wazooz2424

i think others have nailed it. IMO, you are better off running 35s until you can comfortably afford 37s and all the things that go with. i want 37s, myself and im 29 and have a steady job. however, i cant afford 37s and everything else needed. im running 35s until they wear out, which will give me time to get the other essentials needed to run 37s(spare tire carrier, gears, CAs, sleeves, etc...) 37s wont make your jeep much more capable than 35s, especially if you cant afford the extra cost of 37s. to me, im better off enjoying offroading with 35s than worrying about breaking something and being stuck waiting on funds to repair something that broke bc i was impatient and went to 37s before my rig could handle them.

REDLINE217

In the same boat as you im also 17 and im looking at lifting my 4 door jk this summer im looking at throwing a 4in lift on and running 35" tires on my stock rims to save me a little money instead of buying new rims at this point in time but i wont know what i will be able to do to it till i see how much i save up this summer from working. Good Luck i would also recommend you stick with 35" tires.

pettym

I can second (or am I like 14thing) the 35's comment. I just built my 07 up with 35's and I am still a little scared that I am going to blow up my D30s at some point. Another thing to think about at your age would be the money at the pump. I know my milage dropped a fair bit going from stock to 35's so I imagine it will be worse at 37's.

As for the last poster saying they are going to stick with stock rims, if you do that, you will need to get wheel spacers - the back spacing on stock rims won't work with a lift and bigger tires. I went with some 4.5" back space wheels and I have had no problems what so ever.

Talk to some of the Vendors here and see what price they can get you on some stuff. I think all said and done, I spent about $2400 for lift and tires/wheels. I imagine 37's will be quite a bit more than that with everything else needed.

Good luck and show us pics when you decide! (edit to make that a soda)

septonic

I'm 17 also and bigger always looks nicer but does it preform the same in some cases yes I've had my jeep for 2 years now and although its a Tj i have unsuccessfully blew one d 35 out so far if your going to want to run those 37s, I recommend going bigger axles the way to do this is go to a junk yard look for an old ford or old chevy and haul the rear ends home get some cash and, re gear them remake some drive shafts change yokes weld brackets ect. It might be heavier but in the long run where axle snaps come it wont happen that often lets face it jeep were made to put big tires under them but, they put these puny axles under them. My big 66 ford 4x4 has 40s on it and i haven't ever heard a crunch from a gear yet and, i run it hard as hell. My big truck is not my main drive vehicle and, my jeep doesn't have to be. You gotta figure being in collage is going to be stressful as i've thought of this route what if your jeep breaks how are you going to get to class. Thats my thought on it anyway good luck with the build bud. Its good to hear there are other "jeepheads" like me on this forum this young.

Tj

armycop

I tend to agree with the people saying keep it mild for now. With a 2-door, you will need quite a bit of lift to get 37's on, which would be murder on your driveshafts. With a minimum of 4" of lift to clear 37's, a 2-door driveshaft will self destruct over time.

Also, you can just use a budget boost with some flat fenders and fit 35's. I ran 35's on my '07 2-door and got a lot of positive comments on my Jeep everywhere I went. Once you get a good job and some more savings in the bank, you can get 37's and the proper setup to make it more sturdy.

jasonG

Cut your stock fenders to make em flat. easy job and free All you need is a dremel. I drilled through the plastic rivets and the inner fender popped right out. I left the fenders on and made the cut as well.

Run 35's.... especially on a 2door..... You'll have tons of clearance and like everyone has said, CRWL, TRAIL, DRIVE SLOW Shit last a lot longer with this mentality. And if you wanna beef up the front axle now by the RCV's from Northrigde.. Lifetime garuantee

Whatever you do just be stolked your 17 with a JK You don't know how lucky you really are. I didn't even have a car at 17. And my first was a 1980 chevy citation and it was 1991 Google that car for laughs..........

IcyFridge

I am on a budget as well. I work a mediocre paying job paying back college loans at the same time, and have installed a 2" Budget Boost along with 33's and new rims. (I didn't skimp on tires and rims for sure!)

If you wanted the max tire size without screwing things up with your rig, go with a teraflex 2.5BB with shock extenders and 35s on stock rims with wheel spacers (or steelies).

Lots of stuff on sale here on JK-Forum, check it out.

countrydude1992

thanks you guys for all the words of advice! i really appreciate all of your help! let me throw out some more details. all of my driving is in mud. i live in east alabama, and all we have here is red clay. everywhere. thats the main reason i wanted to go 37's. i know this is not always true, but from what i've seen, bigger tires go through mud better. also, bigger tires give you more ground clearance, and as many times as i've been buried to the frame in mud, a few extra inches can be enough to get you through a puddle.

i'm not sure if mud is more or less likely to break an axle. maybe somebody with experience on that one can chime in? i dont push my jeep hard ever. if i get somewhere and start bogging down, i never gas it more. i have a winch and always wheel with friends, so i'm not in a "stranded if stuck" situation, so i see no need in pushing harder than needed.

i mostly want the 37's for looks. i love big tires. i'm sure we all do. i dont need to flex much, and i other than ground clearance, i dont have a reason to go that big besides looks. that being said, i dont need a huge lift and all the optional flax arms and all that expensive stuff, although it may be added down the line.

onto some questions i have.

1. what are c-gussets. everyone talks about them, and i know they're for axles, but what are they and what do they do. a pic would be helpful. maybe a pic of one installed?
2. for gears and all that, what all do you need? not really going into specifics yet, but, you know. the main stuff.

i know you've gotta have these, for the front and rear.
http://www.quadratec.com/products/52419_95X_C_PG.htm

but what about things like this.
http://www.quadratec.com/products/52419_807.htm

anything else you need? like i said, i dont know much about regearing and all that.

3. axle shafts. how do they help? what is provided by upgrading. what are the good brands.

4. what are other axle upgrades you can do to beef up the little D30.

5. lockers. i have an X so i dont have lockers, correct? every time i see someone mention new gears, they throw lockers in with it. do you have to do this? i dont really need them, and that's a big expense.

also, anybody know how to look up your build sheet? i read on one thread that some of the earlier 07' 2-doors where built with D35's up front. how would i find out if i have one?

to all those saying to keep the stock flares, i would completely agree, but they cut out some room i could use to be stuffing those big ole tires in. haha! plus, i've already ripped 3 of them off a few times. and for about 70 bucks for the parts to put just ONE fender back on, i could be well on my way to flats.

another option i see people saying, is to just replace the D30 with a D44. after parts and installation to beef up a D30, could that get me a used D44?

everyone is saying to take my time and do it right, which is definitely what i want to do. but i want to do it at the same time, pretty much. which is why i'm asking about gears and all that. so i know what to buy, and how much to save up. i dont want to go the "cheap and crappy" route. but i dont want to drop $20K into it either. haha.

and once again, thank you to everyone here! i'd be lost without you guys!

IcyFridge

Since you're running a 2 door. For something that will NOT break the bank or risk any damage to your drivelines, do this:

1. teraflex 2.5" BB
2. trim flares or 1" body lift
3. 35" tires on 16" steelies
4. 4.88 gears


Probably spend about 3,000 for that set up. Most of it will be on the gears.
And right there, you have a capable rig. My rig runs 3.21 gears with 33" and 2" lift and I can go anywhere basically.

BLK-JK23

OR
Teraflex leveling kit with sway links 113$ shipped
33's and cragar steelie's 1500 shipped
mbpr exhaust and aem intake 500$
hypertech 250$

you got a hell of a jeep..
than ipf headlights