Luke's 2008 JK Unlimited Build

[Luke Wright]

Bone stock JK in the Sahara trim:



There is an OME 2" suspension lift and a 1" body lift on the way. The stock 18" gangster wheels are too nice for the roads that I will be traveling, so can anyone recomend some cheap steelies and a good tire size?

 

[Bennyhana]

Luke, make sure you tell everybody you're a reformed Land Rover guy....

As for steelies, check out the winter steel rims from Mopar or the spare tire rims off of late model grand cherokees.

 

[kleinrider]

I'd say the Crager soft 8 wheels (or whatever other brands call them), and get at least 4.5" backspacing (meaning that or smaller number) to make sure you won't having rubbing issues with larger tires. I ran 285/75 tires for a while, and was very happy with them overall. With you lift, that tire will look small, but that may not matter to you. I'm currently running 35/12.5R17 tires with a Rock Krawler 2.5" lift and 1" spacers on top. It looks about right to me, but 35"s aren't the best tire for over landing due to their weight (plus mine are mud grapplers, so heavy and LOUD). Here's a pic of mine for reference. The pic was taken before I added the 1" spacer on the rear, so it looks lower in the pic than it is currently sitting.

I forgot to mention that my wheels are 3.5" backspacing, so they stick out quite a bit.

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[Luke Wright]

Nice! That's a motivational photo. The lift arrived a few hours ago, and of course I'm missing a part: one of the front spacers. I'm going to install the kit anyways without them, and I'm going to hold off on installing the body lift as well (I'll still keep it around in case). The 35's look mean, but I'm going more for long term reliability than rock crawling ability. I've had bad experiences with rigs that have been lifted more then 3 inches.

What rock sliders are you running?

 

[kleinrider]

I got Shrockworks all the way around (front, rear bumpers, and sliders). The wait is long, but worth it IMO. I've decided on a more expedition style build with some rock crawler flavoring (that sounds like a bad recipe!). When these 35"s get replaced, I'll do a more mild tire tread, but still keep a 35. I like the extra ground clearance, and it'll do everything I want it to do. I'm not the type to go out and try to climb huge boulders and stuff, though I will admit that I do want to do Moab and the Rubicon trail and some point in my life (kind of a bucket list thing, I suppose).


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[WKexpedition]

Great looking jk dude. Can't wait to see it with the lift. Let us know how you like the mopar steelies if that's the way you go. I'm very interested in them,,

 

[kleinrider]

Oh,I would probably not do the body lift if I were you. They were very popular on prior model wranglers, but not necessary at all on the JK. You could run 35"s on a 2.5" lift with the right bump stops (or trimming the fenders - ie flat fenders). Mine is setup to with the bump stops, but I added the spacer in front since I already had them, and knew I'd put a winch up there. I do have the winch now (not in that pic), but I forgot about the huge/heavy rear bumper I was adding. Adding the rear spacer was just way easier than removing the front one. I know at some point I'll have to replace the front drive shaft, but the 4 doors don't have to worry about the rears drive shaft (unless you go 4" plus of lift).


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[Luke Wright]

I managed to install the OME lift today without any problems. It looks a little awkward right now with the stock wheels and tires, but tomorrow that will change.

 

[kleinrider]

Nice! It is funny how small the stockers look when you get a lift on there. What size setup are you going with?


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[SulVento]

IMHO, kleinrider hit it square on the head.

2.5" lift properly set up.
35" tires (pick your tread....I prefer an All Terrain)
Soft 8's on the wheels are good, reliable and affordable


"My" version:

 

[Luke Wright]

Now Puff Daddy won't mistake it for his car.




I went with a 285 x 75 x 17 which measures out to about 34 x 11 x 17. There is room for a 35 with the lift and wheels, which are Pro Comp 98 series: 17x8 with 4.25 backspacing, but I'm happy with this. I'm practicing the un-Jeep technique of restraint

 

[Luke Wright]

As per Benny's request I must admit that I am coming fresh off of 5 Land Rovers in a row, and this Jeep is to be the cure. So whatever you do, don't tell me about all the terrible things I can expect to go wrong, ignorance is bliss!

 

[X-plorenow]

I am also a LR convert, no problems so far. I love my JK. Have fun, looks good so far.

 

[kleinrider]

It looks good! Your tires are basically the same height as mine, but narrower. I like the tread pattern, too. I'll definitely be going to a milder tire on the next set; way too much noise out of these...


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[Luke Wright]

A few observations with the tires:

-At highway speeds with the windows up there is no noticeable noise over stock, with the windows down there is a faint hum.
-These tires are sticky! When cornering at low speed you can feel them gripping and fighting the steering a bit.

These tires are obviously a softer compound than I am used to with the all terrains, and because of that I am not expecting them to last very long. It's the price you pay for not getting stuck!