Honest opinions is lifting my 09 JK worth it

[Longtallsally]

My only additional comment is that I don't think the difference in price is anywhere near zilch. Right now a set of OEM Rubicon tires is $774 from Tire rack. When I look to go to essentially a 35" tire, it is $1200 for a set of 4, and then I'd have to get a 5th for a spare. I can't justify that as it will hurt performance and economy. Yeah, it will look better, but for double the cost, that extra 1.5" of clearance just isn't worth it.

I think the motor can pull OK with that size without regearing with the 3.6, but that's a lot of fuel I can buy to go on trips. Not every trail is the Dusy or the Hammers.

With regards to springs and such, as a former autocrosser, I'm very versed in the whole spring rate thing as I used to tune my chassis by rates by end of the car and if it was FWD or RWD, so I totally understand some of the points there. I tried to look into that when I got springs but really didn't get anywhere. I put Bilstein shocks and I guess it's just fine. Would I like to know, yes. Has it really impacted my use of the machine or the performance I expect from it? Not really. I drive like a grandma generally, so it really doesn't matter and has a plenty comfy ride and flexes well on the trail, so I guess I really don't care.

 

[Bigjerm]

I am new to exploration idea and I have a 2009 jk x 2 door and I am getting new tires for it, buddies all say to get a lift for it but to be honest all I use it for is mild off roading in the near future would like to go explore around Idaho and Yellowstone area

I have had 3 wranglers all set up different and now I have a buggy and a tow pig. After rock crawling with them all this is what I would do for an exploring/mild off road use wrangler.

32-33" tires depending on what their actual measured height is, lockers front and rear, skids to protect things like the oil pan, a way to mount a winch and getting the winch with rope not wire, some kind of side armor, front sway bar disconnects or antirock, and springs to keep it at a stock ride height with the weight added on.

I think this would give you a very well rounded jeep that can get it done on the trails and not affect on ride performance much at all

Sent from S3

 

[Longtallsally]

32-33" tires depending on what their actual measured height is, lockers front and rear, skids to protect things like the oil pan, a way to mount a winch and getting the winch with rope not wire, some kind of side armor, front sway bar disconnects or antirock, and springs to keep it at a stock ride height with the weight added on.

I think this would give you a very well rounded jeep that can get it done on the trails and not affect on ride performance much at all

Sent from S3

Gosh, that sounds exactly like what I did.

 

[IKE2013]

I will throw in my 2¢. Comes down to personal taste. If you like 'em big, lift it. If you want mostly stock, don't lift. You can add 33s w/o having to lift. The more aggressive riding you do, should dictate your lift. More rocks, mud and water get it up away from the danger zone. i will say that if you start adding alot of weight, bumpers, winches, armor and cargo, the ride will sag. You will be adding inches to it to regain the height. You can find the coil spacers pretty cheap and won't have to change major components. I sit right now with 4.25 lift and 35s. The added weight of the rear tire sagged abit. I also pull a utility trailer and with some tongue weight, the *** end drops. Just keep that in mind. Also don't underestimate the stock Rubicon shocks. They are good stiff shocks and sell pretty cheap. Also the BFG Mt tires are awesome tires. I had them on my Ram before jeep started adding them to the Rubicons. I will hands down pit them against any tire on the market in traction and performance. Yeah the cost is insane now because of the popularity. I had the shipped to my door for $400 bucks about 5 years ago. The mpg suck regardless and the smaller tire will help you retain it. But you will lose it again with the added weight. I bought the Gt for Jeep Bully Dog before the tire upgrade. It makes up for the power loss and keeps the mpgs up. Honestly, I will prob drop down to 33s and take out some lift the next time I buy tires. Jeeps are capable rigs out of the factory so don't be sucked into the "mod frenzy", esp. when you can put the money towards more useable equipt.

So to answer your question, if you like lifted Jeeps and it will bring you joy, Lift it. If you are not into lifts and big tires keep it stock and toss in spacers as needed.

 

[jscusmcvet]

I have had 3 wranglers all set up different and now I have a buggy and a tow pig. After rock crawling with them all this is what I would do for an exploring/mild off road use wrangler.

32-33" tires depending on what their actual measured height is, lockers front and rear, skids to protect things like the oil pan, a way to mount a winch and getting the winch with rope not wire, some kind of side armor, front sway bar disconnects or antirock, and springs to keep it at a stock ride height with the weight added on.

I think this would give you a very well rounded jeep that can get it done on the trails and not affect on ride performance much at all

Sent from S3

This is a very sensible route and will get you through 90+% of the trails in the country.... and down the road when you are done.

John

 

[redthies]

My only additional comment is that I don't think the difference in price is anywhere near zilch. Right now a set of OEM Rubicon tires is $774 from Tire rack. When I look to go to essentially a 35" tire, it is $1200 for a set of 4, and then I'd have to get a 5th for a spare. I can't justify that as it will hurt performance and economy. Yeah, it will look better, but for double the cost, that extra 1.5" of clearance just isn't worth it.

If you actually read my post, you will note that I did not compare stock KMs to 35" tires. I said "the difference between stock and one size over" is nearly zilch. And $774 x 2= $1558, not $1200.

Tire Rack has stock Rubicon tires for $824 (reg price without mail in rebate), and 285/70-17 BFG ATs for $980, and BFG Rugged Terrains for $784. We are talking about $166 if you go to the ATs, which are a better all around tire than the KM. When you factor in the fact that you are bolting them on a $20-30,000 Jeep, I call $166 zilch.

 

[Longtallsally]

If you actually read my post, you will note that I did not compare stock KMs to 35" tires. I said "the difference between stock and one size over" is nearly zilch. And $774 x 2= $1558, not $1200.

Tire Rack has stock Rubicon tires for $824 (reg price without mail in rebate), and 285/70-17 BFG ATs for $980, and BFG Rugged Terrains for $784. We are talking about $166 if you go to the ATs, which are a better all around tire than the KM. When you factor in the fact that you are bolting them on a $20-30,000 Jeep, I call $166 zilch.

Good clarification. I was trying to compare apples to apples (MT to MT, not AT). But I didn't get your $774 x2 equation? The $774 was for 4 (yes, with the rebate), so I dunno why x2?

But either way, you are correct. I was bummed, though, when I couldn't find the tires you mentioned on Tire rack.

 

[LL247]

Alright, throwing in my 2 pennies for what it's worth. Last JK was an 08 that I lifted 6 inches and had 35's, rode like crap and mpgs were terrible (even for a Wrangler, and I've owned 5). At the time all I was interested in was mud mud and more mud, and looking cool of course. Fast forward to now, I just picked up a 14 JKUR last week and am getting a build plan together. My main interest is to explore, but I also use it as my DD so needs to retain functionality too. Also let me say that I'm much more budget minded this time around, can't go off the deep end. I agree with many of the above posts, best money is a good tire, maybe a small quality lift, some armor and recovery equipment. After a ton of research the plan on mine is a small spring lift to get a tad higher and to account for extra bumper/winch weight as well as move up to a 33-34'' tire. As stated above there's very little a mildly equipped JK can't do.

 

[redthies]

Yeah, it will look better, but for double the cost, that extra 1.5" of clearance just isn't worth it.

It came from here:elkgrin: I'm glad you don't seem to think I was being pissy in my response. I wasn't. Just wanted to clarify what I meant. For the prices, I just did a search by size. 285/70-17 is (to my knowledge) the next size up from stock, and is super common, with tons of tread style options. I went up two sizes with my 285/75-17 Toyo AT2s, but I really went back and forth between 285/70 and 75. I ended up going to the bigger size because a) it has 2 more 32nds of tread depth, b) slightly bigger voids, and c) because I am a bit of a meathead/"renaissance redneck".

Might add that last bit to my sig...

 

[JKU87]

If you NEED new tires, then buy the size you want. The difference in price between a stock size tire, and one that is a size or two bigger is basically zilch. With the Rubicons, there is only one or two tires that come in the stock size (255/75-17). If you want a different tread style, you can only go up or down in size. I'm running 285/75-17 Toyo AT2s now, with a 2.5" OME coil (they know their spring rates and always have). The Toyos are light years ahead of the stock BFGs.

Kind of resurrecting this thread-

Redtheis, what load OME springs are those? Could they be found here: http://www.quadratec.com/products/product_search.php?mn=Old+Man+Emu&cn=Jeep+Coil+Springs&c=120

 

[kojackJKU]

I am running the teraflex leveling kit, Monroe reflex monotubes, and 33" bfg ATs. An awesome combo for overlanding. I have airbags to handle the extra weight of gear and our pop up. It rides amazing, handles great, and I am probably only down 1 mpg from stock as I kept weight to a minimum. Armor does screw with mpg because of weight. So, choose wisely. I am adding a evap skid, and ranchos oil pan guard as those are the critical items to be protected. The rancho oil pan guard is small lightweight and provides the protection needed. Now, I may look into a evap relocate to save more weight. I am adding the maximus 3 front bar with winch, rear tire mount and roof rack this year as well. All items I feel are needed for our jeep.