BoogeymanXJ

first jeep and already ive had to sink about $1800 - $1900 into it (1500 for jeep plus 300-400 for various odds and ends ive found broken and needed to be replaced)

im looking to finish the exterior since im almost done with my divetrain/suspension tune up. figured since people here have tested pretty much everything under the sun it would be a good place to ask.


vehicle = 1989 jeep cherokee 4.0l L6 (renix? no idea but from what ive read yes?)

questions:

first questions: bought my jeep without a front bumper so obviously in the market for one of those, my question is, should i save up and shell out between 300-1000 on a full steel bumper with winch mount or would the stock bumper with a brush guard with winch mount work just fine? trying to save as much weight as possible since its my dd


second question: currently my jeep is running a 4.5 inch rusty's lift with 31x10x50 tires on it, thing is getting waaaay better gas mileage than i expected (about 1/4 tank for 200 hwy miles in pretty heavy traffic). just wondering what size/brand/tread tires you guys would reccomend for someone lookin to save some money and maintain mpg? when i bought the jeep it came with a brand new spare 31x10x50 procomp mud terrain tire, really love the look of this tire but at $210 a piece im not sure if its worth getting another 3 to match. anyone used these/know if they are worth the cash?

oh!, also since this is my DD its going to be about 60-70% on road and 40-30% off road if that helps with tread/brand reccomendation



as always, you guys are awsome and thanks for looking!

Ianf406

1- Stock bumper will crumple. They are really really flimsy. I don't even know if they would hold up to mounting a winch to them even if you could get a decent mount. Look for a bumper that ties in to the unibody. I would lean towards one of the small-medium companies to save some cash while still getting a quality product. (Jcroffroad.com etc... Look through vendor section)

2- You want to stay at 31" tires on a 4.5" lift or do you want to go a bit bigger? If you do go larger, that is more weight and of course lower mpg a bit. I have never purchased a tire that small and I always buy aggressive tires (MPG does not really matter to me as much) so I can't give you any real recommendations. I will say that an AT is going to your best bet depending on the type of trail that you do. Check out www.treadwright.com. They are a good tire that lasts forever at a cheap price. Many on the forum run them without an issue on their DDs. I think their AT is called "the Warden"

PurpleToxin505

I have slammed my front bumper into rocks for steep climbs just scratched no dents or anything. Although I am build new bumpers with 2" recievers for a winch. At 4.5 Id go up to at least 33s. I wish I would've waited a lil longer and bought 33s or 35s. If you do decide to go bigger your mpg will suck if you dont re gear. As far as tires brand, I love my duratracs, one of the more agressive ATs out there and wear well. I do about a 60/40 of street and offroad also so theyre amazing for me and at 700 for 4 its not to bad on the wallet.

BoogeymanXJ

i would like to go bigger if im going to be shelling the money out for new tires anyways but mpg and steering/breaking are big concerns.

im not sure what has been done to the steering/ breaking components of this jeep since when i bought it it already had the lift that was put on by a shop. common sense dictates bigger tire = more force to move and stop = steering + breaking upgrades. what would i need to do to run larger tires safely without issue?

also does anyone have a rough estimat3e of the difference in mpg between 31" - 35"? im sure i dont need anything as large as 35 since i need it as my DD to and from work all the way accross town every day but just keeping my options open

also, for regearing do i need to swap the entire axels or just components? sorry for the noob questions, new but fast learner here

PurpleToxin505

No real brake upgrades are needed just make sure you have good pads and roters and everything is properly bled. Steering, if you wheel hard and usually in rocks you might have binding issues while turning at weird angles, you can upgrade to OTK(over the knuckle) 1 ton steering. Look to getting around 14 or 15 if everything else is running properly and you regear properly. And regearing is just swapping components in the axle housing, though if you have a D35 in the rear I'd swap to either a Chrysler 8.25, ford 8.8, or D44.

Ianf406

I can bend the stock bumper by hand/with a hammer haha. Not sure how you have smashed it into things without damaging anything but I guess if you hit it where it mounts, it is possible.

Think of regearing as changing a gear on your bike. Larger tires= a hill on a bike so you have to go down a gear (more teeth) so each pedal puts more power to the wheel. Without doing doing the gears, driving around town on 35s is like driving your bike up a never ending hill in your speed gear on a mountain bike. (Hard on the engine= low MPG) Swapping gears is not something you should probably tackle yourself if you have never done it.

PurpleToxin505

well yeah, I can bend 3/16 with a hammer too, the oe bumper is at least 1/8 its relatively sturdy, not for recovery or anything like that but like I said at only 3" it usually gets acquainted with the rock before my tires do lol.

kirknd4spd

Since you need a bumper, don't waste time and money putting a stock bumper on. They are very weak, pretty much just a piece of sheetmetal hanging off the front. I can bend it by hand.
With a 4.5" lift, I'd go with at least a 33" tire. And personally, if you plan on wheeling at all, get some radial mud terrain tires (KM2, MTR, etc). All terrains just don't work very well offroad, especially if you're going to see any mud. So far, I like my BFG KM2s. They're alright for a daily driven vehicle, I want something more aggressive when I buy more tires though.

kirknd4spd

FWIW, the stock bumpers are only 1/16" thick. I have 3 mangled bumpers laying here to go to the scrap yard, along with a pile of broken stock bumper mounts, they aren't the least bit sturdy.

PurpleToxin505

Idk i can stand on mine both on and off the jeep and it doesnt even flex. Maybe older models were made different as your is renix right? When I get home Ill measure and compare to the 3/16 plate i have for my bumpers. I know my uncles 94 just got rear ended and the bumper is done, but I backed into rocks with no dents.
And my AT's are awesome never been stuck. Even with my bald stock ATs I couldnt get stuck, one time I went into a pit after 2 quads got pulled out (about 2 feet) it stopped me as I tryed to blow through in 2wd, but once I went to 4hi and gave it skinny pedal I got out.

kirknd4spd

Of the three front bumpers I have, one came off my 87, one off an 89, and one off a friends 2000. Only took one or two little hits to destroy all 3 of them. I've also broken every stock bumper mount front and rear at least once on my 87.
If you can't get stuck with all terrains, you're staying on easy trails. I've been stuck a few times with 35" KM2s and front and rear lockers, and I don't even go through mud holes.

PurpleToxin505

No Im following on 35s locked. Its just a jeep and light and easy to get out. I tend to stick to rocks, but there was a big *** hole on the trail and the guys on the quads stopped to see if I would try it, so I did.
What are you geared at?

BoogeymanXJ

any noticeable mpg diff between 33's and 31's without regearing?

would i need to regear at 33 or is it still small enough to get away with?

also how much does a regear job cost vs swapping out my stock axels (again pretty sure theyre stock but bought used and dont know how to tell) axels for larger ones like i see most users on here have done (rough estimate)?

i have numerous junkyards and a place called FN Jeep which is basically a jeeps part yard that has all the parts pulled and categorized for ya, so getting used parts isnt an issue if i need to pull axels and what not i would just have to wait a while, i have 3 kids 2 dogs and various other animals so wheeling mods are not quite at the top of the lists for budget lol

also i know ill probably be flamed for this but my jeep is a "renix" correct? or is that not based on year. everything ive found is kind of vague

BoogeymanXJ

when you say locked you mean locked hubs correct? what is the benifit to those over standard rims? i have american racing rims on it right now and it doesnt have locking hubs, is it even related to the rims or is it axel related?

PurpleToxin505

No, locking differential, lock the axle to make both wheels spin regardless of grip. Locking hubs arent wheels, its the wheel hub on the axel. Your wheels just have center caps so you cant see your hubs, which dont lock