When you're a new Jeep owner, there's a bit of excitement about finally getting one of these cool vehicles, especially if you netted a Rubicon. You're doing the Jeep wave with other Wrangler owners, crawling over curbs in the parking lot with ease, and fearing no snow storm. But sooner or later it happens: You realize that you're just like everyone else with a stock Jeep, the high school girls, the librarians, and the Melrose cruisers.
So you break out the Jeep catalogs like a 5-year-old flipping though the toy circulars before Christmas. While that's fun and a good way to get ideas, you could end up with a Jeep that looks like it was driven through the tacky isle of your local auto-parts store. Our philosophy is to make functional mods that make a Wrangler look and perform like a real Jeep. So here are the first five modifications we'd make to a stocker to make it look a little different and perform a little better. We started with an '08 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited. Everything we show in this article is specific to JKs, but the same philosophy can be applied to nearly any Jeep.
As an added bonus for you (and untold frustration for editor Cappa), this article took four months to put together. During that time, we accumulated more than 8,000 miles on this Wrangler, which included a few off-road trips. That means that we can share with you the drawbacks and nuances, as well as the positive comments on the parts we added. This should help you make the best choices for your Jeep and enjoy your first mods even more.
Greg Henderson at AEV installed...
Greg Henderson at AEV installed the Nth Degree suspension kit on our Wrangler. At the rear, the track bar issue is addressed with a bracket that raises the mount on the axle and a new track bar with the proper angles. The track bar is made to factory specs and includes original-equipment bushings.
To fit the larger wheels and tires you're drooling over, you need to raise the vehicle. This is likely the first modification you'll want to make, and it will dictate the specifics of several of the next changes. Choosing the right suspension lift can be daunting, especially for the '07-'10 Wrangler. We counted more than 50 kits in one catalog alone!
At the front, the Nth Degree...
At the front, the Nth Degree kit comes with brackets to move the lower shock mounts outboard to keep them from hitting the frame at full suspension droop. We used the premium kit which includes a high-steer kit and track bar relocation bracket; we highly recommend it for optimum handling. The Bilstein shocks are not off-the-shelf 5100s, they have custom valving specified by AEV for this application.
A suspension lift and taller tires give your Jeep more ground clearance and improved approach and departure angles for much better off-road performance. The combination of these parts also makes a Jeep look the way it should.
After the lift was installed,...
After the lift was installed, the 35-inch-tall tires only hit in one place. If you have a Rubicon, you'll need to cut about an inch off the rear of the rocker protection. You can slide the plastic endcap back on when you're finished for a factory look. You'll also need to use a cutoff wheel to trim about an inch off of the pinch seam at an angle as shown behind the rocker protection. The front tires rub slightly at full suspension articulation, but nothing that we thought needed fixing.
We decided on an Nth Degree suspension system by AEV. This kit includes progressive-rate springs and Bilstein shocks that are tuned specifically for very stable on-road handling with extremely good off-road suspension travel. We also liked how this kit retains many of the factory pieces and uses OEM-quality components. Two of the engineers at AEV worked at Jeep, bringing a level of engineering expertise that shows in the design of the components.
One issue you'll run into...
One issue you'll run into with nearly any suspension lift for a JK is that the front driveshaft will hit the exhaust system at full suspension droop. With our sway bar disconnected, it only took one trip off-road to rip the boot from the driveshaft and bang it into the exhaust and transmission. AEV will soon offer an optional, smaller-diameter driveshaft to remedy this.
There are two versions of the Nth Degree 3 1/2-inch kit. The standard kit comes with springs, Bilstein shocks, bumpstop spacers, brake line brackets, rear track bar and bracket, swaybar links, and cam bolts for the front lower control arms. The premium system adds a high-steer kit, front track bar and damper bracket, ProCal programmer to recalibrate the speedometer and accurately center the steering to avoid false ESP activation, a steering damper, and a jack extension base so your factory jack can raise the taller vehicle. What the kit doesn't include is longer or adjustable control arms. The company feels that factory JK arms are long enough to provide very good suspension travel. It uses cam bolts to adjust the front axle caster.