Grand Cherokee Technology

[VipinShetty]

Hi @Brette, something came up and I had to pull out of the drive... unfortunately won’t be able to make it ☹️

[Ashy]

@Brette, will call you after the drive..I am ok to meet...

[Alex Sidorov]

@Brette How much did your modifications cost you overall? Approximately?

And how does the dealer look at this? I guess you car is still under warranty?

do you know what would be the average price to get smaller rims and more deserty  tires?

@Brette @VipinShetty

And also one question to you or anyone who might know.

My tires have 50K on them. i just did a service today and dealer highlighted many surface cracks.

i don’t remember seeing cracks before. I did 2 trips in desert so far. Is it 20 inch rims or I did something wrong? Or it’s just time for these tires to deteriorate. Wondering if my off-road drives ‘helped’ this process in any way.

appreciate

 

[VipinShetty]

2 hours ago, Alex Sidorov said:

@Brette How much did your modifications cost you overall? Approximately?

And how does the dealer look at this? I guess you car is still under warranty?

do you know what would be the average price to get smaller rims and more deserty  tires?

@Brette @VipinShetty

And also one question to you or anyone who might know.

My tires have 50K on them. i just did a service today and dealer highlighted many surface cracks.

i don’t remember seeing cracks before. I did 2 trips in desert so far. Is it 20 inch rims or I did something wrong? Or it’s just time for these tires to deteriorate. Wondering if my off-road drives ‘helped’ this process in any way.

appreciate

 

Hi @Alex Sidorovi have seen several small cracks distributed all round on my sedan’s run flats contact surface at around 50k... but I could run them upto 70k at which point I saw a continuous circumferential crack. That’s when I decided it’s not safe anymore... and there is a high chance of Tyre rupture. What you see i believe is just age and environmental effects becoming obvious and not just something that developed from a couple drives on sand. 
if you see side wall cracks or any other cracks long enough that you feel it is a risk to Tyre integrity then you could consider change... 

how old are your Tyres anyway? 

[VipinShetty]

Also my GC’s BFG tyres are riddled with cracks which don’t seem to be getting worse with driving on sand even though I want to so I could claim insurance on them 😇.

in my opinion desert drives will stress your side walls, which will give away eventually... so that’s an area of concern.

[Alex Sidorov]

@VipinShetty Thank you Vipin. Tires are 3 years old, made 50k on them. Indeed. Only superficial small (1mm and less) cracks on contact surface. Nothing on sidewalls.

i thought it might have been the result of temperature due to moving sand around, etc.

[Brette]

@Alex Sidorov the skid plate can cost you anywhere between AED 1000 - 2000,  the 2 inch rough country levelling kit cost me AED 600,  1 inch wheel spacers AED 1000, Cooper tires AED 3000 and rims can vary depending on what you want. If you look around you can get a second hand set for around AED 1200. I have heard that wrangler 18 inch rims fit perfect on the JGC but never tried it my self. You can't go lower than 18 due to the HD brakes at the back. 

Except for the wheel spacers, nothing I did could touch my warranty but the dealers always try their luck and tell you otherwise. It all depends on how you handle them. The skid plate is absolutely no problem, it is just an underbody protection and should be the first thing you do. 

Regarding the cracks on the wheels, I agree with what Vipin said, I drove on the 20 inch rims and continental tires for almost a year before I changed them to the Cooper's and the desert drives did nothing to them. The minor cracks you see is normal wear and tear. 

[Alex Sidorov]

@Brette @VipinShetty Guys, another quick technical question. What do you think of driving with closed windows and possibly AC running? Yes/No?

I’ve noticed few cars doing so during last ride.

whats your take?

[VipinShetty]

@Alex Sidorov, If it’s a long dune climb I turn off the AC ... windows remain closed in my car even though it gets hot just to save me from cleaning the interiors again 😅 sand gets in very easily .... 

 Learning from @Brette, I try to keep the car in 2nd and 3rd most of the time, unless a challenging dune. sometimes I Feel with the AC on I’d have to downshift sooner and often, 

btw I use manual/ paddle shifters as Sand mode tries to maintain the car always on higher revs ... which just puts extra strain on engine cooling system... in my opinion.