Thanks!
the fox shocks I'm looking at now have external reservoirs and by upgradeable i should have said tunable because you could upgrade the dampening on them either with a tool, quick tool or a on the fly air adjustments depending on which version upgrade you had. Ill take a look at the 5160 and check though i just hear more people using fox shocks. The lift i'm going to go with has hydraulic bumpstops on the front, i think they're teraflex speedbumps. Im more going for dirt back road speed instead of Baja speed or like big open field that may be bumpy because of tire ruts.

 

You might want to look at Carbon Off-Road Axle Shafts. I run them and I know several others that do as well. Great shafts and they have great customer service.

https://carbonoffroad.com/t/jeep-jk-2007-2017-axle-kits

For a Daily Driver 2 Door you are not going to want to go with a very stiff spring. I have been DD'ing mine for 7 years and with the short wheelbase you want a little softer ride or get some control arm relocation brackets or it will beat you. You aren't going to want to haul all of your gear with you all the the time so you will have to go for a mid-rate spring rate, nothing too stiff. Since you are into high speed you are going to want to look at suspension travel, short arms may not work the best for you as they will transfer every bump up through the frame unless you lower the brackets and then you lose ground clearance. You will want something long travel so long arms and maybe even a coil over lift.

4.56's would be a good gear choice for the 3.6 engine you have. If you are into high speed then I would look at an aftermarket Dana 44 front. By the time you invest in trusses, sleeves, upgraded control arm brackets, and all that to get your Dana 30 strong enough you will be closing in on a built Dana 44 from Carbon or another company. You are also going to want to upgrade your Ball Joints if you are going to stick with your Dana 30.

 

It sounds like our 2018 JK build is very similar to what you're considering. LINK

We used a Teraflex Alpine CT3 lift with new axles, steering, brakes front and rear, etc. Ours will be mainly for overlanding but also rock crawling (we have some great areas close to us)

The build thread I linked goes into more detail.
Good luck!!

 

Thanks for the replies! Would the cost difference between upgrading the d30 or buying a d40 be worth it cause to upgrade my dana 30's is less than buying a brand new dana 44. I understand the dana 44 will be stronger but im looking at it like i build a gaming computer. Sure i could buy 2 titan GPU's (d44's) but if i dont plan on playing games at 4k or playing games that are graphically demanding then ive wasted 6k on 2 GPU's that will never reach their full potential compared to if i were to buy a slower GPU (upgrade the axles i have) that, for the what i need, will work harder but will satisfy my needs.

What i have planned for my jeep is most likely DD on cold/bad weather days or long trips, anything that i wouldnt want to take a motorycle out in, then on the weekends maybe once or twice a week i would take my jeep offroading or trail riding really. The trail riding wouldnt be anything too technical where you have to watch every bump or have someone outside of your jeep telling if you have enough room to get over a hill. If i were to get into more technical stuff i would bring my dirtbike on the back of the jeep and just ride that for the day. The main thing im worried about is how the jeep handles weight on pavement at highway speeds.

I checked the price difference between upgrading the d30 vs buying a currie enterprise d44

d30 parts and prices(couple dollars off most likely)
alloy usa axle shafts 1599
teraflex heavy duty ball joints 237
Arb air locker 940
alloy usa 4.56 gears 450
teraflex full float front locking hub 1569
jcr d30 axle truss, c gussets, control arm skid plates 227
arb somp dif cover 189
Total $5211

Dana 44 swap (couple dollars off most likely)
currie enterprise rock jock d44 4795
teraflex full float locking hubs 1569
Total $6364 if i get the teraflex ball joints that goes up to $6601

I know the d44 will be a lot stronger than the d30 and ill be less likely to break something down the road but with that same reasoning why not just get a dana 60 and not have to worry about any of that. I'm curious if the price difference is worth it for what im trying to do with the jeep

These 2 forums are where i got a good chunk of build info from at least at the start. Ill look at some kits with medium springs if not ill buy replacement ones that will work best. I'll look at some long arm kits unless you think i will be fine with a short arm kit.

overland info ive seen
overland link 2


BlueBaby how's the ride on your jeep? Have you noticed the suspension sagging and extreme amount when you load it up. (im planning on have a dirtbike attached to a tow hitch mount from time to time) I know you can buy an airbag kit to help with the sag if you do haul stuff i was wondering how the springs on the ct3 are.

 

Ride is perfect IMO. We haven't loaded this one down yet, so I can't comment on the springs. Our intention is to pull a trailer for multiple day trips. (keeps the back free for our dog)
I have TF springs on my 4 door, it's about 5600 pounds when loaded with all our gear and the springs do fine. A little sag but nothing bad.

On a side note I'm not sure why you would do the full float conversion on an aftermarket 44, so taking that cost out you'll be in the same ball park on price. Which is why we didn't bother building the 30 in ours. Secondly you would have a 5 bolt pattern in back and 8 bolt in front, makes it hard to rotate tires that way. The Tera44 we used is $4,000 and comes with gears, locker, ball joints, etc. You'll need some axle shafts (the 30 won't work) then just swap over your unit bearings and brakes from your 30. I did the TF chromoly shafts and the stub from my 30. And those TF Gen 2 ball joints are excellent, much better than the Synergy on our other Jeep. LINK

 

I was looking at the full float axles on the front they have a lockable hub so for normal driving i can unlock the front axles so that only the tires are rotating and nothing else which help with reducing wear and tear in the gears up front it also helps increase mpg but most likely not that much. Again i most likely wont need the full float axles but i like the features they come with them but I plan on doing the Full float on both depending on which one i would chose so it would still be a 1000 dollar price difference even if i didnt get them on both.

 

My build thread might be helpful, although it's less lift and tires than your thinking of now. The wife and I are very minimalist, it's like back packing with a Jeep.

 

Thanks for the replies I like the build Mr.T I was looking at 3in lifts so if i want to upgrade from 35in to 37in tires i dont have buy a whole bunch of replacement parts to go from 35in to 37in.
I think ill go with the CT3 kit BabyBlue has, for the softer springs. After loading up the jeep to capacity if i notice it sags way to much ill get new springs or ill get and airbag kit to help level it out. ill drop the full float axles for now and if i do break an axle shaft or upgrade to 37 in tires then ill look into them again. I think ill replace the d30 up front with a d44 becuase i can only upgrade a d30 so much but a a aftermarket d44 can still be upgraded if needed. If i do replace the front should i replace the rear d44 for a new one as well or keep the stock d44?

 

You won't need to replace the rear axle with 35's you will be fine. I would look at relocating the lower shock mounts though as they stick down about a mile and a half to far and catch on anything taller than an ant.

I wouldn't bother with the full float locking hubs. You will quickly realize why manufacturers went with full time locked hubs when you have to get out in the rain and unlock the hubs or forget to lock them in when you are axle deep in the mud. It won't save you that much gas or wear and tear.

Carbon Offroad uses Currie housings but they add their own shafts and right now a complete housing from them is $4350-4390 depending on what locker you get.

But before you get too crazy and spend a lot of money actually get out and wheel your Jeep. You will be surprise by what it will do. I am still rocking my Dana 30 with upgraded shafts and 35's. Granted I am not heavy on the throttle. But it has lasted me 7 years this weekend.

 

Thanks for the info. Ill start with a 44 upfront then and see where i go after that and i do break the rear down the road ill upgrade then. I wish i had some pictures but i have pushed my stock 2 door somewhat hard, harder than my friends truck with a 5 in lift and 35s, almost tipped it over once or twice because my axles couldnt flex enough to keep it more level and got stuck way easier because my tires arent the best for offroading. That is the main reason why i started to look at upgrading the jeep. Thanks again for all every bodies help!