kh202

I really would highly recommend some C gussets tho. Even for street driving the larger rotating mass can tweek your C's.

This is what I have on my front axle. There are other options, not saying these are the best, but they are fairly cost effective way to beef up the front axle. I paid a guy from a local Jeep club $50 to do my truss, gussets and exhaust

PUREJEEP: PJ5150: JEEP JK FRONT AXLE "C" GUSSET SET, skid plates
PUREJEEP: PJ5156: JEEP JK DANA 30 AXLE BACKBONE BRACE, skid plates

maximredriver

It's true the stock JK is very capable and you really don't need a bunch of aftermarket junk to enjoy driving it but where's the fun in that. When you do start upgrading components its important that do it properly and understand the affect that it will have on the other parts in the system.

I like the peace of mind that I get knowing that my tires won't wear out prematurely, trackbar isn't going to bust off, and drive shaft isn't going to break when I do go off road. I'd like to keep my jeep for a long time a don't want to be reactive when things start to break.

Back to your original question; the rear uppers will help keep the driveshaft from having such a sharp angle leading into the rear axle. You don't "need" it but considering the suspension parts you are looking at I'd at least put them on the wish list for later. The same goes for the axle gussets and truss.

To each his own