In praise of the Stock JL

[EugeneTheJeep]

Love my Sport!

All black with glossy/matte combo looks really good.

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[JLBlue]

I drive my Sport for 10 days at a time out in the wilderness on stock wheels/tires, winch, and no LEDs over just about any terrain.

Florida get a little rough, so want the MT tires. LEDs, I like adding then on the front bumper and then another pair on top of the hood next to the windshield. Winch is a good all around, nice to have. But yea, you can do just about anything on a stock wrangler.

 

[Mark7411]

Before you spend $$ on new tires for beach driving, try going lower on the air pressure. Even on a C rated tire, 20lbs is not going to get you enough swell for a big soft foot print. In the national seashore in my area, the park rangers insist you go down to 11lbs and will give you a ticket if you don't and you need to get towed out.

So just a question on this. I have a stock rim 7.5 inch wide and the approved for the Nitto Grappler is 8in. How low could I safely air down to without the concern of a rim off tire.

 

[Lady In Red]

My Sahara is mostly stock with pretty much quality of life and performance upgrades.

I don't rock crawl and I don't mud. I run the beach sand and fish, so my mods were toward that end.
I have a 2" receiver hitch on the front that mounts my modified 'Angler Rod Racks' surf rod holder.
The other advantage the front receiver gives me is another anchor point if I need to pull out someone who is stuck.

Other than that, I relocated the rear camera next to the rear 2" receiver so I could mount my Thule bike rack.
In addition to hauling bikes, the Thule rack carries sand chairs and umbrellas for a day at the beach.
Keeps the sand (mostly) on the outside.

Beyond that, a bullet antenna, caliper covers, and a really cool interior LED light from Brawlee that lights up the cargo area at night.
The only other things I'm considering are a CB radio for fish reports, and possible a fat set of Nitto 555 street treads to make beach running at 20 pounds a little easier.

Niiiiice ! Where did you find the red caliper covers ?

 

[TJ2018]

Niiiiice ! Where did you find the red caliper covers ?

Quadratec offers them... kinda pricey though...

https://www.quadratec.com/p/mgp-caliper-covers/jeep-logo-brake-caliper-covers-wrangler-jl

 

[Lady In Red]

Quadratec offers them... kinda pricey though...

https://www.quadratec.com/p/mgp-caliper-covers/jeep-logo-brake-caliper-covers-wrangler-jl

Niiiiice ! Thanks !

 

[rkj__]

Found a cool little spot last weekend. Someone camped there the night before and left a smoking log for me to put out.
On the stock tires, I haven’t had any grip issues, but I’m worried about sidewall protection, some pretty nasty rocks out there. Am I worrying for nothing?

If you have a spare, and the tools to mount it, a slashed sidewall is not the end of the world.

 

[fat_head]

Found a cool little spot last weekend. Someone camped there the night before and left a smoking log for me to put out.
On the stock tires, I haven’t had any grip issues, but I’m worried about sidewall protection, some pretty nasty rocks out there. Am I worrying for nothing?

I've punctured the sidewall of one of my stock tires. I carry a tire repair kit and 2 spares on extended trips now.

 

[ryansjeep48]

With the exception of the front bumper I used mostly Rubicon parts to preserve the stock look.

Did you put a rubicon suspension on? Or do those tires just fit that good?

 

[ryansjeep48]

I added larger A/T tires, but havent done any other mods to date. We've done 3 solid Badge of Honor trails in Moab including Fins n Things, Elephant Hill and Poison Spider. Its not necessary to go hog wild on upgrades to run trails. A stock Wrangler can do well right out of the box.

What size tire did you go with? I’m not trying to go too big. The pictures look great!

 

[ryansjeep48]

I completely agree. I'm not into rock crawling, I just want to get well off the grid and camp or fish or just be alone with the family. I'm OK taking the bypass around the obstacle rather than thinking I need to beef up the vehicle to go through the obstacle. A Wrangler already seems like excess capacity for our needs, so why make it less drive able for the other 99% of it's use? No disrespect to those that do those things and need more capability, that's just not a necessity for me.

I personally think stock JL Rubicons are the best looking Jeeps, but I think my wife's Sahara is pretty darn beautiful as well. That's probably helped by the more aggressive tires that came with either the limited slip or the Selec Trac, as the highway tires on some do look pretty off brand for a Jeep. Here it is the day it arrived at the dealer, not even washed yet.

I've heavily modified vehicles in the past, but I just feel FCA did such a great job on the JL that not much more is necessary before those modifications start detracting from the vehicle. I added a hitch receiver, and yes, I'll put more aggressive tires on when their time is do, and maybe some wheel spacers. I wrapped the dash is yellow, and added PRP tweed seat covers.

About the only thing I'm pinning to do now is debadge the Wrangler/Sahara logos and make some throwback Sahara graphics like this YJ Sahara, and add YJ/TJ style foglights to the bumper.

And eventually swap out the bumper for the factory steel one. And hopefully talk the wife in swapping out those stupid running boards for Rubi rock rails. OK, maybe I'm not leaving it stock I guess.

Seats look awesome!

 

[CoryC]

Who needs mods with this thing?! I love it so far, and for SURE is way more capable than I am talented...

 

[brazos]

Depends....if you're up near I-17 and Table Mesa or the Black Canyon City area...it's known for eating tires. The shale out there is razor sharp and eats all but the best offroad sidewalls; BFGs aren't great in that respect. I'd be sure to carry a fullsize spare (one should be enough) and/or a *good* plug kit and OBA.

Sean, what tires have the toughest sidewalls? I just bought e-rated Falken Wildpeak ATs.

And what plug kit to buy?

 

[brazos]

Gotcha. It’s my only vehicle, so bias ply tires are out.

I’ll get a plug kit on the way.

Sure do appreciate the detailed and informative reply!

Edit: ARB kit inbound. And due for FREE delivery tomorrow! Sunday! How do they do that and make a profit?

 

[brazos]

Don’t intend to go beyond 33s. I’m into the best all-around general-purpose Jeep, and getting into remote backcountry, and am happy to take the easiest way, always.

I went with 255/80s rather than the Rubicon 270/70s.

.4” taller and 1” narrower. And lighter.

I don’t do much sand, and as little mud as possible. I hate mud.

Plus, the narrower tire just looks taller and better to me.

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