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Suggestions on building an off-road capable daily driver

5K views 27 replies 16 participants last post by  iwaxmyjimmy 
#1 ·
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.
 
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#2 ·
I'm getting ready to install the TF 2.5" lift on my '14 JKU, and have the same intentions for use as you describe. I know I don't need a lift for my new 33" tires, but I'm going to be doing aftermarket bumpers so it will need to carry the extra weight. I'm going with the Rancho RS9000 adjustable shocks as they have received great reviews. Between the Rancho spring rebate and killer pricing on Amazon, I got a set of 4 for around $200.

I am also going to replace the lower control arms as the 2.5" lift can make your caster out of spec and some report drive-ability issues. There are numerous threads on this if you look around. I just want to do this once, and do it right the first time, even if it costs a little more.

I also just installed a set of Toyo Open Country AT tires, 285/70R17 ("33's"), for some of the reasons you mentioned. The factory Goodyears are capable, but I can't wait to hit some trails with these ATs.

 
#4 ·
go to the rancho site, check out their spring lift and 9000 shock package. stay at a 2.5 inch lift and go with a 285/70/17 tire use your present wheels for now. makes for a good daily driver and weekend off roader. from there, learn to drive what you have (both of you) have fun and let the Jeep tell you what else it needs. happy jeepen:drinks:
 
#11 ·
what kjeeper10 said, his advice is tops. and yes ,you can run 285/70/17 tire if it is a D rated or better tire, I run gdyr mtr/k's in that size on stock wheels with no rubbing however I know of one jeeper with different brand same size and he has some minor rubbing. :happyyes:
 
#13 ·
I agree with Ken on all but the drop brackets. Not that they do not do the job. (you do sacrifice a scooch of ground clearance, but they work fine). However, if you have the resources, I feel it's best to go with adjustable lower control arms. The high clearance variety, like TeraFlex's Monster LCA's, are a great choice. I run them and I couldn't be happier.
 
#17 ·
AEV makes a great 2.5" lift kit that includes bilstein shocks. Add the geometry correction brackets and you've got a great riding daily driver and the extra clearance.

That right there is all you would need for a very solid 2.5" lift.

AEV has engineers that formerly worked for Chrysler so they are really well versed with suspensions on the wrangler.

It's on the pricier side (1k) though.
 
#18 ·
Do you know what your gear ratio is? Also auto or stick? You can spend a ton of bucks and really not get much more out of the Jeep if you just doing mild trails. You don't need much to put 32's or 33's on there and run 3.21 gears to 3.73's. We did Old Man Emu's 2.5 spring and shock kit on my buddies jeep and it rides plush. He did later add Rock Krawler arms which were pricy but we knew he was going to wheel it hard. He did 35's on his stock fenders and they lasted for a while without cutting them. Your going to get a ton of different ideas. Just do your research and ask tons of questions before you spend a nickel. You don't want to buy twice. Welcome to the forum and to the Jeep world.
 
#19 ·
I concur with Gunner. Gear ratio? I'd stick to 33s, 2.5" or less. TF is a great lift. KJeep does love his Ranchos, I love my Fox but they're pricey. You can probably pick up used Rubi X tires for cheap- but you may want to just spend your money on MTs. MTs are noisy so you may want spousal approval. :) You'll get plenty more use from other mods than a 16" tire vs a 17".
However I'd get your skid plates and rock sliders STAT. DO NOT skimp on skids or sliders. They go a long way towards trail enjoyment (OMG! WHAT DID I HIT???!!!!) and protects the important bits. You mention the evap canister- IMO I'd get that last. Tranny, oil, exhaust and diff cover are more critical. Not that you need them all...but I've hit all of them (It takes skill- in this pic I am resting the entire Jeep on my tranny skid). I don't have an evap. skid. You can limp off the trail if you smash the evap.
 
#20 ·
The gear ratio is 3.73. and it is an auto trans. I had been looking at rubicon X tire / wheel combos, but didn't know if that would ultimately be a waste of money.

I thought the transmission had a skid plate stock? What is not covered by the stock skid plates? From reading, the stock ones are pretty good. we did dent the long one that runs the passenger side near the passenger side door, don't know what is under that one.

Also, it had been suggested to do a 2" budget boost and get rubicon wheels/tires for cheap, but I don't know if that is a great idea. To me budget boost sounds like the equivalent of cutting springs to lower a car, so maybe that is just me.
 
#23 ·
The gear ratio is 3.73. and it is an auto trans. I had been looking at rubicon X tire / wheel combos, but didn't know if that would ultimately be a waste of money.

I thought the transmission had a skid plate stock? What is not covered by the stock skid plates? From reading, the stock ones are pretty good. we did dent the long one that runs the passenger side near the passenger side door, don't know what is under that one.

Also, it had been suggested to do a 2" budget boost and get rubicon wheels/tires for cheap, but I don't know if that is a great idea. To me budget boost sounds like the equivalent of cutting springs to lower a car, so maybe that is just me.
You already mentioned you got hung up on rocks- if that's what you're doing I'd definitely suggest replacing the stock skids. They're aren't good- you've already dented it. If you were just mudding or doing soft sand/dirt trails they're fine. I don't know what your areas red/blue etc. levels are- but if you are in a decent amount if rocks get skid plates. IMO. It was a big relief knowing my JK was protected and I enjoyed the trails more. This is a good thread:
http://www.wranglerforum.com/f274/list-of-armor-importance-for-jks-145114.html
Budget boosts are ok. But if you want a decent ride, which I assume you do for a DD, spend the money once and get a good quality lift. A friend has a 2011 JKU with a budget boost, Bilstein shocks (not sure which ones- there are many levels), AT tires. Rides like a BRICK but he thought that was normal for a Jeep. After driving my JK (3" Mopar with Fox resi's) he is getting a Rock Crawler 3.5 with Fox.
 
#22 ·
My DD consist of a 3.25" lift including shocks. What Kjeeper said about drop brackets is critical for the DD part of the build. Simply adding longer or adjustable lower CA's does not correct the ride to stock as the brackets do. Rancho's are the bests built for the money. I also added quick disconnects. Total cost for all parts was about $800.
 
#27 ·
I like he idea of protection, but most your clearance comes from a increase in tire size.
Plus skids add weight. Stock coils or BB/stock coils are going to sag under the weight.
The stock skids are will protect you enough- If constantly dragging across a certain skid/area. Then look to upgrade.
I would do the lift first, choose tire size. Maybe a good rock rail. Evap skid, CA skids. Maybe even relo the rear lower shock mounts.
Go from there :thumb:
 
#25 ·
I could very well be incorrect- but I believe they all have gas tank and transfer case skids- same across all models. Stock skids compared to 3/16" Off Road Evo skids aren't even close. Not saying the stock skids aren't fine for mild trails- just suggesting better ones if you're going to wheel anywhere near decent rocks or do a little trail crunching. Same with good sliders.
Back to our regularly scheduled "lift/shocks/tires" program.
 
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