Wheeling an Unlimited Rubicon JK is a different experience.  Simply put it is looooong!  What the Unlimited needs most is center clearance and the only way to achieve it is to lift the suspension to a reasonable height, combined with a decent size tire.  With the 4 inches of lift already provided by the Skyjacker (www.skyjacker.com) long arm system, 37-inch tires worked well but the JK still hanging up on the big obstacles because of a poor break over angle.  We figured that a couple more inches couldn’t hurt, as the JK is already incredibly stable and the long arms could easily accommodate some extra height. 

Our first consideration was to change the four inch coils out in favor of six inch coils. However, the easy solution was to contact Daystar (www.daystarweb.com)  about their 1.75 inch spring spacers that would get us nearly two additional inches of lift and keep our existing ride quality.  The price was right too with the spacers running about 1/3rd of the cost of new coils all the way around.  We also chose to run longer bump stop snubbers in the front but cut them down however, making it about 1 inch longer than factory.  The installation was nothing more than lowering the front and rear axles, removing the springs, sliding on a spacer at the top of each spring and that’s it.  A forty-five minute job at most.  Make sure you address pinion angles and front axle caster anytime you increase or decrease your suspension height.

The new front setup includes Daystar spacers, longer Skyjacker shocks, new bumpstops and stainless steel brake lines.	The Skyjacker Hydro 7000 shocks work well and provide a surprisingly smooth ride.

After gaining our extra height, new, longer shocks were in order.  Not only did we want to make up for the new ride height, we also wanted to get more travel than we previously had.  After measuring, it was determined that we could use thirteen inch travel shocks.  We had been running a nice “Nitro Gas” shock but were never content with the overall performance on highway so Skyjacker was contacted to provide us with their basic Hydro 7000’s, to see if they might improve our on road feel.  Surprisingly, these simple and inexpensive shocks decreased body roll, rode very smoothly and improved almost every aspect of daily driving.  The downside is that they tend to fade quickly on rough dirt roads at speed but nothing that totally killed performance.  We also completely destroyed the upper poly urethane stem bushings on our first trail with them installed.  They may have been under or over tightened but we’ll never know.

The upper urethane bushings deteriorated quickly.	The front track bar brace is completely bolt on, is very solid and only required drilling one hole in the lower spring perch to install.

Now with the added height and about three more inches of down travel, our factory rubber brake lines were screaming in agony.  We ordered and installed a set of the Teraflex (www.teraflexbiz.com) stainless steel braided brake lines to save us from any brakeless trail drama in the future.

Last but not least, there was that trail fix that was still nagging at us, just waiting to break again.  Most JK owners who use their Jeep in the rocks know how easy it is to completely break off the front or rear track bar mounts without proper attention, especially if you’ve used a relocation bracket.  Skyjacker makes a very stout rear brace and allows you to retain the factory track bar but used to leave the front completely unaddressed with their kits.  At one point, we were left to weld the front factory mount back on after it tore off but never reinforced the area.  Look no further as Skyjacker now has a front brace to match the rear and it has held up great. They even sell the brace as a separate kit and include brackets for both the Dana 30 and Dana 44 front ends.  The down side is that you will not be able to use some aftermarket diff covers without some modification to the brace.  Never the less, both front and rear braces have been a great addition to this project.  Note:  We’ve chosen to keep the factory track bars, as they are very well made and much stronger than most people realize.

These small improvements to the JK have given us more confidence and ability in several ways.  With just a slight increase in suspension height from Daystar, we have been surprised how much of a difference it has made in the boulder fields.  With our new found wheel travel, we rarely lift a tire and with the extra strength provided by the Skyjacker track bar braces, we don’t have to worry about sheering these factory pieces off the axles any more.

Before our Jeep JK utilized a Skyjacker 4-inch long arm system and 37's.	With the Daystar spacers in place, our long JK has now gained much needed clearance and is more capable on the trail.

Stay tuned for a full story on the latest and greatest Procomp wheels and tires (www.procomptires.com) .  You won’t want to miss this complete review.