Napalm's Billet Steel! The 2016 JKU Sport Build Thread and Picture Diary

[Jegar]

I can promise you a good time and great picture opportunities!

I'm going. Maybe us Texans can meet up and convoy? Steel will love posing between crawls!

 

[DWiggles]

Now just where to start...

Just bouncing ideas around in my head.. But I think my starting point will be front bumper/winch and get rid of the rear bumper. Just seems smart with the possibility of us wheeling on our own. I've been eying a few bumpers, not sure if I want to go with a stinger again or something a little more modest. I've got about 6 months to decide though.

You know, Charlie has a poison spider front bumper for sale...

I would think your general plan of front bumper & winch to start is solid, that's where I started after all. Removing the rear bumper will give you added clearance without the cost. The next step (IMO) would be to decide how you want to carry your spair, and go from there. I obviously choose the LOD route over Evo because I felt the Evo look is a little more "hardcore crawler" for a daily driven jeep. Just my own humble opinion, but I do LOVE the look.

Keeping in mind budget, I would think:

1) Winch, and what you need to make it work, front bumper, etc.

2) pull the rear bumper, stock rubicon tires/shocks if you find some cheap

3) decide on a tire size (35s if you don't plan on an axle, 37s if your ok with going slow on a factory d44)

4) enforcer lift or enforcer pro if you can swing it (after seeing stick on the rocks, I'm convinced it's awesome, I just wish I would have parked my jeep and hopped in the passenger seat for a minute)

5) get your tires, if your looking at aftermarket rims, just wait a few more months and spend the money for beadlocks. When I was searching, they were only about $50 more per wheel. Something to think about...

6) trim your factory fenders if you haven't already.

7) after saving some money and driving the setup, save for a regear and a factory d44, or suck it up ad save for a few months and go PR44, save a few hundred more for a rear arb and on board air

7) enjoy the hell out of the jeep and replace/upgrade when needed :thumb:

It's a long haul for sure, but make your plan, and skimp on the cheap mods for later. The big mods are more fun. This is just my opinion and I hope you take it as such. Any way you work it out, I'm excited to see how steel grows up!

 

[DWiggles]

Double post (sorry, on my phone)

IMO that poison spider bumper looks AWESOME once it's built out. Here is "The Mistress"

 

[DWiggles]

Triple post, gosh...

Here is another shot off his Facebook page

 

[Jackal01]

I sold the bumper 2 weekends ago.

1/4 and stinger is on now...just waiting for the Zeon 10S to come in before I post up pics.

 

[Mike_JK_Houston_711]

You know, Charlie has a poison spider front bumper for sale...

I would think your general plan of front bumper & winch to start is solid, that's where I started after all. Removing the rear bumper will give you added clearance without the cost. The next step (IMO) would be to decide how you want to carry your spair, and go from there. I obviously choose the LOD route over Evo because I felt the Evo look is a little more "hardcore crawler" for a daily driven jeep. Just my own humble opinion, but I do LOVE the look.

Keeping in mind budget, I would think:

1) Winch, and what you need to make it work, front bumper, etc.

2) pull the rear bumper, stock rubicon tires/shocks if you find some cheap

3) decide on a tire size (35s if you don't plan on an axle, 37s if your ok with going slow on a factory d44)

4) enforcer lift or enforcer pro if you can swing it (after seeing stick on the rocks, I'm convinced it's awesome, I just wish I would have parked my jeep and hopped in the passenger seat for a minute)

5) get your tires, if your looking at aftermarket rims, just wait a few more months and spend the money for beadlocks. When I was searching, they were only about $50 more per wheel. Something to think about...

6) trim your factory fenders if you haven't already.

7) after saving some money and driving the setup, save for a regear and a factory d44, or suck it up ad save for a few months and go PR44, save a few hundred more for a rear arb and on board air

7) enjoy the hell out of the jeep and replace/upgrade when needed :thumb:

It's a long haul for sure, but make your plan, and skimp on the cheap mods for later. The big mods are more fun. This is just my opinion and I hope you take it as such. Any way you work it out, I'm excited to see how steel grows up!

This is a good plan to stick to. If you're planning on running 37s, you should be okay on a stock 44 front axle, but may want to look into beefing it up. However, sometimes the price of a D44 and beefing it up (gussets, trussing it, sleeving it, chromoly shafts, etc...) can be not much less than a fully built PR44. Do your research and make the best decision for yourself.

 

[Jackal01]

This is a good plan to stick to. If you're planning on running 37s, you should be okay on a stock 44 front axle, but may want to look into beefing it up. However, sometimes the price of a D44 and beefing it up (gussets, trussing it, sleeving it, chromoly shafts, etc...) can be not much less than a fully built PR44. Do your research and make the best decision for yourself.

Napalm has a sport so no front D44.

And regardless of that I wouldn't waste money on trusses and sleeves. Doing those doesn't help where the weakness is.

 

[Napalm]

Triple post, gosh...

Here is another shot off his Facebook page

This is a good plan to stick to. If you're planning on running 37s, you should be okay on a stock 44 front axle, but may want to look into beefing it up. However, sometimes the price of a D44 and beefing it up (gussets, trussing it, sleeving it, chromoly shafts, etc...) can be not much less than a fully built PR44. Do your research and make the best decision for yourself.

Napalm has a sport so no front D44.

And regardless of that I wouldn't waste money on trusses and sleeves. Doing those doesn't help where the weakness is.

Charlie is correct, Steel is a Sport S so only a D30 up front. Regardless though, a 35" tire would be my maximum tire size. While 37s are great, they just aren't for me/what I need. I wheel 2-3 times a year if I'm lucky, the rest is solid on road daily driving. And the wheeling I do is mild when I do, so I just can't justify price and mods needed for the 37s.

Now all that being said, I'm not 100% sure of the tire size/configuration I want to go with on Steel. I'm considering a set of Rubi take offs. Or going with set of tires on stock wheels/spacers for awhile. Can't decide, but I've got plenty of time to decide so it's okay!

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, keep em coming, and it's okay to use my thread to bump your post count Dave hahaha just kidding!

 

[Mike_JK_Houston_711]

Charlie is correct, Steel is a Sport S so only a D30 up front. Regardless though, a 35" tire would be my maximum tire size. While 37s are great, they just aren't for me/what I need. I wheel 2-3 times a year if I'm lucky, the rest is solid on road daily driving. And the wheeling I do is mild when I do, so I just can't justify price and mods needed for the 37s.

Now all that being said, I'm not 100% sure of the tire size/configuration I want to go with on Steel. I'm considering a set of Rubi take offs. Or going with set of tires on stock wheels/spacers for awhile. Can't decide, but I've got plenty of time to decide so it's okay!

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, keep em coming, and it's okay to use my thread to bump your post count Dave hahaha just kidding!

Cool! Well if you stick with the D30 up front and go to 35s, you really should enforce the front axle...even wheeling 2-3x per year you can bend or snap something. I suggest c gussets and an inner sleeve - evo makes a good set and very affordable, just need to find a good welder that knows what he/she is doing...I had the TF cguss/sleeve kit and it worked great on my D30. And a good set of chromoly shafts for the front - there's a handful out there Alloy USA, G2, Ten, etc...The chromoly shafts will come with strong u-joints, which you really should have with 35+ tires. These will not break the bank and will make your stock D30 50% stronger.

 

[Napalm]

Cool! Well if you stick with the D30 up front and go to 35s, you really should enforce the front axle...even wheeling 2-3x per year you can bend or snap something. I suggest c gussets and an inner sleeve - evo makes a good set and very affordable, just need to find a good welder that knows what he/she is doing...I had the TF cguss/sleeve kit and it worked great on my D30. And a good set of chromoly shafts for the front - there's a handful out there Alloy USA, G2, Ten, etc...The chromoly shafts will come with strong u-joints, which you really should have with 35+ tires. These will not break the bank and will make your stock D30 50% stronger.

That's the plan whenever I upgrade to larger. Most likely just C guessets to start, that's the same way I went with my last JKU I built similar.

 

[Mike_JK_Houston_711]

That's the plan whenever I upgrade to larger. At least a set of C guessets to start, that's the same way I went with my last JKU I built similar.

Yep. The Dana 30 is stronger than a lot of people think. If you add the right things and address all of the weaknesses, it can be a good strong little axle for sure. That's what I've been wheeling with for the last couple years before saving up for my PR44. My bank account exploded during that time as I regeared to 4.88s and put in front and rear ARB lockers at the same time lol. Just glad that part of the build is over!

 

[DWiggles]

Trussed 44, just save your money. Draw the line at C-gussets and save...

 

[Napalm]

Trussed 44, just save your money. Draw the line at C-gussets and save...

Agreed brother. [emoji57]

 

[Napalm]

Out of the many pictures I've taken of the many Jeeps I've owned, this is without question one of my absolute favorites. On this day, we give thanks to those who put their lives on the line everyday to give us the freedoms we have. We also remember the fallen, those that have perished giving their lives so that we can live free. Something that we should do everyday! God bless our troops!

Happy Memorial Day!

 

[dcbjk]

Out of the many pictures I've taken of the many Jeeps I've owned, this is without question one of my absolute favorites. On this day, we give thanks to those who put their lives on the line everyday to give us the freedoms we have. We also remember the fallen, those that have perished giving their lives so that we can live free. Something that we should do everyday! God bless our troops!

Happy Memorial Day!
View attachment 205804

Amen brother amazing picture and cheers to all our veterans and the ones no longer with us

 

[Exodus 4x4]

I sold the bumper 2 weekends ago.

1/4 and stinger is on now...just waiting for the Zeon 10S to come in before I post up pics.

Pics??????

 

[Benito]

Trussed 44, just save your money. Draw the line at C-gussets and save...

That is not a truss, it is a bracket for a three link setup. It doesn't even weld into the housing, and that "break was cause very bad OEM rosette welds from the housing to the tubes if i remember correctly. nonetheless i agree with you, "draw the line at C-gussets"

 

[Kyle7R]

Out of the many pictures I've taken of the many Jeeps I've owned, this is without question one of my absolute favorites. On this day, we give thanks to those who put their lives on the line everyday to give us the freedoms we have. We also remember the fallen, those that have perished giving their lives so that we can live free. Something that we should do everyday! God bless our troops!

Happy Memorial Day!
View attachment 205804

Great picture bud. Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[notnalc68]

Out of the many pictures I've taken of the many Jeeps I've owned, this is without question one of my absolute favorites. On this day, we give thanks to those who put their lives on the line everyday to give us the freedoms we have. We also remember the fallen, those that have perished giving their lives so that we can live free. Something that we should do everyday! God bless our troops!

Happy Memorial Day!
View attachment 205804

Awesome photo

 

[BamBamDeer]

Out of the many pictures I've taken of the many Jeeps I've owned, this is without question one of my absolute favorites. On this day, we give thanks to those who put their lives on the line everyday to give us the freedoms we have. We also remember the fallen, those that have perished giving their lives so that we can live free. Something that we should do everyday! God bless our troops!

Happy Memorial Day!
View attachment 205804

You said it all and the pic backs it up 100%