Mod sequence - Lift/Tires or Steering?

[WannFly]

Let's spend my money!!

Over next few months I am planning on embarking on a mod journey. I have been researching on this forum and some very valuable information. Thanks to everyone for that. Here is what I am little confused about:

Jeep: 2021 4Xe Rubicon (yes it might go up in flames any day before any of these mods are done, or right after its done. I am ok with it )

Plan:

AEV DualSport XP 2.5 inch lift with 37 inch Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T (I was all set of 35's but all you 37 runners convinced me otherwise ...)

Steering upgrades - I am thinking about SteerSmarts full front upgrade - Track bar, Tie Rod, Drag link etc with Falcon or Fox Steering stabilizer (AEV has one too that I am looking at)

The questions is, does it makes sense to do the lift and tire before the steering? I will be doing the work myself (first time ever, but I am tired of incompetent dealer techs).

I mostly do forest trails in GA, TN, NC etc. Will start getting into some badge of honor trails soon enough and in 2025 planning a long trip to CO for some mountain adventure in telluride etc. Don't think I am going to go rock crawling anytime soon, but who knows?

What other things am I missing that could potentially be a weak breaking point?

I also wheel mostly alone, so I need to do things proactively and replace the weak links. I do carry sat comm with me in case my arse needs to be hauled out from somewhere when I can't recover myself.

Thoughts?

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[Philly_]

How many miles on your Jeep and how have you been driving it up to this point?

I ask because if there's minimal wear, and you don't want to drop all that cash at once, you can probably start with suspension and tires and ride out the factory steering setup until it starts to give you trouble. That's what I am doing, but I did end up with the SteerSmarts track bar and sector shaft brace to help tighten things up before I upgrade the rest of my steering. I'm currently thinking RPM tie rod and drag link with FOX ATS or the non-adjustable Fox through-shaft stabilizer.

If you have the cash, and wheel your Jeep hard (meaning really using those 37's), I would do it all at once. The stock stuff won't last very long under the stress of moderate/difficult trails and large tires.

As for other failure points or things to upgrade, consider steel knuckles (Reid Racing or Mopar) if the 4xe doesn't come with them from factory, and some rebuildable ball joints. Metalcloak now has an offering, but Dynatrac has been the go-to option up until this point. Trussing the front axle in particular might be worth considering because of the week point at the FAD, but many don't and wheel just fine. Chromoly axle shafts are also something you should look into, especially if you're pulling the axles apart at all to do knuckles or a truss.

Ultimately, a lot of the strength upgrades or going to depend on how hard you push your Jeep, and how much "oops" factor you want to be ready for. These "required upgrade" lists could run forever...

 

[c20040215]

lift and tires.
The steering can be upgraded later. They wont explode right after lift and tires.

 

[Golden Power]

I like your list of mods, not overboard but it will for sure look nice. It's definitely smart to do steering and assuming the stock wheels stay the steer smarts system is a great option. If your steering feels fine right now I think you could hold off on it but it can't hurt to do it all at once. (To check steering have a friend move the wheel side to side and get under the jeep and feel the joints for clicks or any play) Another thing I would look at even though you have the rubicon is some sort of sway bar disconnect. We use JKS in the shop I work at and they are great. Also please make sure if you go alone often to have some self recovery gear like a Winch and straps etc. Finally I would look into an on board air
system like ARB or Viair. OBA is one of the most used mods I have.

P.S. PLEASE make sure that after you have installed your lift you routinely re torque all the suspension bolts. I work at an off road shop and even I am guilty of failing to re torque. Going under your jeep to check your diff fluid and seeing a missing control arm nut does not feel good.

 

[WannFly]

How many miles on your Jeep and how have you been driving it up to this point?

I ask because if there's minimal wear, and you don't want to drop all that cash at once, you can probably start with suspension and tires and ride out the factory steering setup until it starts to give you trouble. That's what I am doing, but I did end up with the SteerSmarts track bar and sector shaft brace to help tighten things up before I upgrade the rest of my steering. I'm currently thinking RPM tie rod and drag link with FOX ATS or the non-adjustable Fox through-shaft stabilizer.

If you have the cash, and wheel your Jeep hard (meaning really using those 37's), I would do it all at once. The stock stuff won't last very long under the stress of moderate/difficult trails and large tires.

Good point. I dont drive much ( I travel for work, a lot). Its coming up on 2 years and I only have little over 9k miles on her, may be 20% of it on actual forest trails. I dont wheel hard, I like taking my time and taking it slow off-road.

I am thinking of staying with one company - essentially all steersmarts or Synergy components to avoid running around and finger pointing among various vendors, but I am open to ideas.

 

[WannFly]

I like your list of mods, not overboard but it will for sure look nice. It's definitely smart to do steering and assuming the stock wheels stay the steer smarts system is a great option. If your steering feels fine right now I think you could hold off on it but it can't hurt to do it all at once. (To check steering have a friend move the wheel side to side and get under the jeep and feel the joints for clicks or any play) Another thing I would look at even though you have the rubicon is some sort of sway bar disconnect. We use JKS in the shop I work at and they are great. Also please make sure if you go alone often to have some self recovery gear like a Winch and straps etc. Finally I would look into an on board air
system like ARB or Viair. OBA is one of the most used mods I have.

P.S. PLEASE make sure that after you have installed your lift you routinely re torque all the suspension bolts. I work at an off road shop and even I am guilty of failing to re torque. Going under your jeep to check your diff fluid and seeing a missing control arm nut does not feel good.

Thanks. The steering do feel alright, but I think there is a dead spot. My RAM steering is far more responsive, but the suspensions are different and this being my first Jeep, I dont know if thats a Jeep thing or not.

I do have factory sway bar disconnect. Dual ARB compressor is sitting in the garage for way longer than I care to admit, but that's getting installed this Christmas assuming I get the mounting bracket delivered that I ordered 2 weeks ago and its still on backorder

I do carry recovery rope and straps (which are useless unless someone else drives by), Winch is in my list of to do. I also carry a traction board.

Good point on regular maintenance schedule for those bolts!!

 

[Philly_]

Good point. I dont drive much ( I travel for work, a lot). Its coming up on 2 years and I only have little over 9k miles on her, may be 20% of it on actual forest trails. I dont wheel hard, I like taking my time and taking it slow off-road.

I am thinking of staying with one company - essentially all steersmarts or Synergy components to avoid running around and finger pointing among various vendors, but I am open to ideas.

I like SteerSmarts from everything I've read and the one track bar/sector shaft brace I bought from them. They make really good stuff.

For your use case, and such low miles, I wouldn't touch the steering until it starts to give you issues. Maybe add the track bar and sector shaft brace from SteerSmarts, because it does make a massive difference, and an upgraded/adjustable steering stabilizer if you feel it's necessary.

Basically stick with the lift, wheels, and tires for now. I wouldn't bother with axles shafts, a truss or knuckles, but eventually you will need ball joints. The cool thing about the heavy duty rebuildable ones, is they last longer and you won't have to press them in and out of your knuckles every time they wear out, so you are less likely to wallow the seat in the knuckle and cause other issues if you only replace once when it's time.

 

[WannFly]

Thanks @Philly_ Much appreciated.

 

[bcupton]

Given money is no object, I would consider PSC steering.

 

[Trigger-Rubi]

Let's spend my money!!

Over next few months I am planning on embarking on a mod journey. I have been researching on this forum and some very valuable information. Thanks to everyone for that. Here is what I am little confused about:

Jeep: 2021 4Xe Rubicon (yes it might go up in flames any day before any of these mods are done, or right after its done. I am ok with it )

Plan:

AEV DualSport XP 2.5 inch lift with 37 inch Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T (I was all set of 35's but all you 37 runners convinced me otherwise ...)

Steering upgrades - I am thinking about SteerSmarts full front upgrade - Track bar, Tie Rod, Drag link etc with Falcon or Fox Steering stabilizer (AEV has one too that I am looking at)

The questions is, does it makes sense to do the lift and tire before the steering? I will be doing the work myself (first time ever, but I am tired of incompetent dealer techs).

I mostly do forest trails in GA, TN, NC etc. Will start getting into some badge of honor trails soon enough and in 2025 planning a long trip to CO for some mountain adventure in telluride etc. Don't think I am going to go rock crawling anytime soon, but who knows?

What other things am I missing that could potentially be a weak breaking point?

I also wheel mostly alone, so I need to do things proactively and replace the weak links. I do carry sat comm with me in case my arse needs to be hauled out from somewhere when I can't recover myself.

Thoughts?

1. Recovery gear. Includes communication.
No mater the size of the rig they all get stuck and break.
2. Protection. There is always a bigger badder rock.
3. Performance. One or two tire sizes bigger than you think you want and lift to match.

Not the fun order to make mods.

 

[Upnarms]

I have the aev ds w 35s. Nice setup. My personal experience, do the trackbar (ss yeti hd pro) now. No downside to that. Even with 33s i started to get dw at 23k miles until i upgraded.

Later i did the lift and 35s. Then i did the apex tierod/drag link you can't go wrong w that and can't get any stronger. Get a thru shaft stabilizer. Your steering will be awesome and no pull to right.

Hindsight i would've beefed everything up prior to the lift and bigger tires rather than deal with the weaknesses of the factory set up. Besides, when the factory front end components start wearing out from your 37s, you may have damage to other components that wouldve been ok had they not felt the added stress from failed factory parts (ball joints, hubs, etc).

That's my 2cents

 

[beachbumm78]

I’d do lift, tires, etc. first. Also consider you may need to re-gear too. I currently run 4.10s on my 37s and definitely can feel the difference. Planning in a regear just had other things come up that needed priority (like a new engine) lol

 

[WannFly]

Thank you everyone. Much appreciated. @beachbumm78 great points about the factory failure points with big tires and added weight.

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