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16 year old has some questions!

7K views 62 replies 18 participants last post by  Godholio 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi guys,

I live in Park city and have had my 08 2 door JKR for about 3 months, I'm 16 years old. I guess I have awesome parents :) , I have wheeled it enough to know that I probably should have a winch, because my dad and I usually wheel alone, and some decent armor.

I have a hookup through one of my friends dads that works at a parts department that can get me everything wholesale.

So far I have a list and was wondering the opinions of more experienced people

I want quality stuff, because I would rather have it last then have to get quality stuff when the not-so good stuff breaks.

My list so far includes:

Rugged ridge xhd bumper:

-option 1
light bar with 2 hella 500/kc daylighters

-option 2
stinger
windshield mounted lights

Is a stinger really worth it? sometimes i like the look. but i also sort of feel like it's overboard for me. will i eventually want it? being located in Utah.

Ace Rock rails:

I've heard good things about these and i think they will be good with the stock rubicon rails.

warn VR10000:

A good winch, well made (American) decent price
and allows lots of weight for when i really lift this thing and get some bigger tires.

Finally,

Will all of this extra weight on the vehicle require me to get some sort of leveling kit/small lift kit?

My parents are kind of split about getting a lift. They're coming from the side that it decreases the smooth ride, and increases roll-ability. I was wondering about wheel spacers? do they help with lowering your center of gravity? and are they legal in Utah?

If I were to get a lift I would consider the Old Man Emu 2 inch kit, not sure if I would go with heavy duty or medium for the coils. (I don't want the jeep to sag on the front end, and I want quality, which OME seems to have.)

and does a 2 inch lift look stupid with 31s? cause i don't have the cash to blow on big tires right now.

I'm open to any suggestions of anything really. I've been searching for all of my answers using search function, but I'm not a pro at this and really want to make sure everything turns out ok.

Thank you so much in advanced everyone :)
 
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#42 ·
Hi! I have another question and didn't want to make a whole new thread for it.

I am upgrading my rims, I like the Pro comp rock crawlers, 17x9, and currently have stock rubicon tires. 255/75/17.
I was wondering what backspacing I should get because I want to eventually lift and get 35s, and I only want to buy rims once, (spacers are illegal in Utah :( ).
I am NOT lifted as of now.

What I have found from 2 days of reading about this is that I'll want 4.5 inch backspacing. But will the tires stick out past my flares? (my 32s? or 35s in the future?) because utah has laws about that.

Thanks guys!
 
#43 ·
Doesnt AEV advertise that thier lift kits maintain factory angles with thier brackets and it improves over all ride quality over stock? Look at AEV and try and sell ur parents on that point alone.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using JeepForum
 
#44 ·
easy enough to measure. 4.5" inch backspace on 9" wide wheel, puts you roughly at the midline. Divide your tire width by 2,take of a tire and then measure that far out, my guess is you'll be fine with the smaller tire and will stick-out a bit with the wider tire.
 
#45 ·
Filthy-Beast said:
easy enough to measure. 4.5" inch backspace on 9" wide wheel, puts you roughly at the midline. Divide your tire width by 2,take of a tire and then measure that far out, my guess is you'll be fine with the smaller tire and will stick-out a bit with the wider tire.
For some reason I said 17x9, I'm getting 17x8. I get how to measure it now though! Thank you.
 
#46 ·
(Almost) Everything is illegal in utah but they don't really enforce much of it. Every now and then you run into a cop that knows the rules and "tries" to enforce it but generally they don't know. I have never heard of anyone getting caught/trouble with spacers but I know a few tire places (walmart, costco) won't work on your tires if you have spacers.

If I throw mudflaps on before inspection I pass just fine with 35's, sticking passed fenders, and 3.5" lift. If I don't have the flaps on sometimes I am questioned when I get it inspected but it usually passes.

Park City people are a little different and big jeeps/trucks might be looked at differently there, its a subaru/range rover crowd there, so it might be wise to drive over to Heber City to get the inspections done by people who are more fond of the big truck big jeep lifestyle. :rofl:

Ski resorts are private property so it really is illegal to wheel on them without permission.
 
#47 ·
There are some Jeep-friendly inspection places. You can probably find out details in the Utah subforum. I don't think there's anyone else who posts from Park City, but LOTS of Utah County and SLC...and finally a growing number of Davis/Weber/Cache folks.
 
#48 ·
Godholio said:
There are some Jeep-friendly inspection places. You can probably find out details in the Utah subforum. I don't think there's anyone else who posts from Park City, but LOTS of Utah County and SLC...and finally a growing number of Davis/Weber/Cache folks.
Would I be able to pull off 4.25 backspacing, 17x9 inch rims on my current tires? 255/75/17? Cause those are the rims I can find. Thanks.
 
#49 ·
A stock rubi has wheels that are 17x7.5, with 6.25" backspace running those tires
 
#51 ·
I've only investigated how narrow I a wheel I could put tires on, not how wide. Double check the specs of your tires for how wide a wheel it can go on. Also don't air down a lot or you'll risk losing a bead with that skinny a tire on a 9" wheel.
 
#54 ·
Where'd you buy them? That's what I'm going to get when the OE tires wear out. Discount Tire has the best price I've found so far.
 
#57 ·
Trucklites are nice and Northridge has sale on them right now. If you do plan to wheel I'd also thing hard about adding some armor, Diff covers, oil pan and transfer case skids. Ace rock rails.
 
#58 ·
Here's the key:
Get your Jeep registered in a Jeep-friendly state (i.e. GA, AL, SC...) then bring it back to Utah.
What is legal in one state MUST be respected as legal in another state...Federal Law. Example: My Jeep is registered in Georgia where they have nothing against not having mud-flaps, therefore Utah MUST respect that and can't say **** to me.

Speaking from experience (& relative old age), I'd SAVE that $625 and hold off until I have the money to do it right THE FIRST TIME. Get the money to do the lift and tires first. You'll have more fun with those than lights or armor (provided you avoid Moab for a little while).
 
#60 ·
And when he gets pulled over in Utah and his drivers license has a Utah address he's going to get busted for not registering his vehicle with Utah within 60 days of "moving" here, in accordance with the law. He probably also doesn't have a valid address out of state. We probably shouldn't be pushing underage drivers to break the law so blatantly. It's one thing to cheat on a tire sticking out a little past the mud flaps, it's another to commit fraud (what state is he going to insure his vehicle in?).
 
#62 ·
Warn VR Winch

Stay away from the VR series WARN Winches. Yes Warn winches are outstanding but if you call WARN they will even tell you that they are there bottom of the line winch and parts are made in China. Go with the M-series, Zeon series or their power plants. These are 100% built and assembled in the USA. If you read the fine print on the VR Winches they are assembled in the USA, not made in the USA and that is why the M8000lb winch is more than the VR8000lb winch.
 
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