Let’s face it the Jeep JK is probably one of the most modified vehicles in the industry. The usual modifications are lift kits, wheels, and tires. From there, people start to add bumpers, rock sliders, winches, and a host of other things. What most people aren’t thinking about is what all of these cool parts do to the driving characteristics of the vehicle.

The more weight you add to a vehicle, the longer it takes or further you go before you can stop the vehicle. That is stagnate weight in the body. If that weight is rotating (i.e. wheels and tires) then it is like adding 1.5 times that much weight to the vehicle. That adds up pretty quick and before you know it, the vehicle takes 200 feet or more to stop when the guy in front of you only needs 120.

When we stopped by TeraFlex, we spoke with Vinson Pratt. “The majority of Jeeps are driven daily and safety is a major concern for us. It is extremely important to upgrade the brakes someone starts to modify their JK. Stopping 30 or 40 feet shorter can be the difference of a car accident,” Pratt said.

This year, they are introducing a big break for the rear to complement their front brake kit. The Big Rotor Kit has 13.5 inch rotors and is a direct bolt on. You don’t need to change the caliper or anything that would require you to open the hydraulics. So, it is a quick and easy install.

“We strongly recommend upgrading the brakes if you have 35 inch tires or larger,” said Pratt.

While we were there at the booth, Pratt walked us over to another new product TeraFlex just came out with. They have a replacement ball joint for the Dana 30 and 40 axles. The ball joints are designed to handle the higher loads the larger wheels and tires cause.

The factory ball joints have a plastic bushing that wears out prematurely. With TeraFlex’s ball joint, the plastic wear bushing is replaced by a hard sintered bushing (Sintering is a process of joining particles together without melting the metal.) The ball joints, also, feature a threaded end for adjustable pre-load.

No matter how you look at it, upgrading your Jeep does put more stress on the components. Sometimes you have to spend a little extra to make sure you don’t get stranded or break something. TeraFlex is making sure that you can keep your rig out of the garage.