patriot biuld?

[roostercruiser]

my friend has a patriot and cant find any biult ones. the only one ive seen is the orange show version. is it worth fixing up? if so any help on finding custom parts for it would be helpful. any pics of any outfitted patriots would be nice to get some ideas on how to biuld one.

 

[bugnout]

You can check out www.jeepkj.com. they have a Patriot section as does www.lostkjs.com

I think www.rocky-road.com has a lift kit and some other products

 

[winkosmosis]

You can lift it 2" but it still is a pretty low car. Seems like it would get your friend into trouble offroad more than anything else.

 

[modelbuilder]

I looked at the Patriot before I bought my 05 Grand.

I would tell your friend that he shouldn't spend any more money on it than he has too.

If he wants to hit fire trails the patriot will be fine...but if he is going to sink for then $1,500 into it (new tires, 4 inch lift, spacers, etc.) he should enjoy it for a while then upgrade to something more capable.

The patriot shares the same platform as the Pontiac Vibe and Doge Caliber...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Vibe

It also depends on what 4WD system he has...

Not the most capable off road rig especially considering the engine.

I am in the same position with my Grand. It is capable but to spend more money on lockers, skids, and sliders is more time, money, and trouble than it's worth. Especially since the Patriot and Grand have IFS.

A budget boost and some Mud Terrain tires should be sufficient for the Patriot. But in the end it wouldn't be worth it to do much more than that.





.

 

[winkosmosis]

AFAIK the only lift is 1.75" or something like that, not anywhere close to 4". The wheel wells are also pretty small.

 

[modelbuilder]

There are bigger lifts...way back in 07 when I was shopping for a Jeep and I came across pics of tricked out Patriots....


Then I test drove it....

I wish I found this place before I bought my rig...don't get me wrong...I love it. But now I have to upgrade...thanks Bruce:wavey:







.

 

[winkosmosis]

Nothing is wrong with the WK Grand Cherokee. One of those big offroad magazines said they prefer IFS for a vehicle like that and I agree.

 

[modelbuilder]

Don't get me wrong...I love my Grand WK.

But no one makes lockers for it (called all the manufactures myself), and the time to swap out an axle and buy and install the lockers just isn't worth it.

It can take me far...but I can go farther with a Land Cruiser =)

 

[winkosmosis]

Isn't the rear diff a Chrysler 8.25??

 

[modelbuilder]

Yes...but the housing won't allow the lockers...would need to do a swap.

This has been discussed all over Jeepsunlimited, Jeep forums, and commanderforums.com

Also confirmed it directly with the companies.

There is a reason there has never been a WK or XK with rear lockers.

If the Big Red didn't have lockers...no WK will...

And you can imagine how much it cost to do this to a WK...would rather spend 10,000 on an 80s series Land Cruiser.

http://www.4xguard.com/Company/Big Red.html

.

 

[goodtimes]

It all depends on what he wants to do with it.

Patriots have their place. They are great for getting you to/from launching points for human powered adventures. They are fine on the fire roads and semi-maintained roads in the state and national parks (yes, there are some places I wouldn't take one...). There is a lift out there, rock sliders are there...but I haven't seen any bumpers for them.

My g/f has one...and we are still considering doing some work to it. It will never be a rock crawler, nor something I would take on a RTW trip....but for getting us to the trailhead for a hiking/backpacking/mountainbiking/kayaking trip....absolutely.

With the 4 cylinder, it runs down the freeway at 85mph just fine...gets great mileage (my personal best was 33mpg, from Grants NM up to Colorado, during winter....it seems to like cold weather). It is comfortable (relative to my TJ...), quiet, handles decent.....

For a small car based SUV with no low range t-case....it isn't bad. As long as your goals fit within its limitations. And with the price they used to sell for (not sure what they are going for now...but it can't be much more than 2 years ago), it makes a pretty good commuter/soft-roader.

 

[roostercruiser]

i personaly never heard of the patriot until last month. thanks for the info ill pass it on. personaly its too small for me, i' ll stick to my big burbans.../

 

[JPFreek1]

Try going to www.jeeppatriot.com as this site is devoted to people who have "built" their Patriots. We featured a photo tribute to the Patriot in the current issue of JPFreek Adventure Magazine using many contributions from the members of this site:

www.jpfreek.com/current/current.html

Lots of useful tips on that site for the Patriot so check it out.

 

[roostercruiser]

thanks for info . ill post a pic of his patriot if he brings to work. it looks like the biggest tiresw you can fit are 31's. and they make sliders for it for around $200