Looking for help with a 3" lift/tires/wheels mod

[joaquim2652]

Hi all!
I have a stock rubicon gladiator. It's time to lift it! I am thinking around 3"/3.5" for a lift and I want the biggest tires possible with that. What would that be? 38s? I know I'll need to regear. It is also manual... not sure if that matters?

Any recommendations would be helpful.
Thank you!

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[Wheelin98TJ]

There are guys running 40s with 3" of lift.

 

[Bbannongmu]

Depends on what you want to do and where you are and how much you want to spend. From 30+ years of Jeepin experience I caution to plan out and know what you are getting yourself into.

If you are off-roading in rocks 37-38” is about the limit with stock, locked axles - you’ll start breaking stuff if you go with 40s and wheel aggressively (I’m breaking stock stuff with 37s on east coast trails). Also I believe the lowest gears available for Dana 44 are 5.38. I’m running 5.13 in my 2020 JTR manual on 37” tires and there are times i wish I went with 5.38.

If it’s mostly for looks, don’t tow, don’t have to deal with mountains, and wheel a little/gingerly, you can probably clear 40” tires and 5.38 gears with a quality 8 adjustable arm, front and rear Trackbar 3.5” lift kit, decent shocks and bump stops.

Over time, you may need to replace your draglink, tie rod, front unit bearings, ball joints, and maybe a steering box. I also found that my rear sway bar mounts on the frame were twisting - I beefed up with Metal Cloak brackets. I replaced all my stock steering by 45k miles on 37s.

Buy a decent lift….Savvy and Currie are pretty top shelf. Clayton, Rock Krawler and Metal Cloak are popular, well respected brands and I’m sure others will chime in.
Good luck.

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