New JL owner

[Minilla]

hey everyone, just wanted to hop in and introduce myself and possibly make some wheeling/ buddies.
i'm Logan, former Marine. bought a used 05 TJ sport in 2008 after boot camp at 19. had to sell it in 2016 for chump change in order to move back home to VA. four years later my wife (who'd promised me the opportunity to get another one) and I ordered a new wrangler! I just picked it up two weeks ago and I must say...it feels unbelieveably similar and more refined. only thing noticeable is the size, this this is massive compared to my old TJ.

its a sarge green two door with a manual tranny (old jeep was auto, I knew I wanted the stick this time). its a base sport and the only options are A/C. my son at 9 years old has been obsessed with anything and everything relating to Godzilla, and has seen EVERY movie made regarding it (his first words with "GOTZ" and "ZIYA"). it's become a father son thing. so I let him pick a name for my jeep, he said "well it's green, and small...so lets call it Baby Godzilla!" so I named it "Minilla" from the official Japanese name for baby godzilla
i'm incredibly proud and happy to own another one. I have some idea as far as upgrades but i'm a bit conflicting at what I really want to do with it. do I want to make her a massive skyjacked 37s? or keep her more inline with stock suspension and 33's? I don't know...decisions decisions.

but yall will see more of me from time to time, will be posting pictures of every little thing I do to it. thanks for all the help I've already gotten from these forums, and I hope to be apart of the larger jeeping community and develop a hobby for myself and family over this wrangler.

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[Jay 13]

Welcome!
Great story.....Hope you have many thrillas in the minilla!

 

[aldo98229]

Welcome to the forum!

Pix or didn’t happen!

 

[MauiSteve]

Sarge Green stick here too!!
Welcome!

 

[Dan M.]

Congrats on the new ride and thank you for your service. There area tons of threads on this forum that will offer advice on lifts and wheel size. I would advise to hold off on any mods until you put your Jeep thru its paces. Wouldn't want to void any warranty work (not a slam on Jeeps, mine has been trouble free, just better safe than sorry)

 

[JJSix]

Welcome!

 

[DavidArmen]

Welcome to the forums! I must say, you and your wife made such a great decision getting another Jeep. Prepare for years of amazing memories with your family!

 

[jeepoch]

Logan,

Semper Fi. Glad to have you aboard. I'm sure you and your family will enjoy Minilla.

One thing to point out before your modding adventures begin, the sport model comes only with open diffs with a 3.45 gear ratio. This presents some issues regarding what size tires you can install, especially with the manual transmission.

Also, 33's are about as big as you can go without a lift and that's pushing it. The Sport has a lower stock suspension than the Rubicon. So anything larger will require a lift, even a modest one.

I have a 2019 Sport S 2 door 3.6L Auto and I've invested in the Mopar 2.5" lift and put 35's on it. I also invested in the Teraflex Sway Bar Quick Disconnects, since the Sport model has none of the off-roading goodies of the Rubi. Specifically no lockers, smaller gear ratios and no auto-disconnecting sway bars.

The biggest (and only) drawback for me is that I've lost 8th gear on the highway. No big deal, I can always select 8th if I really want overdrive on steroids. This auto trans is truly pretty amazing. However - I get it, some people just need to keep their left foot occupied.

In addition many people with manly Sports state that fifth and sixth gear are almost useless on 35's with the 3.45 axels. So if you want larger tires, axle re-gearing is going to be in your vocabulary. Likely 4.11, 4.56 or possibly even 5.13 with 37's.

Regardless, my wife and I are having a blast with Snoopy. We live in Colorado and go off-roading often. I'm able to do about 90% of the really difficult trails. I get complimented all the time when other Jeepers realize at the top of some of these destinations, I did it without lockers. In fact I've been places successfully where some Rubi drivers had to be helped up. So these Sports with the larger rubber and increased articulation with the sway bar disconnects are still nonetheless pretty remarkably awesome.

My wife however is more grounded and the really challenging stuff is not her favorite pastime. Being out in the high Colorado mountain air she loves. The adventure of getting there is just as remarkable. Just not the cliff climbing, rock bouncing, jaw jumbling crap that would be trouble for anything without lockers. So we pick our trails due to our capabilities. With our sport, difficult to severe is our limit, certainly nothing extreme.

In VA, I'm certain that this isn't so much of an issue. Still, daily driving around town on my lifted Sport with 35's is pure joy. I wouldn't want to drive any other vehicle. Loving every minute of my JL. Even when just looking at it.

Enjoy Minilla. Ohh, Rah fellow Marine.

Jay

 

[RagTopDeluxe]

Welcome and congratulations on your Jeep! I love the name and story behind it. That reminds me of my daughter and her obsession with Godzilla movie (Matthew Broderick version) when she was little. I can’t count how many times she saw it.

PS: post pics!

 

[Ruby Clatterbox]

Welcome! We really need some pics...

 

[Minilla]

As soon as I learn how to post pics directly from my phone I will hah

 

[PokerMunkee]

A modest lift and custom wheels with 35s is the best place to start to make it look totally different. Then do the bumpers, winch, lights, etc etc.

 

[grandpaq]

hey everyone, just wanted to hop in and introduce myself and possibly make some wheeling/ buddies.
i'm Logan, former Marine. bought a used 05 TJ sport in 2008 after boot camp at 19. had to sell it in 2016 for chump change in order to move back home to VA. four years later my wife (who'd promised me the opportunity to get another one) and I ordered a new wrangler! I just picked it up two weeks ago and I must say...it feels unbelieveably similar and more refined. only thing noticeable is the size, this this is massive compared to my old TJ.

its a sarge green two door with a manual tranny (old jeep was auto, I knew I wanted the stick this time). its a base sport and the only options are A/C. my son at 9 years old has been obsessed with anything and everything relating to Godzilla, and has seen EVERY movie made regarding it (his first words with "GOTZ" and "ZIYA"). it's become a father son thing. so I let him pick a name for my jeep, he said "well it's green, and small...so lets call it Baby Godzilla!" so I named it "Minilla" from the official Japanese name for baby godzilla
i'm incredibly proud and happy to own another one. I have some idea as far as upgrades but i'm a bit conflicting at what I really want to do with it. do I want to make her a massive skyjacked 37s? or keep her more inline with stock suspension and 33's? I don't know...decisions decisions.

but yall will see more of me from time to time, will be posting pictures of every little thing I do to it. thanks for all the help I've already gotten from these forums, and I hope to be apart of the larger jeeping community and develop a hobby for myself and family over this wrangler.

thank you for your service. have fun!

 

[Notorious]

Pix or didn’t happen!

 

[Outlawd]

Welcome aboard. Great story and thank you for your service! You joined a very good club and fun forum, well, I enjoy it anyway....

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