No one can question that the Grand Cherokee is the Cadillac of the Jeep world. You can't ask for better looks, more comfort, or any extra luxury. The new WJs are also amazing off-road when combined with the tri-gerotor traction of the Quadratrac II option, and the 4.7L V-8. Add the looks, comfort, power and traction together, and you have one hell of a well-rounded vehicle.
So you may ask yourself: Can it be improved? To this, we say, "yes." Bigger and more aggressive tires, rocker guards, and a few useful items can make mom's kick-butt grocery-getter into a 'wheeling machine that laughs at many a trail, and is still awesome for road trips and towing. How do we know, you ask? Well, we got ahold of a '99 WJ to which we added a 4-inch TeraFlex lift, some LT265/75R16D BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KMs, and a Yakima bike rack. What we ended up with was a super capable, better looking, more useful Grand Cherokee.
We went to 4Wheel Parts Performance...
We went to 4Wheel Parts Performance Center in Escondido, California, where Jay Miller helped us install our TeraFlex 4-inch WJ Suspension System. According to TeraFlex, about 5 percent of Grands may develop some serious vibrations in the frontend as a result of the lift. To prevent this, TeraFlex offers some different arms and weld-on brackets to help better triangulate the front suspension geometry once it is lifted, and thus get rid of the vibration.
The TeraFlex kit lifted our...
The TeraFlex kit lifted our WJ about 5 inches in the front, and about 3.5 inches in the back-this helps lessen the rear-high look that WJs come with from the factory. We added Bilstein shocks to damp the bumps. The result is a WJ that looks and works like it should right off the lot.
Off Road General Store's (ORGS)...
Off Road General Store's (ORGS) SuperNerfs are not made out of the same foamy stuff your kid's Nerf football is. They are made from rock-crushing steel, so we went to ORGS to have some SuperNerfs installed on our test WJ. These bars protect the otherwise vulnerable rocker guards of your Grand Cherokee, and allow your Grand's paint added security from rock rash and dirt burn.
Any vehicle that can induce...
Any vehicle that can induce four-wheel drifts on wet pavement is cool with us, but our 4-inch TeraFlex lift and a set of BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM LT265/75R16 (32x10.50) tires sure made our Grand Caddy look better, as well as flex like crazy on the trail.
The tires rub the front and...
The tires rub the front and rear plastic bumper covers just a tad under full compression. Slightly smaller tires might end this, but so will skilled trimming of the bumper covers. Just be careful not to damage the paint when trimming if your bumpers are color matched.
This Yakima bike rack attaches...
This Yakima bike rack attaches to your hitch receiver, holds four bikes, and swings out of the way when you need to get into the back of your Jeep. The best part is that you don't have to pull the wheels off your bike and subject your Grand Cadillac's leather interior to muddy mountain bike parts.
DriveshaftingThe front driveshaft...
DriveshaftingThe front driveshaft of '99-2000 WJs is constructed just like the halfshaft of your buddy's front axle on his import streetcar. We had no failures from our driveshaft yet, but if you plan on flogging your Grand off-road you will probably break it. If you do break it, or you just feel like upgrading to a more traditionally collapsible CV'd driveshaft, the Jeep dealer should be able to get all of the parts you will need. Just ask for the transfer case yoke, green dust shield (it's important for proper spacing), driveshaft, and Dana 30 yoke for an '01-'02 Grand, and bolt it in place of the factory wacky shaft of your '99-2000 WJ.