Hey guys. just joined the forum. Planning on getting a JKU in the next few months so ill be lurking around the forums for information. Im not planning on doing any crazy offroading, but im sure a lot of you said the same thing until you got one lol. I do want to lift it and put some big tires on it because... well, because why not (3in lift and 35 tires) It will be mainly driven around town and on trips. I drive out of state often to visit relatives.

Few things i was curious about:

-The price range between the base model and the top model is almost 10,000. Would it be ok to just get the cheaper model since i will build it up myself anyway?

-How do tires affect fuel economy? And what are some nice aggressive tires that are decent on pavement and not too loud?

-Manual or Auto? i dont mind manual but it would be more of an issue if someone else needs to drive it.


Ive been around cars for a long time and consider myself somewhat of a gearhead so i plan on doing pretty much everything myself. I currently own a 97 cherokee XJ, vw golf with hardly any stock parts left on it lol , CBR1000 and a custom bobber. the jeep is my daily, the rest is just toys, but i do plan on trimming down the fleet in order to make room for the JK.

From my experience on other forums, everyone likes pictures lol so ill share. Looking forward to chatting and learning from you guys. Thanks in advance.

 

Ok I can't help you with the lift and tires cause I am mostly stock.

Having said that I used to have a YJ with lift and big tires. Big tires will always add to. Less gas mileage. How much depends on your set up. Others will give you good advise.

What I guess the rest of the forum will tell you to go for the cheapest JK an build up. This is sound advise if you plan to remove tons of parts and build up.

I recommend thinking about you budget and consider if you start out with a better JK you will up grade less. Plus if your jeep is ever stolen like my YJ was, the insurance will give you about 10% on any add ons. So you will get $100 for ever $1000 spent. Food for thought.

 

You will get guys pushing you in all directions on this one. Firstly, buy and build what suits you. I bought a rubicon in 2012 as I DOD not want to mess with gearing and installing lockers. Aside from that, I lifted 3 inches (full traction srs), put on method fat five wheels, Nitto trail grapplers (35's), fox shocks, fox steering stabilizer, M.O.R.E. Side steps on all 4 doors (to help the ladies), JCR front bumper (stubby, recessed winch), recon 10.5k waterproof winch, Rigid Industries SRM lights (I won them), just ordered the JCR dagger rear, smittybilt gear set up for the rear gate, tire relocator for the 35, delta 3rd light replacement, I'm sure there is more.
So, with that said, do you want to mess with axles? If so, go with a non Rubi model. If not, but you gotta have lockers (you said may be not off road), then you might want to consider he Rubi. You get the picture. The GPS system is shit. Don't waste your money on it. If you go with a sport or Sahara, you could have about $10k to put toward goodies. I have about $7 in mine now and not done. I will drop about another $5k or so. Figure sticker & goodies, by the time I am done, I'll have about $55-60k in it. That's if I stop, which I probably won't.
As for MPG. I went from getting about 15-16 in town and 18-20 on hwy to about 12 around town and 16 on hwy. this doesn't bother me. I had a dodge ram that got 10 no matter what and a land rover that got 12. I don't buy based on mpg, nor is it a concern for me.
Auto vs. manual? Preference. The "hard core" guys will insist on manual. I prefer auto. I don't drive daily (fly a lot). I off road about 1-2x's a month. I like the auto. It suits my style. And I hate dealing with a stick in traffic more than I prefer a stick for performance.
Tires style? I have run continental 4x4 (stock on Landy), Nittos and Goodyear after it chewed the conti's off. Michelin on another SUV, goodyears on the truck, goodyears on the Volvo and Nittos on the Volvo. Jeep came with bfg which I had before. I prefer the Nittos for any SUV/Truck. My Landy was a heavy, full time 4x4. The conti's and GY's lasted mess than 25k. Went with Nitto terra grapplers and they lasted for nearly 60k, reliable, strong, quiet and descent off road ( dry, not mud). I got the Nitto Trails for the jeep as I knew I would get more aggressive. And yes, they are louder, increase rolling resistance and are heavy. Nittos run heavy. You will get guys who hate them for whatever reason. I hate GY the same. They will never see another penny from me.
Here are some pics.