Corporal, a 2016 Rubicon LCOG Build

ShadowsXJ

Jeep Newb
This summer I traded in a sweet 2016 Camaro SS I order to get back into a Jeep. I picked up a basically new used black 2016 JK Rubicon for a great price. Slowly a build plan wiggled it’s way into my brain... I’ve built a Jeep with 35’s and no lift, let’s take that to next level and run 37’s with no lift!

My last LCOG build used MetalCloak Overline Fenders as the base for fitting the tires. I didn’t want to do the same thing and I’ve been very interested in the Hardline flares since they came out. I also wanted to keep the Jeep as light as possible and the Hardlines are available in Aluminum! This was a major driver in my design choices moving forward and I think has really paid off. Black and Silver would be my color scheme, using raw or polished aluminum where possible.

After getting the design fundamentals sorted out I began thinking about making it work. 37’s on stock suspension, yeah, it’s been done, but I wanted to make sure it worked and worked well. I knew I’d need to limit uptravel, even with the Hardline flares a 37” tire will run pretty easily when articulating. Bumpstop’s then, preferably adjustable so I could dial them in. Having used MetalCloaks Front and Rear bumpstops before I knew that’s what I wanted. After some experimenting I found that 1” in the front and 3” in the rear worked out perfectly!

With the uptravel under control, I worked on maximizing downtravel. For this I decided to use the MetalCloak Front and Rear shock relocation brackets in order to eek out a little bit more travel from the stock shocks. This also meant I needed to be prepared for the coils unseating and I did want just a bit more clearance. To solve this I decided to add 1/2” Teraflex front spacers and 1” Teraflex Rear spacer with retention. In order to prevent dropping a coil I also installed rear MetalCloak coil retainers and front Teraflex coil retainer brackets. This setup allows the coils to completely unseat without actually coming off the axle which prevents stretching the coils.

I recently won a full set of Rocksport Shocks at a charity fundraiser event put in by a local Jeep club. I’ve been working on installing them. Afterncarefully measuring the compressed lengths I knew I needed to go to 2” bumpstop in the front, but the Rear was fine at 3” as long as I used the stock shock mounts. Thankfully I hadn’t cut them off yet!

Waiting to make use of an RTI ramp to see where things are now.

Other elements added:

-Rough Country Hybrid Stubby front bumper
-MetalCloak Crawler Rear Bumper
-MetalCloak SportGate tire carrier
-Custom Front stinger
-9,000 lbs Badlands winch
-Milestar Patagonia M/T 37 R17 12.50 tires
-MetalCloak Universal Aluminum Rocker Exoskin
-Teraflex Brakeline Anchors

Next plans: replace all stock arms with MetalCloak arms.
 
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