Topic: I have a slight problem...

[lanulos89]

i guess i'm an outcast being 17 and caring more bout geting up the trail than wut my jeep looks like.  i personally think it looks like garbage clean, it always need a coat of mudd to look nice.

[Mozman68]

Before everyone gets into a hissy fit about having a Jeep that looks good or wheels well....


....both are fine.  

I believe his first post said he went wheeling and the only reason it would be lifted for "looks" is that he is taking it easy on the wheeling for now but will get into it more as the Jeep gets built up.

I was hesitant about wheeling at first as I had never done it before...but added my 3" lift a few months later and wheel at least once a month...so much so that I will be buying a 4.5" long arm lift this month to replace the 3" I just put on 5 months ago (long arm because it looks good )

[Tall Boy]

mozzman,
can I just buy the flex control arms for my 2 1/2" lift , or do I need to buy an entire kit?  I see 4wd.com has adjustable control arms for 220. a piece but am unsure if that is the arm to buy for serious flex.

[Jeffy]

Hmm, here's my take on the whole 'poseur' thing.  If he lifts it a bit and gets larger tires, he will probably be more willing to wheel it.  (which is a good thing) Like I said, 33's and stock gears will get you through trails like the Rubicon fine.  It's still a good starting point even if it's not that fast.

The only down side to jumping to 33's is cheaping out on a lift kit.  If you go too cheap, you'll probably be buying another lift kit once you get to know the Jeep and what your limitations are.  The good thing is that for the most part,  YJ lifts are a lot cheaper then TJ lifts.

In any case here's a pict of my Jeep, circa 1996., back when it was still 'small'.  4.25" lift, stock gears and axles open. 33x11.5R15's on 8.5"x15 aluminum wheels.  ...and yes, it was wheeled and nothing broke.

[Tall Boy]

Jeffy,
 locked, how big can he go

[Jeffy]

Jeffy,
 locked, how big can he go

With stock axles I really wouldn't want to run 33's but it can be done if you drive with finesse and don't mine taking the strap occasionally.  Romp on the throttle and start hopping the rear and you'll break the axle.  The shock load is what really breaks them.  Swapping them out for HD shafts would be the way to go since the axle shafts are the real weak point.  I think you'd be OK with 33's then.  This still doesn't mean you'd be safe running 31's with a locker either.  Although the 35's are real hit & miss.  Some break faster then others.

With that said I ran 32's and a rear locker and didn't have any problems.  Although the locker did and was sent back after a few weeks of use.

[Liljeepz]

thats my jeep with 3.5" and 31's and i never got stuck yet so

You haven't tried hard enough!

[Tall Boy]

And you did little jeepz ?  
 I never run mud personally so I would not know. I got stuck in shale before , but piled rocks to get out.

[Jesse-James]

This is my last stuck, believe it or not there's 31's under there somewhere. Anything can be accomplished if you try hard enough.

[Enjoi]

I was in your position 2 years ago, with the same money constraints and what not this is what i did (keep in mind i have a TJ, little bit more expensive)

I went with the tad bit expensive suspension system simply because i realized one thing, tire's wear out, lifts tend to last a while. Your stuck with a system for the longer period of time than you are with the tires.

So i went a tad bit smaller with 31's and went with the better suspension lift. Havent looked back, you gotta figure also that things will bust so dont forget that.

With the 31 you get managable power losses, plus your gass mileage will be better of than with the 33s.

Also that two inches seems to be negliable offroading wise. I had a friend with the 5.5 RE LA and 2 inch blocks with 33s and the 4.0 (cherokee) and i was able to do things he did, albeit with a much more technical line than him.

Rember, experience can always compensate for lack of equipment.  

[shark3471]

I was in a similar situation as you not so long ago.  Now I am 19 and looking back I took the expensive road that was not as much fun.  I thought I would build my jeep up and be able to wheel the crap out of it.  The result is thousands of $ and a perpetually broken jeep.  spend your money on 31 or 32 and swap in a new rear rather than getting bigger tires and a bigger lift.  This would be a solid setup that could take some abuse and still be a good DD.  Lockers would be sweet once your workin in the summer.  I work two jobs just fr my jeep and I go to school. It is not fun and leaves no time for wheelin.  Have fun with what you got before you catch the highly contagious jeep bug. once you catch it your jeep will already have a lot of the ground work layed.

[Jesse-James]

I was at the Northwoods Jeep Jamboree in Sept. and there was a guy there with a similar setup to mine. 2.5 YJ on 31's with open diff's and he went on the S.O.B. trail rated an 8. Out of I think 14 rigs, he was the only one not locked and the only one running smaller than 33's. He was also the only one that didn't need to be strapped that day including both of the guides. He shocked everyone that he could not only hang with the "big rigs" but show them up as well. I believe that doing more with less for a while will make you a better driver and not so dependant on equipment and will produce much better results when you do get your rig the way that you want it in the end. It will also give you better ideas of what you really need. You will ultimately make better buying decisions once you do start to pony up the big money later on. I spent my money on recovery and safety stuff first, winch, OBA, CB, HiLift, etc. and I'm glad I did.

[fatboysoffroad]

My two cents:

If you move to a lift and 33's it's possible that you're going to start breaking stuff. i.e. axles, etc. It doesn't sound like you've got the resources to constantly fix broken stuff at this time. I'd consider an inexpensive mud tire not larger than 31's. Spend the rest outfitting the Jeep with stuff like a winch, bumpers, recovery tools, maybe even Lockright lockers. Lockers make a huge difference offroad! If you plan on doing much wheeling, you're going to need the recovery gear either way.

I took my 97 4cyl TJ out for the first time two weeks ago and had a blast! No mods except for a winch and bumpers. Stock tires even. I've got a 85 CJ-7 wih 35's and lockers. With the crowd I run with I sometimes get bored driving the CJ. I really had to "drive" the TJ to go the same places.

You can have fun with a mostly stock Jeep. I bet Dad would be happier to see you not lift it right now too.