Most popular lift/shock setup on WF

bobtwojeeps said:

First of all I would like to say I'm loving the forum, I have owned a jeep of some kind since 1978 when I bought my new 79 CJ5, kept it until 1982 when I fell in love with the CJ-8 Scrambler which I bought with 6 miles on the odometer and which I still own (will most likely be buried in it) other Jeeps have come and gone, so I am not new to Jeep ownership but two weeks ago I purchased a 2015 JK rubicon unlimited Hard rock edition. Needless to say the suspension on the Rubicon is a total different critter than my CJ, so I have been trying to wade through all the different options and it is a bit over whelming, but I have settled on a lift of 2.5" since all I want to run is 35s on tire size. The Jeep will be more of a family off-roader seeing mild to moderate trails (I will save the hard core trails for the Scrambler). I am trying to take advantage of the forum's members experience (something I didn't have back when I bought my other Jeeps, since there was no internet, yes I come from a time of no computers,no internet and only three TV stations if you were lucky, any I had a few questions about the recommended setup. 1. When you say lower control arms (choose) do you mean adjustable control arms? 2. You suggest an adjustable front track bar, would it be advantageous to also purchase an adjustable rear track bar? 3. This is not related to the suspension but thought you could offer some insight. My Jeep came with the Rubicon 10th anniversary wheels which are very nice looking but are only 7.5" in width, would a 35X12.50 tire work on this wheel, I realize that I would have to use wheel spacers. Thank you for your help.

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bobtwojeeps said:

<snip> I had a few questions about the recommended setup.

1. When you say lower control arms (choose) do you mean adjustable control arms? Can be fixed or adjustable. Fixed should be slightly longer than stock and Teraflex and Synergy have great options for fixed at that lift height.

2. You suggest an adjustable front track bar, would it be advantageous to also purchase an adjustable rear track bar? Not needed, the bracket typically takes in to account amount of lift and comes close to centering the axle on it's own. That said, an adjustable rear track bar can be used for fine tuning if you wanted to.

3. This is not related to the suspension but thought you could offer some insight. My Jeep came with the Rubicon 10th anniversary wheels which are very nice looking but are only 7.5" in width, would a 35X12.50 tire work on this wheel, I realize that I would have to use wheel spacers. The manufacturer specs for a 12.5 wide tire say that they should be mounted on a wheel from 8.5 to 11.0 inches.

Taken from Nitto website:

35x12.50R17LT E 121Q206900 19.334.7612.528.5-(10.0)-11.03195@65
However, many people do it and as kjeeper10 mentions, some shops will not install that size tire on that size wheel.

Thank you for your help.

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Renegade007 said:

I have a question about cam correction bolts that some lift kits come with. Are they a good solution to correct caster? Are the correction brackets better?

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kjeeper10 said:

They work but are not the preferred way to correct caster. The axle mount is ground open to allow for the offset bolt or plate. Switching over to brackets or arms requires welding up the mounts. There's always that chance one or both can loosen. Brackets are cheap .. $100 and provide both caster correction and a smoother ride.

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CephalicJKU said:

Thinking about doing this set up for my lift now instead of one of the prefab kits. What is the reasoning behind using the geo brackets instead of new control arms? Ive seen a few people say the brackets give up some of the clearance you just gained with the lift.

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MotoMatthew said:

What kind of performance trade off would a person be making if they wanted to use the stock rubi shocks with the adapters on this setup (saving $450)?

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Pressurized said:

The brackets do hang lower and reduce chassis ground clearance. But they also reduce the operating angle of the front control arms which reduces the impact transmitted to the frame due to the higher control arm angles from a lift. It also reduces the brake dive induced by weight transfer. The geo brackets give a better ride... The lower control arms perform better off road. That's where you have to make a choice.

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vinedel3 said:

Would you say the Geo brackets are still acceptable for moderate off roading? My jeep is my DD but I'd like to eventually have it out a couple times a month. Would you recommend new CAs once I start to get more serious? Would I remove the brackets if I went to new CAs? Functionality and longevity of the vehicle's components are more important to me than on road characteristics (I guess that's kind of a redundant statement beings I'm a wrangler owner haha)

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jeepernick said:

Thanks for the great information in this thread! As someone who is looking to lift their jeep this seems like the best bang for your buck. My jeep is mainly a DD with the occasional monthly offroading, are there any other recommendations for a lift? I see there are other Teraflex options out there, would you recommend any of those as well? I eventually want to put on 35's as well if that helps. I'm new to all this and want the best performance out of my jeep both on and off the road.

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HunterTheBeagle said:

^^^ teraflex new fixed arms would be sweet with the 2.5" lift.

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kjeeper10 said:

What is your budget ?
You could run front lower control arms instead of brackets.

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jeepernick said:

I'm looking to spend roughly around $500, I wouldn't mind going over that a bit. What is the main difference between control arms and brackets? From what I've seen from your posts this seems to be the way to go along with the new Rancho 5000x. Correct me if I'm wrong...

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jeepernick said:

I'm looking to spend roughly around $500, I wouldn't mind going over that a bit. What is the main difference between control arms and brackets? From what I've seen from your posts this seems to be the way to go along with the new Rancho 5000x. Correct me if I'm wrong...

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