New to Jeeps

[Jason4x4]

Hi guys. I'm new to the whole "Jeep" thing - in fact, I'm new to the whole "off road" thing in general.

The only other cars I have ever owned are 3 old 1988 Mazdas (one four wheel drive and turbocharged, but I digress...). I recently decided I wanted something different, and after driving a few used Jeeps I decided I wanted one. I just ordered a new '06 Wrangler Sport from the dealer, and it should arrive in 6-7 weeks (so they said). I have a couple of questions, namely:

I got the 30" wheel/tire group, but I hear the stock Goodyear's suck. I'd like to get some BFG's but I'm wondering what the negative effects would be of going to a 31" tire?? What will that do to the gearing? How bad will the speedo be off? ? Any other issues I need to be aware of?

While I'm at it, anybody know of any public trails around around the Baltimore, MD/York, PA area??

 

[jaymz77]

If you buy the Jeep with stock 30" tires it should be geared for those tires. Upon installing 31" tires, I would expect a speedometer difference of no more than 3-4 mph and I wouldn't expect any loss in power unless you have the 4 cyl. engine. Kudos on buying an '06 Jeep they look pretty cool and are, of course, very off-road capable. Keep us posted on what you think of it when you get it.

 

[Sparky-Watts]

Hi guys. I'm new to the whole "Jeep" thing - in fact, I'm new to the whole "off road" thing in general.

The only other cars I have ever owned are 3 old 1988 Mazdas (one four wheel drive and turbocharged, but I digress...). I recently decided I wanted something different, and after driving a few used Jeeps I decided I wanted one. I just ordered a new '06 Wrangler Sport from the dealer, and it should arrive in 6-7 weeks (so they said). I have a couple of questions, namely:

I got the 30" wheel/tire group, but I hear the stock Goodyear's suck. I'd like to get some BFG's but I'm wondering what the negative effects would be of going to a 31" tire?? What will that do to the gearing? How bad will the speedo be off? ? Any other issues I need to be aware of?

While I'm at it, anybody know of any public trails around around the Baltimore, MD/York, PA area??

Welcome to Jeepz!! You definitely came to the right place for answers. Only real negative effects of 31's will be some slight rubbing and lower mileage. It will change your speedo, but I'm not familiar with the newer Jeeps, and don't know if it can be adjusted with a different speedo gear or if it's computer controlled. If it's a 6 cyl engine, you won't notice much problem with gearing, though it will lug the 4 cyl a tad in certain situations.

As for wheeling trails in the area you mentioned, I believe Twisted Copper can help you out there....since he's in the area!!

Again, welcome to Jeepz, and please stick around, I know you'll come to love it like I have....it's a great family here, and very, very helpful!

 

[Jason4x4]

Yeah, I got the 6 cylinder, as well as the Dana 44 rear end upgrade - doing some research, I read a lot of bad things about the stock 35. Also, reading through the brochure for the '06 Jeeps I got from the dealer, it lists for the components of the 30" wheel/tire group, among other things, "Heavy-duty suspension". Is this in any way different from the normal 'stock' Wrangler suspension?? Anybody have any idea exactly what this refers to?? I also got the 3.73 gears...so I hope my Jeep will be fairly capable off road. Again, I'm new to this whole thing so I want to start out slow and learn how to do this properly. Any tips would be appreciated .

 

[TwistedCU]

Welcome to Jeepz and congrats on buying your first JEEP. You found a great website here, there's a good bit of knowledge and definately a great bunch of folks.

Sounds like you're off to a good start by getting the upgraded rear axle. I really like the looks of those "Ravine" wheels, too. Did you get the brake and traction group or maybe just the track-lok differential? Just curious... a limited slip rear will be nice if you plan on hitting the trails.

The 30" package will come with 3.73 gear ratios in your axles. You'll be fine with 31's, and the speedo will be slightly off, but I would suspect not enough to care. You can check it with a handheld GPS if you have access to one. If it's off enough to warrant it, you can change the speedometer gear for a very small price.

As for tires, what exactly do you plan on using the Jeep for? Daily driver with some light trails? While no tire is perfect for all environments, the BFG AT/KO are a decent choice for those needs.

 

[Jason4x4]

Welcome to Jeepz and congrats on buying your first JEEP. You found a great website here, there's a good bit of knowledge and definately a great bunch of folks.

Sounds like you're off to a good start by getting the upgraded rear axle. I really like the looks of those "Ravine" wheels, too. Did you get the brake and traction group or maybe just the track-lok differential? Just curious... a limited slip rear will be nice if you plan on hitting the trails.

The 30" package will come with 3.73 gear ratios in your axles. You'll be fine with 31's, and the speedo will be slightly off, but I would suspect not enough to care. You can check it with a handheld GPS if you have access to one. If it's off enough to warrant it, you can change the speedometer gear for a very small price.

As for tires, what exactly do you plan on using the Jeep for? Daily driver with some light trails? While no tire is perfect for all environments, the BFG AT/KO are a decent choice for those needs.

No, I didn't get ABS (which I presume is the brake and traction group you're talking about). I just got the 'normal' track-loc diff, since I will be using the Jeep mainly for on road use with the occasional light trail excursion on the weekend (providing I can find some public trails around here!). The BFG AT/KO was exactly what I had in mind. Would it be worth it to get them in a 31" size, or would I be just as well off getting them in the stock 30"x9.5" size??

 

[Utah_jeepster]

First off...Welcome to Jeepz you found one of the best information sites on the net.
I know...(back in 2001 when I bought my Jeep) when you first get your jeep your going to want to make it into a bad a*s looking trail monster. The jeep bug. Don't worry we all have it, in some form or another. Up grading this or that...

What we should say is drive her around for a few weeks, get to know your new love and your worst nightmare. Read along some of the threads and figure out what you want her to look like in a few years. Ask your self what you want your jeep to do, where you want to drive her. Then after a few weeks you should know what needs to be changed out first.


A factory jeep is a amazing thing right out of the box.

 

[Jason4x4]

Well, I'm not planning on swapping out tires as soon as I pick it up - no sense in trashing perfectly good brand new tires. I plan on driving it until the stock tires start to wear out - which I figure will give me time to get used to the Jeep and it's limits. Then I'll go from there. I'm just kinda thinking ahead... 8)

 

[JeepMonkey]

Welcome aboard! I would definetly drive the original tires out and get used to the way it handles first. I bought mine new in '01 and didn't get a lift or off-road tires until 3 years later. During that time I wheeled just about everywhere my friends went and they had pretty modified rigs compared to my stocker. Once I was able to do the lift and tires most of the trails I'd already been on were pretty easy to accomplish.
Mine's a daily driver too. You can get a mechanical gear to fix the speedo which is cheaper then the computer fix. I'm not sure where, but it wouldn't take long on the internet to find out where to get it.

Good Luck!

 

[TwistedCU]

No, I didn't get ABS (which I presume is the brake and traction group you're talking about). I just got the 'normal' track-loc diff, since I will be using the Jeep mainly for on road use with the occasional light trail excursion on the weekend (providing I can find some public trails around here!). The BFG AT/KO was exactly what I had in mind. Would it be worth it to get them in a 31" size, or would I be just as well off getting them in the stock 30"x9.5" size??

Brake and traction group is track loc and also 4 wheel disc brakes. I think ABS is an option all by itself.

About the "heavy duty suspension", Wranglers with the 30" tire and wheel package now use the same coil springs as the Rubicon.

 

[90growler]

Well, I'm not planning on swapping out tires as soon as I pick it up - no sense in trashing perfectly good brand new tires. I plan on driving it until the stock tires start to wear out - which I figure will give me time to get used to the Jeep and it's limits. Then I'll go from there. I'm just kinda thinking ahead... 8)

Welcome...Jeeps don't really have any limits. They are the most capable 4x4's on the planet even if they are stock. Although I have an old YJ 4banger, great choice with the 6 cylinder. There are millions of after market parts available for your Jeep. I would suggest going to these websites and ordering the free catalogs. It will give you an idea on what you might want to upgrade.

www.quadratec.com
www.4wd.com
www.jcwhitney.com

 

[southtj]

Sounds like you got all the same options I did when I got my 04. You are going to love it I'm sure. As far as the speedo, I've got 31" MT/Rs and I check it against my GPS everytime I take a trip and it is dead on. Before I upgraded tires I checked the speed with the GPS and it was a little off. So, bigger tires made mine MORE accurate. Also there is no tire rub at all on road or off. But I haven't needed to disconnect the sway bar yet so there might be some then. And I've been real happy with the 3.73 gears with the trac-loc diff also. Great power on road and off. Would love to have those Rubicon lockers though, oh well.

Welcome to Jeepz.

 

[Wade]

welcome to jeepz. im originally from the Baltimore Annapolis area, but i didnt wheel any public trails. I hear you can remove the fenders from the 06 so rubbing with 31" tires should not be a problem. there really shouldnt be any negitive affects from running a 31" tire.
By the way, welcome to the Jeep life style. Youll feel like your in a small seperate society.

 

[Sparky-Watts]

I hear you can remove the fenders from the 06 so rubbing with 31" tires should not be a problem.

I didn't think removable fenders were coming until the 07 models (really wussy looking one).:?

 

[mingez]

Just wanted to say "Welcome"!!!!

 

[TwistedCU]

While I'm at it, anybody know of any public trails around around the Baltimore, MD/York, PA area??

How did I miss that part :?

I just moved from Parkville, MD to Southern York County in PA. There's Paragon Adventure Park and Rausch Creek in PA, and a less difficult Greenriddge State Forest in Western, MD. That's about it as for public trails but all are worth the trip.

Do you belong to a club yet? Single click my username, then visit homepage for a link to the MRR4
X4 Club if you're interested.

 

[Jason4x4]

Thanks for the warm welcome!! I'm living in Jacobus (just south of York), PA right now. Moved up here from Parkersburg, WV about a year ago. In June I'm moving down to Timonium, MD to cut down on my commute (for reference, I work for an HVAC company and work all over the place at various construction sites, but for most of the last 7-8 months I've been working at BWI. Those familiar with the area, I'm sure will agree that the commute from York to BWI sucks!!!) I get paid mileage right now, but I'll soon be taking delivery of a Chevy Venture company van, so I'll lose my expense check.

Anyhow, I may need directions to those trails you mentioned at some point - I'll have to look into it some more. And I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions once I actually get my Jeep. I'm no stranger to turning wrenches, so hopefully I won't have too many 'dumb' questions .

 

[LVRockCrawler]

there are no "dumb" questions here - well maybe except the one you DONT ask!

 

[TwistedCU]

Thanks for the warm welcome!! I'm living in Jacobus (just south of York), PA right now. Moved up here from Parkersburg, WV about a year ago. In June I'm moving down to Timonium, MD to cut down on my commute (for reference, I work for an HVAC company and work all over the place at various construction sites, but for most of the last 7-8 months I've been working at BWI. Those familiar with the area, I'm sure will agree that the commute from York to BWI sucks!!!) I get paid mileage right now, but I'll soon be taking delivery of a Chevy Venture company van, so I'll lose my expense check.

Anyhow, I may need directions to those trails you mentioned at some point - I'll have to look into it some more. And I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions once I actually get my Jeep. I'm no stranger to turning wrenches, so hopefully I won't have too many 'dumb' questions .

I know that commute very well. I drive to BWI from Spring Grove for my commute. My employer (phone co) is on Harmans Rd, just neighboring BWI. Fortunately I start very early so I miss rush hour. Coming home I am not so fortunate, and it takes from 75-90 minutes to get home. It's worth the drive to live here, but I have paperwork in for a transfer to Hunt Valley.

Which HVAC co. are you with?

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/greenridgeguide.html

http://www.paragonap.com/

http://www.rauschcreekoffroadpark.org/home.php

 

[Jason4x4]

I know that commute very well. I drive to BWI from Spring Grove for my commute. My employer (phone co) is on Harmans Rd, just neighboring BWI. Fortunately I start very early so I miss rush hour. Coming home I am not so fortunate, and it takes from 75-90 minutes to get home. It's worth the drive to live here, but I have paperwork in for a transfer to Hunt Valley.

Which HVAC co. are you with?

I'm with Johnson Controls. We're just finishing up Southwest's expansion on A/B pier. We also have a bunch of small tenant jobs in the airport (small shops/restaurants that are getting ready to open up), plus there are a couple other large expansions planned in the near future that I won't go into here...