I am new to the Jeep scene, my wife has a 2012 JKU sport with the 17" wheels. We recently went off roading for the first time with a group, and ran some Green, Blue, and a couple of Red trails, all with a lot of help from spotters. While we enjoyed the experience a lot (and were amazed at the capabilities), having stock tires and a stock ride definitely put us at a disadvantage. We didn't sustain any real damage, but dented one of the skid plates and got hung up on some rocks due to clearance (we don't care about cosmetics, but do want to avoid breaking anything important).
This is my wife's daily driver, and we plan to keep it that way, but we also want to be able to take off road trips with groups occasionally and be able to at least enjoy the green's and blue's and know (without really messing up) that we will be able to get the jeep home in one piece.
People suggested sliders, a 2" lift, and upgrading to rubicon tires, and maybe putting a skid plate over the evap, etc.
While a 2" budget boost and rubicon wheels/tires seem great for the budget, we would really like to do this the right way to retain reliability/daily drivability, as well as be able to enjoy ourselves out on the trails.
I have been reading some of the stickies, looking through the forums, etc, but am just as confused as ever.
I am pretty clear on the sliders and even the skid plates, but I get really confused when it comes to suspension / lift and tires.
For instance, I have been looking at a Teraflex 2.5" lift, but have no idea what I should be doing with regard to getting shocks with a kit, getting different shocks, getting something else entirely, or what.
On the side the wheels and tires, are rubicon X wheels/tires a good idea? Should I just be putting new tires on my existing 17" wheels, or should I be doing something like a 16" tire to allow more sidewall.
Thanks for any direction you can provide.
This is my wife's daily driver, and we plan to keep it that way, but we also want to be able to take off road trips with groups occasionally and be able to at least enjoy the green's and blue's and know (without really messing up) that we will be able to get the jeep home in one piece.
People suggested sliders, a 2" lift, and upgrading to rubicon tires, and maybe putting a skid plate over the evap, etc.
While a 2" budget boost and rubicon wheels/tires seem great for the budget, we would really like to do this the right way to retain reliability/daily drivability, as well as be able to enjoy ourselves out on the trails.
I have been reading some of the stickies, looking through the forums, etc, but am just as confused as ever.
I am pretty clear on the sliders and even the skid plates, but I get really confused when it comes to suspension / lift and tires.
For instance, I have been looking at a Teraflex 2.5" lift, but have no idea what I should be doing with regard to getting shocks with a kit, getting different shocks, getting something else entirely, or what.
On the side the wheels and tires, are rubicon X wheels/tires a good idea? Should I just be putting new tires on my existing 17" wheels, or should I be doing something like a 16" tire to allow more sidewall.
Thanks for any direction you can provide.