I have a sport 2010 with a little larger tire and rim than stock but no lift or anything. I went "real" wheeling for the first time this past weekend. Had a great time and I was really surprised the places and hills I did in it. I was with my dad who has a Rubi +4in lift and was able to follow him, although we didnt do any really crazy things. From the video this hill does not look that bad but driving up to up (it was a turn after half the hill), I was surprised to come up on it. So my dad had to help me through it. But we walked right up it! I was in 4lo too...fun
Sorry for the driving directions and wind in the videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-UJzLAxKUc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77mIgPeio8M

 

JIm, when your BLD get to work it will make the same sound as the ABS do when you're breaking hard

 

Mine is a stock sport with street tires and 17". I wheel with modified JK's and have been able to keep up everywhere we've gone

 

If you have open diffs your capability is not decided by your JK but by your driving skill.

With open diffs, if you purposely put one front tire and one rear tire in the air, like you did with your wrangler, you're not going anywhere, even if you have the biggest, stickiest, knobbiest tires on earth. If you learn how much flex you have and then learn to place your tires accordingly, you will go to amazing, amazing places with your JK.

I think it's actually better to learn how to off-road with open diffs, since LSD or lockers can actually teach an inexperienced driver bad habits.

My two cents.

 

First off-road experience with my new toy was up to Aliso springs here in SE AZ. About 20 miles or so of loose sand, rock, ruts (some a couple feet deep), and even had to traverse the spring runoff a few times. Worse part was this rather steep section with rocks 12-24" in size (some seemed to be half the size of my hood!). 4lo, first gear (auto) and 265/70 16 tires on a otherwise stock 07 jk with 4.10s made short work of the trail. Had one tire in the air a few times, but never seemed to be at a loss for traction. My jeep is way more capable than I at the moment.

My more experienced friend from work was actually quite surprised at what my stock jeep could do. He did comment that my jeep seems to sit taller than his old '05 wrangler. Closer to his with 35s? Don't know about that, I got the jeep used at a local Jeep dealer. I'm 6'3" and do have to step up to get in though. Is this normal?

Did scrape lightly a few times. I did air down to 15psi, but with E rated tires they didn't seem to come down much. I've got about 4-6" of clearance between the top of the tire and fender, so was thinking about a 16x9 wheel with 285/70s when the current tires wear out. Think they'll fit?

I love my new toy!

 

welcome to the Forum Bill

 

The JK's are definatly higher then the TJ's. We can fit 33's unmodified (for street use and a little rubbing) while a TJ needs at least a 2'' lift.

I think you asked about all terrains earlier, and the Goodyear Duratrac is an excellent all terrain. It has very very little road noise, handles great, is snow rated, and from what I hear is the best AT tire for mud. It seems like the best all around/daily driver tire to me. I would go to a 15'' wheel if you want to get away from E rated tires. Almost all 16'' wheel tires are E range. If your going to offroad, I would lift it 2''. Otherwise you can get by with spacers, but either way your spending $200.

 

we use the JEEP in the outer banks a lot....... air down to 15-18 PSI using the Staun Deflators I will run on pavement for up to 10-20 miles deflated (generally stay under 50mph) .......just don't corner quickly! It is a real pain to air up for a run to the store and then air down again to go back to the beach so we don't

on board air would be nice but we are lucky enough to be able to use air pumps for free to air up at a local store

 

Thanks!

Regarding the "off road" comment: Not sure you guys consider it 'off roading', but living where I do near Tucson, AZ my jeep spends almost as much time on sand and rock than pavement. Right next to my neighborhood is a very large wash with some hills 20-30' tall. Tried walking up some, fell down several times on the steeper ones, and am much safer crawling up and around them in my Jeep! Some rock areas, and this time of year (monsoon season) I get to play in water/sand holes! Though I do stay in the shallower, 2' or less, ones as I have no desire to hydro-lock my new toy.

My 265s are Wrangler ATs I think. Decent offroad, very quiet on street, and friend says they're good for 40k. Total stocker otherwise. The 410s are factory according to the build sheet.

Friends at work are planning a local run over a rather technical trail (recommend highly modified?!) and these guy are going over it in old box cherokees with 2" lifts, larger tires and one has a rear locker. They say I can make it, but have to be careful what line I pick in certain areas. I guess they lost a Hummer (rolled down a mountain side) last year!

Am I crazy for trying this?

 

Wow Bill, sounds like you have a really great and convenient area to wheel. By what you described, it has everything I love.

Back on topic, a stock Jeep can do wonders. My first big off-road experience was at Uwharrie, NC. Went wheeling with a group of modified TJ's XJ's and one other JK and I was able to go on every trail I followed them on. I only managed to scrape my skid plates once (pretty hard, it felt like the whole car literally bounced off the rock) I may be able to do a little more because I have a Sahara with stock 31-32" (estimated) BFGoodrich Dueler A/T's.
But I do recall a TJ in which its ride high was about 1.5-2" lower than mine and also did every trail that I did.
If you are familiar with Uwharrie, the trails I've been talking about are Wolf's Den and Falls Dam. Fall's Dam was more challenging than Wolf's den but a bit more fun.