sq-pa

Hello all,

I posted on here about a year ago when I first got my '11 JKU 4dr Rubicon asking for advice on lifts, bumpers, etc. Fortunately and unfortunately life kept me from doing anything. Fortunate: my wife and I had our second son and she wasn't a big fan of getting into a truck while she was pregnant even higher than a stock Rubi; unfortunately, my mom was diagnosed with cancer and had a hard time getting into the stock Jeep when I was taking her to and from the docs and chemo, so I couldn't do anything, and I didn't have time anyway-she passed away a month ago. And honestly because of my mom's passing, I really need to do something for myself, because going on a bender for a couple of months and ending up in Rio ain't exactly an option with 2 kids... I will admit that most of the wheeling I've done can easily be accomplished by my stock Rubi, but I'd like to not have to say no on a trail, and, let's all admit this, they look cooler when they have a bit of lift and larger tires...

My real basic questions are about lift. Mine's a DD so it has to be useful, and although I only drive about 10 miles daily each way, I like to be able to drive her regularly with the kids and on trips. A good friend who's a Jeeper and also a former military mechanic (and works in the trucking industry-although he still has a TJ and is in the process of buying a JK, so he's admitted he may not totally know) keeps trying to sell me on a Rubicon Express 3.5 long arm lift for all of the benefits that I'm sure it has-awesome off road capabilities while keeping on road performance, etc, etc. I'm cool for that, but the up to $3k price seems steep compared to every other lift kit I see. I'm cool with spending some money and can do it if it's going to really make it worth it, but I'd like to know if there are other good options. I'm also probably only looking to run 33-34's. I'm probably 90% onroad and 10% off. And while I like to go a bit crazy off road, it is my DD, so I'm not going to kill it on a regular basis-I'm not running Moab or the Rubicon trail on a regular basis...

And although this may be one too many questions for a newbie post: I keep getting water into my Jeep. Through having the top off and it raining while driving, the soft top on the '11's kinda sucking and blowing open while driving and the back just opening up while driving in rain, and offroading (a little bit of water seepage and s**t flying in...). The rugs keeping getting wet and the other night I left the rear zip on windows off and a rain storm happened and had a puddle in my passenger seat floor and I'm guessing because my driveway slopes slightly forward it pooled up there. I sopped it up and brought a wet vac out, but it was damp. I'm thinking about ripping the rugs out and doing a Line-X type of thing and just getting thick rubber mats. I'd much rather let her get wet and dirty, pull the plug and hose her out. Thoughts?

And let me know if I should post this in another forum like the modified one.

Thanks in advance folks.

Q

carolinajk

sorry for your loss buddy , look ar the teraflex budget boost i recently installed mine and have had great results i got the shocks also but a kit is available with shock extender brackets and the rubi shocks are as good as aftermarket anyways . oh and congrats on your new family member !

McPuck86

Greetings and welcome to the Forum. Congrats on the new child, condolences on the passing of your mom. Teraflex 2.5 budget boost or 4” lift are both good lifts. If you ever think you’ll go 37” tires, go for it before spending $ on smaller tires that you will wish you got bigger to begin with.
As for the water, its a Jeep, get used to it.

sq-pa

@Carolina and Mcpuck:

How good is a budget boost? No critique on what you've done by any means, just figuring it out. Although my rubi's obviously not a Lexus, I like the way it handles as-is. When I was younger I did a lot of work on muscle cars and can probably still build a 60's Camaro or GTO, but I'm pretty ignorant on lifts and all.

And Mc-I'm cool with leeks, but I don't want rust. Should I be worried?