Help out a deployed sailor, by teaching me before I Buy my Jeep when I return.
11-04-2013, 08:13 PM
#11
JK Junkie
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But for the right person, that is def a good setup there 
All this hype of adj control this and that is not necessary for the majority person out there doing a DD
11-04-2013, 08:16 PM
#12
JK Junkie
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Best thing about a jeep is you can do anything u want to them!! I'm only 20 so I don't have much $$ and am picky, I welded up a front tubular bumper with stinger an tow hooks for $50 I have a RC 3 1/2in lift which I love. I know I enjoy mudding but as a DD tires that will last maybe a year or two for twice the price isn't what I want. All terrain is what I'm shooting for, but just depends on what your wanting your jeep to go thru. I'm focusing mine on trails some rivers and mud here n there. I'm not gonna go full out lift and tires for Moab but enough to climb. Lots of jeeps out there and I like mine to b custom with what I made. Not downing on AEV or any other bumper manufacturers. Just like to know that I am the only one who has is lol
They have gotten better but still seem to sag out and bottom out after a few months and addition spacers are added
RC control arms are very stout and seem to hold up
11-04-2013, 08:26 PM
#13
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My fiancé is close to buying a new Rubicon and my thought process is that her DD requires her to go into the city and at time park at odd places and such
She drives my jeep fine with 39's but I'd put her at 35's if she's going. 2 door or. 37's for 4 door
Now budget wise is the factor
If a person was doing it in stages or not this is how I'd do it
Metal Cloak over line fender kit with 8 inch fender extensions and 35's or 37's
Since it's a DD and flex isn't a deal breaker
Throw a set of EVO guessts and gears
If a person likes the BFG KO series I feel that the 37's in that brand is between a 35 and 37 compared to other brands and a Rubicon 4.10 probably handle it fine
She drives my jeep fine with 39's but I'd put her at 35's if she's going. 2 door or. 37's for 4 door
Now budget wise is the factor
If a person was doing it in stages or not this is how I'd do it
Metal Cloak over line fender kit with 8 inch fender extensions and 35's or 37's
Since it's a DD and flex isn't a deal breaker
Throw a set of EVO guessts and gears
If a person likes the BFG KO series I feel that the 37's in that brand is between a 35 and 37 compared to other brands and a Rubicon 4.10 probably handle it fine
11-05-2013, 09:52 PM
#14
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Last question first: The only thing I'd be concerned with on the 3.8s is the auto tranny because of the overheating problems. Easily avoided with the six speed. While the '12s have a way more powerful motor, I take it that when you say "can't", you mean it's not going to happen. There's no point discussing it.
As for what model: Since you owned a TJ are you familiar enough with lockers to know that you want them? Front and rear? I ask, because the Rubi's certainly make getting them (and the D44 front axle) easy. Because of your description of how you plan to use the Jeep, I wonder why you are concerned about lockers and a stronger front axle. I use my X pretty hard, and it has lockers front and rear (that rarely see use, go figure), and I'm still going strong at 127K miles. I've done some front axle upgrades (check out my signature or profile page) to strengthen it, however. Not trying to say this is the way you should go--but just to give you an idea of what's possible.
As for tires: I ran 33s and never really regretted it. I did upgrade to 35s, and I took about a 2 MPH hit in gas mileage. Can I run tougher trails? Well, I ran some pretty tough trails in both size tires, having been to Moab and many other places around the country in the nearly seven years I've had this Jeep. I'm not even really sure why when the 33s wore out (cupped severely after about 25-30K miles due to bad shocks) I replaced them with 35s. I guess because the "you'll regret it" crowd convinced me I should. Regardless, a few months back when the 35s wore out, I stuck with 35s. Guess at this point I've just gotten comfortable with the way they look. LOL.
Suggest when you have a few hours (because it's pretty long) you look through the Expedition Modded Jeeps thread ...
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-s...see-em-181613/
There are some really nice rigs there, and I think this closely resembles what you describe you'll be doing with your Jeep. Check out people's signatures or profiles to learn about their vehicles (if they've filled it out). Lots of pictures of Jeeps, and places we've taken them.
BTW: Here's mine on 33s ...
and on 35s ...
As for what model: Since you owned a TJ are you familiar enough with lockers to know that you want them? Front and rear? I ask, because the Rubi's certainly make getting them (and the D44 front axle) easy. Because of your description of how you plan to use the Jeep, I wonder why you are concerned about lockers and a stronger front axle. I use my X pretty hard, and it has lockers front and rear (that rarely see use, go figure), and I'm still going strong at 127K miles. I've done some front axle upgrades (check out my signature or profile page) to strengthen it, however. Not trying to say this is the way you should go--but just to give you an idea of what's possible.
As for tires: I ran 33s and never really regretted it. I did upgrade to 35s, and I took about a 2 MPH hit in gas mileage. Can I run tougher trails? Well, I ran some pretty tough trails in both size tires, having been to Moab and many other places around the country in the nearly seven years I've had this Jeep. I'm not even really sure why when the 33s wore out (cupped severely after about 25-30K miles due to bad shocks) I replaced them with 35s. I guess because the "you'll regret it" crowd convinced me I should. Regardless, a few months back when the 35s wore out, I stuck with 35s. Guess at this point I've just gotten comfortable with the way they look. LOL.
Suggest when you have a few hours (because it's pretty long) you look through the Expedition Modded Jeeps thread ...
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-s...see-em-181613/
There are some really nice rigs there, and I think this closely resembles what you describe you'll be doing with your Jeep. Check out people's signatures or profiles to learn about their vehicles (if they've filled it out). Lots of pictures of Jeeps, and places we've taken them.
BTW: Here's mine on 33s ...
and on 35s ...
Thank you for your help/ advice! I have added a new edit to my orignal post after reading this!
11-05-2013, 10:12 PM
#15
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Last question first: The only thing I'd be concerned with on the 3.8s is the auto tranny because of the overheating problems. Easily avoided with the six speed. While the '12s have a way more powerful motor, I take it that when you say "can't", you mean it's not going to happen. There's no point discussing it.
As for what model: Since you owned a TJ are you familiar enough with lockers to know that you want them? Front and rear? I ask, because the Rubi's certainly make getting them (and the D44 front axle) easy. Because of your description of how you plan to use the Jeep, I wonder why you are concerned about lockers and a stronger front axle. I use my X pretty hard, and it has lockers front and rear (that rarely see use, go figure), and I'm still going strong at 127K miles. I've done some front axle upgrades (check out my signature or profile page) to strengthen it, however. Not trying to say this is the way you should go--but just to give you an idea of what's possible.
As for tires: I ran 33s and never really regretted it. I did upgrade to 35s, and I took about a 2 MPH hit in gas mileage. Can I run tougher trails? Well, I ran some pretty tough trails in both size tires, having been to Moab and many other places around the country in the nearly seven years I've had this Jeep. I'm not even really sure why when the 33s wore out (cupped severely after about 25-30K miles due to bad shocks) I replaced them with 35s. I guess because the "you'll regret it" crowd convinced me I should. Regardless, a few months back when the 35s wore out, I stuck with 35s. Guess at this point I've just gotten comfortable with the way they look. LOL.
Suggest when you have a few hours (because it's pretty long) you look through the Expedition Modded Jeeps thread ...
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-s...see-em-181613/
There are some really nice rigs there, and I think this closely resembles what you describe you'll be doing with your Jeep. Check out people's signatures or profiles to learn about their vehicles (if they've filled it out). Lots of pictures of Jeeps, and places we've taken them.
BTW: Here's mine on 33s ...
and on 35s ...
As for what model: Since you owned a TJ are you familiar enough with lockers to know that you want them? Front and rear? I ask, because the Rubi's certainly make getting them (and the D44 front axle) easy. Because of your description of how you plan to use the Jeep, I wonder why you are concerned about lockers and a stronger front axle. I use my X pretty hard, and it has lockers front and rear (that rarely see use, go figure), and I'm still going strong at 127K miles. I've done some front axle upgrades (check out my signature or profile page) to strengthen it, however. Not trying to say this is the way you should go--but just to give you an idea of what's possible.
As for tires: I ran 33s and never really regretted it. I did upgrade to 35s, and I took about a 2 MPH hit in gas mileage. Can I run tougher trails? Well, I ran some pretty tough trails in both size tires, having been to Moab and many other places around the country in the nearly seven years I've had this Jeep. I'm not even really sure why when the 33s wore out (cupped severely after about 25-30K miles due to bad shocks) I replaced them with 35s. I guess because the "you'll regret it" crowd convinced me I should. Regardless, a few months back when the 35s wore out, I stuck with 35s. Guess at this point I've just gotten comfortable with the way they look. LOL.
Suggest when you have a few hours (because it's pretty long) you look through the Expedition Modded Jeeps thread ...
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-s...see-em-181613/
There are some really nice rigs there, and I think this closely resembles what you describe you'll be doing with your Jeep. Check out people's signatures or profiles to learn about their vehicles (if they've filled it out). Lots of pictures of Jeeps, and places we've taken them.
BTW: Here's mine on 33s ...
and on 35s ...
11-06-2013, 12:40 AM
#16
JK Jedi Master
Your Jeep looks AMAZING! If there was one to copy thats the one I would pick! But what kind of mileage did you get with the 33's? and then the 35's? would a 2.5 lift be fine with the 35's? or would it rub? i heard it was a pain to go with a 3" lift and up because you had to mod some things? any truth to that? I will be using mine for about the same thing yours is in the second picture not the first haha, those rocks look intense! just mud and boggy roads for me with occasional creeks. I love the look of the 35's and you have the exact tire I want on there! I loved those on my TJ. But i dont think I would regret the 33'sa at first, but I would like the option to go to 35's like you did. Thank you for your help!
Can't say for sure if 3" is that much worse than 2.5". Will say, however, that my front driveshaft did finally give up the ghost after 115K miles or so--that on a 2.5" lift. Once you go past 3", though, do expect to need other mods.
You certainly can run 33s or 35s on 2.5" if you have the right wheel backspacing (4.5" or less). That is what I've done. I had some minor rubbing issues, but a little trimming of the pinch seam took care of most of it (don't believe those who say you don't need to trim the pinch seam for 35s--they ignore that when off-road on low pressure tires and you hit a dip that the tires bulge out. That's when it rubs. Can't find that with a simple test moving the axle up and down on a lift).
Because of the weight of my Jeep, the rear sagged badly when full-laden for expedition travel. Same thing for a friend of mine who has similar mods. We both replaced the 2.5" TF springs with the OME HD springs, and that made a huge difference. Only problem with that is when weight is removed, I need to replace rear springs with the TF. Since that weight has to do with the hardtop with its attached overhead rack, a hardtop/softtop swap for me also includes 30 minutes to swap the springs.
11-06-2013, 01:56 AM
#18
JK Junkie
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11-06-2013, 03:14 AM
#19
JK Jedi Master
I meant there is no five speed manual. I do recommend the manual because of the earlier auto's penchant to overheat. Have witnessed it several times on the trail. There are other advantages (ever push start an auto?), but it is a personal choice.
11-06-2013, 03:43 AM
#20
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I would save your money some more and get a '12 or later model. The tranny problem is fixed as Chrysler put in a tranny cooler. The tranny overheating issue normally occurs when you are going at low speeds, uphill, for a considerable amount of time. This can be avoided two ways, use 4lo to climb or install a tranny cooler. Tranny coolers are inexpensive and take about an hr to install for the pre-12's. As for an auto or manual while on the trail it is a personal choice but I can tell you we don't stall on obstacles and our clutch (mostly because we don't have one) doesn't stink up the trail. Not only all that but it is one less thing you have to deal with when tackling an obstacle. The other reason for a post 12 is the better motor and with that, much better gas mileage. In my 09 two door I was getting 14, guy I was with in his similarly built 12 JKU was reporting 20 MPG on the highway.
Unless you intend on going 1 tons sometime I'd consider the Rubicon. Its out of the box ready to tackle just about any trail out there. Big advantage is the 4:1 transfer case that sooner or later if you are an avid rock crawler you will be getting.
Don't be in a hurry to mod. Wheel it and find out what you need/want. The JK's out of the box are very capable machines.
Unless you intend on going 1 tons sometime I'd consider the Rubicon. Its out of the box ready to tackle just about any trail out there. Big advantage is the 4:1 transfer case that sooner or later if you are an avid rock crawler you will be getting.
Don't be in a hurry to mod. Wheel it and find out what you need/want. The JK's out of the box are very capable machines.