New JK?

S

Samlautranger

New member
Well looking at getting a new JK. Some real dilemmas. This will be my 4th Jeep. Had a Willys (With re-built toyota engine in it) when I use to live in Cambodia, and also have had 2 Rubicons here in the States. A black 2008 and a Silver 2012. On the Silver 2012 I had the 4.1 gears, manual trans (Which I hated), AEV 2.5 life and Firestone Destination 315s. Only thing I did not like was the manual and wish would have gone 3.5" lift instead, though the 2.5" worked ok.

Going with traditional 2 door again. Soft Top.

First dilemma is color. Granite, Billet, or White. Right now leaning a bit towards the white, as looks good I think when everything else (wheels, etc.) is blacked out.

Next dilemma is of course cost. Basically looking at either stock Sport with only Air and Auto Tran. added. If do that, with my trade in, I will get about $1000 - $1500 or so cash back. Or go with a Willy's Wheeler. Go that route I will pay about $3000K out of my pocket. I have a total budget of about $5K to play with.

So get the stock sport, with 3.21 gears, and then re-gear to 4.56, add lift kit (Leaning towards AVE or JKS 3.5), Pro-comp tires and Firestone destination A/T 315s (34.6").

Or go with the Willys, and leave stock, just maybe add a spacer/budget boost lift for a little better stance and call it a day.
 
Being that you really don't gain much with the Willys over the sport, I would go sport. I've heard decent things about the JKS lift, but I would avoid the AEV personally. I just think their control arm drop brackets defeat the purpose of the lift. When it comes to tires, the Firestones would not be my choice. I'd go with many other options for ATs before I went with those. Good luck on your decision and be sure to post pictures when you pull the trigger!
 
seanb123 said:
I vote sport money to play with is better than hating your budget boost
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Yeah, that is kind of the way I am leaning. Though the Willys is a great set up. I know I will eventually want to put lift kit and larger tires, which will require different wheel (preferred IMHO over spacers). Plus, half the fun of a Jeep is customization. I could order the sport with 3.73 gears. But, seems might be a bit sluggish with the 315s. 3.73 gears is a $695 up grade. Figure might as well double that and just do 4.56 gears. G2 4.56 kit on Quadratec is $750. Figure $750-$1000 for labor? Going to check with auto shop today.

Problem with looking a getting a new Jeep, with all the options and colors, is deciding what to get. Then the issue of deciding what lift kit, tires, wheels, etc. that is all within your budget. It is almost like a full time job. :yup:

White, Granite, or Billet Silver. Hmmmm...? Current vehicle and last Jeep were silver. Granite looks a bit dark, but I still like. Had a black jeep before, never again. Mojave Sand is nice, but a little too military and think would bore with it after awhile. Rhino - saw one the other day and it is almost like a dark navy blue/black. Jeep should have kept the Anvil. If Jeep still had Stone White, would be no dilemma on colors. The bright white, well it is bright. But, if you tone it down with all black this and that seems to have a nice contrast. even could get some rocker's low panel black decals to subdue it a bit.

Appreciate, being new on the forum, letting me discuss this here. Thanks. Try to do so with my good friends, who are not into Jeeps and they just look at me like, "It is just a car?!" LOL
 
thardy said:
Being that you really don't gain much with the Willys over the sport, I would go sport. I've heard decent things about the JKS lift, but I would avoid the AEV personally. I just think their control arm drop brackets defeat the purpose of the lift. When it comes to tires, the Firestones would not be my choice. I'd go with many other options for ATs before I went with those. Good luck on your decision and be sure to post pictures when you pull the trigger!
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So what ATs do you like? Not interested in MTs. Had good results with the Firestones before, but open to suggestions.

Yeah, I like the JKS lift. Actually a bit cheaper than the AEV and seems to be built a little more rugged. Comes with Fox shocks as well. 3.5" kit comes with Geometry correction brackets also, that seem more beefy than the AEV. Plus thinking of getting, per the JKS rep I emailed, the fixed lower control arms front and back. And the JKS programmer, to adjust for different tire size, gear ratio, etc.

The only thing on the Sport, is you cannot get the Rear Track Lock differential (LSD) as an option. But, from what I am reading, is that the Brake traction control pretty much does the job. I can tell you, that I have done a lot of 4WD for work (in Cambodia), worst backcountry roads/trails/river beds you can think off - probably thousands of miles over many years - most all in a Ford Ranger with IFS. And never did anything other than switch into 4wd mode. Few times did have to use the winch, when stuck in deep mud. Had the Rubicons before, and though nice having the lockers, etc. never ever used them.
 
Of course re-gearing is $$$$. Wonder if would be better just to go with factory 3.73 and run 315s.? Anyone else dong this set up? Or will be pretty sluggish? Does using a AEV/JKS etc programmer assist quite a bit?
 
Samlautranger said:
So what ATs do you like? Not interested in MTs. Had good results with the Firestones before, but open to suggestions.

Yeah, I like the JKS lift. Actually a bit cheaper than the AEV and seems to be built a little more rugged. Comes with Fox shocks as well. 3.5" kit comes with Geometry correction brackets also, that seem more beefy than the AEV. Plus thinking of getting, per the JKS rep I emailed, the fixed lower control arms front and back. And the JKS programmer, to adjust for different tire size, gear ratio, etc.

The only thing on the Sport, is you cannot get the Rear Track Lock differential (LSD) as an option. But, from what I am reading, is that the Brake traction control pretty much does the job. I can tell you, that I have done a lot of 4WD for work (in Cambodia), worst backcountry roads/trails/river beds you can think off - probably thousands of miles over many years - most all in a Ford Ranger with IFS. And never did anything other than switch into 4wd mode. Few times did have to use the winch, when stuck in deep mud. Had the Rubicons before, and though nice having the lockers, etc. never ever used them.
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I personally would go with the Nitto Exo Grapplers. Other options would be the Nitto Terra Grappler G2s or the Toyo Open Country AT.
 
Samlautranger said:
So what ATs do you like? Not interested in MTs. Had good results with the Firestones before, but open to suggestions.

Yeah, I like the JKS lift. Actually a bit cheaper than the AEV and seems to be built a little more rugged. Comes with Fox shocks as well. 3.5" kit comes with Geometry correction brackets also, that seem more beefy than the AEV. Plus thinking of getting, per the JKS rep I emailed, the fixed lower control arms front and back. And the JKS programmer, to adjust for different tire size, gear ratio, etc.

The only thing on the Sport, is you cannot get the Rear Track Lock differential (LSD) as an option. But, from what I am reading, is that the Brake traction control pretty much does the job. I can tell you, that I have done a lot of 4WD for work (in Cambodia), worst backcountry roads/trails/river beds you can think off - probably thousands of miles over many years - most all in a Ford Ranger with IFS. And never did anything other than switch into 4wd mode. Few times did have to use the winch, when stuck in deep mud. Had the Rubicons before, and though nice having the lockers, etc. never ever used them.
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When you do end up regearing you can drop a locker in the rear at the same time and that should be perfect. You should stay away from geometry brackets.If 35s are all you need you don't need 3.5 and you can just do 2.5 springs shocks and lcas and go from there. I do like the nitto Exo grappler but also a big fan of the Goodyear duratrac as well
 
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seanb123 said:
When you do end up regearing you can drop a locker in the rear at the same time and that should be perfect. You should stay away from geometry brackets.If 35s are all you need you don't need 3.5 and you can just do 2.5 springs shocks and lcas and go from there. I do like the nitto Exo grappler but also a big fan of the Goodyear duratrac as well
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Had a 2.5" lift before with the 35s, and tires seemed to look a little "big" in the wheel well, and a bit of rubbing at tight turns.

Of course another option, and would keep cost down a bit, is get the 3.73 gear ratio from the factory, and then just go with a 2.5" lift and 33" tires. :thinking:
 
thardy said:
I personally would go with the Nitto Exo Grapplers. Other options would be the Nitto Terra Grappler G2s or the Toyo Open Country AT.
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Thanks. Checking out the Nitto Grappler G2 A/T tires. If go with 3.73 gears, the Grappler G2 tires, 295/70R17 maybe a good set up. Combined with a JKS 2.5" life kit. :thinking: The G2 295 come out at 33.31"
 
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seanb123 said:
When you do end up regearing you can drop a locker in the rear at the same time and that should be perfect. You should stay away from geometry brackets.If 35s are all you need you don't need 3.5 and you can just do 2.5 springs shocks and lcas and go from there. I do like the nitto Exo grappler but also a big fan of the Goodyear duratrac as well
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I went with the sport and Goodyear Silent Armor A/T tires. Very happy with these. For the little rock crawling I do, I haven't had a problem yet with keeping up with the rubi's. I do have 33" with the 3.73 gears and have not noticed any lack of power.
 
ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1458399398.607335.jpg

This is what my 2.5 Rock krawler with 35s and fully loaded trailer and back and I won't cut the fenders bc I think the tires won't fill the well enough. I've had this lift for over 4 years with minimal sag.
 
The only suspension system that I haven't blown out springs on is rough country and they are 30% cheaper than any of the mentioned companies on here. In addition do the labor yourself and that's an extra 750 to spend on parts
 
justin mazzon said:
I went with the sport and Goodyear Silent Armor A/T tires. Very happy with these. For the little rock crawling I do, I haven't had a problem yet with keeping up with the rubi's. I do have 33" with the 3.73 gears and have not noticed any lack of power.
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Looks like a great tire, What size rims do you have? Having a hard time finding 33" Silent Armor AT tires in 33" for 17" rims. :thinking: Or where did you order from? thanks.
 
Samlautranger said:
Had a 2.5" lift before with the 35s, and tires seemed to look a little "big" in the wheel well, and a bit of rubbing at tight turns.

Of course another option, and would keep cost down a bit, is get the 3.73 gear ratio from the factory, and then just go with a 2.5" lift and 33" tires. :thinking:
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A 2.5" lift is a lot for 33s. In my opinion 33s would look tiny with that much lift. Here was my old 2 door with 33s and a leveling kit.

IMG_0325.jpg

I am now running 35s on my 4 door with a JKS JSPEC 2" lift.

SAM_2208.jpg

If you plan on doing a 33" tire, you do not need a lift to run them and actually wheel. For a 35" tire, which I personally think looks and performs great on a 2 door, then I would look into a 2.5" lift. I am guessing that your AEV lift kits yielded much more than their advertised lift height. Also, if you are running the correct bumpstops and the correct BS on your wheels, you should not rub with 35s and a 2.5" lift.
 
seanb123 said:
View attachment 193717

This is what my 2.5 Rock krawler with 35s and fully loaded trailer and back and I won't cut the fenders bc I think the tires won't fill the well enough. I've had this lift for over 4 years with minimal sag.
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Great looking rig. OP this is what I am talking about. a properly set up 2.5" lift and 35s on a 2 door will give you a rig that looks great and can likely take you anywhere you want to go off road.
 
I did the Rubicon JK Unlimited because it had the 4:1 transfer case gearing. Mine came with 3:73 gears,
but they work okay with my 35's. I plan to change to 4:88's when I get the 37's.
I have a TeraFlex 2.5 lift and find it works well for now. I have bigger plans later and the 2.5 kit was cheap
as an interim setup. I can run 35's but need fender flares for heavy off road use.

I didn't want to put the time into a non-locker unit with the 3:21 transfer case. For me, the Rubicon was the right choice
to allow me to use it out of the box with minimal work and not worry much about being able to make the trail with friends.

Stock wheels with the 2.5 lift and 1.5 wheel spacers.
8S5A1988.jpg

my 35's with the 2.5 lift
20160223_003955.jpg
 
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Another tire option you might try is the general grabber at2. They are close to the pattern of the old BFG's AT's and they take forever to wear down. I am running 35's on my 4dr and these have taken me places my old Baja MTZ's did and with a much smoother ride on the pavement too.
 
AllAmericanInfidel said:
A 2.5" lift is a lot for 33s. In my opinion 33s would look tiny with that much lift. Here was my old 2 door with 33s and a leveling kit.

View attachment 193745

I am now running 35s on my 4 door with a JKS JSPEC 2" lift.

View attachment 193746

If you plan on doing a 33" tire, you do not need a lift to run them and actually wheel. For a 35" tire, which I personally think looks and performs great on a 2 door, then I would look into a 2.5" lift. I am guessing that your AEV lift kits yielded much more than their advertised lift height. Also, if you are running the correct bumpstops and the correct BS on your wheels, you should not rub with 35s and a 2.5" lift.
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Very nice looking rigs. Ver nice. Love the 2 door Navy blue. How you liking the Granite color? Holding up well? Appreciate your Build Thread for showing the close ups of the interior of the half doors - best have seen (you would think Jeep would show better pics...sigh). So how have yo lied the half doors? unzipping and zipping up when needed? in the heavy rain held up? Seriously considering that option, since last 2 Jeeps I had, had the full size. Also, just a little minor nuisance, is I found the window knob on the full doors to rub against my knee when rolled up. the half doors of course eliminate the window manual knob. (and cannot stand the power convenience group personally).

Yeah, I know I can run 35s with a 2.5...but just aesthetically I think the 3.5 looks better. :D Recently saw a white JK, at the Jeep Dealership, with 35s and AEV 3.5" and that thing looked sweet. With the older 2.5" AEV kit I had, I thought sometimes the tires just looked to fill up the wheel well a little too much. That is just me.
 
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