German's Lifted Rubicon

[German]

Well,.......Here it is. Let me know what you think.

Full Traction 3" Economy Lift
M/T 17" Wheels
BFG 35x12.50-17's

Also, do you think I should put the White Letters out? You can see them in the first pic. I have mixed feelings about white letters out. Some good, some bad.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/mike-german/2007JeepRubicon004.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/mike-german/2007JeepRubicon007.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/mike-german/2007JeepRubicon008.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/mike-german/2007JeepRubicon009.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/mike-german/2007JeepRubicon014.jpg

The rake from back to front is more than I like. I will probably add the 3/4" spacers to the front when I add a bumper and a winch. Hope to hit the Telico trails soon. I'll be sure and post some flex pics.

[Dean]

Oh, man....Awesome proportions. Beautiful...

I love that rake, why does everyone want to get rid of it?! ;)

[Robar]

Very nice looking Rubi. Keep the black walls out. Just my opinion.

[duneslider]

Looks really good. I am planning on that lift too. How does it ride compared to stock?

I was just planning on 33's but maybe I will have to go with 35's. Your's looks really really good. Who cares about fuel economy right!

Also, what rock rails are those? I like them too. I am trying to decide what kind I want. The wife likes the purejeep ones right now.

Bryan

[biglynny]

Oh, man....Awesome proportions. Beautiful...

I love that rake, why does everyone want to get rid of it?! ;)

Ditto! Yeah and Hello-o-o-o-o?

[German]

Looks really good. I am planning on that lift too. How does it ride compared to stock?

I was just planning on 33's but maybe I will have to go with 35's. Your's looks really really good. Who cares about fuel economy right!

Also, what rock rails are those? I like them too. I am trying to decide what kind I want. The wife likes the purejeep ones right now.

Bryan

The rock rails are the stock Rubicon Rails. Definately go 35's. I think with the 3/4" SkyJacker front spacer you could run 37's pretty easy with this lift. I like how the 35's look though.

[racerx]

That looks awesome! :2thumbs:

I think you should leave the blackwalls out.

[jeepinoutwest]

Great lookin rig. I also vote for blackwalls out. Heck of a lot less maintenance and the white letters on the inside will turn black shortly and you wont even notice them.

[BigO]

VERY nice looking Rubicon. That's how I'd like mine to look in a couple months.

Did you notice a loss in acceleration with the 35" tires?

Also, can you tell me how far your tread is sticking out beyond the edge of the fender flares? That's an inspection issue where I live. :rollingeyes:

As for your tires, chalk me up under "black side out".

[jeepn0811]

Looks Awesome! Quick question. With the 3" Economy kit did you notice if the rear tires moved forward in the wheel wells at all, and if so how much. One of oyur pictures looks like it is father forward, but with the angle of the pictures, and the style of the fender flare it is hard to tell. Thanks! Hope to see it on the trail when I go to Tellico.

[jkmon]

Looks nice, what back spacing are on these wheels.

[German]

VERY nice looking Rubicon. That's how I'd like mine to look in a couple months.

Did you notice a loss in acceleration with the 35" tires?

Also, can you tell me how far your tread is sticking out beyond the edge of the fender flares? That's an inspection issue where I live. :rollingeyes:

As for your tires, chalk me up under "black side out".

Didn't notice a loss of acceleration too bad. Not like I would have expected. The automatic shifts different to keep it up to speed on the highway. It's at those speeds that you notice a loss of torque, but there again, not much loss in get up and go off the line.

As far as the tread sticking out, I would say 2" or so past the fender flair. The wheels have a 5" backspacing (17x9). The edge of the wheels are pretty close to the edge of the fender flairs. That is about the furthest you would be able to tuck those 12.5" tires without scrubbing badly.

[JKonorder]

I ordered 35's x 13 /18. Tires. The rim is 18 x 10 with a 4 1/2" Backspace The rim is 5x 5.5 bolt pattern so I’m using spidertrex adapters 1 3/8. I`ve been holding off ordering the Bushwhackers flairs but after reading your post, I should probably order them. What do you think?

[jkmon]

So your saying the tires or the wheels are lined up with the fender flares? From the pics, it looks like the tires aren't sticking outside of the flares. Is this the actual case?

[German]

So your saying the tires or the wheels are lined up with the fender flares? From the pics, it looks like the tires aren't sticking outside of the flares. Is this the actual case?

Wheels line up (pretty close anyway), but the tires definitely stick out past the fender flairs (2 to 3 inches I would say). If that is an issue in your state, I would recommend the Bushwhacker flairs. I like the look where the tires stick out slightly. I wouldn't mind if mine stuck out just a little more. Oh well, maybe next time.

[German]

Maybe you can see it with this photo.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/mike-german/2007JeepRubicon001.jpg

[JKonorder]

I like mine to stick out a tread or so, But i'm going to wind up with a 3 1/8 backspace & 13" wide Tire. so if I do the math . You have 2" past the stock flairs with a 5" Backspace & 12.5" tires, I would wind up with almost 4 1/2" past the flairs. Do you know how much wider the B/W Flairs are?

[jkmon]

Thats fine, I can live with that.

[BigO]

I like mine to stick out a tread or so, But i'm going to wind up with a 3 1/8 backspace & 13" wide Tire. so if I do the math . You have 2" past the stock flairs with a 5" Backspace & 12.5" tires, I would wind up with almost 4 1/2" past the flairs. Do you know how much wider the B/W Flairs are?

If you don't mind me jumping in, the Bushwacker flares are 2 inches wider than the stock flares according to their website.

http://www.bushwacker.com/fender.asp?make2=5&cat2=270&search=Search

If you decide to buy these, shop around. I've seen prices for these vary by as much as $90.

[BigO]

Maybe you can see it with this photo.

Thanks for the extra picture. That's not as bad as I thought it would be.

[cowboypunk]

Didn't notice a loss of acceleration too bad. Not like I would have expected. The automatic shifts different to keep it up to speed on the highway. It's at those speeds that you notice a loss of torque, but there again, not much loss in get up and go off the line.

As far as the tread sticking out, I would say 2" or so past the fender flair. The wheels have a 5" backspacing (17x9). The edge of the wheels are pretty close to the edge of the fender flairs. That is about the furthest you would be able to tuck those 12.5" tires without scrubbing badly.

wayoflife was just talking about this issue. he is going to go get his computer flashed and reprogramed to run more eff. with the larger tires -saying it will correc t that problem...let me know if it works out...

[Rubimon]

wayoflife was just talking about this issue. he is going to go get his computer flashed and reprogramed to run more eff. with the larger tires -saying it will correc t that problem...let me know if it works out...

I went today to get mine flashed for that reason. They claimed they only have certain sized tires to plug into there program. Nothing as big as 35", only stock sizes. What are they thinking? I started a thread about this today in the modified section.:naw:

[HappyCurmudgeon]

Oh, man....Awesome proportions. Beautiful...

I love that rake, why does everyone want to get rid of it?! ;)

:thinking: I dunno


I like the slight rake. I think it looks great that way. :yup:

[German]

VERY nice looking Rubicon. That's how I'd like mine to look in a couple months.

Did you notice a loss in acceleration with the 35" tires?

Also, can you tell me how far your tread is sticking out beyond the edge of the fender flares? That's an inspection issue where I live. :rollingeyes:

As for your tires, chalk me up under "black side out".

Took off the track bar relocation bracket today and the acceleration problems (as well a steering problems and ESP problems) were solved. Thanks for all of the help on this forum. I can safely drive over 15 miles per hour again.

[BigO]

Took off the track bar relocation bracket today and the acceleration problems (as well a steering problems and ESP problems) were solved. Thanks for all of the help on this forum. I can safely drive over 15 miles per hour again.

Nice. Thanks for the tip. That will save a headache.

Question...your rear tires look like they moved forward and are pretty darn close to the end of the stock rock rail. Have you had a chance to flex it yet to see if there's an interference at that point?

Also, any vibrations on the highway from the drive shafts, etc.?

Thanks...

[German]

Nice. Thanks for the tip. That will save a headache.

Question...your rear tires look like they moved forward and are pretty darn close to the end of the stock rock rail. Have you had a chance to flex it yet to see if there's an interference at that point?

Also, any vibrations on the highway from the drive shafts, etc.?

Thanks...

You can see that when the springs are compressed in the rear that the tires are pretty much centered in the wheel well, but there is definitely contact with the stock rock rails. I don't know if this will be a big issue in the future, but if someone has a fix, I would definitely appreciate the input.

No vibration issues at all by the way.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/mike-german/2007JeepRubicon016.jpg

[Rubimon]

Just buy the adjustable control arms and move the axle back again. When you lift a vehicle it brings the axles together(a little). I will be doing this down the road. Thats the beauty of the Full Traction Economy lift. You can add a little at a time.

My first preference is the front adjustable track bar($179). If you notice, by not using the relocation bracket, your wheels stick out the drivers side a 1/2" further than the passenger side. The adjustable track bar will take care of this). A 1/4" to the right and your centered again. Not a big deal but not a big price either.

I am also going to be putting on the Upper adjustable control arms($229?) to bring the tilt of the front axle back to the stock position. Again, by raising up, you tilt the front axlel forward a few degrees.(caster) This will help with any slight wandering you might be feeling in your steering.

I have both of these products on order and as soon as I get them in and on I will let you all know if it makes a difference.

I am talking like an expert here(I think) and I am not. These are things I am learning from getting help with these mods instead of just taking my jeep to an offroad shop and paying someone to do them. It is all part of the fun Jeep experience. Heck when I started, I thought a rear sway bar was a place to get really drunk!:rotflmao1:

[biglynny]

Thanks Rubimon for the lift info. I had a 4 inch put on my CJ7 a few years ago but I'm going to do the 3 inch Full Traction one myself. I read the write-up on your rig and it looks pretty fairly straight forward. While I'm a good weekend mechanic I've got a friend who's good with a wrench which means we know just enough to really get into trouble.:rotflmao1:

[jsherman]

German: any before/after pics?

[German]

German: any before/after pics?

My before pics were in another post. German's Rubicon I believe. Here is one "before and after" though. Sorry they are not exactly the same view.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/mike-german/IMG_2619.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/mike-german/2007JeepRubicon009.jpg

[Nefarious]

Great looking rig man. I'm about to order a black rubi unlimited.

[German]

Great looking rig man. I'm about to order a black rubi unlimited.

I love the black Rubicon Unlimited. Not as much contrast from the body color to the black fender flares like mine. It's as close you can get to the look of the Sahara and still get the benefits of the Rubicon. Great choice.

[ThinkMud]

Looks awesome! I'm gonna go up to 35's as soon as Superior Axle gets their new gears shipping!

[Croozer]

Very nice! :yup: