hi guys.this is my first jeep, so i'm new to what i need to off road. i don't wanna go rock crawling or any hard core climbing..in ski terms i want to find Blue square trails..i have a wrangler X with the S package..larger P255/75R17 OWL On-/Off-Road wrangler tires on 17 inch x7.5 inch rims..i added some fogs lights and bumper with d rings..

Can i do medium runs with the above stock jeep? without bigger tires and lift kit?

how much larger tires can i put on without lifting?

increase suspension? how much? is a budget boost worth the money? or is it only eye candy?

i don't wanna spend a fortune..

thanks for the advice..
steve

 

You can find most of your answers here:

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/modified-jk-tech-2/modified-tech-faq-answers-questions-every-newbie-has-18617/

You don't NEED anything. Your Jeep is very capable in its stock form. As you gain experience off-roading and realize what your stock Jeep can and cannot do, you will WANT to make modifications so you can increase the capabilities of your Jeep.

This is my second Jeep and have been driving Jeeps for about 4 years. Other than some underbelly armor and recovery gear, I haven't lifted either of my Jeeps. I don't do heavy rock crawling, but have gone to URE and Tellico and haven't had problems. The most improtant thing is to know your limitations to avoid breakage!

Good luck!

 

go wheel stock, its lots of fun and it will suprise you how far you can go as well.

As far as a BB lift being eye candy, look at this pics and you tell us.

 

LOL

OK, first , wheel it stock on easier trails to get the feel for it. The JK you have is pretty capable out of the box.

The way off road trails typically rated on the east coast is green for stock rigs, blue for slightly modified, black for more heavily modified, and red for those who don't care if they roll over a few times, etc.

Of the above, they have lighter shades (easier versions of the color), and darker shades (herder versions of the same color)....so a Dark Green/Lt Blue trail might be ok for a careful stock rig, and a drak blue might be almost as hard as a black, etc.

Sliders are probably great first mod...as they provide side and break over angle protection....especially important for 4 dr models.

Oil pan protection is a next step to consider, and the evap can, etc...

If you want to keep the $ under coltrol, and the CoG down, etc...upping the tire size, preferably with a somewhat more aggressive tire than the all seasons it came with, would be nice.

If you do a 2" BL, instead of a flull blown suspension lift...you get room for 35's...

If you add a set of JKS QD II's to allow you to disconnect the front sway bar to help keep the front tires on the ground where they can do some good, add to your stability, etc.

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Some basic recovery gear is good too....a CB and or FRS radio's to chat w/your buds on the trails, etc....is a good thing.



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So - for GREEN trails...just show up and learn the ropes from a group you hook up with....for blues, consider a bit more armor to improve the odds of being able to show up fro work the next monday, etc.

 

just out of curiosty, what trails did you take in Tellico with a stock Rubi? I could see trails 1 and 5 maybe 3 parts of 8.....

 

Without a lift you can run up to 33" tires with little to no rubbing. 285/70/R17 seems to be a popular size.

Budget boosts are a great, inexpensive way to allow for larger tires. I've done three trails in Moab with a 2.5" BB and 32" mud terrain tires and never had a problem.

Goodyear Wranglers aren't exactly the greatest tires for off-roading, but they should be fine for easy to moderate trails.

Now... go wheel your Jeep! After a few hours off-road, you'll know what you want to modify.

 

I totally agree with the lift and skid plates along with recovery gear.

 

you don't really "need" anything else. some recovery gear, first aid, and a fire extinguiser wouldn't be a bad idea. but these jeeps are already bad ass as is and can take a good bit of abuse. i didn't lift mine for over a year, and the main reason i went with a BB was because with the longer wheel base of the unlimited i was bumping my bottom due to the low breakover angle. putting the bb on helped raised that so i won't drag my belly every time i go over a hill.


on a side note... i think i've seen you a few times on the road... probably didn't even see me since i've been driving a little cobalt for the past few weeks while my jeep is in the shop.

 

I was at Tellico 2 years ago with my '05 TJ. If I remember correctly, we started on Trail 1, which was fairly easy and don't remember having any problems - I remember it being very steep though. We then ran either trail 3 or 4, but stopped about 3/4 way through where it connected to another trail that I didn't think I could make it. On the way back, I smashed my front D30 differential plate and was leaking. Several other Jeepers stopped to help and one Jeeper from TN gave me an extra stock cover that he had in his bag of goodies. From then on, I got cold feet and took a rest from offroading and went back to the campsite. I hung around the water crossing on one of the harder trails just to watch people make it through. I had a great time though. Trail 1 was awesome. I could do that all day long. I have no need for anything more difficult - the water crossing looked cool though.

I would love to go back with my JK, but not sure about some of the trails riding stock. The JK just feels bigger and heavier to me and I'm not sure I would make it through some of the trails - they seem pretty steep and tight - like they were intended for smaller ATVs, not Jeeps. I didn't feel like that in my TJ.

 

Stock Rubicon here...if you're not going with any skid plates for the oil pan, just always keep that in mind while selecting your lines. A well placed rock in your path can give a pretty good hit to your oil pan...and you certainly don't want to poke a hole in that while on the trail!
I've done quite a bit of wheeling in with my stocker, and so far the only carnage i've had is a slightly tweaked steering stabilizer and tore off my passenger side mirror and rear plastic fender (all easy fixes). Those all happened on black trails when i got a little cocky and didn't plan my next move good enough. Just make sure you have a good spotter for the squirrelly spots and you'll be ok. Remember, most wheeling in the tougher spots is like playing chess, if you think a couple moves ahead, you'll be fine.