I've got my (new to me) '06 470 with 138,000 miles on it - literally previously driven by an "old lady" (who am I to say "old" with me at 70yrs old?). I've spent literally 40 hours so far searching these forums looking for ideas, and honestly I'm kind of burned out on reading about the outrageous and amazing mods, so I will cut to the chase: I am not looking to build a rock crawling monster.... I want to create a low-key sleeper.... something that looks relatively stock but is extremely capable on old, rocky and steep mining roads in the foothills of the California motherlode country- while still maintaining as much as possible of a luxury ride on the road. I also live in Truckee, at 6000 ft elevation at the end of a mile long dirt road so snow travel is a consideration. 95% of the time I will be on windy, paved roads and the 5% of the time I am off-road it will be on roads that are rocky, steep and loose; nothing even close to the Rubicon type offroading, but gnarly in its own way, where it would be helpful to have the low hanging part of the suspension as high as possible without going overboard. I won't be traveling fast on the roads- mainly 1-20mph depending upon the difficulty. The GX currently has 265/65/17's on it, and they are a highway rated mud and snow. I want a more offroad/ highway suitable tire and was thinking I want a tire as tall as I can get to fit in the fenderwells to give me as much clearance underneath as possible. I am not interested in having a beefy wide tire as I don't like the look (and from what I've read, it doesn't improve anything offroad or in the snow, for what I want it to do. I read on the thread about the tires and lifts of a guy who really likes the 255/80/17 as it seems to fit nicely and gives a good lift without the body lift. If anyone lives in Truckee or a nearby location with similar environments, I'd like to hear from you. For everyone, my questions are:
1. Everyone talks about lifts, but from what I understand the stock suspension has a great highway ride- with not much mention of its stock off-highway ride. I just watched a video this morning where the gx470 guy was extolling the virtues of keeping the stock-type suspension and modifying it with aftermarket longer airbags for a larger rear lift when needed. I'm not sure I understand how that would work- if the suspension was 138,000 miles old, to update would you get new stock springs in front and shocks? Would added weight from a bumper in the front cause the stock suspension to sag? I wanted some feedback on this and what the consensus was for my type of travel. Do I need a body lift or not?
2. 255/80/17- comments pros/cons, does it fit in the spare slot underneath? Lift or not? Real world experiences vs other sized tires?
3. I'm thinking I'd like to have an aftermarket front bumper to give me a little more ground clearance at the front, not to mention to have a little protection from deer landing in my radiator, as I have had a couple of experiences of that, previously... so any kind of protection would help[.......so having a little understated protection upfront is considered. If doing so does that insure I need to have a lfit with heavier duty springs? And while I am thinking about it, I like the idea of the spare hanging off the rear of the vehicle on a rear rack as I am starting to get to the point that spending any time on my knees doing anything is not a pleasurable experience. Same question, do I need beefier springs? What amount of weight on either end would I be looking to consider the heavier springs?
4. I'm driving on the Wildpeak At3's in my Jeep Grand Cherokee and it seems to be pretty quiet for its tread pattern. Are there any other drivers in the region who do drive on the grooved pavement between Truckee and Reno, who have tried the Wildpeaks vs? and have they found any other tire that has an aggressive tread pattern that is quieter on the road?
5. What type of off-road situation necessitates the consideration of getting a rear locker?
That's all for now, thanks for any replies.
1. Everyone talks about lifts, but from what I understand the stock suspension has a great highway ride- with not much mention of its stock off-highway ride. I just watched a video this morning where the gx470 guy was extolling the virtues of keeping the stock-type suspension and modifying it with aftermarket longer airbags for a larger rear lift when needed. I'm not sure I understand how that would work- if the suspension was 138,000 miles old, to update would you get new stock springs in front and shocks? Would added weight from a bumper in the front cause the stock suspension to sag? I wanted some feedback on this and what the consensus was for my type of travel. Do I need a body lift or not?
2. 255/80/17- comments pros/cons, does it fit in the spare slot underneath? Lift or not? Real world experiences vs other sized tires?
3. I'm thinking I'd like to have an aftermarket front bumper to give me a little more ground clearance at the front, not to mention to have a little protection from deer landing in my radiator, as I have had a couple of experiences of that, previously... so any kind of protection would help[.......so having a little understated protection upfront is considered. If doing so does that insure I need to have a lfit with heavier duty springs? And while I am thinking about it, I like the idea of the spare hanging off the rear of the vehicle on a rear rack as I am starting to get to the point that spending any time on my knees doing anything is not a pleasurable experience. Same question, do I need beefier springs? What amount of weight on either end would I be looking to consider the heavier springs?
4. I'm driving on the Wildpeak At3's in my Jeep Grand Cherokee and it seems to be pretty quiet for its tread pattern. Are there any other drivers in the region who do drive on the grooved pavement between Truckee and Reno, who have tried the Wildpeaks vs? and have they found any other tire that has an aggressive tread pattern that is quieter on the road?
5. What type of off-road situation necessitates the consideration of getting a rear locker?
That's all for now, thanks for any replies.
