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Thinking of getting a JL Wrangler. Few questions.

Wabujitsu

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I like that you kept the stock steel wheels. Not many people realize how good they look with bigger tires, plus they're rugged as hell.
Thanks Joe! That’s exactly why I kept them. I want steel rims, and they are steel.
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The Last Cowboy

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If this WIllys didn't get my attention, my original plan was to get a Sport with black steel wheels. If I see a set of steel wheels for cheap on my local CL, I will buy them and use them when I need to get some new tires. My black OEM aluminum ones will do for now, I like them enough to keep them for awhile. I may use them until I break a chunk out of one.
 
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RyanGreener

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Just a final point, don’t be in a huge hurry to “upgrade”. A stock sport, esp with limited slip, is FAR more capable than 99% of what most people actually use. Yea, I know there are some “extreme” guys out there, and that’s ok, but for a first time Jeep owner there is a LOT you need to learn before you reach the level of ability where any extreme means equipment or mods are needed. An experienced off road drive can take a stock Jeep places that a newbie couldn’t get through regardless of what machine they are driving. Get a decent set of tires, and a winch/recovery kit and see what YOU can actually do..
Definitely not in a hurry to upgrade, which I think is the biggest mistake of many. I do not plan on lifting the Jeep and I agree that a locker is probably going to be overkill for 95% of the stuff I'll ever come across in nature on the East Coast, but like I said, I was just mulling over my options. An OEM Willy's Sport sounds completely adequate for most things I'd ever want to do, but I wanted to do some group tours but apparently they won't take me without lockers.

If I were to buy a Willy's sport right now, I'd probably do nothing to it but a winch + front bumper and eventually upgrade the tires.
 

aldo98229

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I like that you kept the stock steel wheels. Not many people realize how good they look with bigger tires, plus they're rugged as hell.
Jeep's OE alloy wheels are greatly underrated and overlooked.

When you look at the level of design, construction and quality of the OE wheels, you'd be paying $300+ per wheel as an aftermarket product.
 

The Last Cowboy

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I always use factory wheels when possible. In all my years, I've only bought 2 sets of aftermarket aluminum wheels. A set of Weld and a set of American Racing. The Welds were truly great wheels in their time. The ARs were not too bad. Both of those were bought in the early 2000s. Now just about all of the wheels are made in China, even OEM ones. However, most aftermarket ones are made to a price point and if not for a painted or chrome finish, the porosity in their castings would have them leaking air constantly.
 

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CT_LFC

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Definitely the Willys over the Sport, if for no other reason than the wheels. You can accept steelies on an entry level Civic but not on a >$30K Jeep.
 

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And do NOT skimp on the AC. Living in the northeast i can say you will use it plenty in the summer plus you'd crush resale without it.
 

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Even when I was in Iceland, the rentals I had (a Toyota Hilux and Yaris), both had AC. Not really needed, but nice to keep the windows fog free when there's a cold rain falling.
 
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Oldbear

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Definitely not in a hurry to upgrade, which I think is the biggest mistake of many. I do not plan on lifting the Jeep and I agree that a locker is probably going to be overkill for 95% of the stuff I'll ever come across in nature on the East Coast, but like I said, I was just mulling over my options. An OEM Willy's Sport sounds completely adequate for most things I'd ever want to do, but I wanted to do some group tours but apparently they won't take me without lockers.

If I were to buy a Willy's sport right now, I'd probably do nothing to it but a winch + front bumper and eventually upgrade the tires.
I’ve not heard of group tours in the east that require locks. out west on some trails, yeah, but thats all I’ve ever heard of. I’m not a group tour person, but I’ve been down some pretty nasty trails with a stock TJ that had nowhere near the capability of a JL with limited slip. I’d check with some local clubs if that’s what you’re wanting to get into. Again, a skilled off road driver can do amazing things with a stock Jeep.
 
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RyanGreener

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I’ve not heard of group tours in the east that require locks. out west on some trails, yeah, but thats all I’ve ever heard of. I’m not a group tour person, but I’ve been down some pretty nasty trails with a stock TJ that had nowhere near the capability of a JL with limited slip. I’d check with some local clubs if that’s what you’re wanting to get into. Again, a skilled off road driver can do amazing things with a stock Jeep.
I'd probably have to do more research with local clubs. I've only looked at some of these group tours because I'd prefer not to go camping/offroading alone. I think I'd probably just stick with the Willy's Sport if it came down to it. I've done some offroading in friends vehicles that were mostly stock with upgraded tires and didn't have too much trouble with local trails, so I'm sure a Wrangler will easily do the same.
 

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danm

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The Willys will be perfect for the kind of off roading the OP is looking to do. The aggressive 32” mud terrain tires combined with brake lock traction control and limited slip is way more traction than most people will ever use and certainly more than enough for most trails. I think it’s a great choice.
 

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In general buy a rubicon if you will be doing moderate mods and off-roading or running about 37s max. Despite what others said, it is the best way to go up to 37s and 2-4" lift. The factory rubicon package is a steal for these levels of wheeling.

Honestly the JLX guys ran 37s on lightly modded rubicons the first year and did extremely difficult trails. You can do just about any trail with 37s on a rubicon with the right bumpers, armor, driver, winch, friends, etc.

To run tougher stuff you will need 40s and $20k in axles plus much more $ in mods. So yes, get a Willys or a sport if you are SURE you will be going to 40s and 1 ton axles and dropping thousands of dollars just to go wheeling with Mel Wade, the Curries, [Banned Site], ie, people who do that for a living. If you get a sport and realize that for daily driving 37s are plenty big and slow, you will regret not getting the rubicon. The bigger fenders, stronger/wider axles, better brakes, front and rear lockers, sway bar disconnect, lower gears, transfercase, etc all have significant value.

Another way to look at it: A 40-42k rubicon with $$5-8k in mods can run 37s capably. So you are into it for under $50k. If you legitimately want to BEAT this setup off road, go buy a $35k sport and prepare to drop a MINIMUM of $25k on top of that. Thats if you can do all the labor yourself. At the end of the day you will likely have an $80k rig unless you are sponsored, own a shop, or do all the labor yourself. If you are gonna put $20k worth in axles and driveshafts in there, you might as well do coilovers, long arms, bypass shocks, etc as well. This amazing jeep will now weigh 1,000 lbs more than the rubicon with 37s, and you will feel it at the pump and on the highway.

Don't let anyone fool you into thinking that you can build up a sport to run 40s capably for cheap.
 

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Jeep's OE alloy wheels are greatly underrated and overlooked.

When you look at the level of design, construction and quality of the OE wheels, you'd be paying $300+ per wheel as an aftermarket product.
Love the stock rims but hate they only made them 7.5 wide. If only they'd have gone 8.5, I think a lot of people would have kept the stock ones.
 

fat_head

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Love the stock rims but hate they only made them 7.5 wide. If only they'd have gone 8.5, I think a lot of people would have kept the stock ones.
Yep. I love the steelies, would have kept them becasue they are the best looking factory wheel on the JL but they are too narrow.
 

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Love the stock rims but hate they only made them 7.5 wide. If only they'd have gone 8.5, I think a lot of people would have kept the stock ones.
Yes! I'm a fan of the stock wheels, too, especially the blacked-out Rubicon version the Moab had, but don't care for how 1250 tires wear on 7.5" rims.

Looks like Quadratec finally has an 8.5" wide copy, including a style in all black. I want them badly, but $200 seems a tad steep. Hopefully, they'll have a sale or discount after the new year.
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