Im new

[ashesinthefall]

Sup guys, just got my new 2010 JK, and thought before i do any mods or anything i should go somewhere like here, and talk to people who actually know about this stuff haha!

so heres what i'm thinking, a Jeep just doesnt feel right to me unless it looks a bit like a tonka truck, i want to work my way up to a 2.5" lift maybe 35" tires if theyll fit? 33s if not?  snorkel, new bumpers/winch and side steps, and rock guards.  where would you guys start?

i was thinking tires/rims but holy crap man! the metric sizings on one, then imperial on the other, and im sitting here pulling hair out looking at the quadratec page arrrgh!!     

anyways lemme know what you would do, some advice, or references to websites, or shops in town would be bad assed! i gotta start somewhere right?

thanks
-Matt

[Rubi03 jef]

welcome

as for your goals .. for your jeep

2.5 inch suspension spacers will run you 120 bucks and thats for all 4 corners
plus shocks another 100 bucks maybe 150

then you can fit 35's and there you go . depends on your tires the price will change fast

your ganna wanna get tow hooks front and rear if you plan on coming out with the club or with any open run

tow straps and some tools as well
never know what may break out on the trail

check rubicon express for the 2.5 inch suspention spacers and if your buying new rims your ganna want to have a bigger back spacing so they dont rub when you turn

[w squared]

A few questions for you:

Do you want to take your Jeep offroad?

If so, how much? Just once or twice  a year, or fairly often?

Is it important to you that your rigs looks like a tonka truck, or that it can takes you different places?

Don't feel that anyone will judge you for answering honestly...it's just a matter of giving you advice that will let you make smart decisions about your Jeep.

Oh wait....modifying a Jeep is by definition NOT smart

[ashesinthefall]

haha, hey man i never said i was really.... smart...... but i am honest! and yeah ill probably rock it off road maybe once or twice a year, honestly ive only offroaded an old YJ once... but when it comes down to it, some kids get a honda civic and put subs in and green lights under the car.... and some kids get jeeps, and put big tires on it haha.

**edit though a friend told me to keep the origional rims and tires for road trips etc (talking about goin different places) so i think i may do that for sure

thats the best i can explain it:P

oh and i just looked the shocks up, they sell it all as one package   ( http://www.rubiconexpress.com/SuspensionSystems/Product.aspx?part=RE7130RXJ ) im pretty sure thats the one you mean, is that a good buy for the gear?

[w squared]

Okay, that helps a lot.

I've got a JK running on 35's, and for what you want to do, I would suggest going with 33's. I think that unless you plan to use it offroad a lot, you will find that 33's are going to be happier for you. It's easier on the stock parts mechanically, and 35's will probably mean a pretty ugly power loss on the road unless you've got a Rubicon with the 4.10 gears.

Are you 2 door or 4 door? Standard or auto?

[ashesinthefall]

2 door standard:)   if i go with the 33s the 2" lift is still best?  and i know its a lot to ask here.... but how do you guys size your tires to new rims?

like i was thinkin these tires:
http://www.quadratec.com/products/92606_8XX_PG.htm

with some rims like these:
http://www.quadratec.com/products/92603_100X_A_PG.htm

but the measurements on both are confusing as hell to me!  the tire page says that i can get 33s in an 11.5" wide 17" rim or an 11.3 wide 16" rim,   but the actual rim width on the ones i want is like 9" for say a 17... with 4.5 back spacing... but is that gonna look dumb with a 11 inch wide tire on a 9?? sorry if thats a really dumb question haha i havnt done the tire thing before:P

p.s. thanks for all the help so far:)

-Matt

[FiEND]

the inside of the tire is thinner than the tread.  9 inch rim is OK, mine are 12.5 on 8.5 wheels.

not sure about a JK, but normally on jeeps it is usually hard to tell the difference between 33 and 35 unless they are both within view.  they both just look big.  that said, i wouldn't go 35 unless i was going to use them a lot offroad.  the can of worms tires that big open is quite a big can.

the rims look ok.  the tires do not look like they will be good street performers.  there are many options for tires that look better than those and will perform much better on and off-road.

check out spinalguy's post about "new boots and socks" for a good example.

most important though is take your time and research.  do things right the first time

[Rubi03 jef]

33's will be much better for dailt driving .. and to be honest 90%of the trails in alberta are 31 inch friendly so 33's you will not have any issues

your stock rims will be fine with 33x12.5 still would consider wheel spacers to push your wheeels outwards to avoid any contact at full turn

[XJSteve]

Hi there. Just thought I would add my 2 cents. I just spent the last 12 mos building-up a cherokee for off-road. Reality is that it spends most of its time ON road. So here are the lessons I have learned:

1) Have a total goal for your vehicle in mind. Don't buy one item in isolation since each part eventually will affect others. There is a definite domino effect in off-roading where you upgrade one part that allows you to break another.
2) Get experienced advice such as this forum. They really know what they're talking about and frankly most people are not printing money in their basement so they are practical.
3) Weight: every time you add some bling such as a bumper/winch/rock guards etc. this adds significant weight to the vehicle. This all has to be moved and will affect your power to weight ratio. You won't so much feel it at initial acceleration (but don't place any money on drag racing with it) but you REALLY feel it at highway speed. The biggest hit for weight is the "unsprung" extra weight such as your wheels and tires. If there is one area where you want to look at how many pounds you're adding, look at these items. I went with alloy rims for this reason and still have to travel with my transmission locked out of overdrive. The additional weight both on the vehicle and rims/tires will also adversely affect the braking since more weight has to be controlled. You also wear out suspension pieces faster.
4) Once you go off-road with your toy, your opinion on "occasional" off roading will change. You'll become hooked and start replacing endless parts with heavy steel armor, want to put 72" tires on your JK and eat nuts and bolts for a snack!! Seriously it's addicting and gets expensive.......but worth it. You'll end-up appreciating the paint damage/rim dings and bent suspension parts of others and say "I envy you for your vehicle damage" because you would at least want to have been there. Then you will evolve further (I haven't) as you get better and smarter when you will sit back and let all the fools wreck their Jeeps in front of you as an entertainment sport then drive ever so quietly through the trail at 2 mph with no modifications at all and make it to the other side.
5) Water: although a heck of a lot of fun, a single swim through the water could result in more immediate and on-going maintenance than any other style off off-roading (besides maybe falling off of Lion's Back in Moab-look it up on U-Tube). At least when you hit something with the body while rock crawling you generally know the extent of the damage. Water not so much.
6) Fuel economy - don't calculate it. You'll think you did the numbers wrong.
7) General maintenance - If there was ever a group of gearheads that could claim over maintenance and rival Ferrari, it would be off-roaders. We change vital fluids almost as often as our underwear (every 2-3 months). Seriously if you go off-roading you will probably spend 3-4 hours in your garage for every hour out on the trail (did I mention that it's worth it?)

[w squared]

Okay...on a JK like yours, here's the info you need to know about lift.

Because you have a manual, (no auto tranny crossmember to tear the boot on the CV joint) you are probably fine with 2 or 2.5 inch lift with regards to your front driveshaft. Your rear driveshaft will start to see some premature wear, but if you stick to 2 inches of lift, I'd say don't bother worrying about it. If you get a 3 inch or larger lift on your two door, you may be significantly shortening the life of your rear driveshaft...but an upgraded aftermarket driveshaft will solve that issue.

You could probably stick a set of 33's on the wheels that you've picked (good taste by the way) without a lift and be fine on-road...but they will rub if you're offroad. A 2 inch spacer lift would probably get rid of that little bit of rub. "Spacer" lift or "BB" or "Budget Boost" refers to a suspension lift that "lengthens" the stock coil springs by placing a puck between the spring and the spring mount. Some folks will tell you that this will overcompress your stock springs and eventually cause them to sag, but I can't offer any actual first hand knowledge on that.

A "budget boost" make your Jeep a little taller without spending too much money. The other nice thing about a 2" budget boost is that it doesn't change your stock suspension geometry all that much, so your on-road handling will stay reasonable without a lot of other changes (control arms, adjustable track bars, etc.) That said, understand that ANY mod you make will affect the rest of your Jeep, and any lift or larger tires will put extra stress on your rig.

The next step up from that would be a coil spring lift. This will make your Jeep taller and offer more room to fit bigger tires, and it will also increases the  amount of suspension travel you have available to deal with obstacles off-road. The difference in performance between a 2.5" budget boost and a good 3 inch coil lift is night and day once you are off the pavement. Then again, so is the cost. A budget boost can be had for $500 or maybe even less if you cut corners. A good coil kit (and all the associated parts to let it perform to it's potential) will probably run you between two and three thousand.

The most important advice that I can give is to not modify anything for off-road until you take your Jeep offroad. Get some reasonable AT or MT tires (sometimes you can Find JK Rubicon take-offs for a greeat price)_, make sure you have front and rear tow points, maybe add a CB...and then wheel it for a year. See what other people have done to their rigs, see what the REAL performance is on obstacles on the trail, and then make up your mind.

I had my Jeep for over a year before I lifted it, almost a year and a half before I went to larger tires, and I'm glad that I waited as long as I did. I ended up with a lift, mods, and tires that work well for me both on and off the road...and the things that I thought I wanted to buy when I first got my Jeep would not have worked as well for me...and I probably would have spent twice as much replacing them by now.