u/Gpage13

Took the jeep and my family (wife & 3 kids) for a fun adventure to run Bulldog Canyon east of Phoenix, Az. FYI the video clip does have som NSFW commentary from my wife, she is not an off-roader, and wasn’t comfortable doing the side obstacle hill climb so offered to record with while the rest of us conquered it. It was an awesome day and everyone had a great time. If you are from the area, we started at the Usery gate, took trail 3553 until it joined trail 10 then headed south to the Wolverine gate.

I have a Hard Rock bumper and am trying to decide between these 2. My wife is partial to the top, Pre-runner style, while I’m partial to the bottom Stinger style. I see lots of wrangler with some sore of the pre-runner/bull bar style, I don’t see a lot with the stinger style so I like that it’s different.

Which would you choose?
Also this is not my jeep, it’s the stock image from JCR Offroad

Edit:
To address some comments about these being useless, while they are bolt ons, they have brackets to tie the hoops into the frame horns. Is it a hardcore rock crawler bumper and hoop? No, but I’m not asking it to be, I just want to add some protection to the plastic grill and radiator. I live in Arizona, we have some large animals that like to cross the road, like deer, elk, bears, etc that could easily destroy grill/radiator and these hoops offer protection from these animal strikes and even a low speed tip over.

Edit 2:
I guess I should have been clearer on my intents. This is primarily an aesthetic purchase, I like how they look on the Jeep and what something different from other Jeeps in my area. I know they are not hardcore rock crawling stingers and that was not my intended use, additionally any perceived protection I mentioned was/is bonus, but again not the primary motivator of the purchase. I like my Hard Rock bumper and not going to replace it, but I also like the look of a bumper stinger so that’s where these come. If any of my replies came off as combative that wasn’t my intent, I felt they went against the purpose of the post, which was from an aesthetics perspective, so when it went off course I was getting frustrated. I’m a big enough person to admit when I was wrong. I can see that the other comments weren’t so much as trying to trash on them (well maybe some were lol), but provide info that these are not off road rock crawling armor, but i already knew that and it was frustrating that people assumed differently.

I wanted a a different exhaust note/tone vs the non-exhaust tone of the stock muffler. I really like Flowmaster mufflers, but did not like any of the kits they made, I thought they sound like crap, or were way over priced, $500 for a muffle that dumps before the rear axle!?!?! And while I like the tone of the AFE high clearance axle back, it was still $400. I bought this kit from a company called Performance Curve, they are a family shop based in Virginia and sell on eBay and their own site. I bought a kit from them before for a 94 Ford F150 and was impressed so I bought one for my JK. What really sold me was that it came with a Super 44 muffler (my all time favorite) and 2.5 mandrel bent pipes with exhaust hanger welded on and all clamps. All for $199! They have 2 other kits for the JK even cheaper! The hardest part was getting the old muffler out of the old isolators, I cut them because I was going to replace them with new OEM isolators and it was still a PITA. It might not before everyone, but I really like the tone, and from in the cabin it isn’t droning, tbh I can just barely hear it when I have the radio on, or I really get in it. (I have a soft top too)

I bought a new to me 2015 Wrangler Rubicon Hard Rock at the end of July. After getting the suspension/steering sorted how I wanted and getting the soft top sealed (it was missing the door surrounds, tailgate bar, and C-pillar mucket seals). I took the family out for an adventure to a trail/forest service rd to treat everything out. Nothing major or hardcore, just a wide forest service wash board road that drops into a sandy wash, but is did have some ruts and off camber berms so the suspension was able to flex a little. I haven’t been off roading in almost 10 years and I missed it so much, I had a smile plastered on my face the whole time, can’t wait to go out again! The scenery to and from the trail wasn’t bad either with the setting sun and the monsoon storms rolling in. Pics courtesy of my wife.

After getting the suspension/steering sorted how I wanted and getting the soft top sealed, took the family out for an adventure to a trail/forest service rd to treat everything out. Nothing major or hardcore, just a wide forest service wash board road that drops into a sandy wash, but is did have some ruts and off camber berms so the suspension was able to flex a little. I haven’t been off roading in almost 10 years and I missed it so much, I had a smile plastered on my face the whole time, can’t wait to go out again! The scenery to and from the trail wasn’t bad either with the setting sun and the monsoon storms rolling in. Pics courtesy of my wife.

After getting the suspension/steering sorted how I wanted and getting the soft top sealed, took the family out for an adventure to a trail/forest service rd to treat everything out. Nothing major or hardcore, just a wide forest service wash board road that drops into a sandy wash, but is did have some ruts and off camber berms so the suspension was able to flex a little. I haven’t been off roading in almost 10 years and I missed it so much, I had a smile plastered on my face the whole time, can’t wait to go out again! The scenery to and from the trail wasn’t bad either with the setting sun and the monsoon storms rolling in. Pics courtesy of my wife.

After getting the suspension/steering sorted how I wanted and getting the soft top sealed, took the family out for an adventure to a trail/forest service rd to treat everything out. Nothing major or hardcore, just a wide forest service wash board road that drops into a sandy wash, but is did have some ruts and off camber berms so the suspension was able to flex a little. I haven’t been off roading in almost 10 years and I missed it so much, I had a smile plastered on my face the whole time, can’t wait to go out again! Pics courtesy of my wife.

Got a few things checked off the todo list this weekend. I installed the Falcon Nexus EF 2.2 steering stabilizer. I’ve tried out the 3 settings and have been leaving in on medium for around town driving, firm really does stiffen it up, will be useful in longer highway trips. I tried out soft on a short trip, and when they say that it lets you feel more input they are not kidding. I was feeling things through my steering that had me wondering if something was wrong, lol. While I was under the Jeep I replaced the frame side track bar bolts front and rear with 9/16 grade 8 hardware (the front lower was replaced with the mounting stud for the steering stabilizer and the rear lower was replaced with a new bolt for the Teraflex Track bar relocation bracket)

Also removed the paracord roll bar grab handles for some A-Pillar ones. The roll bar ones were annoying me as they were in my field of view and I found myself trying to look around them. Also they were not very helpful getting into the lofted Jeep. I like these a lot, they are textured, not smooth aluminum and they blend into the A-Pillar so they don’t obstruct my field of view when driving.

Got a few things checked off the todo list this weekend. I installed the Falcon Nexus EF 2.2 steering stabilizer. I’ve tried out the 3 settings and have been leaving in on medium for around town driving, firm really does stiffen it up, will be useful in longer highway trips. I tried out soft on a short trip, and when they say that it lets you feel more input they are not kidding. I was feeling things through my steering that had me wondering if something was wrong, lol. While I was under the Jeep I replaced the frame side track bar bolts front and rear with 9/16 grade 8 hardware (the front lower was replaced with the mounting stud for the steering stabilizer and the rear lower was replaced with a new bolt for the Teraflex Track bar relocation bracket)

Also removed the paracord roll bar grab handles for some A-Pillar ones. The roll bar ones were annoying me as they were in my field of view and I found myself trying to look around them. Also they were not very helpful getting into the lofted Jeep. I like these a lot, they are textured, not smooth aluminum and they blend into the A-Pillar so they don’t obstruct my field of view when driving.

Got a few things checked off the todo list this weekend. I installed the Falcon Nexus EF 2.2 steering stabilizer. I’ve tried out the 3 settings and have been leaving in on medium for around town driving, firm really does stiffen it up, will be useful in longer highway trips. I tried out soft on a short trip, and when they say that it lets you feel more input they are not kidding. I was feeling things through my steering that had me wondering if something was wrong, lol. Also removed the paracord roll bar grab handles for some A-Pillar ones. The roll bar ones were annoying me as they were in my field of view and I found myself trying to look around them. Also they were not very helpful getting into the lofted Jeep. I like these a lot, they are textured, not smooth aluminum and they blend into the A-Pillar so they don’t obstruct my field of view when driving.

More steering & suspension upgrades! Going to add the Falcon Nexus EF 2.2 steering stabilizer and while I’m under the jeep goin to replace the the from and rear track bar bolts with these upgraded 14mm from the frame side front bracket and 9/16 for the rear track bar (the Falcon steering stabilizer uses a special bolt/stud that replaced the front axle side bolt). Got this kit from Ohio Diesel Parts that includes bolts for the front and rear track bars for all JK years. $25 is some pretty cheap insurance against an issue that cause like 80% to 90% of death wobble.

When I bought my jeep it came with the oem premium soft fop, but it didn’t come with any of the ancillary parts to properly seal it. From the condition of the top and the amount of dust/dirt and sun fading of the cargo area trim I’m certain the previous own left the top off all the time, and so the door surrounds, tail gate bar, and C-pillar mucket seals were all missing. Some of the first parts I bought off eBay were a set of OEM door surrounds from a 2017 and a tail gate bar in great condition. I got these for a great price too, only $260 for both, and the cheapest aftermarket set was close to $400-$500.

It was only after the door surrounds and the tailgate bar arrived that I realized I was missing the mucket seals and had to source those. Well after 2 1/2 weeks the last mucket finally arrived today! I did a quick interiors clean since we had a few bad dust storms roll in the last few days. I cleaned and lubricated the rear window zipper with Bestop cleaner/lubricant and then went about installing the mucket seals and door surrounds. (The tailgate bar was delivered last Friday and I installed it the same day)

I love having the soft top sealed now, much more comfortable in the AZ desert, don’t have to keep the A/C on max all the time. Thankfully the AZ Monsoon was in a bit of a lull, but it looks to be picking up again and now I don’t have to worry about the rain and dust.

When I bought my jeep it came with the oem premium soft fop, but it didn’t come with any of the ancillary parts to properly seal it. From the condition of the top and the amount of dust/dirt and sun fading of the cargo area trim I’m certain the previous own left the top off all the time, and so the door surrounds, tail gate bar, and C-pillar mucket seals were all missing. Some of the first parts I bought off eBay were a set of OEM door surrounds from a 2017 and a tail gate bar in great condition. I got these for a great price too, only $260 for both, and the cheapest aftermarket set was close to $400-$500.

It was only after the door surrounds and the tailgate bar arrived that I realized I was missing the mucket seals and had to source those. Well after 2 1/2 weeks the last mucket finally arrived today! I did a quick interiors clean since we had a few bad dust storms roll in the last few days. I cleaned and lubricated the rear window zipper with Bestop cleaner/lubricant and then went about installing the mucket seals and door surrounds. (The tailgate bar was delivered last Friday and I installed it the same day)

I love having the soft top sealed now, much more comfortable in the AZ desert, don’t have to keep the A/C on max all the time. Thankfully the AZ Monsoon was in a bit of a lull, but it looks to be picking up again and now I don’t have to worry about the rain and dust.

When I bought my jeep it came with the oem premium soft fop, but it didn’t come with any of the ancillary parts to properly seal it. From the condition of the top and the amount of dust/dirt and sun fading of the cargo area trim I’m certain the previous own left the top off all the time, and so the door surrounds, tail gate bar, and C-pillar mucket seals were all missing. Some of the first parts I bought off eBay were a set of OEM door surrounds from a 2017 and a tail gate bar in great condition. I got these for a great price too, only $260 for both, and the cheapest aftermarket set was close to $400-$500.

It was only after the door surrounds and the tailgate bar arrived that I realized I was missing the mucket seals and had to source those. Well after 2 1/2 weeks the last mucket finally arrived today! I did a quick interiors clean since we had a few bad dust storms roll in the last few days. I cleaned and lubricated the rear window zipper with Bestop cleaner/lubricant and then went about installing the mucket seals and door surrounds. (The tailgate bar was delivered last Friday and I installed it the same day)

I love having the soft top sealed now, much more comfortable in the AZ desert, don’t have to keep the A/C on max all the time. Thankfully the AZ Monsoon was in a bit of a lull, but it looks to be picking up again and now I don’t have to worry about the rain and dust.

When I bought my jeep it came with the oem premium soft fop, but it didn’t come with any of the ancillary parts to properly seal it. From the condition of the top and the amount of dust/dirt and sun fading of the cargo area trim I’m certain the previous own left the top off all the time, and so the door surrounds, tail gate bar, and C-pillar mucket seals were all missing. Some of the first parts I bought off eBay were a set of OEM door surrounds from a 2017 and a tail gate bar in great condition. I got these for a great price too, only $260 for both, and the cheapest aftermarket set was close to $400-$500.

It was only after the door surrounds and the tailgate bar arrived that I realized I was missing the mucket seals and had to source those. Well after 2 1/2 weeks the last mucket finally arrived today! I did a quick interiors clean since we had a few bad dust storms roll in the last few days. I cleaned and lubricated the rear window zipper with Bestop cleaner/lubricant and then went about installing the mucket seals and door surrounds. (The tailgate bar was delivered last Friday and I installed it the same day)

I love having the soft top sealed now, much more comfortable in the AZ desert, don’t have to keep the A/C on max all the time. Thankfully the AZ Monsoon was in a bit of a lull, but it looks to be picking up again and now I don’t have to worry about the rain and dust.

I installed my Teraflex Sport LCAs for 2.5” to 3” lifts today. The process was fairly painless. Online guides suggested replacing them while the Jeep is on the ground, which is what I did, but they also suggested to use a ratchet strap to help move the axle forward to line up the bolts, which I did not do. I used a bottle jack under the LCA and a small pry bar to massage everything into place. The ratchet strap would have been easier for sure

I took it on a few short test drives and I feel that made a difference. I’ll start by saying that 90% of the time the steering and front end felt solid and good traction, but under certain situations it could feel flighty or slightly reduced traction. This was usually under hard acceleration, hitting dips in the road, or over train tracks. This wasn’t death wobble, just a moment of where the front end didn’t feel connected to the road, then a moment later it’s back to feeling solid. Well after installing these LCAs that’s all gone. I test drove on a few roads to induce these situations and was glad to see they were gone.

I have a Falcon Nexus EF 2.2 steering stabilizer that I’m going to install, but I’ll save that for next weekend. I’ll drive the jeep this week to see the improvements just the LCAs made so I can compare that to what the steering stabilizer does.

I removed the farm jack and mount from the front bumper that was on the jeep when I bought it. I knew I was going to take it off when I first saw/bought it cause I wasn’t a fan of the look, but I can’t believe how much better it looked. I would look at the front and something hmm just seemed off, now it looks so much better.

I removed the farm jack and mount from the front bumper that was on the jeep when I bought it. I knew I was going to take it off when I first saw/bought it cause I wasn’t a fan of the look, but I can’t believe how much better it looked. I would look at the front and something hmm just seemed off, now it looks so much better.

I removed the farm jack and mount from the front bumper that was on the jeep when I bought it. I knew I was going to take it off when I first saw/bought it cause I wasn’t a fan of the look, but I can’t believe how much better it looked. I would look at the front and something hmm just seemed off, now it looks so much better.

More parts are trickling in. The soft top door surrounds were delivered lat last week, and when I was getting ready to install them I realized I was also missing the c-pillar lower mucket seals, so I had to order those. Passenger side came in and is installed, drivers is supposed to be here on Monday. UPS delivered the Falcon 2.2 EF Steering Stabilizer today, I’m really excited about this upgrade.