Sponsored

Soda's Sting Gray Build

minisoda

Well-Known Member
First Name
Aaron
Joined
Jan 21, 2020
Threads
17
Messages
63
Reaction score
65
Location
Twin Cities
Vehicle(s)
Yukon Denali, Audi Q7, Motorcycles, Ski Doo Renegage 800, Honda Pioneer 1000
First, I little background on our purchase. I am in my mid 40s and fairly obsessed with the cylinder index (motorcycles, snowmobiles, side by side, cars, etc)... not sure if I'm smart enough to be considered a gear head, but I LOVE machines. I have wanted a Jeep since my uncle took me offroad in his CJ 30+ years ago. At 17, I saved up enough to buy a Suzuki Samurai which "scratched the itch" given my very limited budget! Owned a couple of Grand Cherokees after college and life sort of took over... commuting, family, business, etc...

Fast forward to 2020. We have a daughter that will be driving soon, a little more fun money and a pair of near-empty-nesters that have been lusting after a Wrangler for years.

I was on a mission to find a good deal on a loaded 2019/2020 JLUR. After two were sold out from underneath me (don't get me started), I decided to place a new order. I had 5% off invoice secured, but as I was preparing to place the order, I thought a little more about how we'd use the vehicle. While we were in love with the Ruby looks, the reality is that we would never/rarely use the lockers or detach the sway bar... I quickly decided to go with a base model Sport and make it cool. I spent most of the winter restoring and making an old BMW Airhead motorcycle cool (in Sting Gray) and need another project to see me through to warm weather anyway!

IMG_7485.jpeg


Thursday my wife and I ran to the dealership after finding a used 2019 Sport in Sting Gray (color was a hard requirement) with keys and a heater. The experience with this dealership was stellar. It was a cash deal and we were in/out the door in 60 minutes including a 15 minute test drive.

Friday was SHOPPING DAY. For whatever reason the base Sport bugs the sh!t out of me, so I quickly started the mission to build this rig:

image.png


Stereo
- Sport stereo with 5" screen SUCKS bad
- Looked at several aftermarket head unit options to gain Apple CarPlay, but none of them retained the factory Aux/USB inputs. Decided to stay with the factory head unit for now and build a system around it.
- Sub... several options here. There is a $1,200 Alpine "factory" sub that fits under the front seat. The value just wasn't there, so I looked for aftermarket solutions. It was between two 10s under the back seat or this SSV custom enclosure built for the JL. Went with the SSV and a Kicker 10" sub.
Screen Shot 2020-02-08 at 7.20.39 AM.png


- Speakers all need to be replaced. Starting with the rollbar speakers! I found an SSV enclosure kit that gives the ability to put 6 1/2" speakers in the rollbar. Massive improvement over 4 inchers.

Screen Shot 2020-02-08 at 7.22.44 AM.png


- Speakers: Memphis PRX 603s in the rollbar, Polk DB402s in the knee panel and Infinity Reference 3032s in the dash.
- Driven by a Kenwood Excelon 800 watt amp.
- Audio Control LV7i line level convertor

Wheels, Tires and Lift
- Fuel Maverick 17x9 with machined face with Nitto Ridge Grappler 35s
- Rough Country 2.5" lift with N3 Premium shocks. I was going to do the spacer lift, but didn't like the idea of those shock extension brackets.
Messages Image(3042949460).png



Screen Shot 2020-02-08 at 7.31.47 AM.png

Lighting
- I HATE halogen lights and the JLs really suck. I almost pulled the trigger on some $200 Amazon lights that looked good, but ultimately paid more to buy from Oracle Lighting. I like the idea of a US based company and forum sponsor that was incredibly helpful during the order process.
- Clearly we need underbody lighting.
image.png

- And better headlights/tailights (Oracle Oculus 9" LED and ... I wanted factory looking lights and not a clown show RGB setup. We'll see if the third brake light looks corny, but I really don't like the plastic "stalk" holding the factory third brake light.
Screen Shot 2020-02-08 at 7.39.40 AM.png

Screen Shot 2020-02-08 at 7.41.32 AM.png


Screen Shot 2020-02-08 at 7.42.11 AM.png

Fenders and Winch

- DV8 full length rear fender with LED reverse lights. Front: Quadratec Aluminum Brute Strength Winch Bumper and skid plate. Smittybilt 10k lb with synthetic line.
Screen Shot 2020-02-08 at 7.45.01 AM.png


Screen Shot 2020-02-08 at 7.45.57 AM.png

Screen Shot 2020-02-08 at 7.47.07 AM.png

Screen Shot 2020-02-08 at 7.47.43 AM.png


And last but NOT LEAST.... got rid of that silly looking factory antenna!
Screen Shot 2020-02-08 at 7.48.50 AM.png




Forgot the fuel filler door, so need to take a look at some options for that today!

Will keep the thread updated with progress! I clearly have my work cut out for me over the next few weeks.

Screen Shot 2020-02-08 at 7.23.42 AM.png
Sponsored

 
Last edited:

T4STE

Well-Known Member
First Name
Allen
Joined
Aug 19, 2019
Threads
12
Messages
225
Reaction score
242
Location
Belleville , NJ
Website
oswachiart.wixsite.com
Vehicle(s)
2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited
Build Thread
Link
Occupation
Graphic Designer
Vehicle Showcase
1
Very nice. Check out the mopar fuel filler door. Simple, clean, to the point. Can’t wait to see the progress. Love the color
 
OP
OP

minisoda

Well-Known Member
First Name
Aaron
Joined
Jan 21, 2020
Threads
17
Messages
63
Reaction score
65
Location
Twin Cities
Vehicle(s)
Yukon Denali, Audi Q7, Motorcycles, Ski Doo Renegage 800, Honda Pioneer 1000
Just found the fuel door and grabbed the aux switch bank... want a CLEAN switch install.
 
OP
OP

minisoda

Well-Known Member
First Name
Aaron
Joined
Jan 21, 2020
Threads
17
Messages
63
Reaction score
65
Location
Twin Cities
Vehicle(s)
Yukon Denali, Audi Q7, Motorcycles, Ski Doo Renegage 800, Honda Pioneer 1000
Discount Tire called at 4pm last night and the tires/wheels were already in (shipped from California Thursday/Friday). They said to bring it over and they'd install right away. I can't say enough about how great they were to work with (and their prices blew other sites out of the water). They did notice rubbing, as I expected with the splash guard between the fender and bumper. They called me back to take a look and just ended up trimming away the plastic that was rubbing with a box cutter. I like the field repair!

The first products arrived yesterday, so I installed the new headlights, tail lights, antenna and removed the lower air dam/skid plate as the new aluminum one comes this week.

I am VERY impressed with the Oracle Lights. Everything from ordering and shipping to the quality of installation instructions, wiring harness and overall quality. They have a VERY crisp/defined pattern and super clean look. I'm glad I paid the premium for them.

No great pictures yet, but I snapped a few as I was working last night.

I was planning to replace the fender flares, but not really finding any that I like... considering just putting LED bulbs in the existing light.


IMG_7551.jpeg


IMG_7552.jpeg


IMG_7554.jpeg


IMG_7555.jpeg

IMG_7553.jpeg
 

ToPar9

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2020
Threads
23
Messages
289
Reaction score
122
Location
North Texas
Vehicle(s)
'19 JLU Altitude
Polk DB402s in the knee panel and Infinity Reference 3032s
Coincidently, I am looking at both sets you have listed above. (Crutchfield?)
Thoughts on sound? I see you do have them amp'd, I am sure they sound good.
I am still in the R&D speaker stage of improvements. :LOL:
 

Sponsored

OP
OP

minisoda

Well-Known Member
First Name
Aaron
Joined
Jan 21, 2020
Threads
17
Messages
63
Reaction score
65
Location
Twin Cities
Vehicle(s)
Yukon Denali, Audi Q7, Motorcycles, Ski Doo Renegage 800, Honda Pioneer 1000
I changed things up a bit on the speaker setup:

- Memphis Audio PRX60C components in the kick panel with the tweeters mounted on top of the dash (requires aftermarket housing)
- Memphis PRX 603 in the rollbar (requires aftermarket housing to fit larger speakers up there)
- Infinity Reference REF-3032cfx in the dash
- Kenwood Excelon X802-5 amp drives all speakers and sub
- SSV sub enclosure with Kicker sub

It sounds "pretty good"... I think there's plenty of power and I just need to do a better job tuning it.
 

ToPar9

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2020
Threads
23
Messages
289
Reaction score
122
Location
North Texas
Vehicle(s)
'19 JLU Altitude
I was planning to replace the fender flares, but not really finding any that I like... considering just putting LED bulbs in the existing light.
LED switchback - 40 bucks (buy the resistors that are on the page!)
They currently have a 15% off sale. Enter STAYHOME when you check out.
https://www.diodedynamics.com/7443-hp24-switchback-dual-color-turn-signal-led-bulbs.html
We have a very similar setup.
Sting-Grey, Altitude, LED Heads/Fender, smoked tails and 3rd. I also installed two additional backup lights.
I am keeping the factory tires/wheels for now. That investment will come down the road, more so with the state of the world.
Looking good!
 
Last edited:

Spdu4ia

Well-Known Member
First Name
Travis
Joined
Mar 21, 2020
Threads
8
Messages
434
Reaction score
1,512
Location
Colorado
Vehicle(s)
2020 2dr Rubi
looks nice, love to see a good sport build. i too went with a plug in LED switchback on my sport and looks WAY better
 

LIVESTRONG

Well-Known Member
First Name
Josh
Joined
Jul 25, 2019
Threads
3
Messages
58
Reaction score
35
Location
Minnesota
Vehicle(s)
2019 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
Cool to see another Minnesota Sport here...I, too, really wanted a Rubi, but just couldn't justify it. I love what you've done to yours...so far, just wheels, tires, sliders, and a "Rubi" lift for mine. Trying to resist more...trying...

Also, sweet motorcycle build!
 

jbzonda

Well-Known Member
First Name
Steven
Joined
Apr 29, 2020
Threads
4
Messages
49
Reaction score
81
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Vehicle(s)
2021 Wrangler Night Eagle
Looking good and some great ideas for my own Sting Grey Sport i just bought yesterday, cant wait to pick it up next week.
The Australian Sport comes with Uconnect 7.0" Display w/ Carplay as well as 9 speaker and subwoofer as standard, its a pity the US Sport doesnt come with these as standard, as i experienced myself on a recent trip to Hawaii where i drove a JL Sport. Look forward to seeing more progress.
Sponsored

 
 



Top