To modify or not modify your JL or any generation, for that matter,

[offcamber]

I was reading a recent posting by a member on how he was dissatisfied with his JL and sold it after having it for barely 6 months. Now, if you are like me and just a little bit frugal with your money, that seems a little ridiculous. Sorry but common sense does not seem to be going into his choice of vehicles and what exactly what he intends to do with them. Either that or he has more money than sense, which is usually the case.
Firstly, before you even think of modifying your Jeep with suspension and tire upgrades, you must realize or visualize, what you really will be doing with the Jeep. Are you going to be tackling some serious off road trails with it or will the Jeep spend most of it's time on pavement with an occasional foray off road?
What I am driving at, is that when you modify your Jeep, you are actually hindering the on-road behavior with non-aerodynamic accessories like suspension lifts, flat fenders, wide knobby tires, bumpers, etc. The Jeep may be a beast off-road but it will also become a beast on-road, too and not in a good way. Oddly enough, those lame, stock, plastic fender flares and bumper bits do serve a purpose and that's mostly to cut down on wind noise and improve gas mileage. We are talking aerodynamics here. Lifting a Jeep only makes things worse for aerodynamics, too. Sorry.
It turns out the gentlemen stated above, traded his Jeep Rubicon for a Ford Raptor because the highway manners of the Jeep suffered, wind/road noise picked up after lifting it a couple more inches, putting 37 inch off-road tires on and he even went as far as to wondering why the transmission wouldn't shift right, anymore. Duh!! Well of course all this was going to happen after all those modifications! Yes, the Jeep looks bad ass but what was he thinking expecting a factory riding/driving Jeep after all that?? Probably not.
Folks, FCA already builds a fine and quite capable Rubicon but, believe it or not, it already pushes the limits of being a well mannered vehicle on-road as well as both off-road. If FCA took the mods any further, it would not be a highway riding vehicle, at all. We all know that you need the highway to get to those trails so you have to decide what is more important to you. You could always do like this gentleman who apparently has no issue with money, anyway, and trailer the beast in so it could be used what it is ultimately outfitted for.
Yes, I get it! We all modify our Jeeps. It's an addiction and money pit of sorts. But at some point you got to decide what's important and, ultimately, how you are going to use it. I don't know about you but with a JL pushing 40-50 grand, now, I have to trust the FCA engineers a little more and my pocketbook a little less. I just can no longer afford what I used to put on my old TJ. Quite frankly, I don't have to because the JL is one of the best generation of Wranglers, yet.

Not true. If you know what you are doing you really don't compromise. My JLU Rubicon is on 37's and it drives as well as stock and better in some conditions. I just took it on a 1200 mile road trip and it drove wonderfully even on the rough roads going through Lousiana to Alabama and back to Texas. It drove and handled the same as our 2014 Grand Cherokee, which I would normally have taken for such a long trip. The problem is people buy crap parts and spend the minimal to fit the tires they want. Don't buy junk like Rough Country or Superlift. Use quality parts and make sure everything is setup right and there is no reason it can't drive and ride as well as stock.

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[DUNE RAP]

I’m keeping my 2021 Jeep Rubicon 2 door as stock as possible. I added a warn winch and possibly 35 inch tires this summer. To me a stock Rubicon looks so sexy!

 

[JROOO]

I disagree that’s stock Rubicon is capable but that is subjective. The first weekend after buying, I was stuck in snow on a trail watching other mod’d JKs dance around me. I think it’s a great canvas to paint on.

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