One of the first things many would think of when starting a Jeep build is a lift kit and a larger tire and wheel package, which is just where we decided to begin with our 2017 Jeep Wrangler Sport project. This will immediately change the look of the Jeep and will add even more off-road prowess to an already extremely capable vehicle.
We decided to first reach out to our friends at OMIX-ADA, which is the parent company of both Rugged Ridge and Alloy USA, for the lift kit, wheels and an upgraded spare tire carrier to make up for added weight of the larger spare tire and wheel. Henk and his team were generous enough to hook us up with an Alloy USA 2.5-in. lift kit, a set of 17×9 Rugged Ridge Trail Runner Classic wheels, and a Rugged Ridge Spartacus HD Tire carrier.
We decided to go with the 2.5-in. lift kit as it better suited our needs for the Jeep and didn’t require other things like relocation brackets for the track bar. This would allow us to clear room for 35-in. tires, provide us with more ground clearance, and instantly provide a more rugged appearance for the Jeep which is exactly what we were going for. When choosing the wheels, the black Trail Runner Classics immediately caught our eyes as they will definitely provide a classic look, as the name states, and will provide an appearance upgrade over stock without being too flashy.
When it came time to choose the tires, we called our friends down at Nitto and were lucky enough to get our hands on a set of 35×12.50 Ridge Grapplers. These tires provide a middle ground between your traditional mud-terrain and all-terrain tires, and leaves you with the best of both worlds in the sense that you have a smoother, quieter ride on-road than a full mud-terrain but with a more aggressive, off-road capable tread pattern than a full all-terrain.
As mentioned, the OMIX-ADA team was also able to provide us with a Rugged Ridge Spartacus HD Tire Carrier which provides the extra strength on the Jeep’s rear end in order to handle the weight of the new 35-in. tires and 17-in. wheels.
Installation was fairly simple and in no time, we were back on the road with an entirely different look and without a noticeable difference in ride quality. The Jeep is now able to stand out from the crowd a little bit and received a huge increase in off-road capability due to the added ride height and much more capable tires. I don’t think anyone would ever call a Wrangler’s ride smooth, but after putting a few miles in after the installation we found we could hardly even tell the difference.
Off-Road Plus would like to extend a huge thank you to Henk and his team at OMIX-ADA as well as Ron from Toyo/Nitto for helping us to complete the first phase of our build.