By So you’ve got yourself a new Wrangler JL. Firstly, we’re a little bit jealous, so congratulations on your purchase. Secondly, we bet you’re looking for some mods! If you sprung for a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, you’ve already got yourself one of the most capable off-road vehicles out there. For anything below the Rubicon, you’ll need to put a little more work into customization to really get things moving over dirt, rocks, water, trees, apocalypses, fallen regimes, etc. Here are some things we recommend to get started with modifying your new Jeep.
1. Lift Kit
The first step to getting over things is being tall enough to do it without bottoming out. Lift kits are a perfect way to give your Wrangler the little extra height it needs for rough terrain, and gives you room to upgrade your wheel and tire combo as well. If you’re driving a Rubicon, then just a 2” lift gives you enough room to comfortably fit 37” tires on your Jeep. And yes, the Rubicon’s axles can handle that. If you’ve got any model other than the Rubicon, a 2” lift will give you enough room for a 34” tire, and a 4” lift can let you fit a 35”. 35” is the biggest tire we recommend on a non-Rubicon Wrangler, as their axles aren’t as heavy duty.
Suspension kits come from mild to wild, so you can go as crazy as you want. Basic ones are as simple as strut tower extensions, which add a block above the shock absorber; higher end applications actually replace the shocks, springs, reservoirs, and more.
2. Shocks
Shocks are important on any vehicle, and Jeeps are no exception. In fact, shocks see more intense use on the trail than anywhere else, with a constant cycle traveling over rocks and dirt of compression, rebound, repeat. Aftermarket shocks can compress further and rebound more smoothly to give you a better ride both on and off-road.
We strongly recommend going for the best shocks that you can reasonably afford, as shock absorbers are one big thing you really don’t want failing when you’re out on a trail. The biggest things to look for in an aftermarket shock are a larger body with better valves, or remote reservoirs to offer even better cooling. Some higher end options also offer adjustability over things like compression and rebound damping, ride height, and more.
3. Wheels and Tires
We’ve already covered maximum tire sizes for your Wrangler. But what kind of tires are you going to use? When picking a set of tires, it’s important to consider what driving conditions you’ll be spending most of your time in. Some tires are have standard road capability, and will give you the usual 30,000-50,000 miles, but only have average off-road traction. Other tires are made to grapple against rough terrain, and have thick, deep tread with protrusions designed to fit into cracks and crevices and pull your vehicle forward; these will perform excellent off-road, but their softer rubber compounds and wide tread mean they can sometimes only last as little as 10,000 miles of highway driving. If you’re an off-road enthusiast and you’re hitting trails every weekend, some off-road specific tires are probably a good investment. If you’re just using your Jeep day to day and only occasionally taking it off-road, standard all-season road tires will give you enough traction to get through a camping trip or trail run with enough tread life to get you 40,000 miles before you need a new set.
When it comes to wheel size, it’s almost entirely up to your style preferences. Do you want a 20” mall-crawler look for your four-door Wrangler Sahara, or do you want to have as much sidewall as possible for better grip on your soft-top Rubicon? When offroading, more sidewall is better, so we usually recommend a sweet spot of 17” wheels. 17”s are big enough that you can still get a cool design, but small enough that you’ll be able to take advantage of lower tire pressures offroad without banging up the barrel of the wheel.
4. Rocker Bars
If you’re not looking to go bash up your new Jeep’s body and frame right away, rocker bars are an excellent way to get some protection. Rocker bars not only provide bracing for the bottom and sides of your jeep to slide on and around rocks, trees, and the like, but also provide easier access! If you’ve got a lift on your Jeep, you’ve got a few extra inches to climb every time you get in and out. Many rocker bar kits also include steps to make it easier to get yourself into the passenger seat, your friends into the back seats, your groceries into the trunk, and so on.
5. Skid Plates and Belly Pans
Talking about bashing things up, it’s important not to forget about all of the sensitive drivetrain components that sit exposed to the elements under your Jeep. A skid plate at the front and rear of your vehicle can help protect your radiator, fluids, and frame against scrapes, bumps, and piercings up at the front, and help you avoid fuel tank ruptures in the back. A belly pan goes all along the bottom of the vehicle, protecting your driveshafts, transfercase, and transmission. Underbody protection isn’t something that people often regret buying; the regret shows up when a rock catches a driveshaft and you lose four-wheel-drive 100 miles away from civilization.
6. Sway Bar Disconnects
This is another step that’s different if you’ve got a Rubicon. Different in this case actually means not applicable at all; in a Rubicon, there’s a button that electronically disconnects the swaybars, negating it entirely. In short, if you’ve got a Rubicon, skip this one!
If you don’t have a Rubicon, sway bar disconnects do exactly what you might think: they disconnect the sway bars. On road, sway bars are useful. They keep the vehicle planted around corners, making sure there isn’t too much flex between the left and right wheels. Off-road, you want as much flex as possible so your wheels can be on the ground more of the time. Disconnecting the swaybars frees your suspension to move up and down as far as it physically can, offering completely independent motion between the left and right sides of the car. A sway bar disconnect is a connection that allows you to quickly release or replace the sway bar, so you can get to your off-roading destination safely and then have all of the flex you need to go anywhere.
7. Light Bars
Your Jeep already comes with lights at the front, back, and in some cases the sides of the vehicle. However, those only put out so many lumens. Not only does a giant LED light bar on the roof or your Jeep look awesome, it gives you complete freedom to roam at night, lighting up trails and backroads alike with all of the brightness of a collapsed sun. LEDs are compact, power efficient, and solid state, so they can take a lot of punishment.
These are just a few of the many modifications available for your new Jeep. Aftermarket differentials, intake, exhaust, and the like are all worth looking into once you’ve got handling figured out. No matter which body style you’ve got, head over to the Motoroso Marketplace to find these mods and many more like them to make your Jeep the best all-terrain machine it can be!
