With a 08' Ruby, want to put on 35's, and 18's, (dont want to get crap). I want the jeep to level out and "stand good." This will be 95% road car to and from work BUT 1week a year I will take it on a ruby worthy trip. Thoughts?

 

dont want 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 inches- too dangerous and useless for road conditions right? So I was thinking 2.5/3' BB but what about shocks and other stuff. I rather purchase quality and wait for the right parts. And 4.5- 4.75 backspacing on wheels. Are these BB better than stock shox

 

Call some of our sponsors, I use David Alpha Expedition see below. He gave me a very nice deal and has shipping deals.

I would go at least 2.5, 3 is better. I have 4 drive it everywhere and have no issues.

 

First off, you can do a Rubi worthy off-road trip in a stock Jeep. Or, IOW, you'd be surprised what your stock JK can actually do off-road.

What other mod's are you planning? Are you thinking new bumpers front and rear? New rock sliders? If so, then sag of the stock springs may become an issue, so you should replace those. That suggests something like a 2.5-3" Teraflex coil lift (minimum). There are lots of options with it--go ahead and get it with new shocks vice with shock extenders (but that will affect your on-road ride, perhaps making it harsher than you care for). The thing to remember about the lift: It doesn't give ground clearance; larger tires do that.

If the lift you select doesn't come with it, you might also want to change the front lower control arms with adjustable arms because with wide, 35" tires and a lift you're going to lose a lot of steering feel. The LCAs will allow you to get some of that back by adjusting caster (avoid cams, which do the same thing, but can become a problem during off-road adventures).

I'd personally recommend 17" wheels (unless you plan to upgrade to 37" tires). Tires will be a little cheaper and easier to find (many tires aren't made in various sizes of 18" wheel), and the proportions will look a little better (a 35" tire being about 34" if you really measure it). And, since you're going to 35" tires, you really should be thinking of replacing the rear bumper and adding a swing-gate mount for the spare (because of potential damage to the tailgate if you don't). So that brings you back to a spring lift (vice a BB).

BTW: If you're lifting a two-door especially, but even with four-doors, higher lifts make additional changes necessary. One of the first is new drive shafts. So, that's a good reason to avoid higher lifts (in case you're looking for one).

Finally, this is not too different from the path I'm taking. And I've found David at Northridge 4X4 to be a great resource. Cannot recommend him highly enough--he will guide you to smart, cost-effective solutions. And he has great prices with free shipping and top-notch customer service.

 

I will try that. The thing is, I dont want to be driving on the road with a suspension system set for offroad situations. i want to feel a good road ride too. Man these things are soooo slow. That must be why these jeeps are alwasy for sale- some people cant handle it.

 

No, the only lift I am looking for is 3' the most. The road ride is really important. 35' with 17s then huh. So new coil lift, front arms, and new shocks? Are you saying with a 3' lift I'll have to remove or get a new back bumper? In time I will get the bumpers and rock sliders BUT, the wheels, tires, lift is the first step. So I should get diff. shocks than what would come with the coils?

 

1. You can keep the stock feel by keeping the stock springs. But, that comes with possible sagging problems if you add other heavy accessories (most notably, bumpers).

2. Putting 35s will only make it feel slower. There are lots of things that give very marginal performance boosts--tuners, CAIs, exhausts, etc. If you want something that gives you a real seat-of-the-pants boost, budget for a regear.

3. If these Jeeps were "always for sale," they wouldn't have, and have had for decades, one of the top resale values of all used vehicles. Even today. Even when gas was $5 a gallon a couple years ago. That's the God's-honest truth--look it up!

 

there are tons of jeeps for sale, which is fine with me. truth be told, theres nothing like it. Starting a company with a convertable 4x4 with bells and whistles is prob a great idea. Jeep has no real competition for what it is.

So coils and springs are not the same? haha, Im a newbe. So keep the springs, get the 3 inch coils and new fitting shoxs, get the 34's with 17's and see how it all feels?

 

Oh and the Ruby will be 4-door. they look SO GOOD when mod'ed

 

Everyone keeps recomending Dave, I'll have to try him at his candy-shop. thanks for the thoughtful reply