The new rubicons have upgraded 44's front an rear already. And the rock krawler suspension comes with the steering components from what I can tell. That's one of the many reasons for the rubicon. Not to mention the lockers front and rear. Most of the 2012's I seen on the forums run 35's and 37's. 35's are on stock height fendered jeeps and 37's on 3.5" fendered jeeps. The guys that went from 3,8l models to the 3.6l models say there is a huge difference when running the bigger tires. From what I can tell the 3.6 does a better job all the way around compared to any of the previous motors.

Now if I could find a used unlimited with a blown motor for real cheap I would just swap out my Tahoe motor and Trans to the jeep and upgrade the hoe with bigger badder parts.

 

Well upon further research it seems even the rubi 44's don't like the 37's with out mods. like I said before I'm still learning. Looks like fenders and 35's would be best and save money for bumpers and a good wench. Although a small 2.5" would prolly alow for full articulation instead of extended bump stops.

Off to more reading.

 

Best advice I can give you is to try and find a modded JK to drive. I think you will be very disappointed with the performance of them. If I were you Id be looking for the highest mileage JK you could find and rip the drivetrain out of it. Throw a real motor/trans in it and have fun. Granted, my dads jeep is an 06 but the newer jeeps dont have that much more power and he only has 33s with all the normal offroad equipment. Its pitifully slow and only manages 15mpg on a good day. Jeeps just arent good for mpg and being modded. If oyu want an offroad vehicle theyre great but for what youre wanting I think youre going to be disappointed. They dont make good family vehicles, theyre loud, underpowered and small. My wife DD'ed my dads jeep while we looked for a new car for her and she hated it. She loves manual vehicles(she now drive a civic si) and likes the beefy looking vehicles but the loudness and no power was annoying.