[Advice] Bumpers, winches, lifts & stuff?

mesha

By endurance we conquer
Location
A.F.
Tough choice for sure. It is hard to spend money on something you are going to get rid of later. For instance, a 357 dollar lift now and a long arm later is 357 dollars more expensive than just buying the long arm. I would buy parts that you aren't going to get rid of. If you plan on keeping the bumper then that is a good investment. If you are okay with taking a hit on the lift so you can gain some height now, then that isn't a bad idea either. You should be able to sell it used and not lose too much money.

welcome to the slippery slope my friend :p


p.s. that 357 dollar lift does not need to cost that much ;)
 

n1v3kt

Member
Location
Provo, Utah
So, crawling other forums, there seems to be mixed opinions about CA's. I'm seeing some saying adjustables are just fine for a 3-4in lift, some saying long, and others saying that CA brackets would work because the JKU Rubi's CA's are sturdy enough to handle the job. Any thoughts/exp on this? The goal is to run 35's with some armor. I don't see myself doing anything extreme off-road given this is a DD, so on-road behavior is a factor, but I'd still like to be decently capable in over the mid-level stuff. Impossible dream?
 
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TRD270

Emptying Pockets Again
Supporting Member
Location
SaSaSandy
I think adjustable control arms are a must at least for the front. Like I said mine only had 2.5in lift and it was a pain in the ass to keep it in the lane after the lift. Need those adjustments to get the alignment right again
 

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
It sounds like you're basically building my 12 Sport JKU but are starting with a Rubicon. I have the AEV procal and it does nothing other than correct my shift points for the automatic trans and fix my speedometer setting (oh and it will turn off the stupid pressure sensors that the Ford Explorer lawsuit gave us-wish I could turn off the electronic stability control as well but big brother has locked us out of that choice) for my gearing (4.88) and tire size (stock 3.21 gears).

Im still running the stock arms with my Tera 3" lift (gave at least 4"). I don't mind it on the highway but my wife thinks it drives "funny" (but she daily drives a Lincoln Navigator that I think drives "funny"-to each their own I guess?)

if I started with your Jeep, I would probably wheel it how it is and change to what will make it work better for you. You're welcome to come take a spin in my Sport if you want to. Which gears did you get with the Rubicon? 4.10?

my build specs and pics are at http://marbryson.com/jk.html if you want to take a look
 
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n1v3kt

Member
Location
Provo, Utah
Actually have the 3.77 gears -_-. That was a bit of a shock to me since the jeep website etc. says the rubicon comes with the 4:10 gears...but that was my bad for not doing my research properly. The other factor is that it looked like i could re-gear for cheaper than the 4:10 package was going to cost me on the Rubicon anyway and the opinions i got was that re-gearing wasn't really an issue unless i was running 37" + since don't do any towing and even then if I was going to go h-core that i'd want to go to a 4.88 anyway. In the meantime i did chuckle seeing my jeep going 95mph the other night.
Facelift.jpg
(post facelift)
 
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mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Actually have the 3.77 gears -_-. That was a bit of a shock to me since the jeep website etc. says the rubicon comes with the 4:10 gears...but that was my bad for not doing my research properly. The other factor is that it looked like i could re-gear for cheaper than the 4:10 package was going to cost me on the Rubicon anyway and the opinions i got was that re-gearing wasn't really an issue unless i was running 37" + since don't do any towing and even then if I was going to go h-core that i'd want to go to a 4.88 anyway. In the meantime i did chuckle seeing my jeep going 95mph the other night.
View attachment 93402
(post facelift)

you could order the Rubicon with 3.73 or 4.11 gears. I was under the impression the autos came with the 3.73 and you could choose 3.73 or 4.11 with the manual trans? I'm fairly confident there was no price difference. I talked myself out of a Rubicon fairly fast once I got to interior packages. Went with the Sport. Depending on intended tire size you may want to regear or not. I went from 3.21 to 4.88 with 35" mtrs. I do wish I had went with 4.56. The 4.88 were perfect with the 37" Toyos I ran for about two weeks. I didn't like the weight of the 37" tires with the puny axle tubes and weak C's
 

n1v3kt

Member
Location
Provo, Utah
you could order the Rubicon with 3.73 or 4.11 gears. I was under the impression the autos came with the 3.73 and you could choose 3.73 or 4.11 with the manual trans? I'm fairly confident there was no price difference. I talked myself out of a Rubicon fairly fast once I got to interior packages. Went with the Sport. Depending on intended tire size you may want to regear or not. I went from 3.21 to 4.88 with 35" mtrs. I do wish I had went with 4.56. The 4.88 were perfect with the 37" Toyos I ran for about two weeks. I didn't like the weight of the 37" tires with the puny axle tubes and weak C's

With you there...the interior packages were a killer. I got off the lot with mine for 34k. There was one other 14 JKU Rubi they could get a hold of that had the 4:10 gears that didn't have all the interior BS i didn't want (leather, overpriced stereo etc.) but it was a manual and they wanted $800 more for it despite being a manual. Call me a wuss...but for climbing off-road etc. I REALLY REALLY like having an auto. To reference at the time, the dealer charged ~$1200 to re-gear. Other forums a lot of the guys say 35s are fine with the 3.73 but it's a bit sluggish around town. That's really not an issue for me, i went from driving a 89 4runner with r22e 4banger engine which was by no means quick.

i mention other forums advice, but I put more stock into what I read here because here we're local people doing local trails etc.
 
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TRD270

Emptying Pockets Again
Supporting Member
Location
SaSaSandy
I ordered my Rubi, with an auto. 3:73 are what they come with, I ordered mine with 4:10 no extra charge
 

n1v3kt

Member
Location
Provo, Utah
-_- le sigh so I got duped, oh well, upward and onward. So, if I'm running 35's with some armor, go up to 4.56? 4.88? Is there a practical advantage (apart from towing) or just a personal pref.
 

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
-_- le sigh so I got duped, oh well, upward and onward. So, if I'm running 35's with some armor, go up to 4.56? 4.88? Is there a practical advantage (apart from towing) or just a personal pref.


The 4.56 would be my preference if I was going to do it again. I think I'd get a little better mileage (not super significant as this is not a Camry). JK experts will tell you my Jeep is geared perfectly but I disagree. I might be ideal for a 3.8l?
 

nnnnnate

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
WVC, UT
I have a manual and went with 4.56s when I re-geared a few months ago. I am running rubi take off tires and thought it was geared too low when I first got them changed but now a few months out am pleased with the power. I *may* go to 35's in the future. Coming from 3.21s it was a huge change for me and took a little bit to get used to.
 
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