advice on where to start on kitting 4x4 out??????

kiwial

New Member
hey im new to this game and enjoying it,what would any one recommned where to start kitting out my 4x4,i have a standard jeep wrangler jk 07 any help would be great thanks
 

frosty

4x4 Earth Contributer
What sort of driving are you doing? Touring, rockhopping, mud bashing? Give as much detail as you can so everyone can give ya heaps for buying a JEEP, I mean so they can gently advise you.

hahaha. Cheers.
 

Croozer

5th Annual Victorian Gathering member
Hmmm Jeep? Buy a Patrol...lol :D Only joking. As said what do you want to do, just tour or extreme or in between?
 

GippsSurfer

Member
depending on your budget.....

UHF & Tyres (Muddies will get you the furtherest)
Lift - Mabe 1st if you plan on goin extreme on the wheels...
Snorkel
Lockers
Winch...

anything else is just a personal preferance...

each increment will get you further into the shit... the last one is the only one that will get you out...
 
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Patriot

Administrator
Hey mate,

Go out with a few people and talk to them about what they have. You will be able to see what difference muddies and lift make, and then lockers. Depends on how hard core you want to go. Make sure you have decent recovery gear.

Good luck with it!

James
 

croozza

Active Member
Step 1. you have the advantage here, keep the tyres you already have on the vehicle as your on road tyres, and buy a set of muddies with steel rims
step 2. Suspension is next, buy a good quality brand, get the whole kit (springs & shocks) from the same manufacturer. (2 to 3 inch lift is all thats needed)
step 3. this is where you familiarize yourself with the car, try some easy tracks and slowly work your way up to harder ones. (with some one who has good 4wd knowledge)
step 4. body protection and recovery gear
step 5. lockers
step 6. lighting (improve all lighting on the vehicle)
step 7. one awesome looking 4B!
 

DazzaMTD

New Member
I'm about to start kitting out mine, and i'm thinking of going;
Rims & Tyres
Bullbar
Snorkel
Suspension
Lockers

I need $$$$$$$$$$$$$ though so will gradually over time get these fitted to 4by
 

kiwial

New Member
thanks heaps for the advice guys,was up zig zag railway on the wkend ang got on to beecoaff track (think thats what is was could)and could of done beening abit heigher so think i will start there ,thanks again
 

stets

New Member
lift ad tyres should always be first, depending on your driving you can start off with a set of tyres to match your current ride hieght and as time goes by, get your lift, the down side to this is, your tyres will need up grading soon. if it was me id go

step one 2-3 inch lift
step 2 set of muddies
step 3 lockers

the extra lift will give you better articulation and keep them wheels on the ground longer, the only time muddies will give you a substantial advantage over the suspension travel is in the mud, so i would be doing the lift first
 

V8 4runner

New Member
lift ad tyres should always be first, depending on your driving you can start off with a set of tyres to match your current ride hieght and as time goes by, get your lift, the down side to this is, your tyres will need up grading soon. if it was me id go

step one 2-3 inch lift
step 2 set of muddies
step 3 lockers

the extra lift will give you better articulation and keep them wheels on the ground longer, the only time muddies will give you a substantial advantage over the suspension travel is in the mud, so i would be doing the lift first

BINGO !

tyres are no good to you if you dont have the clearance when under full lock And full articulation... therefore Lift is First., then get the bigger Muddies.
Lockers should come way after the lift and tyres... lockers are absolutely useless if you dont have traction., yes the wheels will turn, but if you got no grip, you dont move.

and get yourself a winch too....

cheers
 

Grey Ghost

5th Annual Victorian Gathering member
Get a hand winch so that unlike everyone else with one, you are only pulling yourself out of a bog hole and not every other twit who goes where fools fear to tread. Also they can be used from off angles and at both ends of the rig if needed.
And if the twit still wants to borrow it, it wil give you a chance to perfect your organizational skills as he does all the hard work LOL.
 

croozza

Active Member
lift ad tyres should always be first, depending on your driving you can start off with a set of tyres to match your current ride hieght and as time goes by, get your lift, the down side to this is, your tyres will need up grading soon. if it was me id go

step one 2-3 inch lift
step 2 set of muddies
step 3 lockers

the extra lift will give you better articulation and keep them wheels on the ground longer, the only time muddies will give you a substantial advantage over the suspension travel is in the mud, so i would be doing the lift first

Contray to popular belief, a lift will give you better articulation, the answer is no it will not, Not without major mods. All the best name brands on the market (EFS, Old Man Emu, XGS) do not offer this, yes the shocks are longer and stronger but the design of the vehicle will always limit the amount of articulation, if you look at a vehicle with std gear and give it full articulation, measure it and then do the same with a lifted vehicle, the actual distance the shock travels is the same. It is just an optical illusion that fools you into believing that there is more travel.
 

V8 4runner

New Member
Contray to popular belief, a lift will give you better articulation, the answer is no it will not, Not without major mods. All the best name brands on the market (EFS, Old Man Emu, XGS) do not offer this, yes the shocks are longer and stronger but the design of the vehicle will always limit the amount of articulation, if you look at a vehicle with std gear and give it full articulation, measure it and then do the same with a lifted vehicle, the actual distance the shock travels is the same. It is just an optical illusion that fools you into believing that there is more travel.

thats why when purchasing and installing a lift kit, it involves springs AND shocks.
the longest springs in the world will do bugger all as the shock will determine how far the wheel drops down, and goes up in the gaurd

and for those with IFS..
dont bother winding the torsion bars up all the way... you will get the height, but will have no down travel, which means lifting wheels, and you will be stuck

cheers
 

stets

New Member
Contray to popular belief, a lift will give you better articulation, the answer is no it will not, Not without major mods. All the best name brands on the market (EFS, Old Man Emu, XGS) do not offer this, yes the shocks are longer and stronger but the design of the vehicle will always limit the amount of articulation, if you look at a vehicle with std gear and give it full articulation, measure it and then do the same with a lifted vehicle, the actual distance the shock travels is the same. It is just an optical illusion that fools you into believing that there is more travel.


mate i hate to say it but there arent major mods needed at all. longer springs and shocks will give you better articulation from standard as the standard shocks are what limits down travel from factory, by adding a small lift, with shocks to suit, you will gain a bit in wheel travel on the down stroke, and with the way the axle pivots on a solid axle vehicle like your jeep, you will gain a little bit of up travel on the opposite end.

if you want to further increase your articulation, simply install stabiler disconnects, or longer stabiliser connecting rods. this will allow the shock to extend to its full capablility but be warned that hard driving may cause the shocks to over extend destroying the shock (not common but possible)

your wrangler isnt a bad flexing rig from the factory as is, and a small lift and bigger tyres will help a fair bit.

the lift will not only allow better articulation, it will improve your approach and departure angles and your ramp over too. this combined with your live axle swb jeep, you should be keeping up with your mates no worries


as stated though certain vehicles with 3 link front ends, like patrols and cruisers and ifs vehicles and even your jeep, will reach its flex limitations very quickly by vehicle design, and more substantial mods will be neccessary, that said you will notice quite a substantial difference in your jeep
 
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croozza

Active Member
mate i hate to say it but there arent major mods needed at all. longer springs and shocks will give you better articulation from standard as the standard shocks are what limits down travel from factory, by adding a small lift, with shocks to suit, you will gain a bit in wheel travel on the down stroke, and with the way the axle pivots on a solid axle vehicle like your jeep, you will gain a little bit of up travel on the opposite end.

if you want to further increase your articulation, simply install stabiler disconnects, or longer stabiliser connecting rods. this will allow the shock to extend to its full capablility but be warned that hard driving may cause the shocks to over extend destroying the shock (not common but possible)

your wrangler isnt a bad flexing rig from the factory as is, and a small lift and bigger tyres will help a fair bit.

the lift will not only allow better articulation, it will improve your approach and departure angles and your ramp over too. this combined with your live axle swb jeep, you should be keeping up with your mates no worries


as stated though certain vehicles with 3 link front ends, like patrols and cruisers and ifs vehicles and even your jeep, will reach its flex limitations very quickly by vehicle design, and more substantial mods will be neccessary, that said you will notice quite a substantial difference in your jeep

Can I pass this information on to all the suspension manufacturers as I beleive this needs to be settled by them, I have quoted what they all say.
 

stets

New Member
Can I pass this information on to all the suspension manufacturers as I beleive this needs to be settled by them, I have quoted what they all say.

if it suits your prupose go for it

good example

my mate has a jeep rubicon 4 door

by simply lifting the vehicle using an ome 50mm (i think, around 2 inches anyway) kit fitted himself, he has increased his appoach angle by 7 percent, his departure angle around 10 percent and his ramp over a bit too, we didnt know how to work out the percent.

using a 45 degree angle ramp he was able to get a further 17 inches up the ramp after fitting the suspension lift, his vehicle remained more level and felt more stable too.

the vehicle comes standard with sway bar disconnects on the front and the suspension kit used panhard rod drop brackets. he has not changed tyres at all yet, and he easily out flexs a patrol being a 5 link front and rear

another good example

my gq patrol

standard shocks were not allowing full droop on the rear end and the stabiliser release was not even needing to be disengaged and it still was not pulling tight.

after fitting a tough dog 50mm lift coils and foam cell shocks to suit my rear end flexs to the point that my sway bar is drawn tight when the sway bar disconnect is released. gaining around 3 inches extra droop on the drivers side but i only got around an inch further on the passenger side as the sway bar connector rod is limiting droop.

when removing the sway bars all together, my shocks have allowed the rear end to droop 4 inches over standard on both sides, they do rub a bit on the inside of the rear guards and extended bump stops will be needed in the future to limit this, but i would not consider them a "major mod"
 

NIBS

New Member
kids or wife

Are you goin solo or with kids wife etc. Please go with someone. This is not a silly question i just have some ideas. But never forget the fridge. Let me know.
CHEERS NIBS:)
 

croozza

Active Member
if it suits your prupose go for it

good example

my mate has a jeep rubicon 4 door

by simply lifting the vehicle using an ome 50mm (i think, around 2 inches anyway) kit fitted himself, he has increased his appoach angle by 7 percent, his departure angle around 10 percent and his ramp over a bit too, we didnt know how to work out the percent.

using a 45 degree angle ramp he was able to get a further 17 inches up the ramp after fitting the suspension lift, his vehicle remained more level and felt more stable too.

the vehicle comes standard with sway bar disconnects on the front and the suspension kit used panhard rod drop brackets. he has not changed tyres at all yet, and he easily out flexs a patrol being a 5 link front and rear

another good example

my gq patrol

standard shocks were not allowing full droop on the rear end and the stabiliser release was not even needing to be disengaged and it still was not pulling tight.

after fitting a tough dog 50mm lift coils and foam cell shocks to suit my rear end flexs to the point that my sway bar is drawn tight when the sway bar disconnect is released. gaining around 3 inches extra droop on the drivers side but i only got around an inch further on the passenger side as the sway bar connector rod is limiting droop.

when removing the sway bars all together, my shocks have allowed the rear end to droop 4 inches over standard on both sides, they do rub a bit on the inside of the rear guards and extended bump stops will be needed in the future to limit this, but i would not consider them a "major mod"

So you have never watched 4wdtv then. they did a story on this and prooved that you donot get extra articulation with just changing the springs and shocks.
You need to change drop links, panhard rods, control arms (top and bottom), get special bushes that can cope with extra movement, this is for both front and rear. so this is classed as major mods. plus you need to see you insurance company to make sure they will let you.
 

stets

New Member
So you have never watched 4wdtv then. they did a story on this and prooved that you donot get extra articulation with just changing the springs and shocks.
You need to change drop links, panhard rods, control arms (top and bottom), get special bushes that can cope with extra movement, this is for both front and rear. so this is classed as major mods. plus you need to see you insurance company to make sure they will let you.

no i dont watch 4wdtv, being in country wa we dont get it here.

as for the "major mods" many kits come with these items when you go bigger than 2 inches anyway

there are many things needed for big lifts, and yes you are right that in most cases bushes, drop links control arms etc all hinder your vehicle at some point. but there is a tolerance of give. bushes will flex more as age creeps in too.

we are not talking huge differences, but small differences can mean the world off road at times.



an extra 4 inches of droop in reality is probably more like only 3 but do to the pivot angles of the axles it is more
if i changed my panhard arm, i would probably get a bit more or if i did other mods too. but for the sake of just springs and shocks i have exceeded the standard flex on my vehicle.

the jeep i mentioned above, came as a full kit, so it had panhard arm drops and a few other things to suit, but they arent mojor in anyway
 

croozza

Active Member
In terms of insurance, it is illegal to go more than 2 inch suspension, so most manufacturers donot supply these items as a full kit (you probably get it for the jeep as the kit would have been brought in from the states, and anything goes over there, but we have rules and standards to follow here, if you were to have a crash and the insurance assessor knows what he is doing he can wipe your claim because your vehicle doesnot follow these standards anymore, hence the good manufacturers donot supply these parts in a kit because it could come back to bite them. (being sued by the vehicle owner because they sold him the kit) this is why in most cases you have to buy these parts separitely as the owner has to get these put on themselves.
Now getting back to what we were discussing earlier, before you lift your vehicle measure the down stroke of your shock travel, then put the lift in and do the same again minus what lift you put in and the measurement will be the same. Hence no real gain in wheel articulation.
 
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