Hey folks! I'm a newbie to Jks, but I've owned numerous other Jeeps and an FJ40. I bought an '09 Rubicon 4-door, during the "employee ++++++ sale." I got if for just over 30k and zero percent financing, loaded with an auto, hard top, nav, and leather. My question is this...does anyone simply buy a Rubicon, wheel it fairly regularly on nothing too gnarly, and enjoy it on the road in its stock form? While I must admit that the many of you have outstanding JKs with all the mods you have added, and you can clearly climb over extraordinary obstacles, my concern (as a mechanic) is this: if I lift my Jeep, even a little, I should get bigger tires and backspacing and wheels. If I get bigger wheels, I should go with gears...and a device to flash my speedo and other computer controls. I should also swap out my shafts, to add CVs and reduce the width of the front shaft, and the only way to keep the correct steering alignment if I tilt the front diff is to either hack the ends off the diff and reweld them to their original position OR live with "almost" factory handling. Regardless of the adjustments one can make with whatever lift kit I would use (most likely a Clayton 3.5 short arm kit to avoid hacking my factory brackets off for long-arms), it is impossible to bring the upper and lower points on the front diff into correct alignment if the diff is tilted for optimal driveline angle without a lot of fabrication. I know many of you have been able to dial in close to factory specs, but I'm still wondering if I should spend the 5k (at LEAST 5k) to do it right or to simply enjoy my rig and avoid climbing over giant boulders and ravines and whatnot. I like to throw the wife and dogs into my rig, cruise the San Diego area to soak up the beach weather, and from time to time go to Mammoth or Big Bear or Alpine and enjoy some technical trails. Does anyone out there plan to keep his or her rig "as is" and wheel? Or am I crazy?

 

I completly understand your concerns. I believe something like 80% of JK's will never be modified so you wouldnt be alone. The group on this forum just happens to be made almost soley of those other 20%.

As per lifting "right" there is no need to spend 5K. Most reputable companies sell adjustable control arms and trackbars so you have a near infinite adjustment without having to hack or reweld. True a LA kit will require you to move/hack the factory frame brackets (and give you the exceptional benefits of such), but you can buy adjustable short arms that utilize the stock brackets and are fully adjustable. I run a little over 3" of lift and 35" tires and the only things not in factory spec on mine are the rear pinion angle and front castor, both by my choice. After setting everything back to stock geometry (accounting for lift hight) i began to experiment and find adjustments I like better. I plan to fully replace all my control arms to adjustable soon and will have the ability to adjust my weelbase =/- 6" and all angles to =/- .5degrees without ever having to cut or weld.

As for wheels I am still running the stock ones with the addition of BOLT ON spidertrax spacers effectivley giveng me 4.75" backspacing ($200 for the set).

Take your time, research the available products, and make informed decisions. If you still choose to stay stock I will still wheel with you anytime, if you choose to mod then we will just wheel harder!!! Remeber, these aren't your 80's re-arched leaf springs, these are fully engineered and tested kits!!!

 

No your not crazy (YET) but there are alot of JK'ers out there who have kept their rigs stock and i personally think a rubi doesn't really need the modding but it would deffinetly help.

Just my 2Cents

 

being a mechanic, have you ever heard of adjustable control arms??thats what ya use to realign the drive angles which arent very good too begin with from the factory!!you can get a 2.5 budget boost that will fit 33s even 35s for that matter and not have to purchase/modify anything!you could also get wheel spacers to put wider/bigger tires on your stock wheels and with your discos you could lift put bigger tires and have a very capable trail rig for under $1000.00 but yes some people do leave there rigs stock!!!!

 

I'm sitting on stock suspesion & 35's - rides great, only additional investments were the flares & a Flashpaq!
If I had a rubicon I probably wouldn't have the $ to do mods... nor would I be moviated to upgrade as much (staring at those stock 29" minivan tires for 2 months wasn't fun).

 

If you don't wheel too too extreme, then I don't think you should mod your Rubi. I mean, they come out of the box fully capable of doing some moderate wheeling with considerable ease, so if you don't plan on doing some serious extreme rock-crawling or extreme trail runs, then I think you should be just fine with it fully stock. If I got the Rubi, I wouldn't mod anything but the appearance of it and some minor performance mods that don't cost much because lol I would neither have the money to spend on extreme modifications like most people do on here, nor would I want to because I think they are pretty badass already. My 2 cents

 

You don't need new shafts as long as you don't lift over approx 3"...you could always run a 2-2.5" lift and run 33's with no need to change gears. Along with the tires, you would either need wheel spacers OR new wheels, whichever you prefer.

 

Hi riknapor, I just got my JK 4 door Rubicon the same way. I couldn’t pass it up. I have been taking it out to the west side of S2 just to get use to what it can do and try some of the tools that come standard on the Rubicon. I too take my wife, daughter and dog on day trips. I have found only one thing that I was not able to do and that was going over sharp angles that I got hung up on do to the low break point in the center of the wheel base. So I will change it in the future. But for now I have equipped it with a fire extinguisher, snatch strap, first aid kit and a CB radio so I can do runs with local groups and I also got the JK and SO CAL sticker from this site. I am getting shrockworks sliders next to protect the sides just in case I make a mistake. I do love the way some of the jeep look on this site, so I will end up doing more I’m sure. I think the rule of thumb is “Build it for you and build it right the first time”. That will save you the most money. We should hook up some time for a drive or a run (I think is the proper term).

 

I see unmodded Jeeps all the time in my neighborhood. They have this "SAHARA" thing stencled on them. Must be a limited soccer mom edition or something...

 

First welcome to the JK-Forum.

Some due, i see several Jk's on the road every day that are just transportation.
My Girlies Jeep is almost stock in realtive terms.



Mine how ever is not soo stock and does most anything she is pointed at.