Husband & Wife JL Build(s)

[TTEChris]

I ordered my JLU Rubicon in December, and after a painful wait I finally had it in late February.
My wife @TankGirl was hit by the Jeep bug shortly after I purchased mine, so we decided to ditch the mommy mobile and purchase her a JLU Sport. Luckily a dealer had one in almost the exact configuration we were looking for and were able to offer me the same % below invoice that received on my Rubicon without waiting for it.

My Stock Rubicon shortly after I purchased it.


Before I even had the new Jeep, I had a set of 17" XD 229 Machete Beadlocks and 37x13.50r17 Cooper STT Pro's just sitting in the shop taunting me....


Due to the lack of lift options when the Jeep arrived I went with the @Rough Country Suspensions 2.5" lift just so that I could fit my wheels/tires. I was very pleased with the kit as a daily driver. I also removed the factory Mopar bumper wings and got naked for the first time


I decided to flex out the RC spacer kit to see where I was on the required bump stop height to fully clear my 37's(The included 2" were not enough for my wheel/tire combo.)


Having a 6spd I was tired of not hearing the engine(I always know what gear I am in now based on sound and when to shift without looking at the dash.) I also wanted a spot to eventually mount an air compressor so I went with an AFE 3" RB exhaust



@ROAM Offroad approached me and asked me to test & review some of their products. I love the look of their bumpers so I was happy to do so. Installing them I quickly realized how much time and effort went into putting together such nice quality bumpers. The approach/ departure angles on the bumpers is some of the best I've seen in the bolt on variety(I've used frame chop bumpers on my JK's in the past.)
The steps really follow the body line well, and do a great job at helping the wife/kids get into the Jeep.

During the front bumper install I also installed a Smittybilt X2O 10k winch.





Rather than adding additional bumpstops to the spacer kit I decided to try out Skyjackers 3.5-4" lift kit for the JL.
I don't believe in cam bolts, or a frame side track bar drop bracket so I left those in the box and installed just the springs/shocks and sway bar links. I added a Rough Country Front Trackbar, and a ROAM rear trackbar to round it out. I'm still waiting on a set of control arms to become available, but surprisingly the Jeep rides OK without any form of caster correction. It does get a little "flightly" at high speeds with wind, but it just makes me pay more attention
The 3" bumpstops that came with the kit work nearly perfect for my wheel/tire setup.



At this point we purchased my Wife's JL
She named her Jeep "Maul" after Darth Maul. I don't typically name my Jeeps, but she insisted I name this one since I always refer to it as her. So I decided to name mine Brienne(From Game of Thrones.) I didn't want to give her a "pretty" name, so I went with one of the toughest Women I know(on TV.) Since my wife is somewhat of a star wars nerd she prefers to refer to my Jeep as Captain Phasma who happens to be the same actress.



The day we picked it up, we removed the bumper fillers, and put the ROAM steps on it to make life easier for her and our four younger boys(All under 10) The following weekend she helped me install the 2.5" RC Spacer lift that was previously on my JL.


We decided to take a couple pictures together. We have 35's and Wheels on order for her JL that should be here any day now.



That's it for now, but there will be LOTS more to come as the Jeep bug has officially bitten us both

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[MotoMax]

Nice write-up and great photos! Wish you the best with your builds.

 

[Bkenyon53]

Your Rubi is awesome. The stance is perfect.

This picture, however, looks like your Jeep is confused or heard a funny noise.

I have a Boxer and her head tilts exactly like this. Love it.

 

[TTEChris]

Your Rubi is awesome. The stance is perfect.

This picture, however, looks like your Jeep is confused or heard a funny noise.

I have a Boxer and her head tilts exactly like this. Love it.

Thanks!
LOL, my recently deceased friend(He was a American Pitbull Terrier) would always do that when he was sitting and I would talk to him or ask him questions. Almost like he was trying to make out what the heck I was saying.

The Jeep however may just be wondering why I'm lifting her hind leg in that manner....

 

[lookitsadam]

The day we picked it up, we removed the bumper fillers, and put the ROAM steps on it to make life easier for her and our four younger boys(All under 10) The following weekend she helped me install the 2.5" RC Spacer lift that was previously on my JL.


That's it for now, but there will be LOTS more to come as the Jeep bug has officially bitten us both

Is this picture with the stock all season or all terrain tires? I'm thinking of the same lift but won't be able to get new tires right away.
Also, did it level out the Jeep or is there still some rake?

 

[Bkenyon53]

Thanks!
LOL, my recently deceased friend(He was a American Pitbull Terrier) would always do that when he was sitting and I would talk to him or ask him questions. Almost like he was trying to make out what the heck I was saying.

The Jeep however may just be wondering why I'm lifting her hind leg in that manner....

Oh man..sorry for the loss. Looks like that tea party on the ceiling is over. (Who can get that reference?)

I have a Mojito on order (and I'm sure it'll actually be put into production this decade) but looking at your Rubi has me very close to pulling the trigger on the same lift and tire setup as you. Need to restrain myself. Ha.

 

[TTEChris]

Is this picture with the stock all season or all terrain tires? I'm thinking of the same lift but won't be able to get new tires right away.
Also, did it level out the Jeep or is there still some rake?

Those are the stock Sport wheels & All-Terrains(Goodyear Wrangler Adventure with Kevlar) which will be up for sale soon if anyone is interested
To me it looks to sit level on her sport, but slightly nose high on my Rubicon possibly due to the fenders?(Front Spacers are 2.5", rear are 2".)

 

[Silverblkrilla]

Awesome builds those stt's look great!

How's that skyjacker kit ride? Why did you go with the Blackmax shocks over m95's? Looks pretty flexy. What's next?

 

[TTEChris]

Awesome builds those stt's look great!

How's that skyjacker kit ride? Why did you go with the Blackmax shocks over m95's? Looks pretty flexy. What's next?

Thanks!

The skyjacker kit was always intended to be a temporary solution until coilovers become available(reason I went with the black max shocks.) The skyjacker shocks do offer a nice amount of travel(12"+), but the ride is slightly stiffer than the factory Rubicon setup. I wish they had made the upper of the dual rate springs slightly stiffer so they would actually be of use for daily driving. Under the weight of my Jeep the upper coils are completely compressed doing nothing for ride quality, but I assume they help the springs from coming unseated at full extension(Even at full extension the upper coils have very little gap between them, but they do become uncompressed slightly)

What's next for my Jeep is probably long arms, and coilovers, but my wife and I need to make her Jeep capable enough to keep up with me on the trails first. The next few months will probably revolve around making her Jeep slightly more capable, and working on recovery gear/radios etc so that we can safely go on the trails together.

 

[iWantJLU]

Great builds! I was wondering if I could get your opinion, you seem to be very knowledgeable and I myself am franky a noob when it comes to Jeeps. What are your thoughts on a sport running 37’s and used as a daily driver? Do you believe the axles will hold up more or less? Looking at the Mastercraft Course MXT’s which are roughly 70lbs

 

[TTEChris]

Great builds! I was wondering if I could get your opinion, you seem to be very knowledgeable and I myself am franky a noob when it comes to Jeeps. What are your thoughts on a sport running 37’s and used as a daily driver? Do you believe the axles will hold up more or less? Looking at the Mastercraft Course MXT’s which are roughly 70lbs

Thanks!
That tire is lightweight for a 37, but I can't say how the JL factory axles will handle the extra size/weight of the 37's yet. They do look much beefier than the JK axles but I don't want to tell you it would be ok to run 37's and you bend an axle tube, C, etc... On a JK I was fine daily driving(and occasionally offroading) 37s on factory Rubicon axles with light reinforcements. I have however seen JK sports come in with bad balljoints, bent C's, and axle tubes with D30 front axles and prolonged use of just 35's.
Probably not what you want to hear, but I personally would stick with a 35" tire until we learnt the limits of the factory axles(That's the reason I'm not going to 37's on my wifes Sport.)

 

[iWantJLU]

Thanks!
That tire is lightweight for a 37, but I can't say how the JL factory axles will handle the extra size/weight of the 37's yet. They do look much beefier than the JK axles but I don't want to tell you it would be ok to run 37's and you bend an axle tube, C, etc... On a JK I was fine daily driving(and occasionally offroading) 37s on factory Rubicon axles with light reinforcements. I have however seen JK sports come in with bad balljoints, bent C's, and axle tubes with D30 front axles and prolonged use of just 35's.
Probably not what you want to hear, but I personally would stick with a 35" tire until we learnt the limits of the factory axles(That's the reason I'm not going to 37's on my wifes Sport.)

Gotcha, thanks for the info. I will most likely still go with the 37's and if anything fails I can at least help shed some light on things for the community. Thanks again

 

[RC3]

Excellent posts @TTEChris, great write ups and helpful info.

 

[TTEChris]

UPS showed up with the wheels just a little too late in the day to get them mounted/balanced.
For my wifes Jeep(Red)
17x8.5 ProComp 5034
35x12.50r17 Goodyear Fierce Attitude

 

[SKT]

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Having seen pics of your previous JK builds, I’m looking forward to following your progress on the JL’s!

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