To level my 2015 JKU 4 door Sahara, it will need a 1.25 spacer. It will get rid of the slight rake, but doesn't allow a wider tire. Therefore, is it really sensible to do it? My stock wheels are 18 x 7.5 and tires are the stock Bridgestone P255/70/18. I don't want new wheels, but I want a wider tire. What can I do or what do you guys suggest?
Generally speaking just adding any lift won't allow for wider tires unless you're talking about a 4" lift with really wide 33"s. So no it isn't a waste but you'll want to do something about your wheel back spacing. There's three options widely used, new wheels, wheel spacers (spidertrax is a popular brand), and adding washers to your steering stop.
From reading you original post I would say do it if you plan to install it yourself then do some research on wheel spacers. I've never used them on a JK so I don't have any input on wheel spacers other than what I've read on here. I do however have coil spring spacers and I like them. Really simple and cheap, they allowed me to buy the 33s I wanted when I needed tires but couldn't afford a lift yet.
One thing about leveling that noone hardly ever mentions and I had to learn the hard way when I leveled my F-150 FX-4 Off Road as part of a lift is what happens to a leveled vehicle when you tow or carry heavy-ish stuff in the back... BTW, know that you that you CAN level (or not) as part of any size lift or just level without adding lift in the rear if you want...
If you never tow or carry any payload, then the choice is easy... If you like the look of level vs raked, then level it.
The kicker: If you DO tow AND/OR plan to carry anything in the back weighing more than about a couple of hundred pounds and you level your Jeep, you must keep in mind that the minute you put anything or hang anything off the back of it with any weight at all, it will sag and look like crap going down the road.....
If the sag is not too bad and you remain within your weight limits, you're OK safety and performance-wise..... its just a looks issue.... To me a sagging rear end going down the road looks like pure crap. Preventing this is why OEMs build a rake into anything that could conceivably be used for towing or hauling.
For this reason, I will be raising my Jeep, but keeping the rake.
BTW, I agree that going through the trouble just to level, is a waste of time and money. I would do at least a 2.5" lift and either level or not depending on your intentions for hauling....... 2.5" is not so big that it will look ridiculous with your current stock wheels and tires and will allow you to fit up to 35s later on with the right spacers or new wheels. My point is, with a 2.5" lift you will have many more options for roughly the same spend.
I'm running a 285/70r17 (about 32.5"x11"-ish). I used Spidertrax 1.5" spacers since there was slight rubbing at full turn.
For leveling, if you like the ride and don't want to replace the coils just yet (my thoughts were for $150 I'll use up the original coils first, then upgrade at around 60K-70K miles, depending on how it's still riding), I went with the Teraflex 1.5" leveling kit. It brings the front up 2" and the back up 1" with spacers. Had a friend with a lift and didn't even need to remove the wheels to install.
To level my 2015 JKU 4 door Sahara, it will need a 1.25 spacer.My stock wheels are 18 x 7.5 and tires are the stock Bridgestone P255/70/18. I don't want new wheels, but I want a wider tire.
If you want to maintain the diameter of your tires and the rake then don't get a leveling kit. The 1.5" rim spacers will adjust the backspacing so that your wider tires (32x12.5) don't rub.
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