need advice on mods

[surfer]

A friend of mine has a 03 wrangler and wants to modify it and since i had a wrangler he came to me for an advice. he want to do the following mods, so i need your advice to advice him

-borla exhaust system, other brands ?
-K&N intake, any other suggestions ?
-2" lifiting kit or 2.5" or 3" ?is their a noticable difference ?, i saw lifting kits with springs and some are without, what is the difference?which one is better?which brand is recommended ?
-Rancho RS9000x shocks , is the part no. the same when the car is lifted or not ?
-steering stabilizer, rancho ?
-31" BF goodrich tyres or is it better to go with 32" ?other brands ?
-is the 15x8" rim siutable for the 31"? Which brand is recommended.
-diff locks, which brand ?
-I noticed that when using the 31" tyres, the car becomes slower on the street, will it better slower with the 32" ? is their a big difference between using 32" and 31" both on road and off road ?
-Any other parts has to be/recommended to be changed because of the above mentioned modifications ?

I undestood from other posts that some of you buy your mods and install it at aljallaf, will they install any part i take to them ?is the trading enterprises doing it too ? i know that they do the traffic pass test, so i guess if they fit it, they will pass it.

The most important question, how much approx. these mods will cost ?

[iguana]

OK you came to a club where are the members are now infected by the modification bug .
The main question is your friend making this car to be an offroad mean machine or a lovely sweet nice looking Wrangler and he is dreaming to race an SS on the Emirates road?

If he is making an Emirates Road racing car. Let him sell the Wrangler and buy a Nissan Patrol, install a turbo and lowering kit and he can have fun on the road.

Off-road car. Here is my personal advice:

- borla exhaust system? YES the best.
-K&N intake? YES the best
- Lift Kit, 2.5 is recommended if he is having 32" tires. Rancho Shocks with Teraflex full lift kit including modified Drive shaft will be the best solution. Never drop the transfer case as you will have problems while cresting (going over a dune) the car will be low.
- The lift kit comes with Heavy Duty Coil Springs which is recommended for offroading.
- Shocks part numbers are different with each inch you lift.
- I have 2.5" OME shocks & Springs on my car which are reliable and cheap as well.
-steering stabilizer, rancho ? YES OR OME
-31" BF goodrich tires or is it better to go with 32" ?other brands ? If you are upgrading, better go for 32. Kumho is very nice off-road by noisy on road. BF are great, I am Using Micky Thompson which are also good. Depends on how much you want to pay.
-is the 15x8" rim suitable for the 31"? Which brand is recommended. The Rim size is required for the width of the tire, so any rim will take even 44" tires. 15X8 is good for 31x10.5x15 and 32x11.5x15 & 33x12.5x15
-diff locks, which brand ? ARB
-I noticed that when using the 31" tires, the car becomes slower on the street, will it better slower with the 32" ? is their a big difference between using 32" and 31" both on road and off road ? Yes The bigger the tire, the better off-road when deflating as you will have a wider area.
-Any other parts have to be/recommended to be changed because of the above mentioned modifications ? Yes. If you are upgrading to 32 tires you need to change the Ring & Pinion ratio to 4.56 to regain the lost torque and power.
I also recommend the Throttle Body Spacer to give better engine breathing.
You need bigger fender flares (Bushwaker) to avoid tire rubbing.
A tire carrier to hold the 32" spare.
You will need some accessories like bumpers & lights to match the lifted car appearance.

We do the Ring & Pinion set up and the Lockers at the dealer because it really needs an expert to do it.
Lift Kits and shocks. We know our trusted people in Abu Dhabi. Maybe Kris can recommend one in Dubai.
Tires. Any one can do it. However, if you are adding rims with Bed Locks it needs an expert.
Cat back needs some one who knows what he is doing. We have our trusted people in Abu Dhabi.
K&N & Throttle body is do it your self.

For the prices of these modification. I recommend that you check www.quadratec.com it will have all the things you are dreaming of in your Jeep. Check the prices. make you wish list, and wait for Khaiwi to announce a new order for us or do it fast and add it to our Quadratec Order # 4 which is still opened I think. Wait for an e-mail confirming the final price including shipping and taxes. Pay Khaiwi and wait for 10 days to receive you order (Easy ha).

I hope I was able to answer all you questions.

Guys did I miss anything?

For a reliable workshop in Dubai, please contact Kris he will able to help you.

[iguana]

I forgot to say, before all this, ask your friend to join our club all of us are infected with the bug over here.

[surfer]

I forgot to say, before all this, ask your friend to join our club all of us are infected with the bug over here.

Thanks for the answers, i wish i knew you when i had my wrangler.
to answer your question, my self and my friend are already having a 2003 patrol fitted with turbo, but not for racing (both of us married and have children, so, someone is waiting for us all the time), you get better acceleration.

Both of us payed around 200 k for the car and it mods, so we are infected with the bug, when we wanted to buy the patrols, we were planning to buy old patrols and have mild mods, we ended up buying full option new patrols with nav option and fitted them with turbo.

both of us are now having the idea of buying the wrangler for off road use, since both of our cars were damaged a number of times in the desert, but delayed my purchase of the wrangler after i joined the club, i know if i buy it now i will competing with khaiwi and spend more on my car.........

i dont want him to know about the club because i know that after he spends 100k on his mods, i will be blamed

[MegaMoe]

one more thing regarding the rims, dont forget to buy rims with proper backspacing to avoid body rubbing at full turn. 4 to 4.5 back spacing rims are good. and dont go for 15x10 rims. they put load on the axles.

my 2 cents

[surfer]

one more thing regarding the rims, dont forget to buy rims with proper backspacing to avoid body rubbing at full turn. 4 to 4.5 back spacing rims are good. and dont go for 15x10 rims. they put load on the axles.

my 2 cents

what do you mean by backspacing ?

[khaiwi]

Well, a couple of things I would like to add here, though its finally personal preference and Iguana has already covered all and answered all ur questions but:

1- I prefer have 3" suspension lift (shocks and springs no spacers) complete with adjustable trackbars both front and rear. And Slip Yoke Eliminator (SYE) with short drive shaft to avoid dropping the transfer case.
2- 33" tires on 15x8 rims is optimal for this lift and is the best for the desert terrain. 4 and 4.5" lifts enables you fitting 35" tires, not really required and center of gravity will be high, increasing the risk of rolling.
3- Wranglers are light cars and should have high grip tires namely Mud Terrains. Kumho is low cost, BFGoodrich, Yokoham etc are surely good, Interco Superswampers are extreme and expensive.
4- As you increase the tire size you have several consequences mentioned in another thread here( http://www.ad4x4.com/modules.php?name=F ... opic&t=250 ), but mainly you will lose torque and save fuel on the highway and add lots of load on ur axles, u joints etc... The solution to power loss is to change the R&P to lower ratio (higher number) altimately for 33" tires u need 4.56
5- Lift kits are available from many makers, Teraflex, Rubicon Express, Skyjacker, Rancho, rough country and the list goes... Our Jeep experts have been recommending Teraflex and Rubicon Express.
6- Lockers, again a debatable topic, majority and most popular lockers is ARB, also the Electracc, Eaton, Detroit, OX etc etc....

Iguana why u need a specialist for the catback? it's 30 mins job at any exhaust shop....

[surfer]

Well, a couple of things I would like to add here, though its finally personal preference and Iguana has already covered all and answered all ur questions but:

1- I prefer have 3" suspension lift (shocks and springs no spacers) complete with adjustable trackbars both front and rear. And Slip Yoke Eliminator (SYE) with short drive shaft to avoid dropping the transfer case.
2- 33" tires on 15x8 rims is optimal for this lift and is the best for the desert terrain. 4 and 4.5" lifts enables you fitting 35" tires, not really required and center of gravity will be high, increasing the risk of rolling.
3- Wranglers are light cars and should have high grip tires namely Mud Terrains. Kumho is low cost, BFGoodrich, Yokoham etc are surely good, Interco Superswampers are extreme and expensive.
4- As you increase the tire size you have several consequences mentioned in another thread here, but mainly you will lose torque and save fuel on the highway and add lots of load on ur axles, u joints etc... The solution to power loss is to change the R&P to lower ratio (higher number) altimately for 33" tires u need 4.56
5- Lift kits are available from many makers, Teraflex, Rubicon Express, Skyjacker, Rancho, rough country and the list goes... Our Jeep experts have been recommending Teraflex and Rubicon Express.
6- Lockers, again a debatable topic, majority and most popular lockers is ARB, also the Electracc, Eaton, Detroit, OX etc etc....

Iguana why u need a specialist for the catback? it's 30 mins job at any exhaust shop....

Thanks for the response, going with the 32" tyres and 3" lift means changing the R&P and other parts, trying to cut the cost at the begining. For the 31" will it be ok with the 2" lift ?

by the way, i made a mistake in my original post, he still didnt buy it, but still looking.

[khaiwi]

31" is fine with 2" lift. I was running 31" tires on 3" lift for almost a year without touching the diffs (R&P or lockers)

[MegaMoe]

backspacing is the distance from the mounting surface of the wheel to the farthest point of the backside of the rim, its usually measured in inches

by the way, i've tried the following:
- 31" with stock rims and no lift, body rubbing at full turn, fender rubbing on min flex, car slower a bit.
- 31" with 4" back spacing rims and no lift, no body rubbing, still fender rubbing on min flex.
- 31" with 2" lift and stock shocks. no body rubbing, rubbing at mid flex, ride "VERY" bad.
- 31" with 2" lift and rancho shocks. no body rubbing, rubbing at mid flex, normal ride.

then after all that when i switched to 3" Teraflex, Rancho RS9000X and 33" tyres. "mashalla" i loved the ride and the feel. an advice. dont go through all this and go straight to the right thing from the beginning.

[iguana]

Hey Megamoe, did you put something on this website that infect us with the bug?

Ok Surfer, as you are already infected and spend more than any of us on your Patrol. Then you know what will happen next . . You start with a small idea then one day you will be screaming on the website KHAIWI WHEN IS THE NEXT QUADRATEC ORDER like all of us.

I think by now you got so many answers based on our personal experience with our Wranglers. Now you decide how far you want to go.

If you will make it only an offroad car then a 3" and 33 tires as advised by Megamoe and Khaiwi are the best.

I use 2.5" & 32 tires because I use my car on road also (My wife has taken my Lumina ).

Khaiwi, Most of the normal Exhaust shops tells you that they need to weld it. Borla and Banks are bolt on. No welding required. Megamoe had the same answer when he was doing his one. So thats why you need a specialist who knows what he is doing. Even if you tell these guys that it's a bolt on he will say yes yes I know and then do something wrong.

[Mpenzi]

All that Moded but be careful drivinh in Dubai.Police in Dubai are very strict now days.

[surfer]

All that Moded but be careful drivinh in Dubai.Police in Dubai are very strict now days.

I guess these days if you sneeze while driving in dubai, you will be fined. Im lucky im living in sharjah and know their check points.

Driving mod cars in sharjah and dubai for last 7 years gave me an idea on where to avoid some place and when to avoid them.

I just came from albidayer area, sat there and watched the guys competing on the big sand dune, there were atleast 5 to 6 turbo charged patrols and LCs and some wranglers with different mods, it was fun, more than 100 cars were there.

[surfer]

Hey Megamoe, did you put something on this website that infect us with the bug?

Ok Surfer, as you are already infected and spend more than any of us on your Patrol. Then you know what will happen next . . You start with a small idea then one day you will be screaming on the website KHAIWI WHEN IS THE NEXT QUADRATEC ORDER like all of us.

I think by now you got so many answers based on our personal experience with our Wranglers. Now you decide how far you want to go.

If you will make it only an offroad car then a 3" and 33 tires as advised by Megamoe and Khaiwi are the best.

I use 2.5" & 32 tires because I use my car on road also (My wife has taken my Lumina ).

Khaiwi, Most of the normal Exhaust shops tells you that they need to weld it. Borla and Banks are bolt on. No welding required. Megamoe had the same answer when he was doing his one. So thats why you need a specialist who knows what he is doing. Even if you tell these guys that it's a bolt on he will say yes yes I know and then do something wrong.

I will show my friend your answers and let him decide for him self. By the way about that bug, i had it long time back since 1993 when i had my first car (it was the first year the camry gets introduced in the country) during college years, i changed its rims and added some other parts. My next car (merc clk ), i had the AMG kit fitted back in 99. After that i bought the wrangler end of 99 and fitted the borla and the rancho. in 2003 i bought the patrol and fitted the turbo. in 2006 i bought the mustang, but still i didnt do anything to it. my wife is going to kill me if i buy the wrangler now, i guess that i have to get a good excuse (something like, if i didnt buy the car, my friend would have died or i got the 04 wrangler for 15k only and im going to sell it later for profit )

If i tell you much i spent on bodybuidling supplement during the past years, you'll be shocked
I

[iguana]

Well talking about modification bug. I got it earlier than you Surfer. It started in 1987 when I had my first car in Egypt which was (Ofcourse) A Fiat. Lowered it down, bigger rims.
- Then another fiat again lowered and bigger rims, low profile tires and Air Filter
- Then a Third Fiat 1.6, I swapped the Engine with a 2.0, lowered and bigger tires, Fitted with a body kit
- After that I got a VW Beetle, fitted a 2.2 Engine, double carbourator, lowered, Real Fat tires, headers and exhaust system, modified air intake system and many more. That was a bullet and could reach 225 KM/H as Max. Speed.
- After that got a 68 modle Convertable Oldsmobile installed a Caprice 8 Cyl Engine and gear box and returned to factory original shape.
- Again got another Fiat swapped the 1.5 Engine with a 2.0 which was upgraded to a 2.4 with a K&N Filter, lowered, camshaft and many more.
- Now in Egypt I am driving a seat Ibiza, lowered with body kit, bigger tires and rims, Camshaft, Air Filter, Rear box and state of the are sound system.

In UAE I first had a Neon, lowered, 17" Rims and low profile tires, Sunroof, Sound system, Air filter, fog lights, modified camshaft and performance Chip.
Then I bought a Merc. 320E did nothing in it because I hated it, I felt it's an old man's car.
Then a Lumina - My wife modified it with several scratches and my Wrangler.

I can write a book by now .