4 Cool Mods That Are Great For The First Time Jeepers

Well, welcome to the fold. Welcome to a life of catalogs, Jeep shops and the glossy pages and websites of your favorite 4 wheel drive publications. As you have already pulled the trigger on your new/used Jeep you most likely have seen a bunch of them rolling around town on 35 inch tires, bumpers that reach three feet forward of the grill and mods, cool mods, mods everywhere. Welcome to the Wonderful World of Jeeps. But before you proceed, make sure your you fix your Jeep's death wobble if any.

I caution you reader. Go no further if you suffer from an addictive personality because Jeeps are addictive. The Jeep Wrangler seems to be the most modifiable vehicle on the planet. It is used by military services worldwide, police, mailpersons, and us. The average daily driving individual with Jeep Wave that most people don't understand.

Upon purchase, that's where the mods start. Many people will run out and buy 35 inch tires, huge bumpers and tire carriers and lights enough to see from space. All these things are awesome but if you just got your Jeep and are using it to drive from home to Work and no where else maybe that's not the direction you want to go.

What To Do With Your Jeep

First, know what you are gonna do with your Jeep. Is it for hauling kids to soccer practice and picking up groceries? Is it going to be plowing through gravel and mud roads jaunting across the back hills? Wheeling up and down rocks or through mud? Get to know what you want to use it for and what it may be used for in the future. By the way, speaking of the future: the 2020 Jeep Wrangler will offer all-electric driving too.

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Okay, now that you know what you are using it for lets look at some of the coolest mods new Jeepers can grab for their Jeeps. All of the options I am providing are assuming they would be used in conjunction.

1) Tires.

Everyone wants big nobby tires that sing the pavement song as you wheel down the road drawing gazes from others who say “A Jeeps comin'!” but, those can be hugely expensive and lead to other changes such as re-gearing and engine lag. A standard JK (the 4 door Wrangler 2007-2017) can have 33 inch tires mounted on it the day it comes from the factory. This is awesome and I think intentional. Jeep knew we wouldn't be rolling around on some 235's. If its a TJ (the Jeep Wrangler from 1996-2006) you may be able to get 33's on there but it may rub on the plastic fender flares. This doesn't really do any damage and doesn't effect the ride. If you know this and are okay with the rub, go for it.

2) Lift Kit.

Lift kits are great. They are awesome, but if you place a 4 inch lift kit on a TJ and dont use a slip yoke eliminator you can cause some damage to your drive shaft and aggressive wear on other areas. Be ready to replace A LOT of stuff if you go this route. If you are placing a 4 inch lift kit on a JK, again, be prepared for things to wear out fast. And that can get costly!

We spend enough on our Jeeps so lets limit the expenses. Both Jeeps come with Coil Springs front and back which gives you the opportunity to place 2 inch Coil Spring Spacers as an inexpensive option. This gives you an ample lift for up to 35 inch tires and if you are running 33's, like I suggested earlier, you will have plenty of clearance, no rubbing and it will give you time to figure out what type of lift you want.

3) Shocks.

Yep, shocks. Not flashy but if you want a great ride you need great shocks. Jeep shocks, like all shocks, can be purchased in different lengths. If you were to be running 33 inch tires and have the two inch Coil Spring Spacer lift then you would need to go with a shock that measured above 2 inches. Most come in 1.5 inch ranges, such as, 2 inches through 3.5 inches. It presents a bunch of options ranging from inexpensive through mortgage the house.

4) Bumper.

This is it. The topic about a Jeep bumper is a hot one. Everyone wants a big, bad bumper but those big bad bumpers can be expensive. And did you know they come in matching sets for th front and back? Do you want a tire carrier or not? Are you going to carry a spare? I always recommend a front stubby. Sounds funny but you can get them fairly inexpensive and in a really wide range. Many of these have numerous add-on options. This provides you the ability to start with the base stubby bumper then add-on and modify your bumper at a later date.

These are but a few suggestions that give you a great starting point. The Jeep Wrangler, and the entire Jeep line, is one of a very few vehicles that have an incredibly strong following not only by consumers but by manufacturers, producers, independent contractors and many more so your options for modifications are seemingly boundless.

Take some time, get to know your Jeep, and mod away.

Welcome to the Jeep Family Jeeper! If you have done any recent cool mods to your Jeep, please share with Torque News readers below in the comments section. If you liked this article and think it may help your friends, consider sharing or tweeting it to your followers.