Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler JK shifters

What does my front end need?

jlravin

jlravin

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Mar 19, 2021
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USA
Hey Guys!
First time Jeep owner here and I'm slowly beginning the customization process (with MUCH excitement).

So far I've Plasti-Dipped the grill emblem and put in the grill inserts, but I feel like the front end/grill needs some more black. What else could I add to give some more black accents?

I'm not a huge fan of the headlight inserts, I feel like they add too much black, but I do want to upgrade the headlights to LEDs, so maybe I could go with blacked out headlights? And maybe turn signal indicators (if they make those)?

Opinions and ideas very much welcomed, thanks! :)

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How much money do you want to spend? Seems to me that there are endless options. Is it for show or go? The Go stuff usually costs much more.
PO on my jeep put on led headlight, fog lights and they do light up the road really well
You could do the below. PO did that to mine and I like it

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Weathertech stone & bug deflector. Believe it or not, they do a decent job of keeping bugs off that wonderfully designed piece of aerodynamic glass that stands almost vertical.
My LED headlights have a dark gray tint to them. And I added the black bezels (trim ring) afterwards.

A nice aftermarket bumper is in the future, but, with all the choices out there, I haven't seen one that just stops me in my tracks.
And a nice set of 35 x 12.5 with black wheels will help as well. I need new tires, which is why the bumper is on hold....

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Anybodyhome said:
Weathertech stone & bug deflector. Believe it or not, they do a decent job of keeping bugs off that wonderfully designed piece of aerodynamic glass that stands almost vertical.
My LED headlights have a dark gray tint to them. And I added the black bezels (trim ring) afterwards.

A nice aftermarket bumper is in the future, but, with all the choices out there, I haven't seen one that just stops me in my tracks.
And a nice set of 35 x 12.5 with black wheels will help as well. I need new tires, which is why the bumper is on hold....

View attachment 118491
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Nice, I really like the look of the black trim ring, may need to look into that. My plan too is to upgrade the wheels, but going to wait until I need new tires for that.
 
kk2010jk said:
How much money do you want to spend? Seems to me that there are endless options. Is it for show or go? The Go stuff usually costs much more.
PO on my jeep put on led headlight, fog lights and they do light up the road really well
You could do the below. PO did that to mine and I like it

View attachment 118490
Click to expand...
For right now, the plan is just show. Not planning on doing any serious crawling with it, but probably will get into some light off-roading.
 
I have never understood the blacked out headlight / tail light thing. To me this is taking a safety device (brake lights / blinkers / headlights) and making them less effective for no better reason than styling. Headlights from the factory... mmmmaybe... You are only affecting your own ability to see.

Blacked out brake lights though just piss me off. Let people see what you are doing, even in the daylight.

There is no way around the fact that they are less effective when you do this.

end rant

Interesting to hear that @Anybodyhome has had good luck with his bug deflector... mine is just sitting in my pile of "no longer on the jeep" stuff because it really messed up how my windshield wipers worked. Like they were completely useless at speed, though I don't remember what brand mine is, so perhaps I choose poorly.

A bumper is the most striking thing you can do to a front end. Plus it is useful, thus avoiding the /heep tag. I would also avoid cheep light bars. It seems to be another thing that people use for a time and then remove because the whistling drives them batty.
 
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MacGuyver said:
I have never understood the blacked out headlight / tail light thing. To me this is taking a safety device (brake lights / blinkers / headlights) and making them less effective for no better reason than styling. Headlights from the factory... mmmmaybe... You are only affecting your own ability to see.

Blacked out brake lights though just piss me off. Let people see what you are doing, even in the daylight.

There is no way around the fact that they are less effective when you do this.

end rant

Interesting to hear that @Anybodyhome has had good luck with his bug deflector... mine is just sitting in my pile of "no longer on the jeep" stuff because it really messed up how my windshield wipers worked. Like they were completely useless at speed, though I don't remember what brand mine is, so perhaps I choose poorly.

A bumper is the most striking thing you can do to a front end. Plus it is useful, thus avoiding the /heep tag. I would also avoid cheep light bars. It seems to be another thing that people use for a time and then remove because the whistling drives them batty.
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My LED headlights came from the manufacturer with this gray tint to the lens- not sure why and it's not something I noticed when I ordered them. But this doesn't detract from the performance of the headlights- they are very nice and are light years ahead of the stock headlamp.
The Weathertech deflector I installed out of habit- had them on an Expedition and 2 Tahoe's I've owned. It's never affected the wipers, but I changed out my wipers for some heavy duty, beefy blades which I'm very happy with (another practical and relatively inexpensive upgrade- the stock wipers suck on Jeeps).
 
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X4 on the bumper!
jeep friends don't let jeep friends drive with stock bumpers.the front and rear bumpers were the 1st to go... looks like something from the 70's
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Anybodyhome said:
The Weathertech deflector I installed out of habit- had them on an Expedition and 2 Tahoe's I've owned. It's never affected the wipers, but I changed out my wipers for some heavy duty, beefy blades which I'm very happy with (another practical and relatively inexpensive upgrade- the stock wipers suck on Jeeps).
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After thinking about it I'm fairly sure mine is not Weathertech. I have been happy with everything I've ever purchased from them. I guess this speaks to getting what you pay for.

I tend to not cheap out on wipers, so I'm sure it was just whatever version I got.
 
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