300 or so for son's c-mas present surprise.. Help!!

[firefighterwannabe]

Hey all, I'm looking to surprise my son with something for his xj this year. My xj is stock, but his has a 2"bb, some a/ts and that pretty much it. He has a '98 4-door with the 4.0 and aw4. I was looking into things for the exterior or performance or maybe somthing that would allow him to have a little more capability on the trail. He has droped about 1000 different ideas on me for this and I have'nt a clue where to start. Thanks all -Ron

[GottaBeJeep]

For starters, I would suggest front and rear hitches, a receiver shackle, and a good tow strap so he can get pulled out of any kind of trouble he gets into (all together about or under $300). Skid plates are always a wise investment after recovery points. Transfer case skid, gas tank skid, and rock rails would be in this group. A rear locker I would say next on the list after those items. It's always good to start with a means to get out of a situation with recovery, protect the vulnerable undercarriage items, then go for improved offroad capabilities. A locker won't help get him out of a hole he may have dug himself into if he doesn't have recovery points.:D

[Brady's XJ]

For $300 with a 2" BB, I would add some performance for everyday driving. My best buy for performance was a Jet Stage II Chip. I felt an immediate difference in power and performance. Jet makes a Stage I chip for stock and a Stage II chip for Jeeps with aftermarket intake and exhaust. You can buy an AirRaid or K&N Filter, a cat-back exhaust system, or a Jet Chip for $300.

Look around on websites and keep looking on this forum for XMas sales. I will try and find the website I bought my Jet Chip on. I found it for about $100 less than every other site.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I'll try and send you some websites to help with your search.

Brady

[XJBill]

Jetchips are for "ricers"....... I'm with GottaBeJeep on this one. Recovery!!! Most clubs that I offroad with reguire at least one tow point whether its front or rear. Having both is ideal.

[Kejtar]

Jetchips are for "ricers"....... I'm with GottaBeJeep on this one. Recovery!!! Most clubs that I offroad with reguire at least one tow point whether its front or rear. Having both is ideal.

Here's some ideas:
1. Recovery equipment (tow strap, hilift and the like)
2. Roof rack
3. Rock rails (if he doesn't have any yet then most definately as that's a gift that keeps on giving)
4. FSM if he works on it himself
5. Tools (depends on what you have)

Anyways looking at that list again I'd say that #3 should be on top of it.

[PETEY]

For starters, I would suggest front and rear hitches, a receiver shackle, and a good tow strap so he can get pulled out of any kind of trouble he gets into (all together about or under $300). Skid plates are always a wise investment after recovery points. Transfer case skid, gas tank skid, and rock rails would be in this group. A rear locker I would say next on the list after those items. It's always good to start with a means to get out of a situation with recovery, protect the vulnerable undercarriage items, then go for improved offroad capabilities. A locker won't help get him out of a hole he may have dug himself into if he doesn't have recovery points.:D


yep what he said

[Beached Bones]

I'd go with something that puts on a good show AND is practical. My suggestions.

1) flowmaster exaust, loud cool and adds some performance

2) A nice tuff bumper with a receiver hitch, good for show, protection and a must for any offroading

3) not for looks but a locker is always a good idea for trails (and burnouts)

[XJBill]

Good call Kejtar, rock rails would be nice too.

[redyouch]

i would go with a rustys flowmaster muffler and tail pipe and maybe a highflow cat, also i would get him a nice hitch, and maybe a k&n cone. he should have some fun putting those on and seeing the immediate results. i would be happy getting those.

[YELLAHEEP]

There are some great ideas posted so far. If your son doesn't already have the proper equipment required for attending NAXJA events (assuming that he'll be attending any), then make sure he gets stuff to fulfill the following:

All vehicles must have the following equipment to attend the off road portion NAXJA sponsored Events

-Fire extinguisher;

-First Aid Kit;

-Tow Rope (no metal hooks allowed), Tow Chain, or Winch;

-Spare tire, jack, and lug wrench;

-Hooks both front and rear (or suitable attaching point)

-CB (HIGHLY recommended, but not mandatory)


He's a lucky kid!

[Kejtar]

There are some great ideas posted so far. If your son doesn't already have the proper equipment required for attending NAXJA events (assuming that he'll be attending any), then make sure he gets stuff

Actually the equipment that's mentioned as required for NAXJA events is a good idea to have wether you attend the events or not. Each vehicle should have a first aid kid, extinguisher and so on.

The exhaust stuff sure sounds nice but it's more of a bling bling if his exhaust is working adequatly and he's lacking other items. The JetChip? Well.... quite a few will say that it causes more problems then it solves.

In any case, if you shop around you can probably get rock rails for about $200 (give or take depending on the deal you come across), extinguisher will run you less then $20 for 2, first aid kit can run you from $20 upwards (I got a great kit from Sam's Club: it's got everything!) and that still leaves you some $ for a "got a great dad" type of a shirt or licence plate frame :D

[GottaBeJeep]

Adding performance mods to an XJ is like greasing a brick. To get great performance gains it takes some money. $300 would be better spent on things to protect his investment. Even if he only hits the trails once in a blue moon, it only takes one trip to get stuck and wish he had a way out instead of listening to his flowmaster gurgling in the mud and his cone filter whistling in the wind.:D

Just my thoughts.

[MMIXJ]

definitely rock rails...

now, you can start a new thread/argument about which ones!
:D

[ArcticXJ]

Take into account what side of the fence he stands on as far as upgrading his jeep. How old is he? Is he more about form over function, or does he prefer function over form? After all, the main thing is just for him to have something he's happy with.

If he is all about the trails, and doesnt pay too much mind to the aesthetics of the jeep, then tow points for sure, and a good strap. Consider underbody protection like skid plates and rocker skids too. If i were recieving a present for my stock jeep to help it out offroad, I'd ask for tow points and a Lockright (thats of course if i didnt plan on going any bigger than maybe 31's). If feasable, a BB like yours would be nice too.

On the other hand, if he's not too big into the offroad thing and just wants a nice presentable jeep, than you could consider the exhuast/intake combo, or some sort of a nice stereo deck/speaker combo. I know when i was in high school, it was always cool to have a nice sound system. Also, he might like a front brush guard with some driving lights or something similar.

Personally, im all about function over form, and modify my jeep mainly for capability, with small bits for aesthetics or comfort here and there. But I understand that some folks dont want to go beat their jeep up off road, and just want a cool looking daily driver.
Hope that helps a bit! Good luck.

[firefighterwannabe]

Take into account what side of the fence he stands on as far as upgrading his jeep. How old is he? Is he more about form over function, or does he prefer function over form? After all, the main thing is just for him to have something he's happy with.

If he is all about the trails, and doesnt pay too much mind to the aesthetics of the jeep, then tow points for sure, and a good strap. Consider underbody protection like skid plates and rocker skids too. If i were recieving a present for my stock jeep to help it out offroad, I'd ask for tow points and a Lockright (thats of course if i didnt plan on going any bigger than maybe 31's). If feasable, a BB like yours would be nice too.


On the other hand, if he's not too big into the offroad thing and just wants a nice presentable jeep, than you could consider the exhuast/intake combo, or some sort of a nice stereo deck/speaker combo. I know when i was in high school, it was always cool to have a nice sound system. Also, he might like a front brush guard with some driving lights or something similar.

Personally, im all about function over form, and modify my jeep mainly for capability, with small bits for aesthetics or comfort here and there. But I understand that some folks dont want to go beat their jeep up off road, and just want a cool looking daily driver.
Hope that helps a bit! Good luck.
thanks for all the suggestions! I think my son is on a different side of the fence than the one I am on- He prefers the things that are visible, (bumper, roof rack, tons of lights) I am more concerned that he will get into a situation and not realize his Jeep can't handle it. So, my point to him is protection MY investment- I paid for half- and since we couldn't afford another vehicle he has to take care of this one... so I thought skids. I was looking around and thought the rusty's crossmember, engine, and t/c skids would make a great combo. His point is that you cant see them. Oh, and he's the one with the 2"BB, he already has the things decked out with audio stuff (I hate it)

So I think were down to somthing like the ridgid front bumper, olymipic rack, skid package, K&N fipk and flowmaster, maybe a lockright, or any other kind of "visuals"

[loop]

another vote for skid plates,rock rails, tow points......if your stuck you can be extracted...if you broke something underneath your worse than stuck

[Silverstreak01]

id say a nice class 3 reciever and a shackel set up. . maybe if he bikes or skies/ boards a nice little combo rack. i got that last xmas and love it . use it more times then anything.. id say honestly rocker rails next on after that. a wise man once told me buy them first. i didnt listen. i had a 150$ nice little dent right under the driver door on my 01. that i got pulled out.. not to mention all the little ones ( i sprayed that are black for easy touch ups.....

[catyrpelius]

How bout a full size spare if he doesnt have one

[Red97XJ]

I vote for C4x4 double tube rock rails, tow points, and IF your going roof rack, Surco rocks. My rock rails are on the way, pics are here for the rack.
http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeBMmLJy4atXIA

Jason

[Ramsey]

does he take it off road any?

[firefighterwannabe]

yes he offroads it and I'm always worried that he might break somthing. If not the skidplate package, it will have to be somthing with a thrill factor to it. No offense a full size spare would be great to have, and I think I'm gonna make him get on, but the thrill of opening a tire for c-mas seems a little blah lol

[jjvande]

rocker guards...look cool and function. + with a BB he will hit them at some point.

[afjeep2082]

SKID PLATES!!! I wish I would have started this way myself...I too like the looks better, but I screwed up my rockers recently and just wish I would have gottin some kind of guards......he may shy at them at first but in the long run he'll thank you for the protection. it's something no one really wants to spend money on because no one really see's the mod but it's prob the best investment you can do!

[Wiley Coyote]

I’m thinking in a little different direction: $300 would get a decent wire feed welder. With the welder, some scrap steel and a little bit of time he can make anything his heart desires. A rear bumper is a piece of cake, nerf bars/sliders are a breeze and a front bumper with a winch mount is not that hard to make. I’m not sure about skid plates, I haven’t made one of those yet but it can’t be too hard. It comes in handy if you do actually break things.

[Kittrell]

Alright, I'm 19 so I might have a better understanding of whats going on inside his head. Don't listen to all these old farts, they have to be at least thirty and thats just old...........just kidding guys..........:laugh3:

I'm going to have to agree with a few of the guys and spring for rockrails. They are something that I knew I needed, but kept putting off. I would spend the money on something else and would never get around to buying them. I agree with the list of NAXJA requirements, but most of those items are cheap and is something that he could get by himself. You can get some good rails for around $200 (Cough *AJsOffroadArmor.com* Cough). I finally got mine and have no idea why I just didn't buy them in the first place. They are a nice visual addition, looks like a nerf bar, but is actually functional. And if your son likes to take the hotties around, all the little "short" girls he picks up will like the step up into his "Big Jeep".

After the rails you will have a little $$ left over. So I would recomend a air intake tube from rustys offroad, with a 6x9 K&N. When he opens the hood it is very visible and when he gets on it, the thing roars. I love mine if nothing for the fact that it's loud and "cool" lookin'.........:wierd:

Just my .02 cents

[maineiac]

i would say for under 300 the best thing you can get is a lock-rite its the biggest bang for the buck you can do for a mod to any vehicle.

[RichP]

Factory service manual, #1 period...
Armour, he should not need recovery points till the armour is in place :D
Tow points after armour...

For pure 'bling' clear diff covers :D and diff guards, Betcha none of his friends have seen them installed before...then figure out how to light them up :D :D
wonder if anybody makes oil resistant LED's....

[RichP]

Wanted to add couple of more things for those that want 'look n good' improvments, Quadratec has colored valve covers around $100 or so... add an optima red or yellow top, chromed or billet aluminum battery hold down bracket, Hella horns from susquehanna motor sports, LaBaron hood vents.
Big bag of variouse colored split loom wiring covers, Wet Okole seat covers. B&M shifter if it's a 5 speed.
If he has a cell phone or is planning on getting a new cell phone get the 'hardwired' in car kit that ties it into the stereo system, but you need to research the phone models for this, motorola makes them for the V60 series for about $150 +$20 for an antenna as an example. This company makes a vehicle specific mount for the 97+ XJ that mounts to the right of the radio for putting mounting the phone cradle http://www.pro-fit-intl.com/mount.htm you can even mount a GPS there....

[hackedxj]

i would say for under 300 the best thing you can get is a lock-rite its the biggest bang for the buck you can do for a mod to any vehicle.

I was thinking the same thing , My front Lock-rite has been my best mod yet (233$ shipped) Hardly know it's there on the street, HUGE difference offroad, Easy install. That'll leave 67 dollars for something cheesy!.

[Bent]

Protection, recovery. The rock rails will give you a better place to use the Highlift. The accesory kit for the jack is good too. A little slow, but it beats leavin the rig and walking home.


He's young, so help him protect what he can't afford to fix. He's your son, so help him get back home.

Young or old, you need to protect what you got, and you will get into stupid situations where you need to get yourself out.

A locker can get you into too many situations where the protection and recovery items are a must.
:hang:
My 3.1415 cents.

Tim

[Lagooz00xj]

A set of Sway Bar Disco's????

Im 17 and My 2000 is also Budget Boosted... but i prefer my XJ to be capable rather than attractive - -
Right now on my Xmas list are RE 3" coild and 1.25" Greasable shackles, JKS quicker disco's as well as some Hella 500's and some cheapo fog lights that i can mount as Rock Lights underneath my XJ as my friends and I do a lot of offroading at nite... I am stupid and refuse to spend my money on skids and rocker guards... and i also have no recovery points - - Its gonna take some underbody damage for me to learn my lesson.

Thats just my $.02

[Gridikal]

Is he a college student? IF he drives a lot, and drives it more than wheels it, how about a nice XM or Sirus satalite radio set up, you could get a tuner and a years worth of coverage for that cost. I know I drive back and forth a lot and and commercial free radio sounds good to me, in fact it might even be on my list :)