New 2023 Bronco Black Diamond Soft Top - early upgrade help

[jwiszyns]

I recently purchased a 2023 Bronco Black Diamond Soft Top. Have a lot of questions I was hoping you more experienced Bronco owners can help me with. The reason I went with the Black Diamond was price and upgradeability.

Roof Rack - Ive read through the forums and haven't found a good solution to a roof rack on the soft top that doesn't create a big inconvenience. I was looking to add a Fishing/Ski rack between seasons and also potentially a smaller kayak rack during the summer. I don't want this to come at the expense of not being able to take the top off. Any recommended setups that have worked for you would be great. I live in Colorado and storms do come and go quickly, dont want to get stuck in the rain with the roof off and a rack on.

Hitch - car didn't come with a hitch, not looking to pull anything significant, wanted to throw a bike rack on the back. Any suggestions?

Ground Clearance - I've some light off roading in Moab without much difficulty. Living in Colorado and planning to take the car on some more challenging trails during the summer. Would love to get another 1-2 inches of clearance however weighing the cost options. Thinking of getting larger tires down the road once I put some distance on the current ones (32s all-terrain). Ive seen some leveling and suspension lift kits that can add 2 inches. Any simpler recommendations that wont break the bank (<$1500).

Any other early upgrades people would recommend that make a big difference to comfort or cosmetics? Short distance drive to work during the week and spend the weekends in the mountains hiking/skiing/fishing.

Thanks,

Jason

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[HPNQ420]

I recently purchased a 2023 Bronco Black Diamond Soft Top...

Ground Clearance - I've some light off roading in Moab without much difficulty. Living in Colorado and planning to take the car on some more challenging trails during the summer. Would love to get another 1-2 inches of clearance however weighing the cost options. Thinking of getting larger tires down the road once I put some distance on the current ones (32s all-terrain). Ive seen some leveling and suspension lift kits that can add 2 inches. Any simpler recommendations that wont break the bank (<$1500).

Any other early upgrades people would recommend that make a big difference to comfort or cosmetics? Short distance drive to work during the week and spend the weekends in the mountains hiking/skiing/fishing.

A set of Bilstein 5100's will cost you less than $800, are ride height adjustable from 1" to something close to 3", and will greatly improve your on-road experience. After this weekend I should be able to report off-road performance.

I have mine set at 1" of lift and along with MT Baja Belted AT's I find my setup perfect. Just enough to keep the skid plates from dragging on the trails in WI without killing on-road performance. I am saving my OEM tires for winters as they have at least one winter's of tread left and they are the best non-dedicated winter tires I have driven in the winter.

 

[jwiszyns]

A set of Bilstein 5100's will cost you less than $800, are ride height adjustable from 1" to something close to 3", and will greatly improve your on-road experience. After this weekend I should be able to report off-road performance.

I have mine set at 1" of lift and along with MT Baja Belted AT's I find my setup perfect. Just enough to keep the skid plates from dragging on the trails in WI without killing on-road performance. I am saving my OEM tires for winters as they have at least one winter's of tread left and they are the best non-dedicated winter tires I have driven in the winter.

Thanks, would love to hear your experience with the shocks. Are the MT Baja Belted AT's 32 inch? I was going to go into the shop for an oil change over the next few weeks. Was thinking of getting a hitch added and may consider other work to save me a future trip.

 

[HPNQ420]

Thanks, would love to hear your experience with the shocks. Are the MT Baja Belted AT's 32 inch? I was going to go into the shop for an oil change over the next few weeks. Was thinking of getting a hitch added and may consider other work to save me a future trip.

285/70 17 (33's) standard load. The choice was between that and LT-E and the MT tech guy said go SL for my 4-5 off road trips per year or I would be enduring a crappy ride and mileage the rest of the year, and said the SL sidewalls are plenty strong -- but carry a spare and pick up tire certificates

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