Hi all,

I'm a complete newbie to Jeep / off roading. I just ordered my first jeep, a stock JK Sport 2dr , 225/75R16 tires, freedom hard top and air conditioning.
It hasn't even arrived at the dealer, and now I'm wondeing what what customization comes first.
1. Tow strap and shackles I guess.
2. Winch?
3. ...

I figure no lift kit until the warranty runs out. Maybe tire change, how bad a choice are the stock 225/75R16's for a newbie?


I thought I was changing an expensive hobby ( boating ) for something cheaper. After all, boat is an acronym for B-ring O-ut A-nother T-housand.
I just learned Jeep is an acronym. J-ust E-mpty E-very P-ocket.
Oh well.

 

If you are new to jeeps then the jeep is way more capible then you are. Tires and lifts are not going to do much for you if you don't know how to drive off road. You are smart at looking at recovery gear first. Go out and drive it and have fun, the mods will come in time.

 

Are the stock 225/75R16 tires good for a newbie?

The jeep will spend more time on paved roads than off, but the whole point of buying a JK was to go places I wouldn't in my previous ride, a sports sedan. I started thinking in terms of going dirt roads and logging trails and snow covered back roads that would be impossible in a low clearance sports sedan. That led me to the JK. Where I'm going, not much rock climbing likely, some mud and fallen trees, small rocks, pot holes for sure, maybe fording streams. It was for fishing and hunting trips, the more I look into Jeeps, the more I see a " the voyage is the destanation" kind of thing, something I'm used to from sailing. I had a sail boat for 12 years, people asked "where do you go", and that never mattered to me, it was the trip, not the destination that drove me.

There is a local club ( with no email contact) said

" Size doesn't matter. A recomended minimum is 31” but club members have run trails successfully with 29-30” tires as well. On most moderate trails however, 31” is the minimum.

As a general guidline, the larger and more aggresive tread tire you have, the more clearance and potential you will have to get through the dificult areas. That said, experience and driver ability will be a factor as well and can make up for smaller and less agresive tread patterns."

I'm wondering if my opting for the base 225/75/R16 was a good idea, or not?

 

225's are fine for the road and they'll net decent gas mileage. At the first sign of dirt roads I would be looking at some larger tires......255/75-17's (same size as rubicon and upgraded sport). The take-off's are cake to find and you could do a bit more with them. Further down the road you could go to a slightly more aggressive tread as I did but still ride well on the road.

 

as someone who doesnt think every jeep needs "big" tires, i would still recommend grabbing some rubi take offs. that size wont destroy your performance, even if you have 3:21 gears. they're often pretty good price. and they will be night and day difference off-road then your stock tires. after that it all depends on what you think you might be doing. personally, i like to go camping with the family, so my jeep is pretty basic other then better tires and a few lights. ive seen and owned bone stock jeeps that went really far off-road. you will be amazed at what you can do.

but before you do anything, READ and ASK on this forum. become an expert before you spend the $$$.

 

Good advice about the read and ask. That's why I signed up to the forum. I'm also planning on joining a local club. I figure I need to learn, more than buy at the start. I was asking about the tires, because it might be cheaper to do a swap before i take delivery, plan B was drive as is until I need to replace them, plan C sell them and rims and buy used "something". Right now too many choices and opinions for me to make an informed decision. Test drives from the dealer were of course on city streets and a highway. I'm sure any Wrangler with even the stock 225/75R16 beats pretty much anything else at that price range. Maybe a Toyota FJ or Nissan Xterra stock would be better ( maybe not), but the ran close to $10,000 more than a base Wrangler Sport. That pays for a lot of mods or accessories if I end up needing them. I'm pretty hyped about getting the new Jeep. I'll probably be off to a local club meeting to meet people in person and talk, even before I get my hands on the Jeep. Rescue strap was mandatory for club trail rides. I figure some other gear like high lift jack, shovel, maybe even axe would be high on the list of accessories. I didn't get the Jeep tubular rails, they didn't seem very impressive. I expect I can get much better rock sliders for a reasonable price. There seem to be a huge number of options. It's actually a little intimidating all the accessories and after market stuff you can pick from.

 

Pass on keeping the tires until you wear them out, it'll be a while. It's also a very niche market for buying those wheels, so it may take a while or a low price. Everything "retails" at over $1000 but that's a steep price to ask. Browse your craigslist for the other take-off's and run them until they're slick then 'upgrade' to what fits you.

 

The upgrade from 225/75/R16 to 255/75R17 on the sport was close to $1200. I passed, because I wasn't sure that's what I would really want anyway. Base on buying tires for other cars, I figured 16" rims are cheaper than 17" rims. Some stuff I read indicated that 15x8 rims would be "best". I thought the 16" rims might be good, but the tires would be so-so. So many choices.

 

After my previous reply, I got to wondering about width vs. height.

Mostly I see people talking about tire diameter. I assume that changes ground clearance. For mud I imagine foot print / width would matter more than diameter. If I'm not crawling over stuff, more through it, then does that change tire choice?

How do you pick between what is the reality of driving 100 , 200 miles to get to the trail on a highway, vs. the trail traction and clearance once you get there?

 

"Welcome to the club and the addiction!"

One of the first things I did was order as many free catalogs off the internet as I could from all the major suppliers and then get yourself a good magazine rack in the bathroom or office and start dreaming.

Here are some other ideas:
Keep a Scrapbook of your progress
Track your expenses
Learn from others - This forum is excellent for that
Do your research before you buy
Most of all - Have fun