I have an '08 Sahara. 3.73 gears, willing to go to 4.10. So far it is stock. I want to make it look good and give a bit higher off road capability and try to maintain as much of the street ride/ milage as possible. What ould be the next tire size up from the stock Sahara tires and wheels? Also which lift kit is recommended? nOT SURE ABOUT 15, 16 ,17 OR 18" wheels . alot of sizes to choose from. Maybe 33's but should they be on 15" 16" 17" or 18" wheels and lift kit? heard some say the econo lifts are fine others say they got death wobble and had to change. Want to make it look tougher. don;t what to go crazy. What is needed to do it right?

 

I love the Fab Tech suspension,you keep the same ride with a 3" lift and can clear 35" tires
It's a little expensive but I love it and the Jeep drives the same as stock.
It's worth checking out,I also kept the Sahara rims at 18" and had Mickey Thompson ATZ's installed and I can't tell people enough about how nice it handles and drives
I also have 4:10 gears,I will tell you its not bad,I will not change the gears but you might want to go 4:88's,that would bring it back to stock with 35" tires.

http://www.quadratec.com/products/16119_050.htm

So far not a single problem

 

You can run 33's (10.50 or 12.50) with no lift with the right wheel spacing. If you want short money for a little boost with no effect to your ride you can't beat a set of daystar 3/4" spacers for $40.00.

As for wheels. tires for 15's are cheapest. The bigger the wheel the more expensive the tire is. Problem is you have to run a rediculous offset to fit the 15's. I think it will rub the caliper any more than 3" or 3.5" backspacing. Some people on here are running 15's. A 33x12.50 on a 16x8 with 4.5" backspacing will have only minor tire scrub at full flex. The 3/4" spacers make that situation better. I've seen the same tire and wheel combo with 4" backspacing and they rub the outer part of the flare.

That plastic air dam up front has to be trimmed or removed if you offroad disconnected.

 

Raiderse I am going to do this in sections. As Im sure there are better quaified people on here that may correct me at anytime and I will welcome their knowledge. IMO you have to look at what you going to do with your jeep. It does look like you plan on continuing to wheel your jeep on trails but I know it is a daily driver. So you are probally looking for a balance between the two. So here are my opinions.

Lifts:
Go with a coil spring lift. At least then if you start adding front and rear bumpers which weigh alot more that those plastic pieces of junk and may cause the front or rear to compress. Giving you that rake look that everyone is trying not to have. You can use spacers to compensate for the added weight thus bring the front or rear back to level.

As far as what height to go with I would have to say 2.5 to 3in of lift. Anything over 3in you will have to up grade your front driveshaft do to the pinion angle and wear the stock driveshaft was not made for. Since you have a four door and it is longer. Clearing peaks of hills becomes a little harder also. So a combination of lift and tires play a big part in this.

Example: A 3in lift with 33s is almost the same as a 2.5in lift with 35s.

The reason I went with a 3in is that since mine is a DD and with having kids. It is the perfect hight for me and it is a good platform to build on. I know that once springs settle all I have to do is add a spacer correct the sag. Also I will eventually go to 35s so the added height is already there for me to play with.

Tires/wheels:
For wheeling the larger the wheel dia i.e 17, 18, and 19 in. The smaller the sidewall. Which will affect the ride quality on the road and flex in the tire while wheeling. Also, the larger the wheel the more it cost. The same goes with tires. The good thing about 35s is that they will help with bring your axle up higher that 33s will. But if money is a factor and it usually is; i would recommend that you start out with 33s and a 16 in wheel. Dont put to much money into the wheels since the front will get rock rash alot more than your rear. But remember you can always go up to 35s later.

So for example if you get Soft 8 wheels which are on sale right now at 4wd that are 16 x 8 with 4.5 in backspacing and 33s. You would be looking approx 1500.00 for all five depending on the tire (which in this case I was using the price of the same tires I have the Trxus). This will give you a good starting point as far as tires and a good ride on the street without alot of road noise.

Gears:
If you are going to do 35s def change the gears to at least 4.88 since you have an auto. You will be much happier.

If you go with 33s you will be fine with the 3.73s you already have. You will notice a little power lost but not too much. What causes the power loss is the rotational weight of the bigger tires. But changing to 4.10s will make up for that rotational weight.

The cost of changing both front and rear gears is pricey like $1200.00. So if you plan on staying with the 33s for say like 5 yrs I would say go ahead and change the gears to the 4.10s. I feel for that lenght of time it would be worth the money.

BUT (there is always one of these) if you feel that in 2 to 3 yrs you will go to 35s. Then just keep the 3.73s and change to the 4.88s when you go to the 35s. Paying approx $2400.00 in 2 yrs and that does not even include the cost of the gears. To me it is not worth it. That other 1200 bones could be use to go out to Moab.

These are just my opinions. If there is anything incorrect please someone correct me.