dgore2

That's a good point as well. The Jeep is paid for so that's not a concern. Insurance for him wasn't as bad as I thought...only about $100/month. He'll just have to moderate himself on fuel to help control his costs. Like I said, he refs on weekends and makes pretty good money doing that (about $150 per Saturday). I think it's good to get him used to making decisions about how he spends his money. If he decides it's too much for him or doesn't want to spend the money he can walk or use his money to buy a cheap car. It's his choice. We've split costs on other large ticket items as well. He paid for half of his motorcycle. His half was $2,250.00, so he understands saving for what he wants. His mother and I have agreed that as long as he keeps his grades at 4.0, we'll help him out with things. He's held up his end of the bargain since he started school.

I appreciate everyone's opinions on the virtues and potential pitfalls of providing my son with an 07 Jeep, but what I'm really looking for is some responses to my original questions.

Thanks,
David

dgore2

Now we're talking...this is what I'm looking for.

The only issue I have with the 15" wheels is that some folks have reported having contact with the front calipers. That might have been due to lack of backspacing, but I'm not sure. I also would prefer to have the A/T tires based on the terrain where we offroad. I looked at the Rough Country 2.5 coil lift, but several folks on the forum have said you need to add the adjustable traction bars(lateral links) to re-center the axles with this kit.

Has anyone used Cragar Soft 8's in a 16"?
Thoughts?

David

JKBully

Some have needed the adj. trackbars, some haven't. The minor axle shift won't cause problems. If you want them, call Dave at Northridge and get the JKS trackbars front and rear, they're $163???(can't remember exactly) shipped each axle. You still come out ahead. The 15's, some rub, some don't. If you get one that rubs, try another wheel there and see if it rubs. I heard this can work, but I haven't heard of any failures or problems with grinding the calipers down slightly.

MOWrangler

I have 16" soft 8's that I picked up from Summit. They were a little over $315 for 5shipped to here in MO. (and I got them in 2 days! ) My tires are a little larger than 33's, though.

dgore2

Good info on the track bars. The other poster had suggested the Nitto Dune Grappler. I said the Nitto A/T Terra Grappler would be better for the conditions where we off road. The A/T is more aggressive and would be better in the MO clay than the Dune Grappler. It also looks like it has a better tread for snow as well.

Thanks,
David

dgore2

What width did you go with on the 16" wheels? I'm wanting to use 8" or 8.5" with about 4" of back spacing.

Thanks,
David

JKBully

8" is better if you air down at all. It holds the bead better.
4"B.S. is perfect! It's more than you'd get with stock wheels and 1.5" spacers!

bigbluejk

x2 I would want my kid to have a ride like this if I could afford it though too.

If it was me, I would get him a set of Rubi Wheels and Tires, looks like you may already have them or at least the wheels? and I would either get a spacer lift or the OME if you want to lift it. Kids are hard on tires, and if he can't go there on 32s I don't think he should be there at 16.

Stock Rubi wheel and tires look good under the OME to me. I would get adjustable track arms and front control arms though.

abetterview

just to save on money and make it look good .you should get the terafex 2.5 inch bb and get wheel spacers and the tires you want and i would add some rock sliders to save it before anything else. you will be glad you added those one day. if you dont want to go big and dont want to have to buy drive shafts and control arms or more in the future just keep it simple and get the budget boost so after that you have more money to buy other parts. so go to quadratec.com and get the
1. terafex 2.5 inch budget boost part # 16190.0005 that costs $305.00
2. 1.5 inch wheel spacers(you will need two sets) part #92807.005 cost $200.00
3. kc hilites rock rails part #12123.200 cost $300.00
totals to $805.00 plus tires