A Perennial Work In Progress

[Irun]

At this point in the movie this isn't as much of a build thread, as it is a depiction of evolutionary progress. With that in mind, I'll do a little retrospective and then go from there.

In the beginning, there was a stockish 2004 LJ with little personality, but lots of potential. The day I brought it home, it looked like this:

https://imgur.com/QkBphaT

Next, came the:
- Total Maintenance Overhaul
- BDS lift & Bilstein Shocks
- Rubicon Rear, with Superior Axles
- Rubicon Front, with Reid Knuckles, Warn Hubs, and Dutchman Axles
- SYE 231
- 33" Duratracs on Steel Wheels
- Bumpers & Winch

https://imgur.com/cBnP1Nm

 

[Irun]

The next evolution was brought on because I wasn't happy with the on and offroad characteristics/performance. The Jeep had a face lift, with weight being a critical factor. Added to the mix was:

- Metalcloak 3.5" SA lift
- Metalcloak Rails & Full Corner Armor
- BL & MML
- UCF Full Aluminum Skid System
- UCF Aluminum Front & Rear Bumpers
- 35" KO2s % Raceline Wheels
- 5.13 Gears

https://imgur.com/v6zi31o

https://imgur.com/6tIx2RI

 

[Irun]

The current state came to be as a result of wheeling the Jeep harder than ever before. More time on the rocks, not enough control of crawl ratio, more off camber situations, and losing a couple tires resulted in:

- 241OR installation
- Advance Adapters Rubicrawler
- Full Bolt In Cage
- 35" MTZ P3 Tires on Walker Evans Beadlocks
- Currie Antirock

https://imgur.com/JNuTZVt

https://imgur.com/z1cLUVD

https://imgur.com/Jx5bj8M

 

[Chris]

Damn, that's quite the evolution. I love those Walker Evans wheels as well, those have always been one of my favorites.

That's one sharp looking LJ!

 

[IPerkWVU]

I’ve enjoyed my MTZ P3s, they are loud on the highway but get the job done on the trail. Great looking LJ, those walker evans look great

 

[Irun]

After serving me faithfully for almost 5 years, the UCF aluminum front frame width bumper is now gone.

UCF Aluminum Frame Width Bumper

I've mocked up the replacement, a steel UCF Ultra-High Clearance front bumper. I loved the old aluminum bumper, which weighed in at 24lbs, including the bumper, aluminum winch plate and steel hoop. The new steel bumper weighs in at 43lbs, adding 19lbs back on the nose, but gives me the following:

• D-ring mounts - The old bumper didn't have these and used the factory tow hooks
• More room for my winch - The old bumper hoop hit against my Superwinch EPI9.0 so tight that I could get a cover on it securely, causing me to lose two covers (This was a trivial, but annoying)
• Approximately 2.0" improvement on the approach angle - The Ultra-High Clearance bumper only works with setups that remove the factory swaybar, e.g. Currie Antirock. Using this configuration, the bumper is pushed in approximately 2.0" closer to the grill. The first top factory bumper bolt hole, i.e. the outermost, is no longer used. The second factory bumper mount hole is used in conjunction with the outermost factory swaybar mount hole. This gives two frame tie in points up top, along with the factory bottom frame bolt.

I won't be able to do the actual paint and install until after the holidays, because there's a PSC steering kit sitting in my garage that has to go on first!

UCF Ultra-High Clearance Bumper

 

[dlm1450]

That looks great. I love the UCF stuff. I ended up with jcr bumpers cause I prefer their fenders and I bought everything together. I did pick up the UCF skid later on. It is super solid and the UCF guys were great to work with.

 

[Alex01]

Great looking rig.

Did you go with the UCF skid with the 1 or 2" drop?

 

[D M]

I'm debating on the savvy front bumper or the ucf ultra high clearance one, the only thing that's making me struggle to choose is that the savvy is aluminum and the ucf is steel. Do you by any chance know how much it weighs, also is it a big difference?

 

[dlm1450]

I'm debating on the savvy front bumper or the ucf ultra high clearance one, the only thing that's making me struggle to choose is that the savvy is aluminum and the ucf is steel. Do you by any chance know how much it weighs, also is it a big difference?

When I bought my UCF skid, I was told the aluminum version was about 1/2 the weight of the steel version. I'm assuming bumpers would have a similar weight difference?

 

[D M]

When I bought my UCF skid, I was told the aluminum version was about 1/2 the weight of the steel version. I'm assuming bumpers would have a similar weight difference?

I was curious because UCF doesn't seem to have an aluminum option for their ultra high clearance bumper. Its 30lbs steel. The savvy one and the UCF both look great, i'm still just struggling to decide

 

[Irun]

Did you go with the UCF skid with the 1 or 2" drop?

I went with the 2" drop, or Extra-Clearance version. It has held up incredibly well over the years. However, thanks to a great friend, I have a Savvy Under Armor set that will be replacing the UCF skid. To be clear, there's nothing wrong with the UCF skid. I had the Savvy setup on a previous Jeep and really liked the design. That said, the UCF Extra clearance skid was a simple bolt on.

The Savvy was not, but the results were worth it. I ended up with around 18" of Savvy skid clearance with 33" tires on my TJ . By comparison, my LJ, with the UCF Extra-Clearance skid, had 17" of clearance on 35" tires. My guess is that if I would have run the UCF Ultra-Clearance the numbers would be closer.

 

[dlm1450]

I was curious because UCF doesn't seem to have an aluminum option for their ultra high clearance bumper. Its 30lbs steel. The savvy one and the UCF both look great, i'm still just struggling to decide

This might help your decision. UCF will answer the phone right away when you call. Savvy did not answer the phone when I called (several times) nor did they reply to the email I sent 5 weeks ago.

 

[Irun]

I'm debating on the savvy front bumper or the ucf ultra high clearance one, the only thing that's making me struggle to choose is that the savvy is aluminum and the ucf is steel. Do you by any chance know how much it weighs, also is it a big difference?

You're correct, there is no aluminum option for the Ultra high-clearance bumper. Without options, it weighs around 29 lbs. I went with the d-ring mounts, hoop and fairlead mount, which made the bumper weigh a little under 43 lbs. I ran a UCF aluminum bumper before this one and was very happy with it. However, it had some shortcomings which I outlined in post #6.

The Savvy bumper has a very good reputation and I looked at it originally. However, I preferred a frame width bumper, which it is not. Others can jump in, but my guess would be that if you add up the options on the Savvy bumper it would weigh somewhere around 24 to 26 lbs. Assuming the lighter side, this makes the difference between the UCF steel and Savvy aluminum approximately 19 lbs.

In the end, it depends on what's important to you. If you're looking at frame width bumpers, the Motobilt one is also very nice. Several folks on here run them and they seem to be a very well made alternative.

https://www.motobilt.com/product/jeep_yj_tj_lj_front_bumper_bare_steel

 

[Irun]

This might help your decision. UCF will answer the phone right away when you call. Savvy did not answer the phone when I called (several times) nor did they reply to the email I sent 5 weeks ago.

Matt (UCF) has always been very responsive and is sometimes willing to offer a discount.

 

[dlm1450]

Matt (UCF) has always been very responsive and is sometimes willing to offer a discount.

On this forum or via phone? Email? What's the best way to contact Savvy? I love their stuff but I prefer using the phone if I can.

 

[Irun]

I've worked through Ricky Garza <[email protected]> . Assuming he's still there, he has always been helpful when ordering Savvy parts.

 

[D M]

You're correct, there is no aluminum option for the Ultra high-clearance bumper. Without options, it weighs around 29 lbs. I went with the d-ring mounts, hoop and fairlead mount, which made the bumper weigh a little under 43 lbs. I ran a UCF aluminum bumper before this one and was very happy with it. However, it had some shortcomings which I outlined in post #6.

The Savvy bumper has a very good reputation and I looked at it originally. However, I preferred a frame width bumper, which it is not. Others can jump in, but my guess would be that if you add up the options on the Savvy bumper it would weigh somewhere around 24 to 26 lbs. Assuming the lighter side, this makes the difference between the UCF steel and Savvy aluminum approximately 19 lbs.

In the end, it depends on what's important to you. If you're looking at frame width bumpers, the Motobilt one is also very nice. Several folks on here run them and they seem to be a very well made alternative.

https://www.motobilt.com/product/jeep_yj_tj_lj_front_bumper_bare_steel

I bought a warn m8000 and a raised winch plate to fit on my random front bumper(from previous owner), I have a fairlead and a raised winch plate, would i need the fairlead mount if I went with the UCF ultra high clearance front bumper, and what about raised winch plate? It also says I cant use the factory sway bar, id need something like an antirock, I have disconnects but I dont know if that will work.

 

[dlm1450]

After making the comment above, I sent a follow up email to Savvy. I received a reply less than 15 minutes later. Hopefully my experience 5 weeks ago was a one-off event.

 

[Irun]

I bought a warn m8000 and a raised winch plate to fit on my random front bumper(from previous owner), I have a fairlead and a raised winch plate, would i need the fairlead mount if I went with the UCF ultra high clearance front bumper, and what about raised winch plate? It also says I cant use the factory sway bar, id need something like an antirock, I have disconnects but I dont know if that will work.

If you use the factory swaybar, the UCF Ultra High-Clearance bumper won't work. You need to eliminate it and run something like the Antirock. Also, you wouldn't need a winch plate, because the bumper is the winch plate. Lastly, I'm guessing your fairlead mount would work, but it's best to call UCF. Based on what you're saying, it's sounding like this isn't the bumper for you, unless you're planning on installing an antirock, which I'm a big believer in!