Howdy,

My name is Adam and I just bought my wife Adrienne (you see where “The A Team” comes from) a '06 Limited 4x4, we actually don't pick it up until Saturday. Anywho, yeah I hate to bruise any egos saying it’s for my wife - but she’s a racing fan and she is already thinking of modifying the car. I married her for a reason, you know. We don’t plan on doing any extreme crawling or anything, but this rig will see the dirt and mud. So hello and here’s what we’re thinking about…

Bull Bar
Chrome wheels
Intake
Exhaust
Wood interior kit (if we could find a nice one)
Cargo area protection

I doubt it will ever be lifted, or have pure off-road tires, but I really can’t leave well enough alone and have to tweak it - especially if I can squeeze a few more MPG from it. My car is a not so stock ’02 Grand Prix GTP so I have some experience with superchargers.

One quick question - are the wheels 5-114 or 5-4.5?

Realize that the bull bar is for asthetics only-- it is fake and will not take a hit better, nor can you winch from it, so drive accordingly. If you are going to do any off-roading or trail riding, you need the following:

Front tow hooks,
Rear reciever with shackle or rear tow hook,
Skid Plates (front engine, transmission, transfer case and fuel tank).
Rock rails. (if you are not going to lift it these will save your rocker panels from carnage. If you are going to lift it, these will still save your rocker panels from carnage).

Of course, you must also realize that you will eventually lift it anyway, resistance is futile.

All of the skids and tow hooks are available from Mopar. The mopar versions are generally less expensive than the aftermarket, but they are only light duty. The Mopar tow hooks are fine, however.

The exhaust is the best performance mod for the buck from what I hear-- the stock exhaust is necked down. The intake... well that depends on what you put on it and is highly subjective. The stock intake is probably the best for off-road (unless you put a full snorkel on it). See 4x2 street performance section for more details.

The Mopar cargo organizer is a favorite. It will cover the rear cargo bay and organize items in it.

Any off-roading, you should look at these vehicle mod items as most important otherwise, expect damage or possibly staying stuck.

1st - Tow hooks (front and rear) or get front and rear hitches and the shackles that install into them. If you plan to play in mud and water or if you get high-centered, you need a way for people to pull you off/out.

2nd - all the skids listed in the post above (you can survive with just Mopar/Stock/OEM plates if you don't do much hard stuff).

3rd - rock rails - (not the step rails) to protect your KJ's body

Your vehicle's tires will stink on road. They do not put good tires on KJ's from the factory. They are still capable off-road on basic trails and slick rock. Not so great in the mud and water. Check out the tires thread for more info.

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New KJ Gear - Desert Armor Flak

2004 Renegade Light Khaki - 4" JBA Lift - Rock Lizard Products: Komodo Dragon Rear Bumper, Prototype Winch-mount Front Bumper, Super Skink Sliders - All J's Super Tranny Skid II - 31" Firestone Destination AT's on Moab wheels - Cobra 75W CB w/ stock Antenna mod

[b]Retired, US Military

Yeah, I can see where skid plates would be a top priority, and if the hooks are important we will think twice about the bull bar, which Mopar says "Protect your Jeep's front end from damage" I was kind of surprised to see that there are 3 cats in the system but the diameter looks good - that is if it isn't double walled like my GP has stock. I've been meaning to learn welding so maybe this would be a good project.

Anywho, on the wheels we're kind of looking at Eagle Alloy 192s (17x7, 5x4.5, 38mm) or American Racing Fusion (17x7.5, 5x4.5, 40mm) wheels. The wife likes chrome wheels and would have liked them on her last car, and since we plan on having this for a while it's best to get the stuff and enjoy it.



We'll see what fits, is it 5x114 or 5x4.5, or is that interchangeable?

Chrome wheels + mud/dirt/rocks don't work very well. They are going to get scuffed up. I'd say to go with some cheap black steel rims - they look nice on the KJ and are not very maintaince intensive.

Welcome!

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LOST # 590
Not Jeepless anymore
97 TJ Sahara, 2.5" OME, SYE + CV driveshaft, JKS discos, some armor, some lights...

Welcome Adam! To answer the one question you posed, the rims are a 5x4.5 pattern (same as some Ford rims if I remember correctly). Doing the math a 114mm spacing would come out to 4.488in which is *just* shy of 4.5 so they may be the same. I really haven't ever done the aftermarket wheel thign on any of my vehicles so I've never worried about learning this stuff.

Good luck to you and Adrienne, and let the modding begin!

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Kevin
AD5VG
Just another red Jeep in the world...
L.O.S.T. #KB051963

Good to know, and thanks! We're looking at buying a wheel/tire package just for the street and leave the stock wheels for when things get dirty, which I bet would hold up well powder coated. Seems like the first step is protection. I saw on a show recently that there is a extra thick Flowmaster muffler designed for off-road use. It was black and had a diamond plate shell, I think it was a 50 series.