In November 2009 I purchased my Jeep. It is a 2003 Jeep Wrangler Sahara. It was completely bone stock when I bought it and the dealer had said that one of their techs used to own it so it was in very good condition.
The image on the right is when it was bone stock with the exception of the KC Day Lighters I mounted to the windshield.
One of the first modifications I did was to add on-board air to my rig. I choose to add the ARB High Output On-board Air Compressor. This is useful more often than you would think. I have used it to fill up a flat tire to get to the tire store to be repaired and of course for airing up after running a trail.
Once I get lockers I plan to use this to run them as well. This will fill my 35" MTR's from 12 PSI to 30 PSI in just over two minutes.
I was originally thinking go big or go home, so I was going to put a huge lift on my rig, but was talked into a Low Center of Gravity (LCG) build.
I decided to start with some hi-line fenders. I went with the MetalCloak Arched Tube Fenders with 6" flares in the front and the full rear corners with 6" flares in the rear.
A college student at the time, I couldn't do everything at once. I may have been able to fit 35" tires without a lift, but I couldn't afford the tires right away. As a result I had to wheel for about six months on my stock wheels and tires with no lift.
Since I had no lift installed and didn't want to waste any money on quick disconnects for my front sway-bar, I removed them and taped the swaybar end links to my bumper. Wasn't the most stylish thing ever, but it was functional.
I could finally afford some wheels and tires for my rig. I heard great things about the Goodyear Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar tires so I decided to go for them.
I was still bone stock at this point running 3.73 gears with no lift. The gearing certainly was not optimal with the new tire size, but it's not too bad (keep in mind I have a 5 speed). I was able to do almost all the obstacles that people I was wheeling with were doing, but there was certainly something to be desired.
This kit was relatively new when I was looking for lifts, so there were not a lot of reviews out there. I knew I wanted the articulation of a long arm, but wanted to keep a low center of gravity. I looked around for months when finally I found a kit by Rough Country.
I purchased the Rough Country 2.5" Long Arm Lift Kit. It was a reasonable price and was exactly what I was looking for. There were a lot of different opinions on this company on my favorite Forum, JeepForum, but decided I was somewhat out of options and it would probably pay off.
I am not going to lie, installing this thing was the single hardest thing I have done to a vehicle. With the help of a couple of friends and some awesome tools we were able to put the thing on in a weekend.
It sat exactly where I wanted it to sit, and the ride is great.
I am a Security Engineer specializing in Identity and Access Management and Federated Identity Management with a passion for programming and all things tech related (and other things not).
