New 05 Liberty Sport 4x4 with money to burn...

[PoppyMcShotgun]

Hey all,

First time KJ Country poster here, looking to get some opinions from veteran KJ owners...

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I've just got stock everything, but it handled the beaches and dunes of Iceland just fine... There were some things that I would have LIKED to have done while I was there, but the stock Jeep couldn't do it...

Now I am in Alabama, and I'm looking to get my Jeep decked out. I've saved a couple grand to "invest" back into it. I'm going to be doing the typical Jeep things, as seen in most of the pictures here on this site. I'd like to be set up with something that can handle a lot.

Here's what I'm looking at so far:
-Rusty's 2.5" Suspension Kit
-31x10.5r15 Truxus MT's

Feedback on those would be great.

Also:
-I'd like someone to suggest a decent wheel
-I would like a grill guard, not TOO expensive...
-Possibly some extra lights on the top/front.

Nice to meet you all! Work your magic!

 

[jfortier777]

A fantastic first post and let me say that we welcome you to jeepkj with open arms and soon to be equally empty wallets.

As far as wheels go. There is only one MFG that makes a 15" rim that will fit the Lib. No other 15" fits(that we have found yet).

The ones that fit are "Rock Krawler" rims(someone chime in with a link or something, I dont have one)

If you decide to stick with a 16" rim, many of us have picked up the 16"X8" Cragar soft8 series wheels, with 5" backspacing, they look great and fit just as great.
Cragar Soft 8 397 series

I would deffinetly say go with the 15" wheels if you can because obviously the tires will be waaaay cheaper than metric equivalent, which regrettably many of us run.

I have heard good things about the rusty's lift. Theres tons of threads about it on here. I can't vouche for it since I am running on the "frankenlift". Which is pretty nice too.

The ARB is the ultimate in front end protection, but if you want something equally as tough but without a winch mount than I would aim you toward the Rock Lizard front bumper which should be out sometime this year I think. You can read all about it in the lost forums. (www.lostkjs.com)

If all you really want is a brushguard then I cant recommend anything, since my only experience is with my ARB.

There are lots of guys on here who have really awsome light setups, unfortunately I am not one of those guys..yet. (4 Hella 500s on the way)

I might also advise you to read up on proper ball joint maintenance. They are cursed, straight from the factory.
HOW TO: Check your balljoints

Thats all from me.

 

[PoppyMcShotgun]

Thanks for the info on the ball joints... I'll definitely have a look.

I did a search, and came up with these: Rock Crawlers. Are they the same thing you are talking about?

I would be getting the 15X8 Rock Crawlers, correct? Those will fit with the Truxus tires I specified, and on my 2.5" lifted Liberty?

From what I've read from a lot of forums is that you shouldn't lift a Liberty higher then 2.5" unless you want problems down the road. Is that why most lift's only take the Liberty to 2.5? Also, unless I'm mistaken, the stock tires on my Liberty are in the vacinity of 29"? So with a 2.5" lift, and 31" tires, I'm looking at clearing about 3.5" more off of the ground then stock?

Also, I'm kind of mad... No one seems to make any Grille Guards that look bad ass on an 05+ Liberty. I know they changed the front of the liberty and the fog light locations, but that's still no excuse why there isn't a guard out there that looks as good as this one: Westin Guard 02-04. In my opinion, that is the best looking guard for the Liberty. I like the ARB, but at about $1000, I don't know how well that will fly with the wife...

One more question... I want to know where I can get renegade wheel fenders... Those riveted flares look absolutely amazing... I tried looking but couldn't find anyone that sold them... Does anyone sell them? Or will I have to find a totalled Renegade and hope thier fenders are still in tact!?

Thanks again!

 

[Cableguy]

From what I've read from a lot of forums is that you shouldn't lift a Liberty higher then 2.5" unless you want problems down the road. Is that why most lift's only take the Liberty to 2.5?

Lifts over 2.5 tend to bind the front CV joints, which is why most kits don't go over that height.


A note on tires:
If your not dead-set on a brand, you may want to consider BFGoodrich/Bridgestone. Both the Revo's and the TA/KO's have been very popular around here, and they're a good all around tire. Not to mention they beat the crap out of the stockers!

Revos
TA/KO's

 

[jfortier777]

I did a search, and came up with these: Rock Crawlers. Are they the same thing you are talking about?

I would be getting the 15X8 Rock Crawlers, correct? Those will fit with the Truxus tires I specified, and on my 2.5" lifted Liberty?
Thanks again!

Yep, pretty sure those are the ones. I dont have them so I cant say 100% But I seem to recall the name US steel.

And yes the tire wheel lift combo is perfect. ( I say so since its pretty much the same setup as mine but with diff brands)

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[PoppyMcShotgun]

Awesome input so far guys, thanks.

I've still got these questions that I'm looking for the answers to:

I'm kind of mad... No one seems to make any Grille Guards that look bad ass on an 05+ Liberty. I know they changed the front of the liberty and the fog light locations, but that's still no excuse why there isn't a guard out there that looks as good as this one: Westin Guard 02-04. In my opinion, that is the best looking guard for the Liberty. I like the ARB, but at about $1000, I don't know how well that will fly with the wife...

One more question... I want to know where I can get renegade wheel fenders... Those riveted flares look absolutely amazing... I tried looking but couldn't find anyone that sold them... Does anyone sell them? Or will I have to find a totalled Renegade and hope thier fenders are still in tact!?

Also, check THIS out... That's basically what my Liberty would look like (except mine is blue)... No, I'm not trying to copy that guy... I actually chose the tires/wheels/lift kit BEFORE I saw that picture... I think it'll look pretty nice!

 

[PoppyMcShotgun]

Bump...

 

[jfortier777]

Bump...

Hmmmm....


The Renegade fenders are not sold by 3rd party companies.

They are a mopar item and the only place to get them is a dealership (or any place mopar items are sold) or a liberty that has been stripped naked.

www.jparts.com

Check that site for them, I'm pretty sure they arent on there. So when you DONT find them email them and ask if they can special order them and get you a price.


(bump)

 

[Mutt]

Yes, the RockCrawler link you posted from DesertRat is the 15" wheel I use on my rig. I got five wheels, tires, lugs, mount, balance, shipping, and caps for $1057.

If you go with the 31"x10.50 you may want to reconcider the Rusty's lift. The Frankenlift will give you more total lift for more tire clearance. The Frankenlift totals about 3.5" of lift, although I ended up with closer to 4.5" with the OME 927 HD front springs and adding a 1/2" packer in the rear.

The ARB bumper shouldn't be anywhere near a grand. I'm not sure about the 05+, but for my '04 it's $680.

Oh yeah, I hooked JMDJessie up with my wheel setup because he liked how mine looked! =D>

 

[jfortier777]

Yes, the RockCrawler link you posted from DesertRat is the 15" wheel I use on my rig. I got five wheels, tires, lugs, mount, balance, shipping, and caps for $1057.

If you go with the 31"x10.50 you may want to reconcider the Rusty's lift. The Frankenlift will give you more total lift for more tire clearance. The Frankenlift totals about 3.5" of lift, although I ended up with closer to 4.5" with the OME 927 HD front springs and adding a 1/2" packer in the rear.

The ARB bumper shouldn't be anywhere near a grand. I'm not sure about the 05+, but for my '04 it's $680.

Oh yeah, I hooked JMDJessie up with my wheel setup because he liked how mine looked! =D>

05-06 ARBs run 100-150$ higher base price because of different design.

Many sites list them for $900-$1000 not counting the shipping.