I'm out in Colorado and have done a little more wheeling than I do back home. I've come across a few trails where a little more clearance would be nice. I want to order a lift, and new tires, but I'm not 100% sure what to get.

My Jeep is my daily driver, I put on 100 road miles a day, so I still need a good ride on pavement. And the wheeling I do isn't hardcore. I do know I want to go with a suspension lift and not a spacer kit. The Franken lift seems to get the most attention, but what are my other (less expensive) options (Rusty's is a thought)? Or is the Franken lift just so much better that I should I just throw down the extra money and not even consider anything else.

Another thing, I don't have any tools out here, so I'm either going to have to pay/beg someone to help me install the lift.

I need new tires, but have been waiting on the cash to swap them out when I do a lift. I'm going to go with BFG AT K/O's, but I'm not sure which size. My choices are 235/85/16 or 245/70/16. Which dimension is the bigger factor in rubbing: height or width? I'm planning on hammering the pinch weld down, but would like to do as little cutting as possible.

I'm going to replace the spare as well, whcih brings up the issue of opening the rear glass. Will either of those tires prevent the rear glass from opening fully? If so, is there a quick, easy and cheap fix?

I've got a general idea of what I want to do, but some more input would make my decision much easier.

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2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

First thing I'd suggest is a big no-no on 235/85-16s. I've only seen them in load range E, and if ride quality matters to you at all, you REALLY won't want an 80 lb wheel/tire combo at each corner.

245/70 and 245/75-16 there are a lot of options in the P-metric and load range C options, but for 245/75-16 there's also D and E so choose carefully.

Other than the tire suggestions...I can't really give you a whole lot of advice.

You can also just get some OME heavy duty coils, new struts/shocks, do a clevis and be at a pretty good height, add some 245-75X16s and you are good to go. OMEs are a higher spring rate than Rustys although Rustys will give you more lift in the beginning. Just my 2 cents worth of nonsense

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MUDD'S MOTORSPORT'S We do IFS lift installs ,
03 OVERLAND EDITION /Kilby-Skidrow-Mopar-4XGuard skids/ 2.5 inch TOTAL CONTROL JBA coilovers -JBA Arms/MOABS-31 FALKEN WILDPEAK AT3W / 4.10's etc, 04 Kilimanjaro Edition loaded, plus 05 KJ limited

Why would you want to put a "P" tire(stands for passenger car tire) on a lifted Jeep that see's offroad action? Leave the "P" tires in the trash and get some good "LT"(light truck) tires that will stand up to the abuse.I gladly take the mpg hit with my 89lbs 265/75 MT/R/steel wheel combo knowing my tires won't let me down offroad.

Dont go with a P rated tire go with at least a D rated ride will not be that much different, in fact I think it is better. As always when you do something like this with lift/tires whatever its an upgrade so get better not the same as you had before. Plus I agree with what tjkj2002 said

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MUDD'S MOTORSPORT'S We do IFS lift installs ,
03 OVERLAND EDITION /Kilby-Skidrow-Mopar-4XGuard skids/ 2.5 inch TOTAL CONTROL JBA coilovers -JBA Arms/MOABS-31 FALKEN WILDPEAK AT3W / 4.10's etc, 04 Kilimanjaro Edition loaded, plus 05 KJ limited

I never thought about the ply, but I'll definately go with a D. That means 245/70 or 265/70. BFG also makes a 255/70, but that's kind of an odd size and the dealer didn't have those in stock.

I've punched both sizes into a calculator, and there's not a whole lot of difference. But, how much differnce does that slight difference in size make when it comes to trimming the wheel well?

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2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

I'm happy with my E-rated tires, so far. They do rub on the front of the front wells so you may have to shape that some, and definitely have to pound the pinch weld, to fit 245/75s. The Rusty's kit rides better than the stock setup, imo. Can't imagine that OME or Frankenlifts would be any worse so whichever one you can swing would probably be fine. And, I'm sure that if you ask in the Lost Rockies section, you could find someone who would be happy to help you tear your suspension apart and rebuild it.

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Ron


"There are few problems in life the liberal application of duct tape can't solve."

As soon as mine wear out its either 245-75s or 255-70s I think, UNLESS somebody comes up with an affordable way to put 4.10s in the carriers! Then 265-75s for sure! I pull around a trailer too much etc. for the bigger/taller ones right now.

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MUDD'S MOTORSPORT'S We do IFS lift installs ,
03 OVERLAND EDITION /Kilby-Skidrow-Mopar-4XGuard skids/ 2.5 inch TOTAL CONTROL JBA coilovers -JBA Arms/MOABS-31 FALKEN WILDPEAK AT3W / 4.10's etc, 04 Kilimanjaro Edition loaded, plus 05 KJ limited

He specifically said that ride quality DID matter to him, which is why I suggested against going to a load range E 235/85. Not to mention the extra stress a heavier tire puts on a drivetrain.

I personally have never had an issue with P or load range C tires off road, and that's all I've ever used (because of the weight, not because of ride quality...THAT is something that's never concerned me), and I've yet to cut a sidewall. The worst thing that's ever happened to me is tearin up the sidewalls from too much rubbing against things (logs, curbs, whathaveyou)

I'm not a hardcore wheeler (which is why I bought a KJ instead of a TJ...) and my post was geared toward the non-hardcore wheeler, too, since that's what it sounded what he was

Two words

Rustys
Revos

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New KJ Gear - Desert Armor Flak

2004 Renegade Light Khaki - 4" JBA Lift - Rock Lizard Products: Komodo Dragon Rear Bumper, Prototype Winch-mount Front Bumper, Super Skink Sliders - All J's Super Tranny Skid II - 31" Firestone Destination AT's on Moab wheels - Cobra 75W CB w/ stock Antenna mod

[b]Retired, US Military

Where are you at in Colorado?

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WWW.ROCKLIZARDFABRICATIONS.COM

I'm stationed in Ignacio (about 30 min south/southeast of Durango. But I cover a large area in the Four Corners. I go as far west as White Mesa, AZ and east to Pagosa Springs and South to Taos and Santa Fe. I've got a vacation coming up week after next and was going to drive up to Yellowstone, then take a scenic tour of Colorado. So I'm going to be just about everywhere in the state. I was think about looking you up Rock Lizard, I'll send you a PM.

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2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

What the wife has on her '03 KJ
OME med. duty springs all around
OME shocks
Rancho struts
245/75 16 MTR/s (Load Range E) on OE wheels
They do fit if you pound the pinch and "move" the lower fog light door
we get some rub at very very full stuff on the rear end ,one wheel in and the other a foot or so up in the air,wich could be corrected with some bump stop spacers but it is not bad at all
the ride is great and MPG is ~17-18 on the highway averaging 70+ mph

I dont care for Rustys off road ,poor customer service as well as some poor qulity products, and when you do need warrany work they act like they are doing you a favor and then forget to ship all your stuff back
I would NOT go with OME HD springs with out at least having a heavy front bumper the ride ,IMO, would be poor
spacers will give you what you pay for and why would you want to preload your springs like that?

Depends on if he wants a grandma car ride or a ride like he is in a real 4WD. Even if I did not have the ARB I would still have the Heavy Dutys but then I like a stiffer ride , but out on the interstate mine rides like a stinkin Lincoln anyways, cruises nice!

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MUDD'S MOTORSPORT'S We do IFS lift installs ,
03 OVERLAND EDITION /Kilby-Skidrow-Mopar-4XGuard skids/ 2.5 inch TOTAL CONTROL JBA coilovers -JBA Arms/MOABS-31 FALKEN WILDPEAK AT3W / 4.10's etc, 04 Kilimanjaro Edition loaded, plus 05 KJ limited

I would guess that you have never owned a YJ or even worse a CJ
I had a YJ and it rode like a pcs of farm equipment
I also now have a TJ and it is still rough

I must be old but give me comfort any day

Hit me up if you come through here. I'll show you some local trails that scare the hell out of full-size trucks. Perfect for almost any Jeep, though. Even Suzi's and Toy's. We're not picky out here. As long as you can pay for half the gas to tow you home (or at least to the nearest repair shop ) if you break down, it's cool. Or, we could just hit the local OHV park if you're not up for the longer drive. Hell, we can even go 'wheeling right inside city limits! I haven't tried it deflated and disco'd but, I haven't been able to make the big hill out of 2 tries with full tires and sway-bars. I'll post pics of these hills tomorrow, if I can remember the camera.

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Ron


"There are few problems in life the liberal application of duct tape can't solve."