4 cyl. mileage, lift & tire size

Bryan · 2005-03-30T04:19:15+00:00

I have been lurking around here for a while, and last week I took the plunge and bought my first Wrangler, a new '05 4 cyl. 6-speed SE.Initial cost and mpg were very important, as this will be my daily driver and I cover a lot of ground.After my initial outing in mud (the day after I drove the new jeep home), I observed two things that I would like to change but I do not want to kill my mpg (23mpg so far, but it is not broken in yet, hoping for more). The two changes are that I would like to add 2-3" of lift, and a bigger tire (215/75 stock). Hoping for around 3-4" of lift total including the tires.I was thinking of coil spacers and 235/75 tire, or perhaps a 30x9.50I wouldn't even mind a 31x10.50 if it wouldn't kill my gearing (live in the mountains of WV, got to be able to pull up those hills).Though I realize the 31's will fit without a lift, I want the lift to get a little extra clearance at the rear so I won't drag my receiver as I need to be able to tow a small utility trailer from time to time. On the first outing I manage to drag the receiver while backing up, lost the little "JEEP" plug that goes in there. Had to turn around the next day and drive all the way back up in the mountains and retrieve it.Poor me, having to go 4 wheelin' again !:-)Anyone here had any experience with this?What is the most reasonable and inexpensive way to get that 2-3" of lift?What about increasing tire size?How did it affect your mpg?Thanks,Bryan

Mar 30, 2005 49 Replies

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Bryan 21 years ago

Sounds great. All I really want is get just that little extra clearance I need to stop dragging my receiver hitch on the way to my favorite fishing hole.

I have seen spacers for as little at $60.00 on the 'net somewhere. Got a friend who is a suspension guru to do the work and get it right, but he is not a jeep guy and cannot tell me what experiences people have had with coil spacers.

Thanks for the help.

Bryan

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Bryan 21 years ago

Tera Flex Budget Boost? Where did you find that?

Bryan

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Bryan 21 years ago

Please ignore my stupidity. Found the site on the 'net.

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Spelling threw me off....

Bryan

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Will Honea 21 years ago

But the left wheel was still connected spinning the spiders and the inner halfshaft. Manual hubs are the only way to get true free-wheeling. My MJ got within an RCH of the same mileage on the highway during a hectic 17,000 mile summer of running back and forth to Texas. The vacuum disconnect motor got fouled up about halfway thru the summer and I didn't have time to fix it until later in the fall. Stuck in the locked position or unlocked, I got 22-23 on every trip. Wind made a lot more difference than the axle did - every 5 kts of wind cost me pretty close to 1.5 mpg (or added, it it was tail wind

- > Many factors governing wide variations in reported mpg (I suspect

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Eric 21 years ago

Well, I hope you're right Bill!

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Mike Romain 21 years ago

Just make sure you get the extended bump stops with the spacers. If you use the stock ones, the springs can over compress which can damage them or the shocks.

Mike

Bryan wrote:

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Paul Keating 21 years ago

Well colour me skeptical.

Teraflex has never been known for great handling with their long arm kits.....their original long arm kit was promoted as handling well, but the poor folks who shelled out the cash for it soon discovered that it squat like a cat under acceleration, and nose dived like crazy under braking, due to the unequal length upper and lower control arms. Seems they got around that problem by calling it a "LCG" kit.....in other words, if you keep the lift to a minimum, the arms will be closer to parallel and the symptoms won't be as bad.

Looks like they've got the same problem with this kit, and added in the triangulated front end.....do some searching on pirate4x4.

*shrug* Keep an eye out, but I'm betting it won't be a big seller.

Paul

Nathan W. Collier wrote:

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