minisoda
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2020
- Threads
- 21
- Messages
- 75
- Reaction score
- 73
- Location
- Twin Cities and Naples, FL
- Vehicle(s)
- Rubi 392, Escalade, Audi SQ8, 911 Turbo S
- Thread starter
- #1
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!
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:
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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
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.
And last but NOT LEAST.... got rid of that silly looking factory antenna!
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.
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!
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:
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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
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.
And last but NOT LEAST.... got rid of that silly looking factory antenna!
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.
Sponsored
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