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Wheels & Tires
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For their strength and light weight I picked the Mickey Thompson Challenger forged aluminum wheels. As about there is to play in around here is dirt/mud and there can be plenty of mud at my favorite spot in Kansas, I went to the BFG Radial Mud Terrain TA's. These are an excellent mud tire and are trail proven in Colorado and Moab. Their lug design is actually pretty quiet for a mud tire, but as they say, one mans noise is another mans symphony.
Well now I've gone to Goodyear's 33x12.50 MT/R. These tires are so much better in my opinion. They offer better traction both on and off road!
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Shocks
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The Tomken lift came with a set of ProComp ES3000 shocks. These shocks were so hard on the street that I decided to look for new shocks in about 100 miles. I visited Brian at Banzai 4x4 and asked for recommendations. He first suggested the Rancho 9000. I really didn't want to have to remember to adjust them for the right condition or spend the bucks for the in vehicle control, so I asked was there a good shock that adjusted itself for the conditions. He mentioned Edelbrock and TrailMaster. Edelbrock didn't have any IAS shocks for the TJ yet, but TrailMaster did. I got the TrailMaster SSV's and have been very pleased with them. The original front shocks provided were too short to allow for full articulation. We had selected these based on cross referencing the ProComps. Since trying to get stud type shocks off as on the TJ front can be a bear when they are old, I decided to get a set of JKS Shock Adapters from M.O.R.E. This allowed me to select from a broader range of shocks by providing a conventional shock mount. After careful measurements were taken, we found the right shock in the TrailMaster catalog.
I've driven over 15,000 miles so far on the TrailMaster SSV's and am pleased with the road and trail ride.
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Atlas II Transfer Case
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The Atlas II 3.8 transfer case is great! Two problems caused me to go looking for the Atlas II. With the automatic transmission, the TJ wants to roll down steep hills way too fast (yes I could have gotten a manual trans, but since I drive this daily I didn't want the hassle of shifting, and a bigger reason is my wonderful wife has been very supportive of this and she has no desire to learn how to shift). Number two is I want to remove the transfer case lowering kit for a better breakover angle. I looked at getting a 4 to 1 low kit plus a tailshaft kit for the 231, but the cost with installation was higher than the Atlas II. In addition I would still be stuck with the chain drive of the 231. The Atlas II is a gear design that is trail proven, and the 3.8:1 low has reduced my down hill speed. A big plus of this is that I am
selling the 231 which makes the Atlas II even more of a bargain!
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Dana 44 Jeep Front Axle
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Currie Enterprises found a source and has imported Dana 44 Jeep front axles from South America. The upper control arm mount is cast into the pumpkin just like the Dana 30 American front stock axles. This is the real deal. It's installed and works great! It's high pinion so the front driveshaft is now more protected. I had Currie install an ARB w/4.10 gears.
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Custom CV Driveshafts
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Going to the Atlas II let me remove the T-Case lowering kit and required a longer
driveshaft. I also switched at this time to a CV driveshaft. The Atlas mounting point
ended up giving me a 6 1/2"e; longer driveshaft. Since the Atlas front mounting point
was also further forward, this required a shorter front shaft. I had the front shaft
shortened, but just as a backup. I had a new front CV heavy duty stronger driveshaft
made along with the back. With more torque being delivered to the axles and the ability
for 2 wheel low (front or back), I didn't want a weak driveshaft up front.
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ARB Air Locking Differential
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Since this is my daily driver, street derivability is very important. The ARB air lockers provides streetability. On the trail it gives me the ability to lock up the front and rear at will. When I need to make a tight turn, I can just turn the front off. This sounded like the best option for me.
Since I also wanted to be able to air up my tires I decided to go with a better air compressor than ARB had. So I selected Currie's continuous duty 1/3 hp air compressor.
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Steering Box Brace
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Since I put on the bigger tires, I don't want my steering box coming loose from the additional stress created by them. So I installed Tomken's Steering Box Support. The bottom one in the picture is the one for the TJ.
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Steering Conversion
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I wanted a stronger tie rod and to also get rid of the Y design. Rusty's Offroad had the answer for me. Now I have a wheel to wheel tie rod that's made from 1 inch (DOM) tubing. Click on the picture for a larger view.
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Adjustable Track Bars
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I also went to Rusty's Offroad for Adjustable Track Bars. They have really added flex to my TJ!
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Motor Mounts
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Since I put in the Atlas II I've had trouble with the engine moving around and causing my ProPower alternator hitting the fender well. The twin t-case shifters would jump all over. I decided to go with Mountain Off Road's Bombproof Motor Mounts. Install was pretty easy and the engine is now held in place! Since I'm going to be installing MORE's 1 inch body lift, I am also getting their 1 inch lift motor mounts.
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Eccentric Cam Bolts
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Since I put in the Atlas II and CV Driveshafts I needed to point the rear axle upwards to the Atlas II. The Tomken control arms are not adjustable, so I ordered the Eccentric Cam Bolts from Jeep that are designed to replace the upper control arm bolts on the rear axle. It sure was a pain to remove the knock outs on the axle. The passenger side would not come out and I had to use a dremel to cut them out. The drivers side did pop out, so at least half of the job was easier.
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Before our TJ arrived, I was researching the net, talking to
local stores, and to lift kit manufacturers, for what was available
and what worked the best to make my TJ trail ready. I exchanged
e-mails with several people including one who had ridden in quite a
few TJ's with different brands of lift kits. Additionally I reviewed web
sites showing Tomken Machine and Rubicon Express installs. I had found
Tomken on the net and additionally was refereed to them by a friend in Boulder.
I spent some time with Tomken on the phone discussing my concerns
about different lift kits and asking a lot of questions. They were
very helpful and I did not receive any sales pressure to buy from them.
Their design, technical merits and completeness of their "Off Road
Performance Package" did that for me. I had decided previously that
no mater who's kit I bought, I was going to get Tomken's front and
gas tank skid plates. Very few lift kit manufacturers include both upper and lower
control arms which I feel are an absolute requirement. Tomken's control arms
(Tomken calls them "Super-Articulating Control Arms") all include ball
sockets designed for maximum travel and articulation. Their design of the lower
control arms also includes a bend which allows a 2 inch further axle droop than
straight ones. When the front sway-bar is disconnected, the amount of articulation
is amazing. I went 68 inches up a 30 degree ramp for a score of 728! This when
converted to a 20 degree ramp is a score of 1,064!
