I was set on a budget of 800 by my lonesome mind.

Thinking should I get the TF 2.5 coil lift and have some left overs,
save for wheels/tires dont think the 32's would look bad for a little

Or should I buy front bumper? Clueless on what company

Its my daily driver and my weekender offroader

 

The 2.5" teraflex lift is great and will give you about 3" of actual lift without aftermarket bumpers. The 32's shouldnt look too bad with this but it will be noticeable. If not a lift then possibly an evap skid or others skids for that matter, a little protection you know?

My first investment was rock rails, then lights (since I do a lot of night wheeling), then my tire carrier, and finally the lift and tires.

 

Haha

Thanks for the move Im so new...

Ya for 800 I could do the TF 2.5 coil lift and the evap skid

Since mine is a Rubi stock rails should be good enough.

 

Yeah thats what I noticed, your stock rails will serve you well for now, Ive seen those things bounce down pretty hard and survive well.

 

I would go for better bumpers first.

 

How big of a lift do you plan on going? Is the TF your realistic "dream" lift? I say that because I'm running a "okay for now lift". Its a $140 2.5" coil spacer kit and it is perfect for me right now. Everything works like factory, I can stuff my 32s just fine, it looks okay. If you have an auto your driveshaft may rub the skid when you get that 3" lift from the coils. The rubicon just needs to be a bit higher unless you plan on going to a full arm kit in my opinion, which is why i chose the spacer lift. It's very budget minded, and no big deal to grow off of. I have no problem in selling the spacers when i buy a "Real lift".

just something to consider...I have the 2.5" spacers, 1.5" wheel spacers and plan for 35s later this year. It will last me for awhile since so much stock/well functioning equipment is still there. Next step will be "all out" (within my budget), long arm kit, regear, 37s, etc, etc.

baby steps for me!

 

My usage is similar to yours, but I don't have the benefit of the Rubi package.

Having started the process recently on my JK, but having done it before on other vehicles I suggest the following:

!. Start by thinking how much road handling and comfort you are willing to give up to improve your off-road performance. For instance if I had a Rubi, I would start with a front bumper and winch. The stock tires on the Sahara might as well be slicks in mud, rocks or deep sand.

2. Then pick your desired tire size and brand. This will affect many of the other required changes such as amount lift required (maybe zero), gear ratio, wheels, etc.

Starting with 32s is a decent size, particularly with the ones on the Rubi which are quite good off road compared to the Bridgestones on the Sahara and X. The vehicle is still driveable temporarily even with larger gears like 5.13 or 5.38 if you install lift and gears first.

3. Then pick your lift based on step 1 and budget. Do you research here since this will have a large impact on how the JK handles and flexes.

IMO, the order to add mods with an auto and stock 32's is lift->gears->tires. You are ahead of the game with Rubi and those with manuals have even more flexibility on the timing and order of the gears and tires.

If you care more about cosmetics, those can be added at any time.

 

IMO lift, armor, tires...

Armor is cheaper than repairs in the long run, but is not as fun to spend $$ on..

 

A bone stock Rubi is a very capable off road vehicle. You may way to drive it stock for awhile before you make any mods to the suspension. I went with a winch bumper and winch first which gives you many more options for recovering yourself or your buddies when off road. After the winch and bumper settled the front springs a bit I drive it a bit more before I lifted it. I am going to wear down the stock BFGs, then move up to bigger tires, rear bumper with tire carrier and maybe gears. The progression of your build up is mostly personal preference.

 

Not what you want to hear but I would recommend getting it well stocked with recovery gear. I started with a hi lift jack with winch kit, tow strap, fire extinguisher, small compressor etc.

I added a dedicated toolkit, snatch strap and some safe food / water for those unforseen issues.