As many of you know I have one of the few ever made Nth Degree Mobility lift kits for the JK. Also many of you know that Nth has been purchased by AEV Conversions (http://www.aev-conversions.com/) and Nth Degree Mobility sadly no longer exists. But as some of you do not know part of my deal with Nth stemmed from me be local to them and for me to do the field testing for the final finished and production part. Well needless to say the parts never made it into production at least as an Nth product and it is unknown when AEV will produce the final production version of the JK lift kit. And unfortunately I have some issues I need to address with my lift kit to make it work the way I want to.

Well I'm happy to say I have done some shopping and made contact with two companies that I felt suited my needs. I have since boiled it down to one company to help me address my issue of fixing what I've broken and getting my lift up to a production standard and not that of a test, one-of or failing status.

So I have contacted Poly Performance (http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/home.php) and have ordered my first part of my soon to be hybrid lift kit.

The first step will be to replace my front (http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/product.php?productid=16404&cat=710&page=1)and rear (http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/product.php?productid=16405&cat=710&page=1) springs that are linear rate and not designed for the load my JK carries as a little bit of an underestimate (about 1,000 lbs) by Nth at the initial design.

The next step will be the replacement of the TJ/RE shocks in back that were too short for the lifted JK and have failed due to the length issues as well as the overloading because the springs were not right. The shocks I have elected to go with are the Fox remote reservoir shocks similar to these (http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/product.php?productid=641&cat=34&page=1) that are A) adjustable and B) rebuildable. You generally speaking don't need remote reservoir shocks for the everyday off road and rock crawling but the remote reservoir unit is the unit that is rebuildable and adjustable. :)

I will also be replacing my Nth front track bar mount that was a victim of too much fun in Moab somewhere on this trail.

http://www.mjw.com/jeep/moab-05-07/moab-05-07-37.jpg

This unit appears (http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/product.php?productid=16402&cat=710&page=1) to be very similar in design and function but with an added support.

I also figured while I'm there I will upgrade my tie rod (http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/product.php?productid=16403&cat=710&page=1) (mmm Chromoly :grinpimp:) and drag linkage (http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/product.php?productid=16410&cat=710&page=1) to boot.

After that I'll look into some control arms. Then the only thing left that will be Nth will be my stinger and rear diff slider. Now don't get me wrong, I still love my Nth kit and would like to have an all Jim design but AEV doesn't know when they will release the production kit and I'm looking to continue to wheel my JK. Maybe in the end it will be a more Poly Performance kit than an Nth kit, but I'll also have the first hand knowledge of which one works best and which one is up to the challenge.

Well there you have it, that's my plans. Now what else can I break? :mr-t:

Here "Michael",,..new sticker for your "Hybrid Rubi";)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/nam676869/frankenstein.jpg

http://www.mjw.com/jeep/moab-05-07/moab-05-07-37.jpg


Glad to see our parts are going out to somebody willing to abuse them.

:beer:

Glad to see our parts are going out to somebody willing to abuse them.:beer:
You bet. Happy to oblige!

Give me a call if you have any questions.

Not to bag on Nth but I was a judge at the Jk shootout for 4 wheel and offroad magazine. Each manufacturer was a judge as well as 8 or 9 individuals. IMO and from talking with some of the other judges, the suspension kits that fared the best were the ones with more stock suspension geometry, Nth and Rockkrawler were the only ones that had something different and were not favorites. I think the biggest difference among suspension kits was the shock tuning.

This unit appears (http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/product.php?productid=16402&cat=710&page=1) to be very similar in design and function but with an added support.

I also figured while I'm there I will upgrade my tie rod (http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/product.php?productid=16403&cat=710&page=1) (mmm Chromoly :grinpimp:) and drag linkage (http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/product.php?productid=16410&cat=710&page=1) to boot.I'm also going to be installing the Poly track bar bracket, as I want to install their high steer drag link.

I already have a spare tie rod (cost - $48), so I'm going to wait until i break one or two before changing that. But the high steer drag link is a must for me.

Poly Performance definitely know their stuff and their products look some of the better thought out ones out there.

Phil, don't forget the reamer for the knuckle over.

Plus you get to rotate your steering stabilizer out of the way!:bounce:

My drag link has been through a few trials and tribulations. Looking forward to some beef.:mr-t:

I don't think there are any updated pics on our website but this is the current version of that front track bar bracket, I added a hole to mount the steering stabilizer to it, you just rotate it 90 deg to the top of the tie rod and bolt it to the bracket.

We will also have a bracket to relocate the steering stabilizer like this on any lifted JK without a track bar relocation bracket, it just bolts-on under the track bar bolt and the two holes next to it. You do not need to flip the tie rod or anything else, you just need a minimum 1 3/4 front bump stop spacer so the steering stabilizer does not hit the frame under full bump.

you just need a minimum 1 3/4 front bump stop spacer so the steering stabilizer does not hit the frame under full bump.I am using a Napa stock replacement for a 06 TJ. It comes with a small bar extension to keep the shock off the frame. Works great out of the box without modification (after I drilled my hole in the track bar mount) plus it's much bigger than the stock JK steering stabilizer.:bounce:

Here is a pic of that second steering stabilizer bracket I posted up. This is on an RE 3" short arm lift. This should work on any lifted JK, you just need a minium 1 3/4" front bumpstop spacer so the bracket does not hit the frame at full bump.

Plus you get to rotate your steering stabilizer out of the way!:bounce:Already done that myself. Not as neat a solution as the Poly bracket, but it works and everything clears.

http://www.jkwheeling.com/temp/stab_1.jpg

The shocks I have elected to go with are the Fox remote reservoir shocks similar to these (http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/product.php?productid=641&cat=34&page=1) that are A) adjustable and B) rebuildable. You generally speaking don't need remote reservoir shocks for the everyday off road and rock crawling but the remote reservoir unit is the unit that is rebuildable and adjustable. :)The Fox Emulsion shocks are also rebuildable. I went with some 11" travel ones, used JKS stud mounts at the front and JKS bar pin eliminators at the rear.

What is the advantage to adding a bracket for the steering stabilizer?

Poly Performance's bracket, allows you to rotate the steering stabilizer up and out of harms way.

Otherwise you could have this happen to you....

http://www.mjw.com/moabzu-05-07/moabzu-115.jpg

http://www.mjw.com/moabzu-05-07/moabzu-121.jpg

:beer:

The Fox Emulsion shocks are also rebuildable. I went with some 11" travel ones, used JKS stud mounts at the front and JKS bar pin eliminators at the rear.

Normal Fox 2.0 Emul. shocks are rebuildable, but the emulsion version of the Fox OEM replacement shock for JK's and TJ's has a welded top cap with a Bar Pin. It also has no Schrader Valve to relieve pressure, so it is not rebuildable. At least not with any tools the average joe has laying around. The remotes have a schrader on the end of the resi.

If you were to be able to depress the seal carrier enough (against 200 PSI) to remove the retaining snap ring, I wouldn't wanna be around to see you remove the carrier.

:nuke:

Poly Performance's bracket, allows you to rotate the steering stabilizer up and out of harms way.

Otherwise you could have this happen to you....

http://www.mjw.com/moabzu-05-07/moabzu-115.jpg

http://www.mjw.com/moabzu-05-07/moabzu-121.jpg

:beer:
Aha, you've found a rock magnet.

Normal Fox 2.0 Emul. shocks are rebuildable, but the emulsion version of the Fox OEM replacement shock for JK's and TJ's has a welded top cap with a Bar Pin. It also has no Schrader Valve to relieve pressure, so it is not rebuildable. At least not with any tools the average joe has laying around.Thanks, I didn't know that. Glad I went with 2.0's now.

Normal Fox 2.0 Emul. shocks are rebuildable, but the emulsion version of the Fox OEM replacement shock for JK's and TJ's has a welded top cap with a Bar Pin. It also has no Schrader Valve to relieve pressure, so it is not rebuildable. At least not with any tools the average joe has laying around. The remotes have a schrader on the end of the resi.

If you were to be able to depress the seal carrier enough (against 200 PSI) to remove the retaining snap ring, I wouldn't wanna be around to see you remove the carrier.

:nuke:

The welded stud tops have the little basketball valve in them. You can charge and discharge them with a needle.

If they are the same as some other Fox's, Donahoes and WE snowmobile shocks there is a special needle filler for them. It is only a pain in that you need the correct filler.