The Chronicle's of a daily driver Rubicon

[rckymntn05]

Well, here goes the start of my build thread. I'm going to try to keep this TJ as daily driver friendly as possible while still improving it's off road capability. It's not going to turn into a monster over night, but my general plans are to increase ground clearance and make it more convenient to wheel with while trying to keep the gas mileage decent. Heres what I am thinking off the top of my head for now...

-Header & catback exhaust (great sound and should free up some ponies while improving mileage a hair)
-tummy tuck belly pan (obviously the factory "shovel" is a major hindrance for ground clearance)
-SYE & rear CV driveshaft (Probably necessary with the tummy tuck, and it's nice to be able to pull a broken rear shaft to limp it home if you break a U-joint)
-Set of nice aftermarket shocks
-sway bar quick discos
-All new speakers/subwoofer (Gotta have the tunes!!! This is a daily driver after all!)

So theres the plan for the time being. My goal is to improve on key areas for off road while still having a good on road ride and preferably getting over 13-14 mpg. Anyways, heres a few shots of exactly how it sat when I bought it...

It's a 2006 Rubicon 6 speed manual with 31K on the clock. Came with a warn 9.5ti winch and aftermarket bestop front and rear bumpers. SCORE! That'll save me a huge chunk of money, and having a winch is a necessity for a wheeling rig.

[rckymntn05]

First things first. That front end sagging so much becasue of the winch and bumper was not going to cut it. I picked up a set of 1.5" coil spring spacers and threw them in. I was at least hoping it would bring it back to stock height, and it came out to be perfect! The rear still has a slight rake to it and the front is probably a little higher than stock. Should easily have room for some 32" tires.





Now I need to ditch those damn flares in favor of the nice stockers and I'll have a respectable looking jeep for now!

[Bigbike]

If im not mistaken, didnt Rubicons come with a cv rear driveshaft from the factory?

[29er]

Nice, I'm kind of going for a similar idea with mine as well, also a daily driver

[rckymntn05]

If im not mistaken, didnt Rubicons come with a cv rear driveshaft from the factory?

Honestly, I have no idea haha. Now you've got me wondering. Going to have to crawl under there and look. I still want a SYE though, because I like the fact of being able to remove the shaft and still drive it if need be.

Nice, I'm kind of going for a similar idea with mine as well, also a daily driver

It's a tough trade off lol. I def got way too crazy with my last TJ and made it to the point where it was a monster off road, but it sucked to drive daily...which was one of the main reasons I sold it. Hopefully I can turn this one into a nice balance of both.

[clean4drxj]

I'm pretty sure that the 241 has a fixed yoke on it.. so no sye needed

[rckymntn05]

I'm pretty sure that the 241 has a fixed yoke on it.. so no sye needed

Well I feel like an idiot...just looked underneath and was greeted by a factory fixed yoke and rear CV driveshaft. Man, I'm starting to feel good about going with a rubicon lol. Thanks for the heads up guys.

[ct67_72]

If it would make you feel better Id be willing to sway you my 231 case with a fancy AA sye for your case

[rckymntn05]

If it would make you feel better Id be willing to sway you my 231 case with a fancy AA sye for your case

LOL, what a pal!

[rckymntn05]

Well....I've been lazy, cold, and cheap LOL, so I haven't touched this thing since buying it, but I still absolutely love it. My favorite jeep by far that I have owned to date! Anyways, enough of the nonsense...on to my first official mod.

Recently saw a lot of talk about the new truck lite LED replacement headlight housings for TJ's and JK's. They've been getting rave reviews, so I picked up a set since I'm such a stickler for being able to see at night. I am blown away. The simplicity of the design and ease of installation was worth the price, and the light output is phenomenal. Heres a few pics so you can judge for yourself. I honestly drove around for 15 minutes tonight after the install just because I was so in awe with the change in light output

Stock low beams only


Stock low beams with fog lights on too


Truck Lite low beams only


Truck Lite high beams on

[rckymntn05]

And the beauty shots





They are a bit up there in price, but I can't say enough how awesome they are. No ballasts or clusters of wiring like with HID's, no bulbs burning out to worry about, no shock damage....just crystal clear white light with a crisp beam cutoff!

And I'm going to be honest...the modding bug has bitten me. I can't stop looking at lift kits, belly skids, aluminum armor. This may get expensive very soon, haha.

[rckymntn05]

Whats up SIS. After a long hiatus, I have returned. Life gets busy lol, but I will always have jeep burned into my heart. Anyways, I'm still rocking this rubicon. Owned it for a little over 4 years now. It ended up getting a rough country 2.5" spring lift with bilstein 5100 shocks. Also added some front sway bar discos and 285/75/16 fierce attitude tires on the factory moabs. Loving this thing just as much as the day I bought it still. Hopefully in the future I'll be going to a rough country 4" X lift and a set of 35" intercos on cheap steelies for my wheeling rim/tire combo, and keeping the moabs and 33's for street duty. Anyways, heres the recent pics of how she sits.

[calvynandhobbs]

Looks good. Got me thinking I should do a build thread for my YJ

[Lycaon]

Very nice!