Too many great options... too few resources.

The lottery deal hasn't really worked out yet, so I'm in the same boat as almost everyone else on this forum... to many wants, and not enough cash.

I'm new to Jeeping... and pretty excited the whole adventure. I'm leaning toward either a 3" Teraflex or a 3" LT OME from Northridge as the first big upgrade. My rig is an 08 JK Rubicon 2-door with an automatic and 4.10s.

My question concerns running the stock Rubicon tires and wheels after the lift kit installation. I'm just curious how many others went with a lift kit and then waited on larger wheels and tires. Will it drive me crazy until I make the move? (I would probably try to force something to happen sooner if it weren't for the fact that I'd like to do the gearing and driveshafts at about the same time as the tires.)

Thanks for sharing any thoughts.

Jeff

 

Before I rolled out on taller tires I went with a simple 1" body lift for some additional height without greatly increasing the center of gravity and not giving me additional ground clearance. When the funds presented themselves for 35s and wheels I was able to get it done with a modest 2" OME coil lift without rubbing and without the need to get into a host of other suspension products and rear drive shaft. Ultimately I ended up with a 3" FT Ultimate short arm kit.

I definitely like the flexibility a body lift offers. Keeps the center of gravity low, gives you extra tire clearance and is a relatively easy and inexpensive upgrade. Shouldn't take more than a couple hours even for those who fumble with wrenches and less than a two beer job.

 

I have an 08 Unlimited Rubicon with the 2" OME and stock tires. It looks okay...not what I want but it works for now. I won't have the cash for about another year. $1,800 bucks is a lot for tires.

I put the Spidertrax wheel spacers on and that makes it MUCH better. It looks better than stock, but not finished if that makes sense. I found mine barely used for $100 bucks from another JK owner. I figure I can always sell them for $100 when I am done with them.

I would post pics, but I don't know how. If you do a search on the OME lift, there are plenty of pics out there of OME lifted Jeeps on stock wheels. The spacers are the key to making it look good and it handles MUCH better.

 

I have seen a 4 door rubi with the rubicon express long arm with the stock wheels and tires. It looked ok. A smaller lift like your talking about would look fine. Go for it. Then send me a message when its time to get some tires and wheels.

 

I'm running a Full Traction 3" (actually about 3.5") with the stock 32" tires and stock driveshafts for now and it's not too bad until you're around some 35"+ tires and then you look back at your jeep... Some 1.5 wheel spacers made it look and feel more balanced though

 

Don't do a body lift. It gives you zero ground clearance increase. The only point is to run larger tires. Which you wont be.

I have seen several on here with a 2-3" lift with stock tires. I plan on doing a 2" lift and keeping stock tires. I don't need anything larger than a 32" tire. I just need more ground clearance because I keep raking the underbelly on things.

 

Big A is running a 4" Superlift and stock tires for now. We just put the lift on this weekend. He should be posting pics soon, he still has stock Rubi tires and rims on Spidertrax spacers.

 

I'm running the Tera Flex 2.5" coil lift with shock adapters and SpiderTrax 1.5" wheel spacers. I stayed with the stock Rubicon tires and wheels since I couldn't bring myself to not wear out a brand new set of BFG Mud Terrains before dropping a wad of cash on bigger tires. I really like the look of it; it's probably what the JK should have looked like from the factory. Of course, by my next post I might be running 33s or bigger since I have that "modify my Jeep" disease that most on here do!

 

Here is a pic of the Wifes x w/ 32"s and a 3" bds lift.


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It looks ok. I am going to get new tires this week. We get our tax return soon.

 

I have the OME lift with stock Rubicon tires. Looks fine to me. I'll probably go back with the stock size Rubicon tires when these wear out. They are great on and off road.

Here is the only pic I have, sorry, no side shots.