New owner, advice please

[Rufus]

Hi, I just bought a 2 door JL sport with the 3.6L V6 6-speed, sunrider soft top. It’s my first Wrangler. I live in a city and will be using it for weekend trips out of town. Off road driving will be limited to dirt roads, fire trails, and driving on the beach, mostly in the summer months. Winter months will include driving in the snow. I won’t be a high mileage driver. I don’t plan to trick it out with giant wheels or a lift kit or anything like that. I won’t be towing though I may get a hitch just to be able to mount a bicycle carrier. I will have only 1 human passenger with me at most times.

A few basic questions, and apologies in advance if they are obvious. I did do some searching here before posting this to see if they had been answered already.

1) Break in period. The manual says to keep it under 55-60mph or something like for a bit. How important is that?
2) IPhone holder recommendations? I’ve read a few things, and the one that seems to be popular that came out in 2018 (Rugged Ridge?) gets mixed reviews in so far as it scratches the dash and keeps a tenuous grip on the phone in bumpy conditions. How about a mount for an iPad mini? Ideally I’d prefer to not block any air vents. And it’s a 6 speed manual so I’ll need to not interfere with the shift pattern of course.
3) The dealer offered me the Mopar undercoating. It seems inexpensive. Should I get it given that I will be driving on salted roads in the winter?
4) I want to get side steps, the tubular kind. Any recommendations? I didn’t see any official ones on the Mopar website.
5) It came with steel wheels which I didn’t think I would like but they’re painted black and actually look kind of cool, retro. They are the 17” size. I might go for aluminum replacements though. Suggestions? (Or am I getting in to a religious debate with this question?)
6) Anything else I should be thinking of? Extra driving lights for night? Where I go in the summer isn’t artificially lit. Any other handy accessories?

Thanks so much for anyone who will take pity on a newbie and answer my questions. Again, apologies for their simplicity.

Thanks in advance.

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[blnewt]

Welcome to the club!
I'll just chime in on a few on your list.
As far as break in, top speed isn't as important as keeping your rpms changing, don't use cruise control for the first 500 miles so your rpms aren't locked in.

Side steps, I bought the mopar Sahara type steps for my 2 door, these aren't metal so no worries about rust, have a wide, flat, and secure step in, and go well w/ the JLs exterior. They also do a nice job covering up that bottom edge that isn't covered w/ side sills like the Rubicon has. And got them for under $250 on Amazon and this seller is an actual Mopar dealer
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BQ8H8J8


Wheels~I kept my stock wheel/tire set to use on long road trips and got aftermarket wheels/tires for the rest of my driving time. Mine are 17x8.5 with an offset of +10, this is pretty conservative offset vs. most wheels on the site but still protrudes the 295/70/17 tires outside teh fenders a bit.

Here's the before & after, hope that helps!

 

[brazos]

Hi, I just bought a 2 door JL sport with the 3.6L V6 6-speed, sunrider soft top. It’s my first Wrangler. I live in a city and will be using it for weekend trips out of town. Off road driving will be limited to dirt roads, fire trails, and driving on the beach, mostly in the summer months. Winter months will include driving in the snow. I won’t be a high mileage driver. I don’t plan to trick it out with giant wheels or a lift kit or anything like that. I won’t be towing though I may get a hitch just to be able to mount a bicycle carrier. I will have only 1 human passenger with me at most times.

A few basic questions, and apologies in advance if they are obvious. I did do some searching here before posting this to see if they had been answered already.

1) Break in period. The manual says to keep it under 55-60mph or something like for a bit. How important is that?
2) IPhone holder recommendations? I’ve read a few things, and the one that seems to be popular that came out in 2018 (Rugged Ridge?) gets mixed reviews in so far as it scratches the dash and keeps a tenuous grip on the phone in bumpy conditions. How about a mount for an iPad mini? Ideally I’d prefer to not block any air vents. And it’s a 6 speed manual so I’ll need to not interfere with the shift pattern of course.
3) The dealer offered me the Mopar undercoating. It seems inexpensive. Should I get it given that I will be driving on salted roads in the winter?
4) I want to get side steps, the tubular kind. Any recommendations? I didn’t see any official ones on the Mopar website.
5) It came with steel wheels which I didn’t think I would like but they’re painted black and actually look kind of cool, retro. They are the 17” size. I might go for aluminum replacements though. Suggestions? (Or am I getting in to a religious debate with this question?)
6) Anything else I should be thinking of? Extra driving lights for night? Where I go in the summer isn’t artificially lit. Any other handy accessories?

Thanks so much for anyone who will take pity on a newbie and answer my questions. Again, apologies for their simplicity.

Thanks in advance.

Heck, I ain’t shy.

Regarding #5. I love the plain black steel wheels. My Jeep is black. Black hardtop. After some careful deliberation, I chose my “accent color”.
Uh...black.
I’m just not comfortable with aluminum wheels off-road. Don’t bother to tell me I’m wrong. Don’t care.
Plus, I like the “all-business” look of the steelies. I’d pay extra for them if necessary.
Gotta Plasti-Dip those badges....maybe the lugnuts...

 

[brazos]

[/QUOTE]


Man! What a difference!

 

[Interlaw]

As far as the iPad/iPhone mount, why not just use CarPlay?

 

[TJ2018]

Check out ProClip USA for phone mount options.

 

[Notsew]

I just had dealer install
Mopar 82215386 7" LED Offroad Light
They wired it to Aux 1 switch but directions clearly state to use Aux 3 or 4 only. Seems to be working fine.
Does it matter?

 

[Jeepney18]

Hi, I just bought a 2 door JL sport with the 3.6L V6 6-speed, sunrider soft top. It’s my first Wrangler. I live in a city and will be using it for weekend trips out of town. Off road driving will be limited to dirt roads, fire trails, and driving on the beach, mostly in the summer months. Winter months will include driving in the snow. I won’t be a high mileage driver. I don’t plan to trick it out with giant wheels or a lift kit or anything like that. I won’t be towing though I may get a hitch just to be able to mount a bicycle carrier. I will have only 1 human passenger with me at most times.

A few basic questions, and apologies in advance if they are obvious. I did do some searching here before posting this to see if they had been answered already.

1) Break in period. The manual says to keep it under 55-60mph or something like for a bit. How important is that?
2) IPhone holder recommendations? I’ve read a few things, and the one that seems to be popular that came out in 2018 (Rugged Ridge?) gets mixed reviews in so far as it scratches the dash and keeps a tenuous grip on the phone in bumpy conditions. How about a mount for an iPad mini? Ideally I’d prefer to not block any air vents. And it’s a 6 speed manual so I’ll need to not interfere with the shift pattern of course.
3) The dealer offered me the Mopar undercoating. It seems inexpensive. Should I get it given that I will be driving on salted roads in the winter?
4) I want to get side steps, the tubular kind. Any recommendations? I didn’t see any official ones on the Mopar website.
5) It came with steel wheels which I didn’t think I would like but they’re painted black and actually look kind of cool, retro. They are the 17” size. I might go for aluminum replacements though. Suggestions? (Or am I getting in to a religious debate with this question?)
6) Anything else I should be thinking of? Extra driving lights for night? Where I go in the summer isn’t artificially lit. Any other handy accessories?

Thanks so much for anyone who will take pity on a newbie and answer my questions. Again, apologies for their simplicity.

Thanks in advance.

I have a scosche suction cup mount which connents by magnet to my phone and 8" tablet from costco. I want to get the vector off-road tube dashmount. You might want to look into that to mount your iPhone/tablet.

I got these side steps from extreme terrain.

 

[Rufus]

Thanks all!

As far as Car Play, I want to be able to use Waze separately from the Uconnect. Am I ignoring a perhaps useful feature? My Uconnect 3 that came with it does not have a Nav system.

Also Brazos, can you clarify “plasti-dipping the badges and lug nuts?” Not sure what you mean.

Any any opinions on the Mopar undercoating?

I’ve attached a picture showing it with the black steel wheels.

 

[Wanted33]

Rufus, the back wheels look very good with the punkin' orange. I'll add in my little bit of uneducated info as well. I'm not usually one to say get the undercoating, but I live in the south. In your neck of the woods you get a ton more snow, and much more salt brine to deal with on the roads. So, I my old worn out mind I think it would be a good idea to get that pretty little thing undercoated. Especially if it's inexpensive.

Welcome to the Jeep family, and the forum. And, don't forget to wave at other members of the family.

 

[cosine]

welcome to the forum and congrats on the new 1st jeep. as for the break in period. i' would take it easy for the first 3 - 500 as mentioned. most engines have some sort of break in period, but i would start off easy as a extra pre caution. side steps would be personal preference. there are plenty styles to choose. from in a wide range in prices. mopar tends to be on a higher price. undercoating.... i didn't bother. its going to rust under there anyway. you can get it power washed to clean off the salt. i have the black steel wheels on mine and like it. it blends in well with the granite color. when these tire wears out i'll be replacing them with aftermarket black rims and tires. i would suggest to look in to replacing the oem headlight bulbs to a brighter bulbs or led bulbs since the oem are crap.

 

[brazos]

Also Brazos, can you clarify “plasti-dipping the badges and lug nuts?” Not sure what you mean.


It’s a spray (rattle) can of rubbery painty stuff.
Apparently you can spray it on multi-faceted things like those Jeep badges, and then peel off the overspray, leaving the badges black. I bought a can, but haven’t tried it yet.
Originally it was a can of stuff you dipped tool handles in to coat them.

 

[Rufus]

welcome to the forum and congrats on the new 1st jeep. as for the break in period. i' would take it easy for the first 3 - 500 as mentioned. most engines have some sort of break in period, but i would start off easy as a extra pre caution. side steps would be personal preference. there are plenty styles to choose. from in a wide range in prices. mopar tends to be on a higher price. undercoating.... i didn't bother. its going to rust under there anyway. you can get it power washed to clean off the salt. i have the black steel wheels on mine and like it. it blends in well with the granite color. when these tire wears out i'll be replacing them with aftermarket black rims and tires. i would suggest to look in to replacing the oem headlight bulbs to a brighter bulbs or led bulbs since the oem are crap.

Thanks Cosine. Are the replacement bulbs just plug and play? Do I just look for Bosch or whatever brand bulbs have higher lumens?

 

[cosine]

yes the bulb are plug and play. go over to the lighting section on this forurm and look there for headlight info. there are topics from bulbs to swapping out headlights. i am looking to take a simple and low budget approach by replacing the bulbs. i have a post looking at the super nova vs beamtech. in my case i'm looking for a better output for the headlights, this might be a good choice for you since you are not using the jeep all that much. just my 2 cents.

 

[Rufus]

yes the bulb are plug and play. go over to the lighting section on this forurm and look there for headlight info. there are topics from bulbs to swapping out headlights. i am looking to take a simple and low budget approach by replacing the bulbs. i have a post looking at the super nova vs beamtech. in my case i'm looking for a better output for the headlights, this might be a good choice for you since you are not using the jeep all that much. just my 2 cents.

Very helpful I will keep an eye on that thread and also see how it is to drive around at night. It won’t be a problem in the city but when I get to more rural areas I will be curious to see how the stock ones perform. Thank you.

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