You will want to beef up your D44 front axle if you have 1, truss, C-Gussets, sleeves what all requires welding and while you're at it add in new ball joints ect. You will also want adjustable control arms for you lift. Could cost you in the area of $5,000 to have that work done by a shop depending on quality of parts. If you have a D30 front axle you will be on borrowed time and will want a D44 for the front axle, new that's about $6,000 fully loaded (not including install). If you go with flat fenders on a 2.5" lift 37's will work with adjustable control arms to center the axle in the wheel wells and keep you larger tires from slicing on the body pinch seams. 35" tires will save you $1,000's to run correctly.
Thanks for the info. Still new to all this. I got Teraflex 2.5 with Rancho 9000. I have the axle that came with a standard JKU sport.
If he's got a newer JK, and sticks to not wheeling hard, no need to trim the seam...it's factory trimmed plenty.
If you have anything but a Rubicon/Hard Rock/COD/10A (D44 front axle) then you will have a D30 front axle, what should not run 37" tires. If you have a $10,000+ budget you can get a D44 front axle and 37" tires setup correctly. If not get 35" tires and and you can C-Gusset, truss, sleeve and ball joint your D30 to play it safe for the lightweight front axle. Not all that is needed but would add strength to a possible bent axle down the road.
The "D44" in Rubicon Jeep JK's is not a true D44 with all the trimmings. It and the D30 share the same:
Sometimes those articles yield good info, sometimes not. I do know, having traded my 2002 TJ I had bought new on my 4dr, that I lost a lot of off-road maneuverability (shorter wheelbase, as well as breakover). In my case going 37's won't recover all the breakover I lost, but it will aid some and is worth it to me. Although I don't feel the need to defend my decision to do it, I'm just giving an example of some of the things media sometimes does not, or will not include in their published materials.
I agree with you 100%. You will notice that I never said he shouldn't want or get 37's, just that he might decide to go a different route after gathering more info.
I'm sorry but that article lost all credibility when they said they put a 3" spacer on top of the stock coils and added shock extenders to the factory shocks for their lift. That is a complete cheap skate route that is in no way the best setup for 35" tires.
3" is a bit much but ive seen 2.5 spacers, cut flares, etc. i would run longer shocks for the extensions.
The HP D30's found in the JK's (except the earliest JK's) is improved over the TJ's. Where were they about the TJ's? This magazine was just making an angle so they could write that stuff...media.
"After accumulating about 30,000 miles on our lifted JK with 35s, some of our aftermarket suspension components were worn out beyond useable condition. During that time we came to the conclusion that we liked the way our JK rode and drove better with the stock suspension on it. However, we appreciated the additional clearance that the 35s afforded. So we set out to find a way to keep the big tires and regain the factory-like ride, handling, and performance both on- and off-road."
My impression, after freshly reading this again (I remember reading it some time ago), is they're saying the factory components are better than the components in the lift kit they have on there (I don't recall them naming said suspension manufacturer). My issue with that is that they're kind of implying a blanket statement that the factory bushings, etc, are better than lift components. So not true, and most here know that already.
