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Rock Krawler 2.5 X-Factor Pics Video Review

94K views 332 replies 59 participants last post by  jasunto 
#1 ·
Hey Everyone!

It happened on saturday, and I'd like to thank Justin and Tyler from Rock Krawler for doing the 12 hour installation in the sweltering heat with our guys with cameras in their way. They were very good sports and the kit is fantastic.

My cousin is editing the 30 hours of tape to cut it down to something palatable for you guys. There is a lot of pics and video coming.

Thanks again to Rock Krawler for letting us bring our cameras, and thanks to tirerack.com for pulling us out of a jam with their mounting and balancing and then delivering the tires directly to Rock Krawler already with the TPMS sensors installed and working. I cant overstate how that saved this whole thing.

Buckle up! Here it comes!
 
#68 ·
Those jack stands on the blocks is a serious accident waiting to happen. The hollow portion of those blocks on the side is not strong at all. VERY DANGEROUS. That is not where the structural strength of a block is. If they were solid it would be a different story. Doesn't take more than a light tap on the side of a hollow block to break it.

<< used to be a brick/block/stone mason.
 
#70 · (Edited)
Goals

Our goal with this build was to preserve the best parts of our 12' Rubicon, MPG and power, while maximizing its offroad ability.

We took the truck to rausch creek a few weeks ago and it did perform ok through the green trails we took it on. It was a little scary at times with the cabin tipping far enough to feel like I was laying on my door. Because of the limitations of the stock suspension I felt like wheeling wasnt as fun as it could have been. Also, You think, "I dont need 35s, thats only slightly more than an inch more ground clearance. Let me tell you. i had a guy with 35s in front of me that made things that frightend me look easy.

To do this we selected the most agressive 2.5 inch lift we could find obviously the RK 2.5 X-Factor. We didnt want to go any higher than 2.5 as the Jeep has to fit in the garage and each inch you raise the Jeep will also damage your MPG as it becomes a larger body to move through the wind on the highway.

The tires and wheels selected were the lightest we could find to keep the unsprung weight to a minimum. Their final weight was 91lbs vs the stock wheel and tire that weighed in around 72lbs.

How did we do? After driving it for a few days the power is still there and The MPG hasnt suffered much, Im not through my first tank of gas yet but ill let you know as soon as I do the calculations.


This is a pic of me following Clint in front in Rausch Creek. the mountain in front has 35 Mtrs and the Sahara beind him is wearing 33'' Duratracs.

The wimpy Rubicon in the back on stock 32''s is mine. Cant wait to get back there.
 
#72 ·
don't mean to hijack but a few ??
Is this a "BOLT ON" kit?
I saw the "recommended weld on bracket" and that's ok.
If I get this kit and some flat fenders will I be able to run 37's or should I look at the 3.5 lift?
Very interested in this kit and looking at it and the Clayton lift, but the aticulation of this kit looks CRAZY!
I really like it so please forgive the ??'s
 
#78 ·
2.5 xfactor with 37s

This silver jeep is the 2.5 x-Factor prototype, and its on 37s. I know there are no fenders on it, but you can see the room its got.

In the second pic its the jeep farthest in the distance.
 
#80 ·
Thoughts

The more I drive this truck I realize that when doing a lift, you need every part to be adjustable so it can really be dialed in. Every arm in this kit, the trackbars, the shocks, down to the swaybar links, every part is adjustable.

The rock krawler guys really had to tune each part to my jeep and once they were all installed after being measured and re-measured, the jeep was put on the ground and checked again before everything was tightened.

A lift is more than just making your truck taller. If you're going to spend the money I would definatly save and get the best lift you can rather than just getting something to gain a few inches.

Do your own research. Your lift could make you love your truck, or make you hate it. Make sure when you pull the trigger you know what your buying and what to expect.
 
#85 ·
love the look of this kit. how much does a kit like this (or 3.5) affect handling on highways? i know it aint a corvette but would like to do this and not hafta worry bout the wife on an offramp or backroads

They say the 3.5 will corner flatter because of the hi-steer kit. 2.5s will be a little more "squishy".

before i got the lift, listening to people saying that their trucks handle and corner better than stock I had a hard time believing it.

Now with the lift, I will say that its about the same as stock. side to side lean is still there a little, less than before. (remember I have the Nemesis Billy Rockers adding 20lbs to each rock rail). The new springs handle the weight of the engo 9000 that I have sitting in the front bumper way better than the stock springs.

With the stock springs, the winch felt like I had a person sitting on the front bumper all the time. Like the jeep was dragging its nose. Now i dont notice it at all.

The RRD Shocks make the ride excellent. It never feels hard to control or leans in a way that I find disagreeable. When I really corner hard I can feel the truck lean a little, but when Im not driving like an idiot it really does feel firm and very good.
 
#82 ·
PieFace said:
The more I drive this truck I realize that when doing a lift, you need every part to be adjustable so it can really be dialed in. Every arm in this kit, the trackbars, the shocks, down to the swaybar links, every part is adjustable.

The rock krawler guys really had to tune each part to my jeep and once they were all installed after being measured and re-measured, the jeep was put on the ground and checked again before everything was tightened.

A lift is more than just making your truck taller. If you're going to spend the money I would definatly save and get the best lift you can rather than just getting something to gain a few inches.

Do your own research. Your lift could make you love your truck, or make you hate it. Make sure when you pull the trigger you know what your buying and what to expect.


This is key :thumb:
 
#86 ·
Check out that fugly muffler! :p Time to get that taken care of now.

J/k, looks so sweet dude.

I have my AFE exhaust still, I took it out to see if the articulation would touch the stock y-pipe or if there were any problems with the stock exhaust with this kit so I could mention them.

The AFE exhaust is definatly going back in.
 
#90 · (Edited)
Its coming. There is so much coming. We have pieces on the components of the kit itself, the shocks, the tools we used, the install, the measurements, tire and wheel, and Im taking it offroad this weekend to get some more.

My producer is making intros and stuff and he promised me he'd have it done in 2 weeks. But once I started posting in the thread Ive realized that 2 weeks is an eternity. Im trying to get it out as fast as I can. The clips are going to come one at a time as I cattle prod the editor to give them to me.

The guy's got a day job that is screwing with my hobby that I dont pay him to help with. lol
 
#93 ·
On that note :D

How much actual lift the 2.5 coils gotcha on your 4 door ?

Like a fool, I didnt write down the measurements when we were filming them. So we do have the figures, but I dont know what they are until I get the video.

Im going to go to a jeep dealer tomorrow and Ill park my truck next to a stock rubi with a trailer tow package 18/59 springs and measure them side by side. It was a Rookie mistake but I know everyone is wondering what i actually got. I suspect its slightly more than 2.5.

Although, the 2.5 rating that Rock Krawler gives is vs. Rubi Spring numbers. I asked that as I was trying to figure if it would fit in the garage, and know that 2.5 over a sport vs. 2.5 over a rubi are two different measurements.
 
#94 · (Edited)
PieFace said:
Like a fool, I didnt write down the measurements when we were filming them. So we do have the figures, but I dont know what they are until I get the video.

Im going to go to a jeep dealer tomorrow and Ill park my truck next to a stock rubi with a trailer tow package 18/59 springs and measure them side by side. It was a Rookie mistake but I know everyone is wondering what i actually got. I suspect its slightly more than 2.5.

Although, the 2.5 rating that Rock Krawler gives is vs. Rubi Spring numbers. I asked that as I was trying to figure if it would fit in the garage, and know that 2.5 over a sport vs. 2.5 over a rubi are two different measurements.
I did the same :facepalm:

These numbers are good. I measured another stocker and got the same.

Sport/Rubi should not matter. The jeep with the softer springs will see more but end up the same as the jeep with stiffer springs, if that makes sense.
 

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#100 ·
there is no chance of my truck rolling, It feels totally connected to the ground. Yes my jeep is taller, but its also got a wider center of gravity with the tires pushed out at the corners.

If I was to roll it it would happen on a rock at 1 Mph. The misalignment of the arms in my kit in particular would keep the tires on the ground if the cabin was to lean at high speed.

The feeling of "hey better be careful i might roll it", has not entered my head at any moment, and me and the guys here have been driving it super hard to feel the limits of the suspension, and trying to make the shocks fade.

We have not found the limits, and the shocks have not faded.
 
#102 ·
More thoughts

In case you guys havent noticed, this whole thread is my review of the suspension. I'm letting you know how I feel as I continue to drive the truck. So there is no section coming entitled "the review" Im giving my review in pieces as parts come to mind after driving the Jeep.

in this piece, I want you to know a little about me personally. Im not a mechanic, and im super concervative. When I ordered my '12 I thought to myself, this is the last truck I will ever own. I planned to keep it stock. Dont laugh, I really did.

I was one of those people who thought no one could make a better suspension than chrysler and everyone who said their aftermarket lift was better than stock was kidding themselves.

I was also deathly afraid of power loss and worse MPG. I never got better than 15 and that figure dropping or the truck being slow would make me like it less. So this was a nervous experience adding the lift and tires. I did want a winch however on my stock Rubi, as I wanted it to be absolutley offroad capable.

The winch was what pushed me into the lift. The stock springs couldnt handle the weight in the nose of my truck. I felt it when I accellerated, I felt it when I turned, I felt it when I braked. (braked?) The suspension was not designed to deal with 85 lbs on its bumper, and I was reminded everytime I drove the truck.

Now its been almost a week, and I will say that my truck felt like it lost power the first day but has gained it back. Maybe Im getting better at driving it and operating in lower gear? Regardless, I do not care for new gears. I feel like my gearing is better than it was before. Im not just saying that. I dont have any experience with the 3.8, but with the pentastar with 4.10s, do not be afraid of big tires, your gears are fine.

Ride quality- Every time I drive it I like it better. I know I keep saying that but it really is true. Does it drive better than stock? I will say the RK lift is on par with stock if you have no extra weight on the stock Rubi. Once you put some weight on the Stock suspension, The RK suspension is superior and its not close. Its because the springs are more robust and the RK RRD 2.0 shocks have no equal. The truck is heavier but it somehow feels lighter with regard to the way it carries its own weight.

Maybe a better way to say it is that the components of the RK lift are designed to make the extra weight we lay on our trucks, weightless. I have forgotten the winch is there. Before the lift, I ordered synthetic line to make the winch lighter, but now I dont care if I put it in. Thats how significant the difference with these springs and shocks handling the extra weight is.

Im ordering bumpers next.
 
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