I read alot on here already and decided to go for my first real mod.

I'm a real newb to Jeeps, off-roading, and anything relating to cars in general, lol, so I figured before I went with this initial settup, I would post a formal thread to discuss my intentions.

I'm going to put in a Teraflex 2.5" Budget Boost Lift and go for 35" BFG All terrain tires on Crager soft 8's (16" x 8") in black. I currently have a totally stock X with 31s on 18's. These are my concens:

1. Will this void my factory warrenty?

2. I'm assuming yes, so is there a mod-sensitive dealer service dept. in NJ (near Ocean County) that would do the install?

3. Is this a good settup if I do alot of highway driving?

4. Should I go with the coil lift instead for an extra 100 bucks?

4. Is there anything else I should know, like will the stock spare tire rack work? etc.

 

Your stock spare will work with a 35, but overtime it will warp. I would recommend either a bumper/tire carrier or the MBRP reinforcement brackets -- I have these and they work great, plus a very easy install.

 

With the auto, you are going to want/need/demand gears to make your JK more driveable with the 35s. Most of us recommend 5.13s for that setup.

The gears will run you between $800-$1800 for parts and labor depending on your luck in finding a good qualified shop offering a deal.

The gears are available from Northridge4x4 for $400 if your shop doesn't offer you a package deal.

If you can afford the gear change and $100 for the coils, then get the coils. It is the better way to go.
If your budget is limited, then using the $100 to start saving for gears. You will be much happier with the 5.13s.

The next thing on your shopping list should the Superchips Flashpaq to program your PCM. It will recalibrate your odometer, tune your engine and change the shift points.

 

Holy cow! thats alot to think about... I'm trying to do the math, but assuming the lift, wheels, and tires run me 2050 bucks, and I need to get gears and have someone install, what are we talkin? like 3500?

Can I get away without gears for a little? this is the first I'm hearing of it. How many do I need? @ 400?

 

I've got the teraflex 2.5 with coils and 35's. I notice a difference with them on, but it's not that bad. Although, I do have the 6-speed with 3.73's.

 

What gears do you currently have? 3.73?

I put 35s on last week. I've got the Rubi 4.10 with the auto and I don't have any problems with the power at all. I was expecting horrid power after the tires, but I'm more than happy with how it's performing...and that's before I reprogrammed with my Superchips. I'm expecting a little more power with it.

 

Same here... sort of. I have an auto with 3.73 gears and 35s. I have no problem with the power, but you will notice a loss. After reading the way people talk on this site, I expected much worse, but it's fine for me. You'll want to turn off your electronic overdrive when on the highway. (Thats the button in front of the shifter that says "O/D OFF".)

If you have 3.21 gears, you might be better off with 33s.

 

I would recommend upgrading to the coils for a better highway ride. I also highly recommend adding front lower control arms in order to set the caster on your front axle to about 6+ degrees (writeup on project jk). I have the OME 2" coil lift with 35's on my unlimited X and had sloppy steering on the highway and esp issues until I added the lower control arms and set caster up. As far as gears go, if you have a manual tranny (like I do) with 35's on 3.21 stock X gears, you will lose some power uphills and some fuel efficiency, but don't let everyone scare you, it is still drivable. Far stretch from a Ferrari or even a Honda Civic for that matter but until you can afford gears it will suffice. If however you have an automatic, my understanding is that you may overheat the tranny and will have many more issues with 35's until you regear.

My other recommendation is to buy a AEV Procal to reset your speedometer and also in an auto it will help with shift points.

Good luck.