But, if you safely want to run a 38" or taller tire you need to go to aftermarket axles, thus going wider. You would obviously change your wheels and could add some width there.

 

I see so Randy is stepping up to the Coil-Over! Man hes is going to have the ultimate rig....

 

In less than 2 weeks my 2dr Rubicon will have the EVO front coilovers with Teraflex LA kit. There will be pics Stay tuned.

 

So you cant run them on the stock Rubicon D44s? Kinda defeats the purpose of buying a Rubicon. I'm not hard on the throttle at all, prefer the slow and steady method of wheeling and wont be doing any 10/10 rated trails, or at least not many so knowing that would I still need to get aftermarket axles to run 38s or smaller? Just doesn't make much sense to me

 

Awesome man! Keep us updated!!

 

You could get away with the Rubicon axle if you're easy on the throttle. I Just recently saw a 44 front shaft break with 40"s on it two weeks ago but I also know a guy that ran 37"s on his d30 front for 6 months before switching to 40"s() for the past 6 months. He wheels it very hard and has had no problems yet... He keeps it slow though and doesn't force himself over an obstacle with momentum though...It might be worth wheeling the d44 until it breaks...

 

There are different axle shafts and u-joints that will beef up the 44, would that be sufficient with a lighter throttle to keep the 44s running or is there still significant risk of breakage?

 

Woo hoo, got my tax refund. Will be ordering the FT LA and the EVO front coilovers today for my 2dr Rubicon!!!

Question: I only plan to use 35's for now, but can I run 39.5" or 40's if I changed the axle shafts on the D44?

 

Read it again....the word "safely" was the key word in the sentence. You can put 49s on a d44 if you want. Can you wheel it safely? No. I don't think Jeep intended on people putting 38s and 40s on a Jeep just because its a Rubicon? Even if you are creeping along the trail with a lot of traction you still have a reasonable chance of breaking the shaft if you load the front up a lot trying to make it up a rock, esp. at full turn. I've seen people run 37s on a TJ D30 and not break that often and I've seen people break rockwells on 42s. Ungraded shafts and joints help but not enough to run more than a 38 SAFELY.
To say that buying a Rubicon because you can't run 38s is not really a valid statement. 75% of the people buy Rubicons because if they do actually wheel it, they don't have to get lower t-case gears and lockers front and rear. In Jeeps eyes they most likely upgraded to a D44 to simply help the axles live longer with the lockers, not to run 38s.
The tire size is 38s and up is due to weight not size. A 39.5 irok weighs the same as a 37 bogger. 38 is when they start getting heavy.

 

Top heavy? Not with 40 inch rubber underneath you... crazy center of gravity would be more like it.

Mel you can use my JK for the 2dr. coilover photoshoot, I'll make monthly payments.