I am in the hunt to make some modifications to my 2012 JKU. 3" lift, 35" wheels & tires, cold air intake and cat back exhasut. Too many options out there, looking for some recommendations on guidance, any feedback would be appreciated! Thanks in advance for the effort!

 

That honestly doesn't give people much guidance. looking for functional mods, performance mods, interior mods? You have full suspension (control arms and all) and full steering upgrades? How do you use that jeep? What kinda budget do you have to blow? I can easily spend $20k of your money suggesting things.

 

To start, I want to add a 3" lift to accommodate new 35" wheels / tires. Main use is daily driving, but want the look and ability to off road on occasion. I am not against paying more for a quality lift. Looked into some options, Teraflex has a 3" with Falcon 3.3 shocks, a bit pricy, but unsure if it's that much better and worth the cost, or if there is a comparable quality option at a better cost.

 

ahhh, I thought you were saying what you already had and looking to mod more. Look at a Metalcloak 2.5" lift. It will likely net you 3-3.5" lift once said and done. Some wheels of your choice with 4.5" BS will accommodate the 35s. You didn't mention what gearing you have. You might consider regearing to get a little more pep back after the larger tires. I'd skip the CAI and cat back. Personal opinio, but you're not getting much power out of those and most don't like the sound of the cat backs out there. Get a programmer of your choice. Jscan app is cheap paired with a BT OBDII dongle and is very dynamic in what you can do with it. Spend some money on steering upgrades if you have the room. Ball joints are common issue on these things. A nice TR is a good upgrade. Brakes are always a nice upgrade as well.

If you're gonna play in rocks, at the very least a gas tank skid is nice on the 4dr. Tranny skid next. The TC skid isn't an area of typical abuse on 4dr. You might want to at least look at y-pipes or even doing a custom re-route of exhaust behind the crossmember vs using spacers. Just a thought to read up on. Plan for a front DS at some point too. They tend to fail at the TC side joint when the boot rips and spews all the grease under your tub.

 

resharp has excellent suggestions; I do not know the price point on the Metalcloak lift.. I do know on the AEV 2.5" Dual Sport.. w/Rancho Geo Correct brackets & 35s. this lift picked my 13 JKU up 4 inches and on road drives rides better than stock on 33s. His other suggestions are on point.. forget the CAI & exhaust .. not much + for the $.

 

So, my Rubi is geared @ 4:10, so i think im good there, but will look into the grabbing the programmer you mentioned. I do need ball joints, which is one of the reasons I am looking to do all this work, looking to install a set of Teraflex Gen 2.
I checked out the Metalcloak system. Looks good, but I'm trying to keep everything black and silver. Any opinion or feedback on the Teraflex 3" Sport ST3 system with Falcon 3.3 shocks?

 

Do you know what the various lift components are/do? If not, do yourself a favor and browse the posts stuck right to the top of this Modified area. Not a bad call to get a better handle on it before buying something based solely on the name or the color or the companies advertising budget or the low-low price tag. Then you can look at the specific components and make a better comparison between specific lifts. For instance, a given mfg offers 2 or 3 or 4 different 2.5" lifts (or even several different options for one issue, like Caster Correction) - Which one is the better choice for you? Why? Looking at which components are included in each, and knowing what those components actually do, will help narrow down your choices. (Certainly a better way to go than buying just because the guy at the counter at 4wp told you to, then having to buy more components to fix other lift related issues you didn't know about. How many times do you suppose folks have posted here for help regarding crappy handling after that specific situation...)

Steering components and brake upgrades were mentioned above. If you think those could be in your future, keep in mind that the size rims you choose can factor in to which aftermarket components will work, as some don't play nice with 15" and 16". The usual recommendation you will see is 17" just so you keep more options open.

I'll also throw out another vote for Metal Cloak. Their 2.5" with the Rocksport shocks and CA brackets (or front lower arms if you want to spend a bit more) is a solid choice to add to your comparison set. You could certainly do worse.

 

Those Falcon shocks, though very attractive looking, are way overpriced and overkill for what most people need IMO. You can get a good shock at a fraction of the price that performs really well. The Rocksport shocks nthinuf mentions are great shocks. They might not look as sexy as the Falcon 3.3, but think of the other upgrades you could do with that price difference.

The TF ball joints are a good option, probably the best in that mid-range price level. Rare Parts would be top of the line, best BJ option going for the D30/44 axles. If you're going to do BJs, might consider welding some C gussets in. That's the time to do it if you're going to, and they're relatively cheap insurance considering the C's on that axle aren't the beefiest thing ever. All depends on your use though.

My only comment about not digging the MC gold zinc plated finish is that when you look at suspension and steering parts, you should really scrutinize the joints each manufacturer uses, especially when it comes to TB and control arms. I didn't use to like the gold but I am all in the bushings MC uses in their joints. The gold grows on ya. TF makes a nice TB, though pretty pricey, but most people's opinions about their springs and control arms is pretty average. Your choice on what you end up picking, but I'd 2nd the "don't buy something due to name or color" comment above.

I've had 35s with 4.10 gearing somewhere along the way. It was bearable, not ideal, but the difference isn't big enough to justify paying to go to 4.56, and unless you're in a really hilly area 4.88s would be a bit much. Considering you have the rubi TC offroad gearing ain't an issue at all.

 

So, as I read your comments and see the feedback out there, I've decided to upgrade using the MC 3.5" system. That said, would you recommend their HD steering upgrade, or go with someone elses? Also, will I need to upgrade the drive shafts, or will stock suffice at this height?.
Lastly, my Rubi has the electronic sway bar disconnect system which took a dump a year or so ago. I see that this is a question that needs to be addressed before ordering the kit, and I will speak with MC's CS reps., but was looking for any feedback on this as well.
Thank you all for your trail tested and experienced feedback, very informative and helpful.

 

MC designs their coils with armor and gear in mind, do some more searching for measured lift heights being reported and compare that to how much weight you plan on adding. I was over 4.5" at install with those coils, plenty of room for my 37's. If you plan to stick with 35's, consider the 2.5" coils instead...

The need for a front driveshaft is a gray area, depends on actual lift height, usage, and just plain ole luck. Crawl under and look at that joint at the tcase on a regular basis. Grease spitting out is easy to see as a ring above it on the undercarriage, once you see it you'll have time to decide what to do about it. (this only refers to joint angle, not the 2012+ spacer issue)

For the steering, you are referring to a flip/high steer? Or just beefier components?