OP
By the time I get there I'll have a 4-link, coilovers, and an LS swap at this rate:risas3:
A Story of Indecision and Frivolous Spending
- Thread starter Chris
- Start date
I have 32s (265/75R16). David said 4.88 would work but he preferred 5.13. I'll ask him again when I meet him next, not sure if he was thinking if I'd get bigger tires in the future ( I won't, these 32s are perfect for me).
I figured you already had all that ordered and on the way to your house.
@bobthetj03 has the right idea. Time to plan a wranglertjforum rubi run.
OP
I had 33s with 4.88s on my old Rubicon, and while I did love it, I always had wished I went with 5.13, just because I wanted a bit more oomph. With those tires, you could go with 4.88, but 5.13 leaves more room for 35s when you get there one day (I once said I'd never go over 33s, haha!).
OP
I wouldn't put a Hemi in it. They're overpriced and parts are much more expensive and harder to come by. A chevy V8 is a dime a dozen, you can get parts for them anywhere, and they're way cheaper to work on and tune than a Hemi. I think this is the reason you see so many people doing the Chevy V8 swap, because it's much more cost friendly, and you get roughly the same power.
Those 35s look perfect on your AEV rims. I never liked tires that big but your TJR has the right lift and properly built for that tire/til combo. I see JKs locally with big tires and they never looked right but yours is really good looking Chris.
OP
Thank you, I appreciate it! I think that the 17" rims pair well with 35" tires. When you see 15" rims and 35" tires, the wheels look a lot smaller due to the much larger (almost balloon like) sidewall of the 35s.
17s seem to be the new wheel size of choice though. JKs come stock with 17s, as do the JLs.
Mine is on 265/75 tires. I plan on going 5.13 gears too, installed by Dave.
I hate the 4.10s and the largest tire I'd ever go is 255/85 or 285/75.
OP
Ordered some new Spicer 706944X ball joints. I figured if I'm going to be putting on new brakes, knuckles, unit bearings, and RCV axles, I may as well put new ball joints in there, just so that the entire front end is brand new.
I'm going to have RJ's Chassis Dynamics in Salem do the gears for me. They do tons of Jeep gears, and they are the ones who did the welding on the exhaust for my tummy tuck. I've spoken with the owner in depth many times, he's a really nice and knowledgable guy, and his hobby is Jeeps as well, so he knows his way around them well.
As much as I wanted to put the brakes and axles on myself, it makes more sense just to give them the new parts and have them put them on when the finish putting the gears on, since they'd have to put the stock parts back on anyways, so I'm sure it's just as easy for them to bolt-on the new parts instead.
I'm going to have RJ's Chassis Dynamics in Salem do the gears for me. They do tons of Jeep gears, and they are the ones who did the welding on the exhaust for my tummy tuck. I've spoken with the owner in depth many times, he's a really nice and knowledgable guy, and his hobby is Jeeps as well, so he knows his way around them well.
As much as I wanted to put the brakes and axles on myself, it makes more sense just to give them the new parts and have them put them on when the finish putting the gears on, since they'd have to put the stock parts back on anyways, so I'm sure it's just as easy for them to bolt-on the new parts instead.
OP
The 16" brake kit on my old Rubicon made a world of difference. This thing is even bigger, so I'm guessing it's going to make an even more profound difference.
OP
Good news! I scheduled the re-gear with RJ's Chassis Dynamics. It's going in on August 15th, and should be done on the 17th.
The price is $500 per axle, so $1000 total.
I'll end up paying $1265 however, because they are going to install the Currie steering, new ball joints, big brake kit, master cylinder, and align it as well.
I figured this is fair. I could just have them put all the stock components back on, but then I've got to get it home and take everything apart all over again, which is pretty much a waste of time.
I feel good about that price, and I'll be really happy once this is done. It's very annoying having to constantly turn the overdrive off and cruising at 55 mph with the RPMs around 2000 or less.
I'll be happy once this part of the build is done, because then I can focus on outboarding the rear shocks and relocating the spring perches. Eventually I may add coilovers as well.
The price is $500 per axle, so $1000 total.
I'll end up paying $1265 however, because they are going to install the Currie steering, new ball joints, big brake kit, master cylinder, and align it as well.
I figured this is fair. I could just have them put all the stock components back on, but then I've got to get it home and take everything apart all over again, which is pretty much a waste of time.
I feel good about that price, and I'll be really happy once this is done. It's very annoying having to constantly turn the overdrive off and cruising at 55 mph with the RPMs around 2000 or less.
I'll be happy once this part of the build is done, because then I can focus on outboarding the rear shocks and relocating the spring perches. Eventually I may add coilovers as well.
Just curious. What are you hoping to gain with coilovers compared to what is possible with separate coils and shocks? Are you going to do this on stock axles?
OP
I'm not hoping to gain anything with them at all other than getting rid of separate coils and shocks. Seems like less of a fuss, and easy to adjust if needed.
I would be doing it with stock axles, but I'm not even 100% committed to the idea. It's just something I've been thinking about. I've had coilovers on all my previous vehicles (granted those are BMW M cars), and while it's a totally different situation, I always liked how they were easy to adjust in terms of height changes, and also the fact that they combine the shock and coil into one nice package.
Everything I've read on the topic suggests that CO's (especially on stock axles) is a tremendous amount of work and money to get working well. And that the performance isn't much better than a tuned shock. Fitting everything, especially the lower mounts is tough without room.
OP
Really? Glad to know that. I wasn't dead set on the idea by any means. I just thought it seemed like a cool one. However, I'm not going to open a can of worms if it requires a lot more work to get them mounted. At that point I'll just outboard the rear shocks, relocate the upper perch, and live with what I've got (which I'm actually fine with). This isn't one of those situations where I actually need them, it's one of those situations where I was thinking "might as well".
But truthfully, I'd rather avoid it, since it will only add more money to the build, which is probably upwards of 15k in "mods" thus far.
Starrs
TJ Guru
Somebody is going to offer you a price that you can’t refuse for yours in 6 mos tops and you’ll be in an LJR....I am certain of this lol. Your not spreading the build out enough. Your gonna be done and the rush will be gone haha...and your family will outgrow the TJR. Let’s all take a bet on this hahaha
The outboard is a big enough can of worms. I'll warn you their are 5-6 movements and points of reference that all need to line up at once. That's each side.
Mine turned out fairly well. But I know where it could be better and I can definitely see how easy it is to screw up.
Mine turned out fairly well. But I know where it could be better and I can definitely see how easy it is to screw up.
That’s a very fair price. If you do decide to go coilovers down the road check out MotoBilt, they have kits that make it a breeze as long as you or a buddy can weld. They even have TJ and LJ frame back half kits which is in the next stage of my build along with axles.