Archive for category Project XK (Jeep)

[NOTE: As of May 2010, I have abandoned the 4" BDS lift touted below and replaced it with a 4" Superlift kit; my reasons for this change, and the results of it, are discussed in a separate and lengthy post.]

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Reasons for a Lift

Perhaps the most easily recognized modification — and certainly the most expensive — that most off-roaders perform on their rigs is the addition of a lift-kit.  The increased body height from a lift tends to improve the aesthetic appeal of a vehicle by giving it a more aggressive stance, but more importantly it indirectly provides for better clearance.

Why do I say indirectly?  Well, it’s a common mistake to equate lift with clearance.  I put a 4″ lift under my Commander, for instance, but that doesn’t mean I immediately had 4″ more clearance than I did pre-lift.  Not at all.  While it’s true that the geometry of the lift provides for some basic clearance increase over stock, what it really provides is enough space between the body and the axles (to simplify things) for you to fit bigger tires.  And real ground clearance is all about rubber.

In my case, the 4″ lift enabled me to replace my Nexen Roadian AT II tires, size 245/65R17, with a set of B.F. Goodrich All-Terrain T/A tires, size 285/70R17 (with 1.25″ wheel spacers to keep it all steady).  In more recognizable terms, that means I went from a tire with a diameter of 29.5″ to one with a diameter of 32.8″, an increase of 3.3″.  That’s diameter, of course: my actual ground clearance is a function of the radius (from axle to ground).  Thus my 4″ lift netted me about 1.65″ of ground clearance based on the rubber alone.

And a vastly superior look.  One doesn’t want to forget that!

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Our annual trip pilgrimage out West this summer not only gave us the occasion to visit many friends and family and to see many beautiful sights, but it also afforded us a chance to make a number of modifications to our Jeep Commander.

First, as a follow-up to my previous post on Project XK, I have to give an enthusiastic thumbs-up to the GoGroove Flex Pod.  It did a great job of incorporating the iPhone into a great multimedia system as we meandered across the country. Kudos, too, to the Video Entertainment System (VES) in the vehicle.  I confess that a good quarter of the Hobbit’s time in the car was spent watching his new favorite DVD: a Smithsonian show about bugs in and around the house.

At any rate, we got to Colorado in one piece, and a number of things were waiting for us there. It was a busy few weeks as a result, but the results were well worth the time, as we’ll see after the break.

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The proper build-up of any Jeep begins, of course, with the simple things. For most of us, the first step is always to transfer portable goodies from the old rig to the new one.

Unfortunately for me, many of those goodies happen to be in Colorado still, like my ViAir portable air unit and my beloved first aid kit. (So here’s hoping nobody gets bitten by a poisonous snake on our drive to Colorado in a few days!) I have been able to move over a few things in preparation for the trip, though: the fire extinguisher, a few tools, and some other items of standard equipment. The rest will come soon enough.

Not to worry, though: I’ve done a bit of trip-related work worth reporting about.

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I’ve been doing a lot of staring and measuring and poking around my new Jeep Commander, gearing up for Project XK — for which this post is the inaugural issue, I suppose. As with the build-up of my beloved LJ (sold and living in Texas), I’ll be documenting the process here as I pass the rig through stages en route to its glorious fulfillment. I’ll also be holding to the same general principles I did with the LJ; the build-up will be aimed at creating a vehicle that balances and maximizes:

1. Street-safe.
2. Trail-conquering.
3. Cheap.

First things first, though …

Why Sell the Wrangler Unlimited (LJ)?

As stated elsewhere on this blog, I loved that rig.  Hell, I still love it, even if another fellow has the keys to it.  The LJ Rubicon is an almost perfect foundation for building an off-road dream come true, and some of the upgrades I’d put on ours still make me drool (the Nightcrawler bumper on Stage 3 comes to mind). 

But there were problems.  Not mechanical or anything like that.  More like philosophical.  Or perhaps existential.

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