TheTjeezY
Member
- First Name
- Troy
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2020
- Threads
- 2
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 3
- Location
- Dubuque, IA
- Vehicle(s)
- 2018 JLU Sport S - Billet Silver
- Thread starter
- #1
Starting a thread to track any updates that I might make to Dovah.
I purchased a used 2018 JLU Sport S in June 2020. It had 32K miles and was basically stock other than some larger tires. It was priced as a regular sport with manual windows and locks, as the "S" upgrades were specified in the build sheet, not the name. Figuring that I was getting about $8K of upgrades (when it was new) included in the cost. After taking it for a test drive, it handles much better than the 2014 Rubicon Unlimited that I had driven before (1000% better I might add). Needless to say, a short 30 minutes later, I traded in my 2013 F150 STX for this beast.
A few issues were noted when I purchased it. Since it is a Jeep, parts are swappable and upgradable (isn't that half of the fun with a Jeep) so I wasnt too concerned. First, there was a faint smoke smell in the cabin, and some discoloration of the hard top. I purchased an Ozone emitter (used for hunting and covering your trail) and set it inside the cabin overnight. It ran until the batteries died the next morning. (If you have never smelled Ozone, it smells like metallic air. Basically a charged O2 molecule that attracts other O- molecules and creates O3 or Ozone). After running the A/C with the Ozone emitter on and allowing it to get into the ducting, the smell was removed. The hard top still has some discoloration but that will be a future project as it isnt terrible. Unsure if I would like to paint the top or keep trying to clean it.
The 2nd issue I noticed was with the front grill. There was a noticable scrape on the grill, but that is fine with me as I plan on upgrading to a black grill eventually (similar to the rubicon grill with the black interior but body color trim).
It came equipped with 33" Open Country MTs and a stock spare (classic Jeeper on a budget move). They arent terrible tires but will be swapped as soon as they can be. I will drive on them for the meantime.
Downside of buying used Jeeps, alot of things were missing. The cover for the jackstand compartment with all the screw holders was missing (bought one from Mopar for ~40 bucks) and no Jeep tool kit (still dont have one but I have tools at home).
Shortly after purchasing I removed the air dams in front of the tires and below the front bumper. I bought a stubby antenna, LED bulbs for Headlights, Fog lights, Turn signal/DRLs. I purchased new taillights but found that I already had the LED options from the factory so I returned the new ones that I had purchased. A few decals later and I finally felt like it was my own Jeep.
Now begins the plans for making this thing more capable. I understand that it is only a sport so there are some limitations to what I can safely upgrade to, but I could have bought 2 of these for the price of a bare bones Rubicon from the shop floor.
I will continue this saga with some upgrades I made along the way and discuss some of my plans for the future (lift and 35's, regear, RTT, Trektop Ultra, bumpers and winch as a few options) and distant future upgrades (*cough*UD60s*cough*).
Stay tuned for more of Dovahkiin and my adventures.
I purchased a used 2018 JLU Sport S in June 2020. It had 32K miles and was basically stock other than some larger tires. It was priced as a regular sport with manual windows and locks, as the "S" upgrades were specified in the build sheet, not the name. Figuring that I was getting about $8K of upgrades (when it was new) included in the cost. After taking it for a test drive, it handles much better than the 2014 Rubicon Unlimited that I had driven before (1000% better I might add). Needless to say, a short 30 minutes later, I traded in my 2013 F150 STX for this beast.
A few issues were noted when I purchased it. Since it is a Jeep, parts are swappable and upgradable (isn't that half of the fun with a Jeep) so I wasnt too concerned. First, there was a faint smoke smell in the cabin, and some discoloration of the hard top. I purchased an Ozone emitter (used for hunting and covering your trail) and set it inside the cabin overnight. It ran until the batteries died the next morning. (If you have never smelled Ozone, it smells like metallic air. Basically a charged O2 molecule that attracts other O- molecules and creates O3 or Ozone). After running the A/C with the Ozone emitter on and allowing it to get into the ducting, the smell was removed. The hard top still has some discoloration but that will be a future project as it isnt terrible. Unsure if I would like to paint the top or keep trying to clean it.
The 2nd issue I noticed was with the front grill. There was a noticable scrape on the grill, but that is fine with me as I plan on upgrading to a black grill eventually (similar to the rubicon grill with the black interior but body color trim).
It came equipped with 33" Open Country MTs and a stock spare (classic Jeeper on a budget move). They arent terrible tires but will be swapped as soon as they can be. I will drive on them for the meantime.
Downside of buying used Jeeps, alot of things were missing. The cover for the jackstand compartment with all the screw holders was missing (bought one from Mopar for ~40 bucks) and no Jeep tool kit (still dont have one but I have tools at home).
Shortly after purchasing I removed the air dams in front of the tires and below the front bumper. I bought a stubby antenna, LED bulbs for Headlights, Fog lights, Turn signal/DRLs. I purchased new taillights but found that I already had the LED options from the factory so I returned the new ones that I had purchased. A few decals later and I finally felt like it was my own Jeep.
Now begins the plans for making this thing more capable. I understand that it is only a sport so there are some limitations to what I can safely upgrade to, but I could have bought 2 of these for the price of a bare bones Rubicon from the shop floor.
I will continue this saga with some upgrades I made along the way and discuss some of my plans for the future (lift and 35's, regear, RTT, Trektop Ultra, bumpers and winch as a few options) and distant future upgrades (*cough*UD60s*cough*).
Stay tuned for more of Dovahkiin and my adventures.
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