Need a confirmation from the JK Gods (experienced Jk owners)

gurjeezy · Sep 19, 2015

*Newbie Alert*
2015 2-dr JK Sport Manual

Planning to do the "basic" upgrades soon, but I like to stand behind what I do 100% so I need to verify if it makes sense from experienced owners first. I am not looking to turn this into a serious, 6.4L rock-crawler/Moab-tamer; but more of a reliable trail/off-road Jeep that can mirror a factory power ratio, has reliable hardware set up, and well-polished driving dynamics.

Background:
This JK will be thriving in sunny Silicon Valley, meaning it will mostly be seeing paved hill roads-50%. Dirt trails-25%. Mud-10%, Snow/Ice-10% and anything else 5%.

With that in mind, this is the first stage of upgrades I would like to do and run with for several years.

• Exhaust Spacers
• 2.5" full suspension lift kit w/shocks
• Heat treated 4.88
• MT/AT 35s on stock 16" steel wheels
• Gussets for the front Dana 30
• Adj. Trackbar
• Heftier Tire carrier

The questions I would like to ask regarding these upgrades are the following:

1. Do all of these upgrades "make sense"? In other words, what changes/additions would you make with the driving conditions in mind?
2. Will any of these void the manufacturer warranty?
4. Mud-terrains or All-terrains?
3. Are the following upgrades also ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED or can they be passed on for the short-term?
• Chromoly Dana 30 Axle shafts (full circle clip)
• U-joint style front and rear drive shafts

Thank you!

mudmobeeler · Sep 19, 2015

Skip the exhaust spacers, buy a front driveshaft. At 2.5 inches it isn't necessarily needed provide you don't get too much droop. If you do go with a new front driveshaft, you will need front lower control arms. I would go with 17 inch rims and tires, more tire options and more likely to find tires in stock at tire shops. Skip the adjustable track bar. Depending on how much lift you actually get, you may need a drag link flip up front which would address the trackbar. In the rear, I would buy something like the EVO rear track bar bracket. You can run 35s on factory carrier, just make sure it has isolators or whatever to make sure it's tight against the tailgate.

The MT/AT debate just depends on what terrain you want to wheel.

Full circle clip axle shafts are good. Along with the outer gussets.

You could run something like a budget boost and clear 35s.

2Cross · Sep 19, 2015

1-All of your upgrades kind of make sense. In my book if you are ever going to drive in mud don't get an all terrain tire.
2- don't know unless you try to get them to warranty it.
4- mud terrain tires and specifically make sure they are good in the snow if you ever plan to drive in the snow.
3- the axle shafts and drive shafts can be passed in the short run. But if you want to start doing harder trails I would upgrade to a D44 front before putting more money into the D30. I would gusset the D30 because it's cheap insurance.

gurjeezy · Sep 21, 2015

mudmobeeler said:
The MT/AT debate just depends on what terrain you want to wheel.

Full circle clip axle shafts are good. Along with the outer gussets.

Sounds good, I might just upgrade the axle shafts now for reliability and keep the OEM shafts on hand as spares. Thanks for your advice, nice profile also!

gurjeezy · Sep 21, 2015

2Cross said:
4- mud terrain tires and specifically make sure they are good in the snow if you ever plan to drive in the snow.

3- the axle shafts and drive shafts can be passed in the short run. But if you want to start doing harder trails I would upgrade to a D44 front before putting more money into the D30. I would gusset the D30 because it's cheap insurance.

Gussets are confirmed for the short term then. I wish I could get a D44 right now, and I would've gone for a Rubicon base model right now. But I'll have to wait a few years before I can upgrade, perhaps the D30 will give in and it'll be the best excuse to upgrade. Thanks for the advice!

BeachJK · Sep 22, 2015

mudmobeeler said:
Depending on how much lift you actually get, you may need a drag link flip up front which would address the trackbar.

This doesn't make sense. No need for a drag link flip on 2.5" lift, and the drag link has nothing to do with the job of the track bar, so either an adjustable track bar is needed or a raised front track bar bracket.

WJCO · Sep 22, 2015

As far as warranty goes, if you are under factory warranty, the manufacturer can at any point state that a modification can affect the warranty. If you have a good relationship with your dealer, politics may be on your side if those issues come up. As far as extended warranties, read your contract and understand it. Even if it was sold to you as 'everything is covered,' read it and make sure you know how modifications play a role in part failures according to the contract language. I deal with this multiple times per day.

Big b · Sep 22, 2015

BeachJK said:
This doesn't make sense. No need for a drag link flip on 2.5" lift, and the drag link has nothing to do with the job of the track bar, so either an adjustable track bar is needed or a raised front track bar bracket.

Makes sense to me. The OP has a 2dr, so depending in what brand 2.5 lift he gets he could easily net 3.5 to 4 inches of lift. Which would possibly need a drag link flip. And then most drag link flip kits come with a track bar relocation bracket to correct its geometry.

NFRs2000NYC · Sep 23, 2015

WTF are "heat treated" gears? I've heard of cryo treated gears, but never heat treated. Whatever they are, get the cheapest gears you can find...they are all the same, made by one company in Korea. SOME companies may put them through an additional process when they arrive to the US, but I doubt it does anything to truly add to the strength of the gears themselves.

SDG · Sep 23, 2015

NFRs2000NYC said:
WTF are "heat treated" gears? I've heard of cryo treated gears, but never heat treated. Whatever they are, get the cheapest gears you can find...they are all the same, made by one company in Korea. SOME companies may put them through an additional process when they arrive to the US, but I doubt it does anything to truly add to the strength of the gears themselves.

Heat treatment is a standard process after machining steel or tool steel... its is a heating and cooling process which if I recall correctly reduced ductikity and increases harness by allowing the molecules to realign with one another after the milling process.

Here is what non heat treatment looks like after a 12k miles...

Without heat treatment to the proper Rockwell hardness, the gear faces which touch wear away to dust in this case.

SDG · Sep 23, 2015

See attached...

mudmobeeler · Sep 23, 2015

BeachJK said:
This doesn't make sense. No need for a drag link flip on 2.5" lift, and the drag link has nothing to do with the job of the track bar, so either an adjustable track bar is needed or a raised front track bar bracket.

Depends on how much lift you actually got out of a 2.5 inch lift. I got more than 2.5 inches but don't seem to have any issues. Others have steering issues on 2.5 inch lift because they got 3 or 3.5 inches of lift on a two door. So they had to address their steering.

When you do a drag link flip, you should address the track bar. Make sure they are parallel. The EVO drag link flip kit addresses both. The kit flips the drag link and relocates the track bar. I'm sure there are others brands but I haven't looked.

mudmobeeler · Sep 23, 2015

Most 2.5 inch coil lifts will gain more than 2.5 inches on a two door.

RUBINOT · Sep 23, 2015

I put a 2" Old Man Emu JKU Suspension Lift ony JK and saw 3.5" of lift, not to mention a great ride.

Pyro1415 · Sep 23, 2015

SDG said:
Heat treatment is a standard process after machining steel or tool steel... its is a heating and cooling process which if I recall correctly reduced ductikity and increases harness by allowing the molecules to realign with one another after the milling process.

Here is what non heat treatment looks like after a 12k miles...

Without heat treatment to the proper Rockwell hardness, the gear faces which touch wear away to dust in this case.

My stock gears after 50k miles had practically no wear on them, not sure how they treat them, lube plays a key part plus proper installation/ driving.

OP, cryo treated does make the steel stronger assuming the company actually does it and correctly.
Tires: Like someone else posted if you touch mud most AT's become useless, it sounds like the Duratrac would be a good tire for you if you go AT. They tend to run small though and their sidewalls don't like rocks but they can hold their own in just about anything, to include mud. I run mud tires and love them on anything but ice, which they still react better than the stock SRA's did.

Id recommend going with a budget boost and determining your needs better, you can always move up from there. I made the mistake of going with a named suspension lift and now that I'm upgrading I realized I wasted more money than I needed. Plus like someone else mentioned a suspension lift might net you 4" mine did(2.5" TF) which since you have a 2dr it would move the driveshaft replacement to the top of your list.

gurjeezy · Sep 23, 2015

WJCO said:
As far as extended warranties, read your contract and understand it. Even if it was sold to you as 'everything is covered,' read it and make sure you know how modifications play a role in part failures according to the contract language.

Thanks for that info, I am assuming it's better to opt-out of extended warranties if heavy modifications are to be done?

Big b said:
Makes sense to me. The OP has a 2dr, so depending in what brand 2.5 lift he gets he could easily net 3.5 to 4 inches of lift. Which would possibly need a drag link flip. And then most drag link flip kits come with a track bar relocation bracket to correct its geometry.

mudmobeeler said:
Most 2.5 inch coil lifts will gain more than 2.5 inches on a two door.

RUBINOT said:
I put a 2" Old Man Emu JKU Suspension Lift ony JK and saw 3.5" of lift, not to mention a great ride.

Is there a conversion method for this? Meaning if a 2.5" will actually translate to a 3.5" - Does this mean a 1.5" will translate to a 2.5"? Or does it really vary upon different manufacturers and there is no way to determine the final lift height?

Pyro1415 said:
My stock gears after 50k miles had practically no wear on them, not sure how they treat them, lube plays a key part plus proper installation/ driving.

OP, cryo treated does make the steel stronger assuming the company actually does it and correctly.
Tires: Like someone else posted if you touch mud most AT's become useless, it sounds like the Duratrac would be a good tire for you if you go AT. They tend to run small though and their sidewalls don't like rocks but they can hold their own in just about anything, to include mud. I run mud tires and love them on anything but ice, which they still react better than the stock SRA's did.

Id recommend going with a budget boost and determining your needs better, you can always move up from there.

MT it is :thumb:
Is there MAJOR difference between and BB and a full suspension lift when it comes to performance at only 2" of lift?

Pyro1415 · Sep 23, 2015

gurjeezy said:
Thanks for that info, I am assuming it's better to opt-out of extended warranties if heavy modifications are to be done?

Is there a conversion method for this? Meaning if a 2.5" will actually translate to a 3.5" - Does this mean a 1.5" will translate to a 2.5"? Or does it really vary upon different manufacturers and there is no way to determine the final lift height?

MT it is :thumb:
Is there MAJOR difference between and BB and a full suspension lift when it comes to performance at only 2" of lift?

Lots off Google searching, most are made to support a winch, skids, aftermarket bumpers and whatever else so if you're mostly stock they run high. Single and dual rate coils make a difference if your stock usually because the retaining portion wont be compressed. That's why RK runs very high if you're stock.

Budget boost just retains a very close to stock ride you can always buy new shocks and that will make an improvement. But its just spacers and usually you can sell them on craigslist for about 60% of what you paid.

JakeJK · Sep 23, 2015

mudmobeeler said:
Depends on how much lift you actually got out of a 2.5 inch lift. I got more than 2.5 inches but don't seem to have any issues. Others have steering issues on 2.5 inch lift because they got 3 or 3.5 inches of lift on a two door. So they had to address their steering.

When you do a drag link flip, you should address the track bar. Make sure they are parallel. The EVO drag link flip kit addresses both. The kit flips the drag link and relocates the track bar. I'm sure there are others brands but I haven't looked.

What type of steering issues occur? I run a 2.5 that netted a good bit more and my steering is a little odd now, I want to see if my symptoms are anything related to my lift being too high

Pyro1415 · Sep 23, 2015

JakeJK said:
What type of steering issues occur? I run a 2.5 that netted a good bit more and my steering is a little odd now, I want to see if my symptoms are anything related to my lift being too high

Did you adjust your steering correctly, mines fine. Upgrading the steering stabilizer helped me after I went to bigger tires.

mudmobeeler · Sep 23, 2015

JakeJK said:
What type of steering issues occur? I run a 2.5 that netted a good bit more and my steering is a little odd now, I want to see if my symptoms are anything related to my lift being too high

I think mostly bump steer usually from the drag link and trac bars no longer parallel.

Could be flighty steering also but I believe that was from your castor being off which would be fixed with front lower adjustable control arms.

Pyro1415 said:
Did you adjust your steering correctly, mines fine. Upgrading the steering stabilizer helped me after I went to bigger tires.

The steering stabilizer is not needed on a properly set up suspension and steering. If one is preferred I would recommend a factory one. Most aftermarket ones cause a push one way, causing the vehicle to drift.

Need a confirmation from the JK Gods (experienced Jk owners)

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