I've been reading and trying to soak up as much info about lifts as I can for a couple weeks now.
lifts with drop brackets to fix geometry and such, lifts and adjustable control arms to fix geometry. etc. I have a few questions since i just read another post.
2: if this lift works the way i think it will, (since most lifts pull the wheels together) my wheels will be re-centered in the wheel well thus helping with geometry of drive shaft etc. but what about the drive shaft??
3: 4" lift on a stock willy's going to end up higher then 4"? thinking along the lines of no heavier aftermarket bumpers or anything, not at the moment anyway.
also will the stock drive shaft be too short? you are basically lengthening the wheel base with the adj, CA's to keep your wheels centered? so what does that do to the drive shaft.
been reading so much about it and watching video's, kinda makes my head hurt.
probably waiting till after the new year to really do anything with a lift, but i want tires and lift. 35's and 3-4' lift. its a 2017 JK
I had a RC lift when I was a newb and it turned out to be crap. There are many higher quality lifts out there that cost more but are well worth it IMO. My advice to you is do your research, save money and do it right the first time.
Yes - crap. Get a better lift such as Rock Krawler or Metalcloak. And nix 4 inches - too much lift for 35s. Get 2.5 lift - your driveline and steering will thank you. Run flat fenders if you just want the look of more lift.
Don't do it. It will cost more in the long run. I had said that some of parts are ok in the past, but now having to replace LCA's due to failed bushings. I've pretty much replaced everything on my lift now except those LCA's, the dropped pitman arm and the rear trackbar relocation bracket. I have the replacements for the Pitman arm and trackbar bracket on the bench. Still looking at control arms.
Save your money and buy a decent lift as others have said.
I wouldn't say it's crap because it does work.... but there is the old saying; you get what you pay for. You have to remember that when dealing with RC
As for lift, anything over about 3.5 inches (done properly) gets very expensive. Keep it between 2 and 3.5 inches and you won't need to start messing around with driveshafts, pinion angles, flip kits... etc.
Quality? Stick with Teraflex, metacloak, rock krawler. You can get the less expensive kits but handling is hit and miss and most of the time you end up having to add to the kit after the fact to try and boost handling quality.
Thanks for all the info. Like I said I was eyeing it just because of certain things I have been reading. Looking at other sites where almost every lift these people have is RC but then people here are saying they are bad so made me wonder.
I am also looking at a re-gear because 35s are big.
End goal is daily driver and weekend warrior haha I want something dependable but for what I want teraflex is like 4x more expensive.
A small spacer lift and flat fenders will accommodate 35" tires if that is your goal and the cost is quite low. Add some Rubicon or Recon springs for a little more lift. They can normally be found free or cheap. Trim the factory fenders if you want to spend even less.
You are receiving some good advice from experienced people, there will be many opinions on better lifts, but for sure Rough Country is total crap!
Tereflex's 2.5" lift with 9550 shocks is decently priced, and you can pickup a set of either slightly longer FLCAs (front lower control arms) or geo-brackets to help restore caster. I'm not just saying this because it is what I did I read a lot on this forum, especially the 'most popular lift' thread...
I built my TeraFlex lift over time to include all 8 TeraFlex sport control arms and the TeraFlex monster adjustable front track bar. I found smoking deals on FB Marketplace on the control arms and the track bar. Some people pull off perfectly good stuff to lift higher, and if you find a mall crawler source the parts are really in great shape.
Take your time and read A LOT.
Unless you already have a Rubicon w/4.10 gears, you will hate life with 35s unless you regear. As I understand it, 4.56 is great for autos, 4.88 for manuals. I re-geared to 4.88s and have been very happy both on and off road.
It is tough to wait, but better than to go cheap and then have to spend again resulting in more than if you just waited and spent once.
As suggested you might want to read a bit more to get an idea of what you plan on doing with the Jeep and your ultimate goals. It's a lot of money to spend to have to change things more than once.
I have a 12 Rubicon with a 4.5" AEV lift and run 35" tires. It's a tall Jeep. I purchased the Jeep this way 2 years ago and based on the condition of the skid plates it wasn't used off road much. Since I have bought it I have had to change the ball joints, and brakes. I am in the process of doing a full Steersmarts steering upgrade. I have also had to replace both factory driveshafts due to the angles the lift produced. And, I will be doing a regear to 4.56 soon. Going big is cool but you pay the price on the wear on the parts. Good luck on your project.
Please stay away from rough country. I know. Because I just changed out every single part of my one year old rough country lift last week and this week I finished. Their shocks are trash. Get Falcons. Their brackets rust and the welds crack. Also their bushing literally break apart after a year of hard use. Please be patient and save up. And if you do get a cheaper lift sell the shocks it comes with and get the Falcon 2.1’s.
The best advice here is that 4" of lift is typically more than you need for 35" tires. And a properly done 2.5" lift tends to run about half the price of a properly done 4" lift, so there is that.
I would rather spend the coin on a nice 2.5" lift and do it right. That will look and work great with 35" tires.
Brands like TeraFlex, AEV, JKS, MetalCloak, and RockKrawler tend to be the better brands. That is not a complete list, but you get the idea. That said, many lifts still need a few extra parts to fine tune them and dial them in. For example, some decent 2.5" lifts do not include proper caster correction. But it is easy enough to add that, in the form of geometry brackets or longer / adjustable lower front control arms if the lift in question doesn't.
One key to finding the right lift is knowing how you are going to use the Jeep. For example, an AEV lift tends to drive really well on the street while still performing well off road. But a MetalCloak lift may work better off road while not being quite as excellent on road. But the differences are details, any high end lift should ride better than stock both on road and off.
A great budget lift option that is around the price of a spacer lift (including shocks) is the Rancho 2" lift with progressive springs. That lift is like buying the shocks and getting the springs and other parts for under $100 more. Add in a set of 2" front shock extensions if you are going to run 35" tires, as with 35" tires you will want the included 2" bump stops and the extensions gain back that 2" lost to the bump stops. Finally, either a set of geometry brackets or TeraFlex sport front lower control arms (or whatever brand floats your boat) and you have a sweet lift for a great price. And the springs deliver a firmer but comfortable ride while the shocks, being adjustable, allow you to adjust things to your liking. If you aren't gonna spring for a nice lift, that is what I would do.
But keep in mind, the suspension is what determines ride quality. Not just ride quality off road, but ride quality everywhere. A street only Jeep will drive better with a quality lift than a RC or Zone cheapo lift. That it never sees hard trails doesn't make a difference. A cheap suspension will ride like a cheap suspension.
Rough Country makes some stuff that is just fine, but in their lift kits, the springs and shocks are sub par for sure.
Their 2.5 Series II budget boost is one of the best. But it's a spacer lift.
If price is critical, we have installed about 50 of these in the last 3 years and they all came out fantastic. If you keep your stock fenders, it looks great with 35's. Don't fear the price for what you are going to use it for. It is the ONLY value lift that I ever recommend.
I installed the JKS 2.5 JSPEC lift with Fox shocks on my 2016 JKU about 6 months ago and it’s been awesome so far. It’s a pretty complete kit considering it comes with a front track back and a rear track relocation bracket which is rare on other kits, not to mention quicker disconnects.
I was super paranoid about not getting geo brackets and all that stuff as it’s my daily but so far it drives exactly the same as stock.
I’ve only taken it off road once on a moderate trail but it performed great. I’m heading to Moab in March which will be a nice test but I don’t foresee any issues.
After a loooong time reading, researching, lurking, PM'ing, watching videos, etc...I think I've settled on the idea of the AEV 2.5" Dual Sport lift, adding the (optional) correction brackets. I think that will meet my overall "needs" (whatever we all tell that is! )
Funny - I ordered the Mopar 2” yesterday after going back and forth between Mopar and AEV. I also ordered the Rancho correction bracket.
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