Going big or bigger questions.

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linehand08

New member
So I'll start of by telling what I've got and then we will get into where I want to go. It's a 2013 jku Rubicon with a 4.5 inch BDS long arm lift, Teraflex speed bumps front and back 4 inch up front 3 inch weld in's in the rear, 5.13 gears, Rcv axles in the dana 44s sitting on 37's, Genright roll cage, JE reel drivelines front and back 1310 front 1350 rear blah blah blah.

I am putting a Dana 60 up front and a 14 bolt in the rear using Artec's one ton kit also a Atlas transfer case.
Question's are do I go with 40s and 12 inch kings or 42s and 14 inch kings. It will have hydro assist steering also.
I'm leaning towards going with 42s but I fear I will have to change every thing to correct my suspension geometry. I don't want to put thousands of dollars towards suspension again so i'm thinking about rebel offroads coilover conversion on it and cutting sleeves into the links to lengthen them out for proper alignment of the axle.
So I guess i'm asking what do you guys think and what directions would you go ect.
 
GCM 2

GCM 2

New member
Stick with 40"s, there are practically zero Ultra 4 Unlimited class spec cars that run a 42", and that class of race car can run anything it's wants. The benefits of going up to 42"s have been found to be almost negligible and actually counter productive for a daily driver Jeep. To make the 42"s fit takes a lot more trimming than a 40" tire and you are already trimming a great deal of sheet metal to run a 40". What you would gain in axle clearance with the 42"s is going to be lost in articulation at full tire stuff into the wheel well. 40"tires have proven to be the right maximum ratio of great axle to ground clearance and still provide the most articulation travel of your suspension from full droop to full stuff. Not saying you can't run 42"s on a JK, but you are probably not going to have a street legal ride with the amount of "comp cut and taper" you will need to do to your rear quarter panels to free up the space need to stuff a 42" tire at full bump.

As far as the 12" coilover versus the 14" coilover, well that depends how low of a center of gravity ride height or how tall you want you ride height. Obviously the latest trend has been to run 12" Coilovers to keep the jeep low, and with a setup like an 12" EVO Double Throw Down you are still getting 14"s of true suspension travel (strap limited to 14" to protect the driveline). If you run the 14" Coilovers, all you get is a jeep that sits taller (even at its lowest ride height setting) but still offers basically the same 14"s of suspension travel.
 
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linehand08

New member
Thanks ^^^. I don't know all that much about these kinds of things so that was extremely helpful. I just want a jeep that I can take anywhere I want offroad and not get stuck on the belly like I do all the time with 37s.
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
GCM 2 said:
Stick with 40"s, there are practically zero Ultra 4 Unlimited class spec cars that run a 42", and that class of race car can run anything it's wants. The benefits of going up to 42"s have been found to be almost negligible and actually counter productive for a daily driver Jeep. To make the 42"s fit takes a lot more trimming than a 40" tire and you are already trimming a great deal of sheet metal to run a 40". What you would gain in axle clearance with the 42"s is going to be lost in articulation at full tire stuff into the wheel well. 40"tires have proven to be the right maximum ratio of great axle to ground clearance and still provide the most articulation travel of your suspension from full droop to full stuff. Not saying you can't run 42"s on a JK, but you are probably not going to have a street legal ride with the amount of "comp cut and taper" you will need to do to your rear quarter panels to free up the space need to stuff a 42" tire at full bump.

As far as the 12" coilover versus the 14" coilover, well that depends how low of a center of gravity ride height or how tall you want you ride height. Obviously the latest trend has been to run 12" Coilovers to keep the jeep low, and with a setup like an 12" EVO Double Throw Down you are still getting 14"s of true suspension travel (strap limited to 14" to protect the driveline). If you run the 14" Coilovers, all you get is a jeep that sits taller (even at its lowest ride height setting) but still offers basically the same 14"s of suspension travel.
Click to expand...

LOL!! Couldn't have said it better my friend! :D

Definitely would stick with 40's and I think it should be noted that just because you can get a kit that comes with 14" coil overs doesn't mean that you'll be able to take advantage of all that travel. The kit you get makes a big difference in how well it works and not all coil over kits are made equal. Only the EVO DTD kit will allow you to keep your ride height really low, use 12" coil overs and still provide 14" of vertical travel due to the front bracket design up front and EVO lever in the rear which actually only uses 8" coil overs. Other kits out there allow you to run 12" or 14" coil overs but only yield 9" of vertical travel and require you to run your Jeep sky high.
 
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