certifiablenerd

I think I wanted a Jeep since well before I could drive. I finally got my wish about a week ago. Purchased a 2015 2-door JK Sport, manual transmission (haven't owned a manual for about 9 years and was missing it horribly), 3.21 ratio. Um, it's a soft top, has full doors with manual windows/locks, and 225/75/16 wheels at least for now. Baja Yellow. It's a daily driver (and I've hopefully only got a few months left on a 120+ mile roundtrip communte), but I'd like to take it offroad at some point. I can already see that the carpet has to go.

Right now I'm reading, would like to get competent at some vehicle maintenance and repair, all that good stuff.

jedg

Welcome to JK-Forum. That's a heck of a commute!

As for pulling carpet, be forewarned that the floor gets mighty hot without the insulation associated with the carpet. That said, I don't have carpet in mine and I'm fine with it. Others, not so much.

TheDirtman

Badlands off road park and Redbird ORV are both in Indiana and good places to take a new jeep off road. You will find many other jeeps out there you can tag along with and learn what your stocker will do. The tires you have are going to be the biggest drawback to going off road but there are many trails you can still run if it is dry. Bigger tires will lead you to gears and a mild lift and it never seems to end so go out and enjoy it stock and meet some of the great people at those places.

certifiablenerd

Thanks, good to know there's some nice places to go, and I'll look into them further.

What does regearing do to you in terms of gas mileage? As stated, daily driver and a currently long commute make that a consideration.

TheDirtman

Matched gears to tire size gives you the best mileage. Running too high a gear for the tire size will kill mpg's

resharp001

I pulled my carpet recently; however, I'm still using the quadratec mats. I think it's a little louder in general, but with the mats in place, can't tell much difference in extra heat myself. I suspect without the mat I might notice it a bit more though. Definitely warm if I slide my hand under the mat. I was so tired of vacuuming carpet....and white dog hair stuck to it like a magnet. Done with that. It definitely feels a touch less refined without carpet, but I'm not angling for a luxury ride in mine.

Have a friend that has BedTred which is a nice compromise to carpet while keeping some insulation, but it comes at a stiff price for what it is.

Edit - oh y, welcome to the forum and happy modding!

certifiablenerd

Thanks!

Another simple question: I think my door sills need some sort of protection. I catch myself dragging my right foot when I hop out. Any thoughts on special cladding vs bedliner vs something dead simple like gaffer tape?

WhiteKnight115

I know tape works and Quadratec carries some plastic ones. Also off topic but you might try looking into some of these if you like working/tinkering on your Jeep:

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/modi...ontier-309589/

Pasting from IPad so hopefully it works. One more thing if your in northern Indiana look into wicked Jeeps near South Bend. Not a member yet but follow the Facebook page.

certifiablenerd

Oh, I'm nearly 50 pages into that thread. One of the reasons I decided to sign up. It's rained so little I don't yet know whether my mirrors need drilled, but I may just do it anyway this weekend.

certifiablenerd

For lack of anywhere else to write it, I'm just going to state it here: I asked my next door neighbor what his old jeep is. 1953(?) Willys!

Edit: He's also got at least 2 Grand Wagoneers.