Faalin

So just got back for my trip and well i know its a jeep but the 14 MPG i got on the highway kinda sucked. One thing i did notice was from 67 ish to 72 and anything over 80 i would get a slight vibration in the steering wheel, if you let go of the wheel you could see it shimmy about a 1/8' back and forth staying around 75 and it went away. Once in Florida i moved the front tires to the rear and everything went away, since the front driverside axle is a little moist im wondering if there isnt something wrong with that tire.

So this got me thinking of a parts list of what i would like to do to the jeep this year.
1) New tires, obviously there is something wrong with 1 tire and in between lugs there is cracking starting to begin
2) New brakes, rear end gets a little happy on hard breaking. Looking at Power stop's Z36 pads, rotors, and calipers upgrade
3) New gears, depending on tire size, if i stay on 33/285 or move to a 35/315
4) Metalcloak 2.5" game changer lift, depends on tier size, it seems to sit fine on 33's with plenty of room
5) Reel Driveline shafts, depends on tires and lift

other items i was thinking about
6) Rare Parts ball joint kit, previous owner kept good records of everything that was done to the jeep but with 96k miles on it i havent seen ball joints done yet. With it running larger tires and 1.5" wheel spacers i think its more of insurance then waiting for one to go.
7) Reid Racing knuckles, im that far in if im doing ball joints might as well.

resharp001

The price of those Rare Parts is tough to swallow, but they really are the best thing out there. I've not looked at knuckles in a long time, but Rancho has a set that you might take a look at along with the Reids.....at least as a cost comparison.

karls10jk

I don't have the part number on hand but you'll want the new style inner axle seals, and apply orange Mopar RTV to them as you're pressing them in- they'll last longer that way. Awesome news on your trip, though the poor gas mileage showed up. With your gear choice, it'll also depend on the weight of tire you choose.

Faalin

Right now i have BF Goodrich KO2 LT285/70R17 Load range E tires. I was really looking at the Milestar's but after we got 12" of snow for a few weeks i liked how the KO2's handled it. I have a 2012 WRX that runs a set of blizzak ws70 tires for the winter, Jeep doesnt handle as good as that but i didnt have any fears that i would be stuck anywhere or sliding off the road.

Ive looked at 35/315
Nitto Ridge Grapplers
Milestar Patagonia
BF Goodrich KO2

any others i should consider?

karls10jk

I'd steer away from the Milestar's- it seems like there was a huge buy-in on them because they were so cheap but folks are starting to get out of them.

I don't recall- what are you using the jeep to do? That will dictate tire choice.

Faalin

I still have my WRX so that gets driven during the week to work. The jeep might get driven once a week to work but mostly on the weekends, now that things are starting to warm up it will do 1-2 weekends a month trail driving and camping. Trails are mostly just 2 track wooded trails, so far the trails have been dry or very light mud and no issues for the KO2's to handle.

karls10jk

If you're sticking with that, ko2's will serve you well. I had mine (in 315) for 50-55k miles and they were great all around. I've moved to a more aggressive mud tire as I'm getting into more clay on the weekends than the ko2's liked. Look at tire weight when you're buying. I was looking at Destination MT's, Razr MT's, Wildpeak MT's, and such (km3, Dick Cepek options, etc) and the weight narrowed down my choices. Some of those tires easily sit at 70+ lbs.