My new XJ build, Comments/Opinions

[Lake919]

Wow I previously stated the water was running at 2100 cfs, wow I was WAY!!! off target. The river was crazy the entire time, especially when I hit humpty dumpty and got rolled. The actual river stage was 3800 cfs. Had I actually known this before going in I probably would not even had considered it. The entire river stretch was Class V due to the runoff. All in all a lot of fun, but still very dangerous and not recommended.

 

[Lake919]

Ok guys here is the build list as it will be ordered tomorrow. I ended up buying NOTHING from Quadratec after price shopping.

2001 XJ-43k miles-stock-never been offroad before this past weekend.

Rubicon Express 4.5" Super Flex Suspension System
Advance Adapters SYE kit with Tom Woods Custom DS
(4) Rubicon Express Mono Tube Shocks
(5) Dick Cepek Wheels 15x10
(5) Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ 33x12.50 tires
Olympic TopHat Rack
(3) Hella 500 Series Black Magic lighting kit
ARB Air Locker with on board Air Compressor
4.56 Gears-All work on the gears is being done in trade with a close friend of mine, who is an ASE mechanic at an axle shop.
ARB Snorkel Kit
DynoMax Cat Back System
Rhino Lining the interior to replace the carpet
XRC10 Comp Series Winch by Smittybuilt
JCR Front Winch Prerunner Bumper
JCR Stage 3 Rear Bumper
JCR Stage 3 Rock Sliders
JCR Transfer Case Skid
JCR Gas Tank Skid
JCR Light Rack
Nth Degree Oil Pan Skid-Found an amazing deal on this for under a C note

Total for my build-$8513.00 Shipped

 

[FlexdXJ]

Ok guys here is the build list as it will be ordered tomorrow. I ended up buying NOTHING from Quadratec after price shopping.

2001 XJ-43k miles-stock-never been offroad before this past weekend.

Rubicon Express 4.5" Super Flex Suspension System
Advance Adapters SYE kit with Tom Woods Custom DS
(4) Rubicon Express Mono Tube Shocks
(5) Dick Cepek Wheels 15x10
(5) Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ 33x12.50 tires
Olympic TopHat Rack
(3) Hella 500 Series Black Magic lighting kit
ARB Air Locker with on board Air Compressor
4.56 Gears-All work on the gears is being done in trade with a close friend of mine, who is an ASE mechanic at an axle shop.
ARB Snorkel Kit
DynoMax Cat Back System
Rhino Lining the interior to replace the carpet
XRC10 Comp Series Winch by Smittybuilt
JCR Front Winch Prerunner Bumper
JCR Stage 3 Rear Bumper
JCR Stage 3 Rock Sliders
JCR Transfer Case Skid
JCR Gas Tank Skid
JCR Light Rack
Nth Degree Oil Pan Skid-Found an amazing deal on this for under a C note

Total for my build-$8513.00 Shipped

Nice but i would get the BFG KM2's man! Much better tire. My spare is an MTZ and it looks okay but the reviews on the KM2's are great and they look NASTY! That saved you 1500 bucks and you added an ARB locker and gears. Good thing you listened to us!

 

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

Ok guys here is the build list as it will be ordered tomorrow. I ended up buying NOTHING from Quadratec after price shopping.

2001 XJ-43k miles-stock-never been offroad before this past weekend.

Rubicon Express 4.5" Super Flex Suspension System
Advance Adapters SYE kit with Tom Woods Custom DS
(4) Rubicon Express Mono Tube Shocks
(5) Dick Cepek Wheels 15x10
(5) Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ 33x12.50 tires
Olympic TopHat Rack
(3) Hella 500 Series Black Magic lighting kit
ARB Air Locker with on board Air Compressor
4.56 Gears-All work on the gears is being done in trade with a close friend of mine, who is an ASE mechanic at an axle shop.
ARB Snorkel Kit
DynoMax Cat Back System
Rhino Lining the interior to replace the carpet
XRC10 Comp Series Winch by Smittybuilt
JCR Front Winch Prerunner Bumper
JCR Stage 3 Rear Bumper
JCR Stage 3 Rock Sliders
JCR Transfer Case Skid
JCR Gas Tank Skid
JCR Light Rack
Nth Degree Oil Pan Skid-Found an amazing deal on this for under a C note

Total for my build-$8513.00 Shipped

I wanted to say there was a few things i would change, But honestly, Anything i would change would be Personal opinion, Financialy you have a much better list NOW then you did when you posted originally. and thats why you started this thread.. So yes, even tho i would change things, I think your list looks great. and Do what YOU want with YOUR rig.. make it your own.. personalize it. :woohoo:

 

[Brad M.]

One thing to keep in mind with those 33x12.50's on 4.5" of lift, you WILL need to trim your fenders in order to keep the tires out of them if you plan on unhooking the sway bar at all. You could trim and relocate the stock flares, or trim and buy some aftermarket flares like Bushwacker. But I would look into that and figure out what you want to do there before your first trip out and unhooking the sway bar. One other thing that would limit how much trimming you have to do is to go with an 8" wheel instead of 10" with about 4" to 4.5" of backspacing, and a 33x10.50 tire instead of a 33x12.50. You could get away with a lot less cutting that way. Here's a nice buildup that was just done and he's running 33x10.50 BFG KM2's: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1023651&highlight=behold+frog

Make sure to keep us posted on the buildup and trip reports!

 

[FlexdXJ]

One thing to keep in mind with those 33x12.50's on 4.5" of lift, you WILL need to trim your fenders in order to keep the tires out of them if you plan on unhooking the sway bar at all. You could trim and relocate the stock flares, or trim and buy some aftermarket flares like Bushwacker. But I would look into that and figure out what you want to do there before your first trip out and unhooking the sway bar. One other thing that would limit how much trimming you have to do is to go with an 8" wheel instead of 10" with about 4" to 4.5" of backspacing, and a 33x10.50 tire instead of a 33x12.50. You could get away with a lot less cutting that way. Here's a nice buildup that was just done and he's running 33x10.50 BFG KM2's: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1023651&highlight=behold+frog

Make sure to keep us posted on the buildup and trip reports!

X2 I like the 33x10.5 on a 15X8 Idea. IMO 15x10s are too much but this is coming for a guy who doesn't plan on anything over 33's on any jeep.
.

 

[JDXJ1515]

I would maybe go with some different shocks. A bunch of my friends were talking about how we have all been blowing the Monotube RE shocks. We talked to one of our local 4x4 shops and they have been having problems with the blowing and actually locking up. I use to have them, then I've been running the Rancho 9000x. I like the adjustability. Hard off road, soft on road. Also my 4x4 shop says the ranchos are much easier to warranty out if I do blow one.

 

[kastein]

One thing to keep in mind with those 33x12.50's on 4.5" of lift, you WILL need to trim your fenders in order to keep the tires out of them if you plan on unhooking the sway bar at all. You could trim and relocate the stock flares, or trim and buy some aftermarket flares like Bushwacker. But I would look into that and figure out what you want to do there before your first trip out and unhooking the sway bar. One other thing that would limit how much trimming you have to do is to go with an 8" wheel instead of 10" with about 4" to 4.5" of backspacing, and a 33x10.50 tire instead of a 33x12.50. You could get away with a lot less cutting that way. Here's a nice buildup that was just done and he's running 33x10.50 BFG KM2's: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1023651&highlight=behold+frog

Make sure to keep us posted on the buildup and trip reports!

X2, I have 33x11.50s on 3.5", I couldn't even turn my steering wheel without trimming about an inch and a half wide strip off the fenders. I'm running 16x8 rims with 4" of BS (0 offset.) Definitely plan on trimming the fenders with your setup, otherwise it won't even be driveable most likely - you'll slash up the tires every time you hit a pothole unless you bumpstop so much you pretty much have zero uptravel.

 

[FlexdXJ]

Also my 4x4 shop says the ranchos are much easier to warranty out if I do blow one.

Let em guess, they sell Rancho but not RE? Of course they are gonna say anything to sell their product!

 

[VAhasnoWAVES]

even with 31x10.50s your going to rub when disconnected. ive even ripped a rear flare off. and not just the fenders, but the control arms as well. id say trim to your tastes, and bump stop properly. should take care of any rubbing.

im a fan of the goodyear wrangler that came on the rubicon TJs. they only come in 32x11.50s and are rather prices. KM2s are where its at. and i like blistein shocks. though... all of that is preference as been said before. get buildin!

 

[Lake919]

Ok so after relooking at some recommendations from all you fine folks on tires and rims I have decided to go with these rims http://www.4wd.com/productdetails.aspx?partID=12263 and 33x10.50 BFG KM2's. I am also going to have a body shop cut my fenders and get Bushwacker flares put on because I really like the way they look.

 

[FlexdXJ]

Ok so after relooking at some recommendations from all you fine folks on tires and rims I have decided to go with these rims http://www.4wd.com/productdetails.aspx?partID=12263 and 33x10.50 BFG KM2's. I am also going to have a body shop cut my fenders and get Bushwacker flares put on because I really like the way they look.

Just keep those bushwhackers away from trees. They don't flex like the OEM flares they crack but they do give a lot of tire clearance. Rusty's has the flex flares but IMO they are ugly.

 

[kastein]

I dunno, I kinda like the way those rims look but what are they gonna do if you hit em with a rock or something? I like cheap cheap black steelies, they look good and are durable, oh, and they're cheap.

 

[Lake919]

I am not planning on doing alot of rock crawling. I am just really a mountain and whitewater junkie. I hate the beach, Iraq and Afghanistan cured me of that. I cannot stand sand. Drives me stupid. I just really like the wheels and will give them a try, if they turn out to not be a good idea I will sell the 4 with tires and get all black steel rims

 

[VAhasnoWAVES]

hell, with 33x10.50 you could use stockers that are 15x7 if you wanted to. i wouldnt go over 15x8 unless you plan to go up to 35s. 15x8 will mount a 33x12.50 just fine.

 

[FlexdXJ]

I am not planning on doing alot of rock crawling. I am just really a mountain and whitewater junkie. I hate the beach, Iraq and Afghanistan cured me of that. I cannot stand sand. Drives me stupid. I just really like the wheels and will give them a try, if they turn out to not be a good idea I will sell the 4 with tires and get all black steel rims

Yeah i don't rock crawl either but i do get into some situations where i have rested my Jeep against a tree with all the weight on my flares and the OEM ones just flex. I am sure there is plenty of wooded are down there on your way to a kayaking spot. Besides if it doesn't have body damage you aren't doing it right!

 

[Lake919]

Wow, its really been 3 months. Well all my parts for my build and my Jeep itself have just been sitting in my shop since February. I was out on a particularly warm day on my 2010 Yamaha R1 and an elderly lady in a cadillac ran a red light and t-boned me at 50 mph. So my building days were seriously put on hold for months. I am now almost fully healed and ready to get back to it. I was in a coma for almost 3 weeks and she broke 65 bones in my body, as well as both my lungs collapsed, punctured kidney and liver, my spleen exploded, my right eye was knocked from its socket, and there was not a single part of me that did not have a bruise. So bare with me and in the next few weeks, major work is going to be done to my XJ. My lovely wife kept my XJ healthy by regularly driving it and changing the oil for me, as well as keeping all my shiny new parts covered and dust free.

As a side note, we traded in her SRT-8 Grand Cherokee on a 2010 JK Unlimited Rubicon. She loves it.

 

[kastein]

:shocked:

holy crap. Glad you're recovering.

 

[the onion]

Damn that doesnt sound good. Glad to hear you are recovering!

 

[Brad M.]

Holy crap!! Glad to hear you're still alive. Wow, 65 bones broken and a 3 week long coma? That's crazy. And you still managed to buy a Rubi - maybe that's my ticket! LOL.

Seriously, glad you're alive man.