czar87

Well, I have had my 09 JK rubi for a while now and I finally have enough cash and have done a good amount of research to upgrade it to what I think will be a pretty good setup for my needs. I would love to get some feedback on it, I have also posted some questions on some of the items. Here is what I plan on doing and some reasons why:

1.) Lift- RK 3.5" Max travel
2.) Shocks- Fox 2.0 IFP (980-24-641 and -2)
3.) Front and Rear Bump stops- making my own, 3" front, 2" rear
4.) Moog TRE's (probably replace all 4 while im at it)
5.) Pro Cal
6.) Warn M8000
7.) LOD mid width front w/hoop and skid
8.) LOD gen III stubby TC rear w/lights and tail light bracket
9.) Poison Spyder EVAP skid
10.) 17" ATX Ledge black teflon wheels
11.) 35" MT/R Kevlars
12.) Front Axle sleeves and gussets


1.) RK 3.5 Max travel.This was probably the hardest upgrade to pick because there are so many good options out there. It came down to the RK kit and the AEV kit. The jeep is my DD right now and for a couple more years at least so I was looking for a good road manners as well as great off-road capability. It is fact that the AEV kit has a better roll center and instant center than any other mid-arm kit out there. If you want to discuss that, we can, but geometry is geometry. When obtaining those great handling characteristics, however, you lose some clearance, dont have as durable/robust components, use stock bushings that dont allow the same degree of movement, and most of all you dont have a lot of future upgrade options. That is the reason I went with RK, they seem to provide great quality products/service, and will be the best option in the long run as I plan to further upgrade (someday when I get another DD and the jk becomes more of a toy ). The RK kit gets the roll center back to stock geometry with the raised track bar brackets and the adjustable CA's will allow me to dial in the rest of the suspension for even better handling/tuning. I may have opened up another suspension can of worms, but o well.

A couple questions on this kit: the max travel kit comes with the front track bar bracket that allows the relocation of SS anchor point. What hardware/setup are you guys using for this? I have heard that the stock shock mounting hardware works?

Also, for lower shock mounting, can you use the stock locations without issue or do you need to move them outboard?


2.) Fox Shox 2.0 IFP (980-24-641 and -2). These were recommended to me for this system and I have heard their valving works well with RK's spring rates. They have a pretty good price point right now as well. Has anyone run these on their RK kits, if so, how do you like them?

3.)Bump Stops- Just going to make my own. I have access to a lathe and welding equipment, so I figure this will save some money.

4.) Moog TRE. The RK kit requires a new TRE for the HD drag link attachment. I heard that the Moog TRE will work and is a good aftermarket greaseable option. Also heard that there were some quality issues with some of the Moog threaded shafts. I would like to go with these as I have used Moog components before and havent had any issues, just wondering what you guys thought. I'm assuming that if I were to get them from O-reilly's/autozone, I would be OK? Will probably replace all 4 ends while i have everything apart.

5.) Pro-Cal. Again, open to options in this category. I know I want to be change the speedo, TPMS thresholds, etc, the Pro-cal does all of this. Any recommendations for other options that do this at a good price?

6.) Warn M8000. This one was between the Warn and Engo winches. I know the Engo's did well in the latest field tests and all that and are at a reaaallly good price. They just havent been around long enough for me to take the plunge, and I dont mind spending a little more for an American product. I'm sure ill get flack for this one too.

7-8.) LoD front and rear bumpers. This was another good debate, but ended up choosing the LoD combo. Their front mid width is in my opionon one of the best looking ones out there. Will get the zinc coating to deal with the salty michigan winters. I like the rear stubby w/TC because of its looks, ability to mount other items, and looks to be pretty stout. From what i have searched, most people are very happy with theirs and dont have any rattle. Any feedback on these would be great! And i know the lead time is kind of rough, but I wont be back in country for another month anyway.

9.) Poison spyder EVAP skid. Like the looks and price, end of story.

10-11.) wheel/tire combo. Again, I like the looks/price and I dont think you can go wrong with the mt/r's. Anyone with the ATX ledge on their rig, please let me know how you like them/post a pic.

12.) axle sleeves and c-gussets. Need them for the larger tires.

Well, thats my upgrade plans, thanks for reading my novel of a post. Any feedback/suggestions/experience with the mentioned parts would be greatly appreciated! Hopefully I will have a bunch of these parts waiting for me when I get back home!

-czar
09 jk 2dr rubi, "Rubi-Sue"
...soon to get a facelift and some new shoes!

grandpa jeep

That's a nice list. Have you read some of the posts about the mtr. I am also looking at 35s I wanted the mtr untill I started reading that they have alot of problems with balancing among other complaints and more people or unhappy with this tire it seems. I don't know first hand just a heads up. Nice build sheet.

Quentin_T

I think more people are running this tire, and therefore you get more complaints. I have no issues with mine, 30k on them. I did have some steering/suspension wear that fixed every vibe I had, I wonder if there are others blaming these tires when it's something else.

Not that the tires are easy to balance, there are a lot of weights on my rims!

thecoz

You could save some money and get an equally good Rough Country kit. (I'm just bringing up RC in everyones post till people give me any solid recient evidence that it's not a good company)

czar87

thanks, yea i was also reading up on this. It seems that the mtr's are hit or miss when it comes to balancing issues. Seems that some absolutely love them and some detest them and GY left a bad taste in their mouth. Also wondering with GY's supply issues if obtaining a replacement will be an issue. Part of me is wanting to think that they had a quality issue with their last batch and therefore haulted production, maybe they have fixed it since they started making them again this spring? anyone with balancing issues on newly installed tires?... hmmm decisions decisions- also looking at the nitto trail grapplers and BFG KM2s

grandpa jeep

That gives me some hope I really want to run the mtr, I have for awhile..I am really impressed with my bfg KM-TA. Im leaning toward the km2 for my move to 35s but they run small compared to toyo and mtr.

GulfCoastJeeper

I just got a super chips and it helped with me being way undergeared. I took the same interstate trip (300 miles) and it was miserable previous to the super chips. Still isn't fun but it helps. Call some of the dealers or look for one used and you may find a deal. That being said if your ok with your power the procal is cheap

czar87

Yea I'm leaning toward the superchip. I have the 6 speed with 4.10, plan on running that for a while and see how i like it... im thinking it will be fine as i hardly ever use first gear right when road driving. I am planning on making my own C-gussets, bump stops, and oil pan skid, so maybe ill use that to justify going with the superchip!

czar87

ha, im in the same boat as you. I really do like the mtr looks and people who didnt have balancing issues seem to really like them. they did place 2nd in the tire shootout if that means anything to you (i know some of those can be swayed by sponsors). An old friend works at discount tire and he said he would hook me up (that will help if i have any balancing issues too), with the goodyear rebate, the treadlightly rebate, im not sure I can pass them up!

grandpa jeep

Tread lightly rebate? How do you get that?