I previously owned a 2001 Land Rover Discovery II which was the perfect blend of rugged but luxuriousness, but she got old and started to break down all the time so I went with something under warrantee. I bought a Black 2012 Wrangler Unlimited, I also extended the warrantee to be a full bumper to bumper for the 5 years my loan is for.

It’s been a great SUV and I'm defiantly sold on JEEP! However I didn’t realize lifting a Jeep can void a warrantee, so im hesitant to do any “Performance” modifications yet, and I’ve strictly done “Visual” modifications. I’d like to complete everything visual first, and then once the warrantee expires life the Jeep and go to town on it and take if from “Mall Crawler” to “Rock Crawler” status! My concern is only for keeping it under warrantee and therefore I’ve only done some basic mods and kept this as my daily driver.

Overall I will make this Jeep more of an “Expedition Themed” Jeep as I’m in Central Illinois and have no rocks to crawl on and I'm not into Mudding. I do a lot of hiking and camping and the Jeep has worked well for it.

Completed;

• Removed all the stickers,
• Smoke the taillights, turn signals and fog lights
• Painted the stock rims black
• Rugged Ridge Light Bar
• 5 6” Rugged Ridge 100W lights
• Rugged Ridge A Pillar Switch
• Rugged Ridge Grab handles x4
• Aspen Cargo Barrier Net (for dog)

Visual Modifications to come;

• Bestop High Access Front Bumper (OR Rock Slide Engenering, Rampage Marathon, maybe Aries Auto)
• Rugged Ridge XHD Rear Bumper
• Custom Grill
• Rugged Ridge Trail Doors (or Bestop, Body Armor)
• Bushwacker fenders
• 285/70-17 Nitto Trail Grapper MT, OR Goodyear Duratrec’s (Largest tires i can fit with stock set up?)
• Possible a Rough Country Body Lift to clear the 33”s if needed
• Smittybilt CRES net for back

Has anyone else taken this route… done all of their visual mods first and waited to do performance modifications until after the warrantee expires?

Also any opinions on the trail doors, or bumpers I have yet to purchase?

 

There are lots of people that go the route that you are looking to go. Heck a stock Jeep can take you many places. As far as bumpers go I would say buy a bumper that can ultimately conform to where you want to be down the road. Meaning, when your warranty runs out do you want to go to 37's and big lift? If so maybe you need to buy a stubby front bumper now that way when you do upgrade you don't have to buy bumpers again. My motto is modify for where you want to be not where you are. Get a realistic idea of where you want your build to ultimately end up and buys parts accordingly, that way you don't have to buy parts twice. Judging by the companies you are looking at it looks like you are trying to do this on a budget so I would also consider looking at ACE and Knuckles Off Road. But all the companies you are looking at make decent stuff. Now go empty your wallet!

 

Get factory 19 front & 60 rear springs. About 150$ total & you'll get enough lift for the 33's and still be "factory". Plus the ride will be better when loaded.

 

Talk to your dealer about the lift, mine says that the warranty is valid if I lift mine, it's all up to personal preference

 

Miless,

The warranty may or may not be voided with a lift, some dealers will void it if it is over a certain height, it all just comes down to what your dealer says. If the dealer says any lifts will void your warranty, then just stick with cosmetic stuff and then once its up go and start the more "hardcore" mods.

As for the body lift, I would try to avoid it if you can. There is a lot that can go wrong with a body lift. I have seen them tear shifter linkages and wiring up within a few thousand miles. You can run a 33 on stock suspension with no issues. I did it for almost a year before I lifted mine and got 35's. If your dealer will allow a small lift, do a 2" Budget Boost (BB) and that will get you more clearance for the tires.

If you are looking at bumpers, the main difference between all of them is styling. That ultimately will be what your choices come down to. Some things to watch out for is that some bumpers will not allow you to transfer factory fog lights over. Others will set your winch up high, which will restrict airflow into the radiator causing the Jeep to run hot.

Other than those few things, congrats on the purchase and welcome to the forum! Seems you already are bitten by the bug (like many of us) so if you have any questions or need some advice shoot me a PM. I also have a 2012 Wrangler so anything you might need I can help out with.

-Zach

 

I agree with all of the other's advice....the only thing I would change is the tires you are looking at. Don't get 285s, go ahead and get the 295/70/R17...that equals 33.25"....the 285 isn't quite a 33. I have a stock suspension 2012 Wrangler Unlimited and my 295/70/R17 Nittos fit just fine. Going from a stock tire 265 or 255, the 295 will raise the Jeep 2" alone.
Just my 2 pennies.
Also, look into your warranty, learn all you can about it...hell, we all spend so much of our paychecks on these vehicles, it pays to know about it.
Say your a/c stops working....well, a suspension lift wouldn't affect that, so your warranty wouldn't be void for that. Now, say your tie-rod goes out, your suspension lift could have caused that failure, therefore, your warranty wouldn't cover that. Make sense? No dealer can COMPLETELY void your warranty...
If you swap your bumper, and have a front-end accident...warranty probably will be void.
If you swap your bumper, and your soft top malfunctions, warranty will cover that.

 

I had a 2002 Disco I bought new back in the day. I like my JK MUCH better. I would still love a 95 Range Rover Classic but would never get rid of my Jeep for it. The biggest thing you can do for you and your Jeep is what ever makes you happy. One of the reasons that Jeeps are so cool is the option to make it one of a kind. Thats why there are thousands of companies and parts. Keep us in the loop and keep posting pics

 

dont mean to hijack.. but how does your 295/70/17 fit, any rubbing goin on? thinking of putting this this setup on stock rubi qheels with 1.5" spacers... tia

 

That's basically what I did with my JK. First focused on the appearance and stance, once my 3 yr/30 K warranty was up, performance time.

 

When I got mine I asked the dealer as well and they said a lift would not void the factory warranty so I went with the rubicon express 2.5" lift and kept the factory size tires but put BFG mud terrains on. Like you, this is my daily driver so I built it up for handling snow in the northeast when I go skiing. As far as the bumpers it is very easy to fab your own or if you want to buy them there are a ton out there!! Just keep in mind bigger tires take more power and fuel and if you are not crawling or mudding you really don't need em I have been in 24in deep snow and my jeep just keeps on rolling hope this helps!