- Current Status
- Suspension Lift
- Tires
- Wheel Spacers
Status
Simple modification of the Grand Cherokee gives it a more aggressive look, while making it more suitable for offroad use. This is a couple of shots, comparing the look of the stock Jeep to its current state of being.
For more photos of the modified Jeep check out the photos section.
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Suspension Lift
There are currently 3 lift options available, from a variety of companies, for the WK: a 2" spacer lift, a 2" spring/shock/strut lift, and a 4" full suspension lift.
Being that the 2" spacer lift is the most economical and that I won't be taking my Jeep down any serious offroad trails just yet, I opted for the Rough Country 2" suspension lift. This lift consists of strut/spring spacers that give the vehicle a 2" lift, plus allow the fitment of much larger tires.
The other offering is a 4" complete suspension system that was pioneered by Superlift, originally designed for the MOAB edition of the Grand Cherokee, it is now a production lift and is outfitted on many awesome looking Grand Cherokees.
A local company, R&D Tire offered to help me install the lift. It took approximately 2 hours overall, which isn't too bad for the install of the spacers.
The spacers provided enough room to install a complete set of larger tires, which I purchased alongside the lift, more info on the tires can be found below.
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Tires
This is one area which is left open to a lot of custimization, as most tires are practically universal, so long as you can fit them in the wheel well and they pivot/articulate without hitting anything.
I researched a lot of tires and my final choices came down to three. The BFGoodrich Mud Terrain KM2, BFGoodrich All Terrain, and the Goodyear Wrangler SilentArmor.
My mind was set on a tire that was quiet as well as versatile; one that had good road manners as well as offroad capabilities. The BFGoodrich Mud Terrains have absolutely outstanding reviews, people love them and swear by them, so they were right up there on top of my list.
I was also researching the All Terrains, until I came up on a thread on the jeepsunlimited.com forum with a photo of the SilentArmors and a good review. That set me on track to my final decision, which was a set of Goodyear Wrangler SilentArmors.
The tires are 255/75/17's and are 32.1" in diameter, compared to the stock 29.5". This provides complications upon installation. If you put these tires on without modifying anything, you will rub on the swaybar, the upper control arm bolt, as well as the inner wheel well. The swaybar is minimal, but the others can take chunks out of your tire if you're not careful. To remedy this situation, you must install wheel spacers, or wheels with more backspacing. At this point in time, I opted for the wheel spacers.
After installing the SilentArmors, along with the lift and spacers, I couldn't be any happier. They perform extremely well on the road with absolutely no noise, as well as provide great grip in offroad situations.
Best of all no rubbing!
To the left I have a comparison shot between the tires, the new on the left and the old on the right, big difference!
With the tires and lift installed, I saw a gain of around 4" of total visual lift. That's 2" from the spacers and 2" from the tires. Check out the comparison shots below. I have also included the measurement from the rear-differential, before and after, this gives an idea of the actual lift to the bottom of the lowest part of the Jeep.
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Wheel Spacers
When you lift any vehicle, it's very smart to also widen the stance as well. Vehicles like trucks and suv's already have a high center of gravity. Therefore, lifting them exacerbates that center of gravity and produces a lot of roll in the body.
There are two easy methods of fixing this body roll in lifted vehicles and those methods are either purchasing new wheels or purchasing wheel spacers.
A lot of Grand Cherokee owners choose to purchase a set of wheels from the newer Jeep Rubicon models. Typically, the rubicon owners will purchase new wheels themselves and therefore will need to sell their old ones.
These JK wheels are relatively cheap and can even sometimes match the price of spacers.
Although I like the JK wheels, I also really like the stock wheels that came with my Jeep. Therefore, I decided to go with 1.25" wheel spacers from a company by the name of CJBargains on Ebay. If you're looking for a great deal on spacers, go with them. The ones they make are not only a good deal, they are made just like every other spacer out there, with 6061-T6 Aircraft Billet Aluminum while the studs are made out of Grade 8 Hardened Steel. The lugs they provide are tapered which help to hold them onto the studs. Not only that, they are hubcentric, which is a must when purchasing wheel spacers.
Wheel spacers are great in that they provide body stability, move the tire away from all the suspension workings, and keep you're tire from rubbing on the wheel well. I highly recommend them if looking for a cheap alternative to purchasing a brand new set of wheels. I purchased mine from CJBargains on Ebay, as I said, at $120 for all 4, which included lugs, and free shipping. They arrived at my house overnight as well, can't beat that!
I took some shots before and after the install of the spacers. Not only do they provide a lot of stability they make the Jeep look a lot better as well. The images don't do the look justice, but they do give an idea of the width that I gained at the wheels. Overall I gained 2.5" width which is just a bit more than my overall lift.
One thing to be wary of when installing wheel spacers is their nature. You're basically taking the wheel off the hub and placing it on a spacer, therefore you're going to want to keep an eye on the bolts and torque them accordingly. One thing that I did was apply threadlocker to the studs of the hub, so that the lugs would have some extra grip when installed. This stuff is cheap and it takes a whole lot to remove it once installed. I highly recommend threadlocker when installing wheel spacers!
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