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Chocolate Thunder’s Most Excellent Build Thread!

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Chocolate Thunder

Chocolate Thunder

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Your caster is in the heart of the sweet spot for flightiness-free tracking on the highway.
That’s why I drove out to BFE to have Brett do it. He works on your Jeep like it’s his own.
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Kurt0

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12/26/2020 27,207 mi

I haven’t done a great job of keeping my build thread updated. Here’s the latest.

I started back on 12/5/20 upgrading wheels, tires, and lift. Lift installation took me about 9-11 hours spread over 3 weekends. I don’t work fast and I had lots of starts and stops for various reasons.

I replaced the 7.5”x17” +44 upgrade Rubicon wheels with 8.5”x17” +12 Mopar off-road wheels. Changed out the 315/70/17 Milestar Patagonia tires with the same ones in3 37/12.50/17 size.


I also took off my Dynatrac Endurosport 2” lift to replace it with MetalCloak’s 2.5” GameChanger lift. Actually I purchased a set of 6 slightly used MC arms from a member here and added them with the True Dual lift which saved m hundreds of dollars. I gained much more than 1/2” in height and a lot of articulation.

I installed a Mopar tailgate reinforcement along with the Teraflex Alpha tire carrier to handle the added weight of the bigger tires.


I’ll add more pictures of it all later.

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looks great. Black wheels are getting really played out imo. Nice to see some bright wheels on darker color jeeps. Adds a little “pop” imo.
 

Chief_Dan

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Very nice, looks good!

How do you like the MC game changer lift compared to the Endurosport?

Can you tell us how they stand up/compare to each other?
 

rustyshakelford

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I went out to BnL Jeep Shop this morning to get a post-lift alignment from Brett. Thorough, quality work as usual. Brett wouldn’t just align it and send me on my way. He noted all the stuff that needed to be corrected or adjusted from my lift installation. Replacing some fasteners, adjusting control arm lengths to better position my axle, meticulously torquing fasteners correctly, and getting caster and toe adjusted just where drivability and tire wear is maximized.

Thanks @rustyshakelford

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Great seeing you again Jeremy. Jeep looks great! One thing to add is the toe was corrected after this pic was done!

brett
 

4xFUN

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12/26/2020 27,207 mi

I haven’t done a great job of keeping my build thread updated. Here’s the latest.

I started back on 12/5/20 upgrading wheels, tires, and lift. Lift installation took me about 9-11 hours spread over 3 weekends. I don’t work fast and I had lots of starts and stops for various reasons.

I replaced the 7.5”x17” +44 upgrade Rubicon wheels with 8.5”x17” +12 Mopar off-road wheels. Changed out the 315/70/17 Milestar Patagonia tires with the same ones in3 37/12.50/17 size.


I also took off my Dynatrac Endurosport 2” lift to replace it with MetalCloak’s 2.5” GameChanger lift. Actually I purchased a set of 6 slightly used MC arms from a member here and added them with the True Dual lift which saved m hundreds of dollars. I gained much more than 1/2” in height and a lot of articulation.

I installed a Mopar tailgate reinforcement along with the Teraflex Alpha tire carrier to handle the added weight of the bigger tires.


I’ll add more pictures of it all later.

AA355072-3A86-4F46-8AEF-072EEDCC1271.jpeg


DBD0C8F1-1F2A-48F2-8D3F-5B12D36EADE1.jpeg


35AD0F24-F63F-4052-B11F-818EBC670DFF.jpeg


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You do have a 'Most Excellent Build'! She really stands out with the new wheels! I am looking at the exact same Mopar wheels along with one newly released Rubicon knock-off, both are 17"x8.5" with 5.2" backspace.
Looks like I will soon have two complete set's of wheels to sell, my original stock Rubicon and the 17"x8.5" Hardrocks I have now...
 

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Just ask @cosine he knows!
Great job w/ everything you've done J, now let's hope your Saints do a great job of kicking Bradys ass tomorrow!
 
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Chocolate Thunder

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Great seeing you again Jeremy. Jeep looks great! One thing to add is the toe was corrected after this pic was done!

brett
Yes. Unfortunately I didn’t get a snap of that screen. Didn’t you end up at like .17 and .19 on toe or something like that? Drove great on the way home. Better than where I had the caster set.
 
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Great job w/ everything you've done J, now let's hope your Saints do a great job of kicking Bradys ass tomorrow!
Beat the snot out of them by 11 and 35 this season. Tough to beat any team 3 times in a season and they’ve gotten better since then. Thanks for the love though, take all I can get because old man Brady is still dangerous, especially in the playoffs.
 
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You do have a 'Most Excellent Build'! She really stands out with the new wheels! I am looking at the exact same Mopar wheels along with one newly released Rubicon knock-off, both are 17"x8.5" with 5.2" backspace.
Looks like I will soon have two complete set's of wheels to sell, my original stock Rubicon and the 17"x8.5" Hardrocks I have now...
Thanks. It’s always a work in progress. Selling 2 sets of used wheels might pay for a set of new wheels, or other parts. Selling my old wheels/tires and lift are funding new driveshafts.
looks great. Black wheels are getting really played out imo. Nice to see some bright wheels on darker color jeeps. Adds a little “pop” imo.
Thank you. I get compliments on the silver wheels a lot, I though nobody appreciated stock looking wheels in silver/gray besides me. Guess they have wider appeal than I realized.
Very nice, looks good!

How do you like the MC game changer lift compared to the Endurosport?

Can you tell us how they stand up/compare to each other?
I liked the Dynatrac a lot. As far as ride and handling I’m somewhat surprised, but I like MC better. I got it for the extra height, control arm adjustability, and articulation for off-roading. I thought it might ride harsher. Wrong. I haven’t wheeled the MC yet but it will obviously beat the brakes off of the Dynatrac lift as it has more height and a ton more articulation. And to be fair I went from 35” to 37” tires at the same time as the lift so that affects things too.
 

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1/16/2021 27,716 miles

I went out to BnL Jeep Shop this morning to get a post-lift alignment from Brett. Thorough, quality work as usual. Brett wouldn’t just align it and send me on my way. He noted all the stuff that needed to be corrected or adjusted from my lift installation. Replacing some fasteners, adjusting control arm lengths to better position my axle, meticulously torquing fasteners correctly, and getting caster and toe adjusted just where drivability and tire wear is maximized.

Thanks @rustyshakelford

9F527F87-2EC6-4B9F-A463-CEC3B9E84109.jpeg
Brett is the man and his work ethic is a rare thing these days.
 

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Chief_Dan

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I liked the Dynatrac a lot. As far as ride and handling I’m somewhat surprised, but I like MC better. I got it for the extra height, control arm adjustability, and articulation for off-roading. I thought it might ride harsher. Wrong. I haven’t wheeled the MC yet but it will obviously beat the brakes off of the Dynatrac lift as it has more height and a ton more articulation. And to be fair I went from 35” to 37” tires at the same time as the lift so that affects things too.
I've been looking at these 2 lifts, & a couple of others. But, this is good information to know. Thank you sir. Sure is an excellent build &, as others have said, those wheels really look good on your OB JLUR. :like:

Oh, & go Saints tomorrow!
 
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Chocolate Thunder

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I've been looking at these 2 lifts, & a couple of others. But, this is good information to know. Thank you sir. Sure is an excellent build &, as others have said, those wheels really look good on your OB JLUR. :like:

Oh, & go Saints tomorrow!
Thanks for the love.

In hindsight knowing how necessary adjustable control arms are for properly aligning a lifted Jeep it’s a no brainer. If you add the cost of all 8 adjustable arms to the Dynatrac lift price to make it more comparable to the MetalCloak functionality, they’d be priced closely.
 

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Thanks for the love.

In hindsight knowing how necessary adjustable control arms are for properly aligning a lifted Jeep it’s a no brainer. If you add the cost of all 8 adjustable arms to the Dynatrac lift price to make it more comparable to the MetalCloak functionality, they’d be priced closely.
You're welcome, definitely a great looking Jeep.
Yes, it seems that the adjustable control arms are certainly necessary. Especially with the lifts that have good articulation. Thanks again for the info, very much appreciated. :captain:
 

rustyshakelford

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Yes. Unfortunately I didn’t get a snap of that screen. Didn’t you end up at like .17 and .19 on toe or something like that? Drove great on the way home. Better than where I had the caster set.
toe was .38 due to steer smarts recommendations!

good deal, glad it drove great

brett
 
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Chocolate Thunder

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1/23/2021 27,812 miles

I got Rock Krawler No Limits front sway bar links in a few days ago and had the chance to install them today. It’s a straightforward swap of parts to replace the SteerSmarts links.

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