Lightest accessories

[Jimmylats JL]

I am in the process of building up my Rubicon with the intent of keeping it the lightest possible. Does anyone know what the lightest control arms and bumpers are? I am assuming it would be aluminum bumpers and control arms, but I just want to make sure before I drop the money for the parts. Any help is greatly appreciated. I am only going for a 2 inch lift with 37s. I bought the jeep new in Feb 2018 and have a Terraflex 1.5 spacer lift on it with falcon shocks for years and it has treated me very well both on and offroad, but it is now time for a change.

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[Ratbert]

@Tredsdert is our resident expert on weight reduction.

Here's a recent thread related to an aluminum bumper in a crash: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/aluminum-oem-style-front-bumper-after-crash.113914/

 

[Tredsdert]

So me personally, I would recommend steel bumpers because of those photos @Ratbert linked to. I've always been a fan of cow catchers that can actually protect you from a cow.

If you want to reduce weight, honestly if I were you I would do what I plan on doing. Get you some soft twill front and rear doors.
So the front doors weigh about 70 lb each, and the back door is way about 45 lb each from the factory. A total of 230lbs. You can get twill front and rear doors, with aluminum frame, and removable window portions. They're fairly expensive, I think it's anywhere from 800 to 1400 for all four doors depending on the brand you buy. But the weight of those twill doors? 6 lb each for the front, 4 lbs each for the back!!! I'll let you do the math on that one!! sure you compromise security, but the Wranglers are easy to break into regardless of what kind of windows and doors you have. Locks only keep honest people honest.

If you remove all the carpets, you'll save 45 lb dry, probably about 145 if the carpets are wet.

The hood is already aluminum, and the tailgate is actually aluminum as well. I think the tailgate only weighs about maybe 50 lbs pounds. It's pretty lightweight once you remove the tire and the tire rack. That being said, if you're going to daily drive it, I would recommend removing the tire. The factory 32s on the Willys Sport that I have come in at about 85 lb each. If you're just putzing around town, just keep a plug kit in your glove box. And if you're going off-roading, throw the tire back on the tailgate.

If you want to go out all out like me, removing the back seats will save you probably close to 200 lb. They're not lightweight at all. If you remove those and put in a floor system to give you a flat surface in the back, you save a lot of weight for sure, and you get plenty of room for the dogs and any supplies you want to put back there.

I've been pondering for a while now how to replace the hood and make it way even less than it does now. I haven't quite figured that one out yet in a way that doesn't flood the air intake every time it rains. But if I ever figure that out, I'll let you know for sure. I have taken my hood off once, it probably weighs close to maybe 75 lb, it's not super heavy it's just awkward to pick up. But if I could find a way to drop that down to like, maybe 25 lb or less, that would be awesome!

Honestly if you want to save weight in the front and the rear, buy stubby bumpers. They make some super short ones for the JKs that literally is just big enough to be legal and hold a winch, I'm not sure if they make those for the JL's as well, but I would go that route. Tiny little bumper, keep it legal, something to put your winch on, and save and weight through lack of size.

 

[Jimmylats JL]

Thanks for the response, I understand that the bumpers should be steel based on safety issues. I have the rear tire delete, stock wheels with spacers and essentially stock suspension except for the spacers and shocks. Recently replaced the track bar with steersmarts and it was significantly heavier than stock, but I want the steering components to last. I plan on replacing all control arms, tie rod and drag link. Those are the parts that I really need to know of who makes the lightest yet are strong enough for light rock crawling. My ultimate plan is getting it close to how sandstorm looks while making it still comfortable enough for daily driving. I am only going to 37s (have 35s now), keeping a low center of gravity, and lighten it up so the 3.6 can have an easier time getting up to speed.

 

[Ratbert]

Thanks for the response, I understand that the bumpers should be steel based on safety issues. I have the rear tire delete, stock wheels with spacers and essentially stock suspension except for the spacers and shocks. Recently replaced the track bar with steersmarts and it was significantly heavier than stock, but I want the steering components to last. I plan on replacing all control arms, tie rod and drag link. Those are the parts that I really need to know of who makes the lightest yet are strong enough for light rock crawling. My ultimate plan is getting it close to how sandstorm looks while making it still comfortable enough for daily driving. I am only going to 37s (have 35s now), keeping a low center of gravity, and lighten it up so the 3.6 can have an easier time getting up to speed.

Going with 37s would be one of the worst things to do if your focus is to ease the strain on your 3.6. More unsprung weight, larger diameter giving you less desirable gearing from an acceleration perspective, more rolling resistance, etc.

Yeah, I love having 37s, but I obviously have different goals for my rig. Mine's stupidly heavy, even with aluminum skids.

 

[Headbarcode]

All aftermarket control arms, track bars, and steering linkages will be heavier than the factory pieces. That's just an unavoidable byproduct of increased strength to properly resist the increased leverage forces from larger tires and ride height.

When it comes to these specific parts, the aluminum and steel DOM versions seem to be very comparable in weight. That's because the steel versions are of hollow tube construction and the aluminum is solid bar stock. I originally had the SteerSmarts steering and currently have the RPM 7075-T6 aluminum setup, and couldn't feel any significant weight difference. I went aluminum solely for its ability to bend from a direct rock hit and bounce back to straight, rather than hold the bend like steel would.

It's worth the extra weight and strength in these areas. Weight savings can be found in how the rest of your Jeep is built, such as wheels, tires, bumpers, sliders, and skids. For example, the Artec aluminum belly skids only gain a net weight of 16lbs vs 100-200lbs with a steel setup.

 

[Jimmylats JL]

All aftermarket control arms, track bars, and steering linkages will be heavier than the factory pieces. That's just an unavoidable byproduct of increased strength to properly resist the increased leverage forces from larger tires and ride height.

When it comes to these specific parts, the aluminum and steel DOM versions seem to be very comparable in weight. That's because the steel versions are of hollow tube construction and the aluminum is solid bar stock. I originally had the SteerSmarts steering and currently have the RPM 7075-T6 aluminum setup, and couldn't feel any significant weight difference. I went aluminum solely for its ability to bend from a direct rock hit and bounce back to straight, rather than hold the bend like steel would.

It's worth the extra weight and strength in these areas. Weight savings can be found in how the rest of your Jeep is built, such as wheels, tires, bumpers, sliders, and skids. For example, the Artec aluminum belly skids only gain a net weight of 16lbs vs 100-200lbs with a steel setup.

Thats what I was wondering. Thank you for input about the weight difference in between the steel and aluminum control arms. I far as steering components were concerned, I was looking into either the RPM or Apex as they look nearly identical and also for the same reason of them being able to bend.

 

[Ratbert]

I went aluminum solely for its ability to bend from a direct rock hit and bounce back to straight, rather than hold the bend like steel would.

Aluminum bounces back to straight?

 

[Headbarcode]

Aluminum bounces back to straight?

Yes. They often refer to the 7075-T6 solid aluminum bar stock as having a "memory", which allows it to return back to its original straight form after colliding and bending around an obstruction.

The 1.625" steel SteerSmarts linkages definitely gave the steering a more solid and definitive feel over the stock linkages. The 2" aluminum RPM linkages further increased that solid feeling, due to their higher 2.5 ton rating. I believe SteerSmarts to be in the 1-1.5 ton range.

 

[AnnDee4444]

@Artec Industries claims lighter control arms: "The real advantage of our aluminum link suspensions is the weight savings"... but there are no actual weights given.

https://artecindustries.com/product...aDxQaUpc3FD1e91P1SGidP86Gx3TL8CC5L5UBeSlBD3Hs

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