which lift kit to use?

[jeepnpr]

Hi guys & gals, I just got my JK last week and already looking into lift kits. this is driving me nuts as with my CJ you swapped some springs, shocks a few other bits and BAM it was in the air and big rubber underneath. Now the JK's have brackets, long arms, radius arms, coils springs etc etc and trying to decide on the right kit will make you nuts.
So, my questions is this...
What seems to be the kits most people use Nth degree, Rubicon Express, Skyjacker, Trailmaster etc and which seems to work best.
I eventually would like at least 3.5 or 4.5 inch lift, looking to run 35" or 37" tires. also will those tire be ok with the 3.73 gearing or will it just suck the life out of the 3.8. On my CJ I ran 33's with 4.10 gears.
Thanks in advance for any info.
BTW I have an Unlimited X, 6 sp with 3.73 gears

[Jeffb_79]

You could probably cram 35s under it with no lift.
If you don't plan on going larger than 35s, get a 2" budget boost and be done with it.
37s will push the limits of your axles, even if you put chromo shafts and upgraded ujoints in them.
You may want to consider re-gearing, but you can wait until after the tires are on to make that determination.

[dr.dirty]

i love my rubicon express long arm

[jeepnpr]

Thanks guys, right now I'm kinda narrowed down between the Rubicon Express or Nth Degree. I guess I'll keep looking until I decide and thanks Jeffb for the heads up on the axles and gearing. I was figuring I would have to change gears just wasn't sure if it was going to be a "do right now" kinda thing in order to run the 35's or 37's.

[dr.dirty]

Thanks guys, right now I'm kinda narrowed down between the Rubicon Express or Nth Degree. I guess I'll keep looking until I decide and thanks Jeffb for the heads up on the axles and gearing. I was figuring I would have to change gears just wasn't sure if it was going to be a "do right now" kinda thing in order to run the 35's or 37's.

there are alot of local guys that wheel the crap out of them with 35 and stock axles

i even have a buddy with a hemi in his 2008 X and no broken parts yet

gears are a must and dont get me wrong YOU WILL break the stock parts eventually but it wont happen as soon as you lift it

the RE kit is labor intensive on the install and make sure its the kit you want because there is no going back to stock

you have to cut off all the stock arm frame mounts

[SGM O]

I have a Teraflex set up on my TJ and I am very happy with it. I guess if I were to chose between Rubicon and 9th Degree I would go with 9th Degree because of AEV's involvement with them. American Expedition Vehicles has done a lot of work directly with Jeep and they have an outstanding reputation for quality and engineering excellance.

[jeepnpr]

yeah I know about AEV, been checking out thier stuff for years now. Guess that's why I was liking the Nth degree stuff since they develop & use it on thier rigs. I saw one of thier Jeeps that this guy had around here (that thing was awesome)

[Dieter]

You may also want to check out rockkrawler.com, I am running thier 5.5 long arm on my TJ and love it. I have wheeled with a few JKs that have had both the RK mid arm and long arm installed both worked great. Both AEV and RE make nice kits, I am just a RK fan.