JIMinSVAZ’s 2007 Jeep Patriot

Ok, 9,000 issue free miles... time for the next mod: TIRES I had already decided to go as big as Patriotically possible (like that play on words?) and had ordered Fuzion XTI 245/65R17's. Some people have stated they had no issues others have stated that they rub on the inside of the front tire at full lock. Those that rub also said it could be cured by installing .25- .33" wheel spacers. I figured being the big dog I am, I should go BIG or go home! Wife is home right now so the drive way is somewhat crowded... Her new van was trying to sneak into the shot! The second photo shows another angle and yes the wifes van trying to jump into the background to get some attention. Silly van lifts are for Jeeps! You can also sorta see how much dirtier it gets... I haven't decided if I want to add the splash guards yet or not. The left shot shows how little space space is between the tire and the spring catch. Its slightly over 1/4" (.25 of an inch). The right shot shows how the tire rubs at full lock. Its not too bad doesn't seem to pose any danger but does make an annoying click noise when it does rub. I believe this could be fixed with a .25" or .33" wheel spacer, but haven't got around to getting them yet.

I now present to you the First Lifted Jeep Patriot on CarDomain.com! I will have more photos tomorrow, but these are just a few quickies... And here is one showing the ground clearance at the lowest point. Yes Sir, thats a full 10" of clearance on stock tires. Coincidently that's the same amount of ground clearance a Wrangler Rubicon has! Several people were wondering where the low spot on the chassis. The photo was taken from a 2007 brochure that someone posted on JP, I then trimmed it up and circled the low spot. Hope you enjoy the pics, and don't forget to vote or leave comments. Thanks, JeepJim

What three hours and a little motivation can do... I read the Maguire's post on the Jeep Patriot Forums and got a little motivated. So I washed, waxed, and polished the ' Riot. After the driveway dried. I headed down town Grafenweohr to find some interesting photo oppurtunities. Cleanliness next to Godliness! Just a little humor...

Today I decided to paint the spokes of my wheels black to better match the decals I had made and am slowly installing. Today was not the best of days to have done this by any stretch of the imagination. Its windy as hell and the pollen count is super high. But here's what I did: 1: Cleaned my tires off with my normal wheel and tire cleaner. 2. Found some stiff but thing plastic sheets. I used document protectors. and made a template to cover the area between the spokes. This does not have to be perfect as the masking tape will actually create the edge. 3. De-mounted one wheel and masked off the area I didn't want to paint using masking tape and the plastic templates I mentioned earlier. 4. I then recleaned the areas I would be painting with a mild grease removing detergeant. ie DAWN dish soap. 5. I then put on 5 seperate thin coats of semi-gloss black spray paint. Each coat was sprayed from another angle of the tire so all angles and spokes would be covered evenly. 6. Let dry 5 minutes. 7. Remove the masking tape and plastic templates (throw masking tape away). 8. Remount wheel. 9 Repeat until all wheels are painted.

Back in June 2007 I decided it was time to get something a little more economical to drive. My 2002 Durango SLT Plus just wasn't cutting it. It had a ton of interior room, but at 10-12 mpg and driving from Mannheim to Darmstadt daily for work. The amount I was spending on gas alone every month would pay the car payment and the gas of a new Patriot... and the Patriot would be Four Wheel Drive! Buying the Patriot was a nightmare to say the least first the American Dealership on post in Mannheim was the worst experience I have ever had. It started good but turned sour when they promised it would be here by a certain date. So we sold our Durango and then the Patriot didn't show up for another two weeks. Then when it finally did come in they didn't wash it and it had scuff marks in the paint from shipping as well as scratches on the aluminum painted interior door panel on the drivers door. I no longer care about this because saves me the irritation from trail damage later. Here is two shots after its first car wash, buffing out the scuffs and waxing it... Eight inches (8") is hardly something to proud of when speaking in terms of ground clearance. My short term future plans are to order and install roof rack Here is a shot of its first mod, a K&N AirCharger. Yes was originally designed for the Caliber and Compass but it fits perfectly with out any undocumented modifications. I found it on ebay and paid some where around $250. It was worth every penny due to its performance gains and being it was a bolt on that only took 2 hours of my time. Here are two shots of the Blacked out Muffler. It's a very easy mod that takes only about 10 minutes and about 3 bucks. You will need to ensure your paint is high temperature paint, I chose Rustoleum Grill paint. I taped off the bumper with masking tape and news paper just to be safe against overspray. I then sprayed on several light even coats until I got the coverage and color I wanted. This really gives the Patriot the appearance it sits much higher than than the 11" ground clearance it has in these two photos. I have already ordered my Jeep Splash Guards but haven't gotten around to putting them on. On the next few pages you will see Rocky Road Outfitters 2.25" Lift Kit and some Fuzion XTI 245/65/17's to replace the puny original 215/65/17's.

Back in June 2007 I decided it was time to get something a little more economical to drive. My 2002 Durango SLT Plus just wasn't cutting it. It had a ton of interior room, but at 10-12 mpg and driving from Mannheim to Darmstadt daily for work. The amount I was spending on gas alone every month would pay the car payment and the gas of a new Patriot... and the Patriot would be Four Wheel Drive! Buying the Patriot was a nightmare to say the least first the American Dealership on post in Mannheim was the worst experience I have ever had. It started good but turned sour when they promised it would be here by a certain date. So we sold our Durango and then the Patriot didn't show up for another two weeks. Then when it finally did come in they didn't wash it and it had scuff marks in the paint from shipping as well as scratches on the aluminum painted interior door panel on the drivers door. I no longer care about this because saves me the irritation from trail damage later. Here is two shots after its first car wash, buffing out the scuffs and waxing it... Eight inches (8") is hardly something to proud of when speaking in terms of ground clearance. My short term future plans are to order and install roof rack Here is a shot of its first mod, a K&N AirCharger. Yes was originally designed for the Caliber and Compass but it fits perfectly with out any undocumented modifications. I found it on ebay and paid some where around $250. It was worth every penny due to its performance gains and being it was a bolt on that only took 2 hours of my time. Here are two shots of the Blacked out Muffler. It's a very easy mod that takes only about 10 minutes and about 3 bucks. You will need to ensure your paint is high temperature paint, I chose Rustoleum Grill paint. I taped off the bumper with masking tape and news paper just to be safe against overspray. I then sprayed on several light even coats until I got the coverage and color I wanted. This really gives the Patriot the appearance it sits much higher than than the 11" ground clearance it has in these two photos. I have already ordered my Jeep Splash Guards but haven't gotten around to putting them on. On the next few pages you will see Rocky Road Outfitters 2.25" Lift Kit and some Fuzion XTI 245/65/17's to replace the puny original 215/65/17's.

The Revolution's first Off-Road odyssey... The trails I have access to are pretty but its still more off-road than most ?Riots will see. Sometimes you catch me referring to it as Soft-Roading though do to its lack of steep inclines and body crushing rocks. Today I was trying to get as many shots from different angles and apologize for not having any true action shots, but I was wheelin' by myself. Hopefully next time I?ll have someone go with me for some mud slinging action shots. I found a decent mound of dirt and thought it would be cool to show the Patriots ability to articulate. But due to all the rain here lately the ground was too soft and the front wheel just sunk in. Another attempt at trying to show some articulation. Just a quick shot me crossing a shallow ditch. This looked like a really good shot on the 3? LCD but I didn?t notice the blade of grass in the way until I got it back home. Same as above just another angle... Another shallow ditch crossing. You?ve got to love the Bavarian scenery. Yet another attempt at showing some articulation. Same spot, different camera angle. Ready to start a Revolution!

<!-- message --> Ok, everyone who has researched or replaced their tires with larger diameter/width tires knows that generally they will rub in one of two places and this depends on the wheels back spacing. Generally people who use stock 17" wheels but go up in tire size rub on the inside of the wheel well on the back side of the front tires, but only at full lock. This can be seen in the picture below:

I finally got around to adding some more of the decals. First up the ever coveted "Mopar UnderGround" its the test bed group that produces all the show vehicles for Jeep. IE the Sarge, the Liberator, the ORANGE SEMA Patriot that everyone dreams of owning. I finally figured out why the Patriot is better than the Compass. It has square windows so you can put cool website addresses in them. :) Try to do that with a compass! The last of three decals yet to be put on. The "Bavarian Mountain Trail Tested" decals on the front quarters where Jeep places the "Trail Rated" badges. And finally the "REVOLUTION" front window banner. An ongoing project I have is custom seat covers. So here is a glimps. You may recognize the material as US ARMY Shelter Halves (pup tents). They are Army Strong (sorry had to plug that in some where), thick, water repellent and super cheap. What could be better for a seat cover? When I get these done I'll post a how to on JeepMK.com

This is a page I use for misc. photos.

Today I decided to paint the spokes of my wheels black to better match the decals I had made and am slowly installing. Today was not the best of days to have done this by any stretch of the imagination. Its windy as hell and the pollen count is super high. But here's what I did: 1: Cleaned my tires off with my normal wheel and tire cleaner. 2. Found some stiff but thing plastic sheets. I used document protectors. and made a template to cover the area between the spokes. This does not have to be perfect as the masking tape will actually create the edge. 3. De-mounted one wheel and masked off the area I didn't want to paint using masking tape and the plastic templates I mentioned earlier. 4. I then recleaned the areas I would be painting with a mild grease removing detergeant. ie DAWN dish soap. 5. I then put on 5 seperate thin coats of semi-gloss black spray paint. Each coat was sprayed from another angle of the tire so all angles and spokes would be covered evenly. 6. Let dry 5 minutes. 7. Remove the masking tape and plastic templates (throw masking tape away). 8. Remount wheel. 9 Repeat until all wheels are painted.

I finally got around to adding some more of the decals. First up the ever coveted "Mopar UnderGround" its the test bed group that produces all the show vehicles for Jeep. IE the Sarge, the Liberator, the ORANGE SEMA Patriot that everyone dreams of owning. I finally figured out why the Patriot is better than the Compass. It has square windows so you can put cool website addresses in them. :) Try to do that with a compass! The last of three decals yet to be put on. The "Bavarian Mountain Trail Tested" decals on the front quarters where Jeep places the "Trail Rated" badges. And finally the "REVOLUTION" front window banner. An ongoing project I have is custom seat covers. So here is a glimps. You may recognize the material as US ARMY Shelter Halves (pup tents). They are Army Strong (sorry had to plug that in some where), thick, water repellent and super cheap. What could be better for a seat cover? When I get these done I'll post a how to on JeepMK.com

Slightly worse... not too bad and the tires do show visible rub marks. With my vehicle inspection due in the next couple of weeks I wanted to see what I could do to fix the rubbing. So I got out a drill with a 1/4" bit and a grinder and went to work. Step 1: drilled holes following the contour of the frame:

The Revolution's first Off-Road odyssey... The trails I have access to are pretty but its still more off-road than most ?Riots will see. Sometimes you catch me referring to it as Soft-Roading though do to its lack of steep inclines and body crushing rocks. Today I was trying to get as many shots from different angles and apologize for not having any true action shots, but I was wheelin' by myself. Hopefully next time I?ll have someone go with me for some mud slinging action shots. I found a decent mound of dirt and thought it would be cool to show the Patriots ability to articulate. But due to all the rain here lately the ground was too soft and the front wheel just sunk in. Another attempt at trying to show some articulation. Just a quick shot me crossing a shallow ditch. This looked like a really good shot on the 3? LCD but I didn?t notice the blade of grass in the way until I got it back home. Same as above just another angle... Another shallow ditch crossing. You?ve got to love the Bavarian scenery. Yet another attempt at showing some articulation. Same spot, different camera angle. Ready to start a Revolution!

Ok, 9,000 issue free miles... time for the next mod: TIRES I had already decided to go as big as Patriotically possible (like that play on words?) and had ordered Fuzion XTI 245/65R17's. Some people have stated they had no issues others have stated that they rub on the inside of the front tire at full lock. Those that rub also said it could be cured by installing .25- .33" wheel spacers. I figured being the big dog I am, I should go BIG or go home! Wife is home right now so the drive way is somewhat crowded... Her new van was trying to sneak into the shot! The second photo shows another angle and yes the wifes van trying to jump into the background to get some attention. Silly van lifts are for Jeeps! You can also sorta see how much dirtier it gets... I haven't decided if I want to add the splash guards yet or not. The left shot shows how little space space is between the tire and the spring catch. Its slightly over 1/4" (.25 of an inch). The right shot shows how the tire rubs at full lock. Its not too bad doesn't seem to pose any danger but does make an annoying click noise when it does rub. I believe this could be fixed with a .25" or .33" wheel spacer, but haven't got around to getting them yet.

Back in June 2007 I decided it was time to get something a little more economical to drive. My 2002 Durango SLT Plus just wasn't cutting it. It had a ton of interior room, but at 10-12 mpg and driving from Mannheim to Darmstadt daily for work. The amount I was spending on gas alone every month would pay the car payment and the gas of a new Patriot... and the Patriot would be Four Wheel Drive! Buying the Patriot was a nightmare to say the least first the American Dealership on post in Mannheim was the worst experience I have ever had. It started good but turned sour when they promised it would be here by a certain date. So we sold our Durango and then the Patriot didn't show up for another two weeks. Then when it finally did come in they didn't wash it and it had scuff marks in the paint from shipping as well as scratches on the aluminum painted interior door panel on the drivers door. I no longer care about this because saves me the irritation from trail damage later. Here is two shots after its first car wash, buffing out the scuffs and waxing it... Eight inches (8") is hardly something to proud of when speaking in terms of ground clearance. My short term future plans are to order and install roof rack Here is a shot of its first mod, a K&N AirCharger. Yes was originally designed for the Caliber and Compass but it fits perfectly with out any undocumented modifications. I found it on ebay and paid some where around $250. It was worth every penny due to its performance gains and being it was a bolt on that only took 2 hours of my time. Here are two shots of the Blacked out Muffler. It's a very easy mod that takes only about 10 minutes and about 3 bucks. You will need to ensure your paint is high temperature paint, I chose Rustoleum Grill paint. I taped off the bumper with masking tape and news paper just to be safe against overspray. I then sprayed on several light even coats until I got the coverage and color I wanted. This really gives the Patriot the appearance it sits much higher than than the 11" ground clearance it has in these two photos. I have already ordered my Jeep Splash Guards but haven't gotten around to putting them on. On the next few pages you will see Rocky Road Outfitters 2.25" Lift Kit and some Fuzion XTI 245/65/17's to replace the puny original 215/65/17's.

The Revolution's first Off-Road odyssey... The trails I have access to are pretty but its still more off-road than most ?Riots will see. Sometimes you catch me referring to it as Soft-Roading though do to its lack of steep inclines and body crushing rocks. Today I was trying to get as many shots from different angles and apologize for not having any true action shots, but I was wheelin' by myself. Hopefully next time I?ll have someone go with me for some mud slinging action shots. I found a decent mound of dirt and thought it would be cool to show the Patriots ability to articulate. But due to all the rain here lately the ground was too soft and the front wheel just sunk in. Another attempt at trying to show some articulation. Just a quick shot me crossing a shallow ditch. This looked like a really good shot on the 3? LCD but I didn?t notice the blade of grass in the way until I got it back home. Same as above just another angle... Another shallow ditch crossing. You?ve got to love the Bavarian scenery. Yet another attempt at showing some articulation. Same spot, different camera angle. Ready to start a Revolution!

What three hours and a little motivation can do... I read the Maguire's post on the Jeep Patriot Forums and got a little motivated. So I washed, waxed, and polished the ' Riot. After the driveway dried. I headed down town Grafenweohr to find some interesting photo oppurtunities. Cleanliness next to Godliness! Just a little humor...

I now present to you the First Lifted Jeep Patriot on CarDomain.com! I will have more photos tomorrow, but these are just a few quickies... And here is one showing the ground clearance at the lowest point. Yes Sir, thats a full 10" of clearance on stock tires. Coincidently that's the same amount of ground clearance a Wrangler Rubicon has! Several people were wondering where the low spot on the chassis. The photo was taken from a 2007 brochure that someone posted on JP, I then trimmed it up and circled the low spot. Hope you enjoy the pics, and don't forget to vote or leave comments. Thanks, JeepJim