Charles7903

I am new to the forum and used to have a tacoma with 14" of lift, King Coilovers, in the front, Alcan springs in the rear, 4.88 gears, and 42" TSLs. About 5 years ago I sold it to help get through graduate school.

Now that my wife and I have great jobs and disposable income, I am looking to get back into offroading. Since we want to have kids in 2 - 3 years, we want to go with a used 4-Door JK. I want to do most things right the first time so we have set aside some $ and are going to be saving up for the next 13 months to fund the following Stage I setup.

Also, I welded some in engineering school, but would not trust my own welds. Please take this into consideration with you give suggestions or answers to some of my questions below. I want to try and keep as much of this bolt-on as possible. Thanks for your help.

Stage I:
- 2007 - 2009 Used Automatic JK Rubicon Unlimited (in white or silver)

- 6" Full Traction Long Arm Kit (my research shows this kit to be comparable with TeraFlex, but doesn't require welding) (Since I will be doing coilovers, can I buy this kit without Coils to save some $?)

- ORE Evo Front Coilovers with 14" King Coilovers (unless everyone thinks 12" would be better? Would want to get the bolt-on option. Can take it to be welded for further strength after install if necessary.)

- ORE Evo Lever Rear Coilover Setup with standard King Coilovers

- EVO Air Bump (I read about procomp and others, but thought it might be best to go with EVO from the start? Does this require welding and has ORE figured out a way to make this work with the front coilovers? Do I need this for the rear too?)

- ORO Dual Rate Swaybar Disconnects with Air Valve (I like the on and off road settings. Do I need one of these for the rear too? Can I hook this into a 2.5 gal air compressor that will be plugged into a Warn PowerPlant?)

- Front and Rear JE Reel 1350 Driveshafts (the installation guide didn't look too bad...)

- 5.13 Gears (installed at 4WPW since I don't know how to setup gears)

- Rancho Cat-Back Exhaust (required to relocate exhaust because of EVO Lever. Read that essentially no system gives any significant hp gain, so I figured I'd go with the cheapest option. Also looked at MBRP, but $100 more...)

- Five 37 x 12.50 R-17 BFG MT T/A KM2 Tires

- Five 17 x 9.5" Allied Monster RT Beadlock Wheels (Should I get 4" or 4.5" of backspacing?)

- LOD Signature Series Shorty Front winch bumer with winch guard and skid plate (XRC looks good and is cheap, but won't fit a Warn PowerPlant and I'm not sure I trust the Smittybilt XRC10HD winch / air combo that isn't available yet...I assue the Shorty is better than Mid Width for rock crawling?)

- Warn PowerPlant 9,500 lb Winch with Air Compressor, 2.5gal Warn Air Tank, Warn Air Tank Plumbing Kit (I read that if you want to be able to run air tools, you need the 2.5gal tank. Can you also hook the ORO Dual Rate Swaybar Air Lever to this?) (Smittybilt XRC10HD is cheap and includes the 2.5gal air tank, but from my research, I don't think it is available yet and I hate to buy something that hasn't been reviewed in-depth)

- LOD Signature Series Rear Bumper with Tire Carrier (XRC looks good and is cheap, but doesn't have rear lights which I like for reversing).

- LOD Door Frame Mounted Unlimited Rock Sliders

- ORE Front Steel Plate Fenders with Flares (will be painted to match)

- ORE Rear Steel Plate Fenders with Flares (will be painted to match) (I assume these will require new rear tail lights? Can you relocate your back-up light wiring from the factory lights to lights in the rear LOD bumper?)

- Body Armor Front and Rear Tube Doors

- Hella 500 Fog Light Kit for front bumper

- Hella 500 Driver Light Kit with Rugged Ridge JK Windshield Mounting Brackets

- Smittybilt Neoprene Seat Covers

Stage II will include ProRock Dana 60s with ARB lockers front and rear and likely 40" Iroks. Will wait until we break the Rubicon D44s to go to this setup.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Answers to any of my questions above?

Thanks for all your help. This forum has been a great source of research for our plans.

AK4Dave

WOW......look at you go...!!! and welcome to the forum.

Looks like you plan on some serious offroading....have you thought about a snorkel? And if you don't plan on doing anything to the engine, then you might consider the Super Chips Flaspaq when you're ready. Lots of happy customers.

Good Luck...!!!

Charles7903

Any other suggestions? Or comparable products at lower prices? Thanks.

rjhoop

welcome, and try using the search you could probably see everything you want installed or in action on about any color rig out there!!!!!!!sound like your off to a great start though!!!!!!!

Mk-Dubai

First Of welcome to the forum, and DAMN thats a long list but a nice one.

wish you all the best with you build

Muffins

Good luck with the build, be sure to post lots of pictures and X2 on the snorkel

Charles7903

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. The information on this forum has been invaluable.

Any advice on the following questions:

1. For the 6" Full Traction Long Arm Kit, since I will be doing coilovers, can I buy this kit without Coils to save some money?

2. How is the EVO Air Bump? I read about procomp and others, but thought it might be best to go with EVO from the start? Does this require welding and has ORE figured out a way to make this bolt-on and work with the front coilovers? Do I need this for the rear too?

3. Any reviews on the ORO Dual Rate Swaybar Disconnects with Air Valve? Do I need one of these for the rear too? Can I hook the air valve into a 2.5 gal air compressor that will be plugged into a Warn PowerPlant?

4. How about the Warn PowerPlant 9,500 lb Winch with Air Compressor, 2.5gal Warn Air Tank, Warn Air Tank Plumbing Kit? I read that if you want to be able to run air tools, you need the 2.5gal tank.

5. For the ORE Rear Steel Plate Fenders with Flares, I assume these will require new rear tail lights? Can you relocate your back-up light wiring from the factory lights to lights in the rear LOD bumper?

6. For the Five 17 x 9.5" Allied Monster RT Beadlock Wheels, should I get 4" or 4.5" of backspacing for my planned setup?

7. For the Front EVO Coilovers, should I go with 12" or 14" coilovers. I saw one member mention 12" coilovers with a limiting strap. If you are going to limit the flex, why not get the 14" if you ever want to go even higher and not worry about bottoming out? Thoughts?

Thanks again.

Charles7903

After some research, here is what I have found out:

1. Still haven't found anyone that has been able to get a "Package Deal" on this?

2. Read about a few people who started with different air bumps, but ended up getting or wishing they had gotten the EVOs. Thoughts?

3. Still asking about this as I haven't found an answer yet and am new to onboard air, but seems like this should be easy to do...

4. From research, it seems that if you want to run air tools, you at least need the 2.5 gal tank. The bigger issue becomes the location of the tank.

To mount the tank, you can to relocate the EV after you relocate your exhaust. However, if I plan on running the EVO lever, I think the relocation spot suggested by the Kilby kit may not work (https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...=evap+canister) since it is where the current exhaust is.

Any thoughts on where to mount the tank with the exhaust relocated and the EVO lever in the rear? Can you locate the EV somewhere else?

5. No answer to this yet. Any electrical guys out there with an answer?

6. Any backspacing experts out there (4" or 4.5")? Recommendations for 17 x 9.5" beadlocks and 37 x 12.50 tires (will eventually upgrade to 40s).

7. Any suggestions on 12" or 14" King Coilovers? If they are the same price, I figure why not go with the 14"?

Thanks everyone.

JackMac4

Regarding item #1 - you're not going to probably find someone who is going to give you a package deal, but maybe if you talk to a ORE or Northridge they could help you out. I have a feeling your best bet is just to call FT and see what they'll sell you a kit sans coils and shocks for. The aforementioned vendors could probably sell you the kit without the coils and shocks. It's been done.

codysanders

i am new to the jk as well. but if you are planing on going to 40 tires later you will want more backspacing. at least 4.5. if you are going to go to d60s later than the wheels make no difference as you will have to change the rims or run addapters. just some things to think about. i already have a lot of things for my jeep in the garage but no jeep yet. i am going to install most of my stuff but not the welding. you can always find a welder so don't let that stop you. i would think that you will have to get c2 gussets and such so you will still need to weld some.