19 JL Rubicon upgrade questions/advice

I have a 19 JL Rubicon with the following mods
1. Dynatrac EnduroSport 2” lift with fox 2.0 shocks
2. 37” nitto ridge grapplers on iMac machete beadlocks
3. Factory steel bumpers
4. Steersmarts tie rod, drag link with griffin attentuator, and front track bar
5. Evo skid plates
6. Dana diff covers
7. Rockslide engineering steps with skid plate
8. Falcon steering stabilizer

I plan on also installing
1. Rear track bar
2. Adjustable control arms
3. Front/rear driveshafts
4. RCV front axle shafts
5. Chromoly rear axle shafts
6. Rugged Ridge low mount snorkel

Here are my questions
1. What adjustable control arms are preferred? I know they are not needed but like to climb rocks as a weekend warrior and would like a beefier set than stock. Was thinking Alpine from teraflex. Any reviews or other brands I should look at.
2. Which rear track bar? Once again I know it’s not needed but want something more durable than stock.
3. Definitely getting Adams driveshafts. 1310 or 1350? And why? Stock gearing in JL Rubicon. Stock locker
4. RCV front axle shafts. Fad vs 1 piece? Why?
5. Which rear chromoly axle shafts?

I would recommend Synergy control arms and track bar. Install once and adjust in place.


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Don't take this the wrong way, but do you really feel that you need that stuff now? The JL has been out for about 2 years now and I haven't really heard of too many breaks or bends with steering or suspension stuff. But if you are set on upgrading, as far as control arms, get something with Johnny Joints or the like. EVO and Core4x4 make some. I've also heard good things about Synergy and Rancho's new bushings. And I wouldn't touch anything from Teraflex or Steer Smarts. They don't have the best reputation.

Neohiofan said:

I have a 19 JL Rubicon with the following mods


Here are my questions

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1. What adjustable control arms are preferred? I know they are not needed but like to climb rocks as a weekend warrior and would like a beefier set than stock. Was thinking Alpine from teraflex. Any reviews or other brands I should look at.
EVO and Currie both use johny joints and are good quality, The Synergy arms use maintenance free joints and are also great quality. Teraflex won't get any love around here. I went with the EVO front lowers only so I could adjust my caster after going to 3.5", no complaints.

2. Which rear track bar? Once again I know it’s not needed but want something more durable than stock.
I have the EVO track bars and they are beefy but use stock type bushings, I've already gone through a set of bushings in the front in a few thousand miles. If I had it to do over I would go with the Synergy because of their bushing design, or even the Rancho which also uses dual durometer bushings.

3. Definitely getting Adams driveshafts. 1310 or 1350? And why? Stock gearing in JL Rubicon. Stock locker
1350 is stronger & heavier but will make the driveshaft alignment with the pinion more critical, my local driveline shop said they get more vibration complaints with the 1350's, they recommend 1310's unless you are seriously wheeling & rock crawling. At only 2" of lift your stock shafts will probably hold up for quite a while so long as you don't smash them into rocks, once you go to more lift the r zeppa joint boots can tear and the joint will fail. My stock shafts have survived a Rubicon trip (both ways), and 6 shorter wheeling trips through rocky creek beds.

4. RCV front axle shafts. Fad vs 1 piece? Why?
RCV also doesn't get love around here, they don't seem to warranty twisted splines and they make noise after hard use RCV claims the noise is normal. Quality chrome moly shafts with full circle u-joint clips are what is usually recommended by those in the know. They will save you about $400. FAD delete will reduce the amount of components that could fail but will result in the front end being live all of the time reducing fuel milage, makes the front axle caster adjustment more critical, and front drive shaft alignment and balance more critical because it will spin all of the time.

5. Which rear chromoly axle shafts?
I've been eyeing the Spicer chromo shafts for front and rear for myself... Nitro, Ten Factory, and Yukon seem to be brands I've seen recommended in the past

Thanks for the info. I’m not upgrading all of this now. Small upgrades at a time. Still waiting for other options to come out but great to hear opinions of others that have used certain products.

I just bought a Synergy front track bar. The quality is amazing, super solid construction, adjust in place (they use a bolt-through design instead of a jam nut), & high end replaceable no-grease bushings. Go watch the lobstaquest videos and see how hard they wail on their JL with no breaks. After I opened the box I was sold.

How's the ride with the dynatrac 2" lift? Looking at doing this lift. They say the ride is better than stock.
Thanks,
Corey

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IMO your wasting money on arms. I have 18 JLU with 37's and I crawl monthly and bang skids and arms and have not bent a thing. Plenty of marks and scrapes but nothing bent.
As long as the lift you installed included correct arms for axle angle, I wouldn't worry about it. Spend the money on good recovery gear or something.

I know...after looking at your Jeep pic, buy real rock sliders. Factory ones are mounted to body. Was one of first things I did before seriously off roading.

Cbacon said:

How's the ride with the dynatrac 2" lift? Looking at doing this lift. They say the ride is better than stock.
Thanks,
Corey

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I really like the ride. It is definitely way better than stock. No regrets. I came from a jk with a 2” Rancho lift, then a 3.5” rock krawler lift.

JL was a better ride but once I put the dynatrac lift on there is no going back. Off-roading I’ve had a ton of issues surgery, moving, work, etc I’ve only taken it off-road twice but it still did pretty well.

BlueRubicon said:

IMO your wasting money on arms. I have 18 JLU with 37's and I crawl monthly and bang skids and arms and have not bent a thing. Plenty of marks and scrapes but nothing bent.
As long as the lift you installed included correct arms for axle angle, I wouldn't worry about it. Spend the money on good recovery gear or something.

I know...after looking at your Jeep pic, buy real rock sliders. Factory ones are mounted to body. Was one of first things I did before seriously off roading.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the updates on the arms. The dynatrac 2” lift didn’t come with any arms. Still on stock arms. Not sure of axle geometry. Need to measure and see if it’s that far off.
Have plenty of recovery gear.
The pic is older from last winter. I bought rockslide engineering step/sliders with the skid plates over them. Will see how they do.

Neohiofan said:

Thanks for the updates on the arms. The dynatrac 2” lift didn’t come with any arms. Still on stock arms. Not sure of axle geometry. Need to measure and see if it’s that far off.

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If it steers ok and you're comfortable with the ride, no need to adjust. Luckily on the JL platform with the FAD (front axle disconnect), you can mess with the geometry a bunch without having any drive line vibrations. So if you're happy with the ride and steering, no need to change anything.