I'm new to this, but was looking for some honest advice (feel free to break me in a bit).

I have a 2007 Sahara, completely stock and looking to make some upgrades. Right out of college, so I'm not exactly made of money, so looking for this to be pretty budget.

My problem is my toy is also my only means of transportation, so it gets a lot of highway miles from my daily commute, but I'd also like to have a little light fun on weekend with it.

Whats the maximum size tire I can achieve given the Sahara fender trim (won't be doing any rock crawling)? Should I replace wheels as well, or can a larger tire fit on the stock wheel? Probably looking at 33".

If thats not possible what are my lift options? BB or BL? (No more than 2.5 to 3" lift). Remember price is huge here.

I appreciate the help here guys.

 

Buddy of mine just added 33s and made a huge appearance improvement from stock. Kept the stock wheels.

 

I am running 33s. Rims have 4.5 backspace. They fit without a lift, but would rub if I wanted to wheel.

I got a 2" BDS lift. Here are the pics.

Hope this helps.

Last time I went wheeling, I occasionally rubbed the rubicon rock rail with the rear tire. So, if you want to run 33s, you might want to consider 2.5 in lift.

Good luck.

 

Thanks for the reply. Could you find out which tires?

 

ht tp://bds-suspension.com/product?ma=7&mo=32&ty=45&yr=2012

Is this what you purchased? How's the ride on street driving too? Excited, definitely in my price range. Thanks for the reco

 

a 2" Budget boost would clear 33s with ease and look good doing it. As far as tires you may find that by the time you buy 18" 33s, mount ,balance, and possible wheel spacers (another $200+), you can just get the whole 15" MB72's (proper offset)with 33" Goodyear Duratracs deal from Discount tire and sell your old rims/tires.

 

There are so many different ways you can go, if you say you're gonna go budget type boost you'll have people on here saying, "Do it right the first time..." aka "buy the most expensive, most advertised, biggest baddest)" etc... Just because something is less expensive doesn't mean it's wrong. Do what your budget allows and/or save until you can purchase the more expensive equipment (if that's your goal). As I have done and continue to do, do your research, listen to what people say, what you read, and most of all take it all with a grain of salt as people's opinions will differ as much as their Jeeps do.

My opinion on how to build your rig:
First determine how you plan to use your rig, i.e.: on-road vs. off-road, what type of terrain you'll be in off-road, what type of driving you'll do on-road, etc... Next determine how much of each you'll be doing, remember this is only a guess, cause once you get off-road you'll want to spend more and more time there! Trust me, lol. Then and only then, look at how to build your rig for your use and remember to take into account your budget as you can throw any dollar amount out there but depending on what you'll want to do, it may or may not be reasonable. Too many people just want to lift and throw big tires under their rig, not taking into consideration their terrain, the extra "stuff" that you'll require to run a "large" rig, other components needed to keep stability and correct drivetrain geometry, etc, etc, etc... Don't forget to take into consideration armor, engine upgrades, etc... Again all depends on your intended use. All that being said, this again is my opinion and hey I am just one guy (who has owned 5 Jeeps and currently owns 4, I have built and rebuilt a few in my day) but again I only base this on my experience I am no expert. Also, I am not trying to scare you either... You can build a very capable rig for a small dollar amount, it's been done time and time again.

As a side note, I was very impressed this past weekend with the capability of a stock JK... It took on and tackled some difficult obstacles (granted some damage did occur but it was a window and dents on both bumpers, minor stuff). So your rig doesn't need to be jacked to the sky just needs to be built for your use as hey it's your rig.

With that here is my shameless plug:

If you decide you want to run a 2.5" and 33's I have a few items that could help you get on your way; keeping your budget in mind... That being said, the shipping might be an issue cost wise though. If interested, check out the link in my signature.

Sorry for the long reply, I just kept typing...

Good luck!

 

I agree with the above post. The JK is pretty capable stock. I had orginalyl wanted to get a lift / tires , but after wheeling it i'm getting protection instead.
Got some ace rock sliders on the way, a new bumper will be my next purchase

 

wads13 has some good advice. It appears the lift I have is no longer offered. I have a lift similar to the 3" advertised on the BDS site.

Good luck.

 

Sorry but don't know exactly what you mean by proper offset... As I said I'm new.

All great information guys, thanks! I think the 2.5 lift will be of use if I continue to build out my rig.

That being said if I get my hand on some MB72's I would need some good all-terrain 33s (for light trails, snow... I'm in CT and highway driving). Any good recos, feel as if duratracs are for more serious wheelers. Am I correct?