you can scratch the idea of intake going off-road and headers aren't worth the money IMO. if you want more performance out of the 3.8L gears is about it. a supercharger makes a little difference but again not worth the money.

 

The bigger tire you go with, the more stuff you will need to add and the more you replace the more chances you take that something will go wrong... It seems that practically every other new thread is about "death wobbles" lately. It also depends if your jeep is you dd or just your offroad vehicle. It also depends how hard core you are. Personally, I have been on trails with guys running 35" and I have never been in a situation when I couldn't go where those guys go, and most trails I have been since I bought my JK are rated "Difficult". I would say, adding a lift is a good idea, having lockers definitely a must. When my 32"s need to be change, I'll probably go to 33" but I doubt I'll ever go 35"...

 

I think it cost me about 5k to go 35's. lift, shocks, tires, wheels, gears, labor, etc. It really adds up.

 

Yeah, if you don't put your own lift on, it is expensive. However, I got it all for $2200. $1200 was the tires. 500 was the trackbars and control arms, 500 was the Rough Country lift. Did the install myself and it was my first one.
You can easily get more expensive without much difficulty.

 

I put my own lift on. I didn't do my gears, or tires though. Probably wasn't 5k, but maybe close. Gears-$1200, lift- $1800, shocks - $360, tires - $1200, wheels - $1000... well maybe it was $5000. I could have done it cheaper though.

 

I too am facing the 33" vs 35" delima. The more I read about it the more I think I'm gonna wanna stick to 33" tires. This is my daily driver. While the 35" look absolutely boss on the Unlimited like I have, I'm concerned about clearnace and milage. Not ground clearance, the oposite, height clearnance. My garage door is fairly low as it's a condo. I'm pretty close as is. By the time I add a 2.5" lift (Tera or RC) I'm getting pretty close.

 

After doing much reading I personally will probably go with 33" tires and spend the extra money on a good set of full body skid plates, probably a set of Treks. I figure that the 2" of clearance I might gain is nothing compared to the ability to take a pounding down there.

 

actually you only gain 1" of clearance from 33" to 35" tires.

 

Yes, headers are definitely not worth the money because the 3.8 already has performance-style headers, and i agree, gears would definitely help. However... an intake is fine off road as long as you dont do 40 through water like a dumbass (Airaid has a cold box for theirs that keeps water and debris out anyways) and will increase mpg/hp/torque a little. And a supercharger puts out more horsies per dollar than ANY Hemi conversion no matter what kind of deal you are getting on it. So you might not have $5K lying around, but if you did.. The supercharger is DEFINITELY a good investment.

 

Less than that, it would only = 1" of ground clearance below the axle. The other 1" is above the hub and therefore under the fender.