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In What Order Should I Mod this?
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Author:  birdtail [ Tue Jun 15, 2010 4:50 am ]
Post subject:  In What Order Should I Mod this?
Image

This is The Beast, a 2006 KJ, completely Stock currently, bought it a couple weeks ago.


Here are my plans, Im hoping someone could direct me in which I should do first.

3" Suspension Lift (This is going first, so anything after this)

I also plan to add:
x a Rusty's Bullbar Front Bumper ($880 for the bumper, thinking roughly $300 to get it up to Alaska)
x Bigger, meatier tires (not sure on specifics- Buying 5, including spare, keeping stock rims, thinking around $150 per tire, so $750)
x 1.25" wheel spacers
x Renegade light bar ($800 roughly to buy and get it installed)
x Safari Rack (eventually, about $800 to buy and get to Alaska, not a priority to me but a nice luxury)
x Warn Winch (for the bumper, eventually)


I was going to do a suspension and then the tires, but i realized that once my bumper is removed and replaced, i an fit larger tires than i would have been able to, correct? Im thinking 1st is Lift, 2nd is Bumper?

What's your opinions on my project?
P.S. I'm 18, and whilst I have a good job, money saves up (seemingly) very slowly ;D I cant do it all at once right away.
Author:  tommudd [ Tue Jun 15, 2010 8:38 am ]
Post subject:  Re: In What Order Should I Mod this?
What lift are you going with?
Do you have skid plates yet? If not you need to figure those in
Rustys Bull bar bumper???? Do you mean ARB?
150 each for tires??? what size and kind are you going with, price seems low since I know prices up thee tend to be higher

I would do it this way
Lift
OME 927/948 springs
Bilstein shocks all around with Teraflex bumpstops front, hockey pucks 2 per side for the rear
Now you have that out of the way
Skids either now or right after lift
tires 245-75-16 in whatever tire you go with
spacers are not needed unless you want them for looks
you get some clearance with a ARB, but you can cut the stock bumper away to clear
Renegade roof lights, while cool they are expensive so you can hold off
same as roof rack, use it at times but not every day so can wait
Author:  TAHOE [ Tue Jun 15, 2010 8:50 am ]
Post subject:  Re: In What Order Should I Mod this?
Even though you get rid of stock bumper, you still will be limited on tire size due to other components, i.e. swaybar, inner fender, etc. IMO, go with lift, then tires, you can always cut the plastic bumpers for clearance as needed, then you can upgrade to front bumper.
You can doa search, there are plenty of pics out here of people cutting their front bumpers for clearance.... Boiler's comes to mind right off hand, he did that back in Feb or march.
Author:  birdtail [ Tue Jun 15, 2010 12:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: In What Order Should I Mod this?
Whoops yes, I ddi mean ARB. I found it on rustysoffroad.com for $880 ;D

$150 sounds low? You are right, actually. The guy at the local tire & suspension place quoted me $1700 for the lift and tires.. I found someone to install my lift for me (It's a Rough Country) in a local off-roading group that i totally trust, so i guess it'd be more like $1000 for those tires, because he said the lift originally was going to be $730 to install the lift alone.

Yes, im doing the spacers for looks ;D

pardon my ignorance, but what are these?
"Bilstein shocks all around with Teraflex bumpstops front, hockey pucks 2 per side for the rear"

I know what shocks are, but is Bilstein a brand? >.O I'm quite new to this whole thing (That, and I'm a girl, so i'm not mechanically inclined to begin with)

Your help is appreciated, so much!
:D
Author:  Powerman04 [ Tue Jun 15, 2010 12:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: In What Order Should I Mod this?
birdtail wrote:
Whoops yes, I ddi mean ARB. I found it on rustysoffroad.com for $880 ;D

$150 sounds low? You are right, actually. The guy at the local tire & suspension place quoted me $1700 for the lift and tires.. I found someone to install my lift for me (It's a Rough Country) in a local off-roading group that i totally trust, so i guess it'd be more like $1000 for those tires, because he said the lift originally was going to be $730 to install the lift alone.

Yes, im doing the spacers for looks ;D

pardon my ignorance, but what are these?
"Bilstein shocks all around with Teraflex bumpstops front, hockey pucks 2 per side for the rear"

I know what shocks are, but is Bilstein a brand? >.O I'm quite new to this whole thing (That, and I'm a girl, so i'm not mechanically inclined to begin with)

Your help is appreciated, so much!
:D

Bet money that everyone that posts after me (and me) tells you to stay away from the Rough Country lift, lol. I only say it since it hasn't gotten much love here on the forums. Bilstein is a brand of shocks, Teraflex bumptops replace the stock ones that are in there (they stop the springs from stacking and getting damaged) and the hockey pucks in the back are a DIY rear bumpstop that act the same way as the fronts.
Author:  curt7088 [ Tue Jun 15, 2010 12:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: In What Order Should I Mod this?
congratualtions on the purchase... and hope all goes well for you no need for me to put my :2cents: in b/c everyone else has already said everything i would say, btw where in alaska do you live? and do you have an open room for a fellow kj owner for a trip up there to wheel?!?!?
Author:  tommudd [ Tue Jun 15, 2010 1:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: In What Order Should I Mod this?
730 for a crappy lift and the install? I know things are more up there but, :shock: with the way the roads are, conditions you have to drive, you will be hating that poor KJ in no time with a Rough Country lift. It is bottom of the barrel as far as lifts go. :2cents:
Sorry to be so blunt but I do hate to see someone waste their hard earned money on junk.
Author:  STINGN [ Tue Jun 15, 2010 4:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: In What Order Should I Mod this?
listen to Tom ;)

OME all the way...if you got the money get the frankenlift
Author:  67Customs [ Tue Jun 15, 2010 4:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: In What Order Should I Mod this?
Skids/Recovery Points
Lift
Tires
Bumper
Winch
Everything else...
Author:  tjkj2002 [ Tue Jun 15, 2010 4:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: In What Order Should I Mod this?
67Customs wrote:
Skids/Recovery Points--All 4 Skids
Lift
Tires
Rock Rails,not MOPAR
Bumper
Winch
Everything else...

Agreed but added one thing in it's correct place
Author:  STINGN [ Tue Jun 15, 2010 7:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: In What Order Should I Mod this?
tjkj2002 wrote:
67Customs wrote:
Skids/Recovery Points--All 4 Skids
Lift
Tires
Rock Rails,not MOPAR
Bumper
Winch
Everything else...

Agreed but added one thing in it's correct place

you COULD wait on the gas tank, unless you wheeling hard, then get the gas tank skid asap. moderate, i wheeled for about 6 months with out one and once i got serious i bought the gas tank skid

you can get all the mopar skids for under $300
Author:  birdtail [ Tue Jun 15, 2010 9:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: In What Order Should I Mod this?
Any reason why the Rough Country Lift isn't a favorite?

I would LOVE a Frakenlift, but they are indeed spendy.. Is there a "middle" lift in between the two, that rides decent but won't swallow my wallet whole? >.O Tack on $100 more to get it shipped here, any lift is going to be expensive for me i guess :P

I was told to STAY AWAY from anything regarding Rocky Road... I heard this from someone who waited 3 months for their Samurai suspension lift to arrive? What are your personal experiences with this company? It's only a 2" lift, seems kinda puny.. I'll look into it though if you guys deem it a good purchase. $750 from OME/RR. (it is cheaper to buy the "kit" together for $750 or buy individual pieces listed above it?)

Quote:
congratualtions on the purchase... and hope all goes well for you no need for me to put my :2cents: in b/c everyone else has already said everything i would say, btw where in alaska do you live? and do you have an open room for a fellow kj owner for a trip up there to wheel?!?!?


Interior Alaska, specifically Fairbanks. Always room for more =D


Thanks again for helping a noob out, guys. I would drive myself insane if I had to figure this all out on my own (or be taken advantage of by a business in town).
Author:  infernicus [ Tue Jun 15, 2010 10:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: In What Order Should I Mod this?
Only thing I would add to the above posts, that this is a great forum. The best thing you can do is read, read, read, lol. And when you've had it, read some more, you'll never run out of things to learn here.
Author:  tjkj2002 [ Tue Jun 15, 2010 10:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: In What Order Should I Mod this?
birdtail wrote:
Any reason why the Rough Country Lift isn't a favorite?

I would LOVE a Frakenlift, but they are indeed spendy.. Is there a "middle" lift in between the two, that rides decent but won't swallow my wallet whole? >.O Tack on $100 more to get it shipped here, any lift is going to be expensive for me i guess :P

I was told to STAY AWAY from anything regarding Rocky Road... I heard this from someone who waited 3 months for their Samurai suspension lift to arrive? What are your personal experiences with this company? It's only a 2" lift, seems kinda puny.. I'll look into it though if you guys deem it a good purchase. $750 from OME/RR. (it is cheaper to buy the "kit" together for $750 or buy individual pieces listed above it?)

Quote:
congratualtions on the purchase... and hope all goes well for you no need for me to put my :2cents: in b/c everyone else has already said everything i would say, btw where in alaska do you live? and do you have an open room for a fellow kj owner for a trip up there to wheel?!?!?


Interior Alaska, specifically Fairbanks. Always room for more =D


Thanks again for helping a noob out, guys. I would drive myself insane if I had to figure this all out on my own (or be taken advantage of by a business in town).
Your right in the thoughts about RRO,just stay away.

The Frankinlift,though more money is high quality parts from a good company that will treat you right.The shipping maybe less since AllJ's is in CA.The Frankinlift front coilover assemblies are also already assembled making install easy,2-3 hours max then just need a alignment.Any moderate wrench turner can install a Frankinlift in there driveway with ease.This post will show you how to,pay attention to the ratchet strap as it will make install much easier--http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29193.
Author:  RED_KJ_666 [ Tue Jun 15, 2010 10:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: In What Order Should I Mod this?
My :2cents: Build Backwards like others have said.F/R Tow Points, Skids (all 4), Then Lift (Loving my OME/Rancho 9000xl Setup), Then Bumper, Then Rock Rails if you need them. If you plan on the Bumper get OME 790 Springs for the front. My :2cents: on Tires/Wheels is that there are more aggressive tires available in the 15" Category. RRO Stay away from them for sure. Marlin @ JBA is great to deal with.
Author:  birdtail [ Tue Jun 15, 2010 11:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: In What Order Should I Mod this?
How do you guys feel about the Daystar 2.5" suspension lift?

Also, could I buy things like wheel spacers and an oversize tire rack from Rocky Road, or is it just going to be a hassle to buy anything from them?
Author:  tommudd [ Tue Jun 15, 2010 11:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: In What Order Should I Mod this?
Some will say I am wrong but Daystar is OK if you have low mileage on the Liberty. Springs sag over time and KJs more than others. Any spacer type lift will make the springs sag faster. Plus when doing say a Daystar you still need to replace all 4 shocks, you still need front bumpstops, so you maybe are saving 150 bucks, which you can buy two springs for 160/170. Doing 4 springs (OME) and 4 shocks plus the bumpstops is around 750 or so
Your ride will be much better and the lift will last much longer. I took my OME spring lift off at 100,000 miles and put it on another KJ here in town.
Also you do not need any type of wheel spacer's unless you are going for looks, if so go Spidertrax and nothing else
oversize tire rack? You can bolt a 32 inch tire on where the stock one is now without problems something else you do not need
Author:  birdtail [ Tue Jun 15, 2010 11:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: In What Order Should I Mod this?
Quote:
Also you do not need any type of wheel spacer's unless you are going for looks, if so go Spidertrax and nothing else
oversize tire rack? You can bolt a 32 inch tire on where the stock one is now without problems something else you do not need


yep, just for looks :)
and I didnt know that, i thought i'd need the rack if my tires got any bigger, cool.


So if I did Daystar i'd still need a place to get shocks and bumpstops.. Im being told to stay away from OME from multiple sources so I cant deal with them.

P.S. my Jeep has less than 25k miles.

Any Opinion on the one Rusty's Offroad Offers?:
http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/merchant.m ... sus_kj_kit
Author:  JeepinJarhead03 [ Tue Jun 15, 2010 11:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: In What Order Should I Mod this?
sounds like you have a conflict of reputable sources then

if it's just for looks and you don't care how it rides or how long it lasts before the tires are statically lined up with the edge of the flares then go with a stock rate coil lift by either rro and or daystar with stock coils

KJ's came from the factory with coils that were rated too low to begin with for them to last more than 30-60k miles at an acceptable ride height

gravity is a ***** as is physics and rulers


before you make your decision, i'd totally suggest giving the forum a search for daystar + results or OME* there are a few thousand posts of pretty interesting stuff

look forward to seeing your project as it progresses !
Author:  tommudd [ Wed Jun 16, 2010 6:41 am ]
Post subject:  Re: In What Order Should I Mod this?
You know several have given you some great suggestions on here
we have thousands of people who have lifted their KJs and so from experience we know what works in the long run and what does not.
If someone is telling you to stay away from OME then they are giving you the wrong information and must not know a dang thing about lifting a Liberty.
Rustys are JUNK
Thiers are the same spring rate as stock, and will sag, the rear shocks he uses are junk and rattle and do not last long.
You want a front ARB bumper someday so YOU HAVE to go with stronger springs, period, and that is OME 927s .
I think we are wasting our time here it seems. We have told you what works , if Rustys was a alternative someone would of mentioned it, they are not. I have to redo a lift on a 06 that the guy had me install a Rustys on about 25000 miles ago, its already sagged 1.5 inches.
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