT 31’s at 28psi.
Click to expand...
Good thinking. I never really considered the age of the suspension. As mentioned it’s completely stock so yea it’s probably nice and settled by now lol.
 
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