So, I just went with my wife today and put down some money on a 4 door Rubicon which should be arriving mid-week. I've got a 2 door sport which I bought about a month ago and intend to modify (the idea being that I'll be a bit more proud of myself when I nicely mod-up my sport to perform similarly to a Rubicon because it'll be custom and more mine). So now the question is one of strategy: Although, I keep my eyes open and am constantly looking, I still haven't found the money tree, so I've got limited resources. I want to keep my mods for the time being around $3K. I've cruised the forum and Quadratec and 4WD Parts and this is the tentative conclusion to which I've come.

1. 33" tires would be the best compromise of size and performance off-road/ on-road and are also at least slightly larger than on a stock Rubi (32"x10").
2. All-terrains are going to give me better dry traction off-road than mud-terrains because they won't dig as much.
3. 17" Wheels are a better investment because they'll give me the flexibility to upgrade to 35" tires down the road if I so choose.
4. Clearance for 33" tires could be achieved through either adding Xenon or Bushwacker Flat Fenders or an Old Man Emu 2" Lift and I'd still maintain maximum flex via my JKS Quicker Disconnects.
5. The fender flares are different widths than the factory fenders (up to +2" or -1.5") so they would no longer line-up with the front and rear bumpers, so that could look odd (I sound like an old woman for worrying about this), so I would probably have to upgrade to after market bumpers which I want to do at some point already. However, the additional weight would probably require me to upgrade my shocks. I figure, used shocks from a 4 door would compensate for this problem and I could get them out of the for sale or even freebies section.
6. However, the OME 2" kit wouldn't require me to upgrade my bumpers for purely aesthetic reasons, although as I said, I'm still planning on upgrading sooner or later. But to complicate things, the OME 2" kit comes in either medium duty (0-90lbs) or heavy duty (90-180 lbs front) and if I get the heavy duty which I might need to compensate for the additional weight of the after-market bumpers, they say (on project JK) that the heavy duty 2" lift is a lot more like 3-3.5" unladen.
7. I like the look and weight of stubby front bumpers (typically around 40-70lbs) and with a winch (around 80lbs I figure for a Superwinch EPI9.0S) I'd be looking at about 150lbs which would put me firmly in the heavy duty range, but I may not buy a winch right away because they're obviously $$$$$.
8. Since I'm doing a 33" tire I don't plan on using a rear bumper/tire carrier combo but rather the stock tire mount perhaps with new bump-stops.

With all that being said (I'd imagine 50% of people have stopped reading by now) I find that I'm suffering from severe analysis paralysis... so I'm going fishing. I hope this won't get me in trouble, but, after all, what is a forum for? Thus, please, with my plan and thoughts laid bare before you all, give me your I'd really appreciate it! Thanks in advance!

 

Sounds like a good plan and I read it all

I am running 33"Km2's on 17" Black Rock Wheels
Teraflex 2.5 Coil Lift W/Shocks and TF Quick Discos. Just this past week I upgraded from the BB and am completely happy that I did. I netted about 3.5" front and 3" the rear
Haven't chopped my fender flares yet
I have the OR-Fab stubby front bumper (killer deal on it), you could easily chop yours and it will look 10x's better, and the stock rear bumper for now.

It is a good build for a small budget IMO.

 

It was a good read and sounds like a good plan. So you took the sport and graciously let your wife have the Rubicon, wow you have the marriage thing all figured out.

 

Thanks for the replies! Glad to hear that I've got my head on straight! As for the wife getting the Rubi... I think it's more that I've been well trained, not that I've got it all figured out, lol

As soon as I make my final decisions, I'll be sure to post some pics.

 

As soon as who makes their final decisions?
Sorry man couldn't help pulling your chain, have a nice day.

 

Lol, the best thing about getting the wife a Rubi is the fact that I got a kitchen pass to start the mods on my sport! I guess I'm a student of domicile politics. I'll definitely post pics. I'm going to order the OME 2" lift and the tires as soon as we get back from Virginia.

BTW, I've decided on the medium duty OME 2" lift and 255/85R16 KM2s for my stock steelies (it'll save me the money I'd otherwise have to spend on new wheels and still give me 33"). The reason I'm going with the med. duty OME lift is because I can buy the fronts and rears in the heavier duty later for about $150 per pair when I add my front and rear aftermarket bumpers (whenever that happens). Until then, the med. duty will give me exactly 2" of lift and will sit perfectly with the stock bumpers. I'm also going to order a set of front and rear brake line drop brackets because it's always better to be safe and not sorry.

In other news, the wife's Rubicon should come in tomorrow. It's going to be a good day.