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would it be smart to have an every day driver if i get a four inch lift and 33" tires on my jeep wrangler

im affraid that if i get the upgrades ill get crappy gas mileage, and that offroading would maybe break my vehicle then i couldnt get to work or something. Should i look into getting something else to drive around back and forth to school and work and then just use the jeep for offroading, or will i be safe just getting a four inch lift with 33" tires and still using it to drive back and forth to work.

Public Comments

1. Yes - get a car for daily drive use. With the Jeep, your major problem will be fuel mileage and ability to stop. The larger tires are heavier, have a higher inertia (resistance to start / stop), and because of the larger diameter - the brakes won't work as well. For all these reasons, it becomes less of a street vehicle than before. Add in highly lugged tires for off road use - they add a lot of friction drag on the street, and with less contact area with the road (you are ridding on the lugs) - poorer street traction. Essentially, a vehicle built for off road almost ends up dedicated to it.
2. I would suggest getting something else to use as an everyday driver. Just pick up a 4 cyl. beater that will get you from point A to point B..its what my husband has done. He has a "Mini-Monster" 4RUNNER. Its huge and is just at the street legal limits for Ohio. The biggest issue is it really hogs the gas down. ( anytime you put the lift and the giant tires on, it KILLS the gas mileage.. these bigger trucks that are modified drink gas like its free water.. This has worked for us, and saved us a ton of cash ( and no car payment ) .. it also saves the wear and tear on the huge, expensive tires. driving them on the roads tear them up and wear them down easy..found that our the hard way..they will last a long time being used off road , even if you occasionally hit the highway to cruise for fun..
3. Yes, please do avoid driving it on the street, for safety's sake.
4. Crappy gas mileage, tire wear and noise, off-roading misshaps. Those all reasons in favor of having separate 'work' and 'play' vehicles, even if one's just a beater.
5. Go for it!!! I'm running a Rubicon express 6.5 inch lift and 36' tires on my 2000 XJ..... I drive it every day. You Gonna want to put in a slip yolk eliminator if you run 4 inches of lift......
6. You will get crappy gas mileage. If you wheel allot there is a chance you will break something. Unless you do black and red trails you shouldn't break anything major unless you somehow roll it. I would just drive it every day. My buddy has a 03 TJ Rubicon with a 7" lift running 35's and he drives his everywhere with no problems except for the crappy gas mileage. He gets something around 12-14 MPG but you should get better MPGs with smaller tires.
7. You're going to get crappy gas mileage anyway - it's a Jeep. You don't need a 4" lift to run 33's - I've got 2" suspension and 1.75" body and am running 33s. It gives the clearance, but not the issues that come with a 4" suspension lift. It's my daily driver, and I'm also getting about 15mpg (6 cyl manual), so there's a reference for gas mileage for you. Do you have any experience driving offroad? If not, you probably don't need to build up to 33s right off, because you're more likely to break something, IMHO, if you try things you aren't really ready for because you're in a "big Jeep".
8. Actually I didn't find the 35" tires and suspension lift on my 88 jeep wrangler was the problem with being a daily driver. I found the soft top/no top to be a bigger issue. No way to lock jeep, was noisy, was cold in winter, hot in summer. Had crappy fuel mileage before the lift,low to mid teens, crappy fuel mileage after, low to mid teens. I bought a $150 Geo metro, wont pick up any women in it, but it gets 45-50 mpg, can buy 4 tires for it for $60, it has air conditioning and heater that works throughout the vehicle. And has locks on the door, although leave it unlocked because not many people want to steal it. I have a vehicle to go to get parts for the jeep if i need to, and not putting a lot of miles on the jeep. Also if i do break the jeep I don't have to worry about making it to work on Monday.
9. Hey so what you want to put on is exactly what I just put on my jeep a month ago. 4 inch suspension lift with 33" tires. Offroading is not a problem, it wont break your jeep! That is what jeeps are for! Well, it's what jeeps with lifts are for!!! I'm usually on the streets with mine and it runs actually a lot smoother than before I put the lift on too! So it runs great on the streets and offroad. But the gas isn't good and I noticed it got a little worse after my lift went on. If work isn't that far away, just use your jeep! But if the gas is really going to get to you, just buy a cheap, clunker car and use it for work. You will be SO happy with a lift and new tires. It looks 100% different, it looks like a REAL jeep! So yes, put the lift on and if you need to, buy a little cheap car too.