Shortie was our No. 2 Commander, and was getting a more mild treatment than Biggie. It wouldn't be as off-road capable as Biggie, but would still be able to get us onto most trails and be more freeway friendly. It's a rarity, but we actually had some forethought in these two builds and decided that Biggie was going to get beat on, while Shortie would remain a little more stock and be a good, reliable daily driver since we didn't really have any of those. Biggie was certainly more than capable of being daily driven, but with only a 4.7L V-8 under the hood and not the 5.7L Hemi, Biggie struggled to keep up freeway speeds with 33-inch tires.
Since we couldn't quite fit...
Since we couldn't quite fit 31-inch BFGs on without an inch or two of lift, we called up Daystar to order one of their budget boost kits for Shortie. The spacer kit would lift it almost 2 inches, allowing us to fit our 31s without any other modifications and only necessitating a realignment in the front end. The kit comes with the front and rear coil spacers, plus concentric strut spacers, new stem cushions, mounting plates, and new front coil-spring isolators.
The front spacer went onto...
The front spacer went onto the strut under the coil. Jeeps R Us put the truck on the lift, removed the strut, and used the spring compressor to break down the strut and add the Daystar spacer under the coil...
...Garcia also added the new...
...Garcia also added the new mounting plates and upper coil isolators that replace the factory equipment. Underneath the coil and around the strut, concentric spacers are provided to keep the (now) raised coils aligned on the struts.
The stock tires looked pretty...
The stock tires looked pretty weak, even for a stock vehicle. We definitely needed some help in the treads department, and help would come from BFGoodrich Tires with a set of 33-inch Mud-Terrains for Biggie and a set of 31-inch All-Terrains for Shortie. After the tires were mounted, both Commanders needed very minor trimming at the rear lower portion of the front fenderwell, while the back of Biggie and Shortie were left alone even though they both rubbed very softly at full stuff.
Biggie received a set of LT...
Biggie received a set of LT 285/70R17 BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain TKOs with the brand-new tread design that resembles Krawlers. We took them to a tire shop and mounted them on a set of 17-inch Mickey Thompson Classic II wheels. Mickey Thompson is one of the few companies that has wheels matching the 5x5 bolt pattern that comes on the Commander, Grand Cherokee, and new JK Wrangler.
Shortie looked a whole lot...
Shortie looked a whole lot better as well, with a set of 265/70/R17 BFGoodrich All-Terrains mounted on the stock wheels. Next month, we'll be adding some racks, a GPS unit, rock rails, front-end protection, and some lights, so stay tuned.