Maertz

Lol fair enough. I agree on the track bar. I won there bracket and its a 6.5" raise in the rear! Its obsurd. It allowed me to make a 1.5od x 1/4 wall track bar STRAIGHT across, no need for all the stupic bends. Id rather have the rear trackbar bracket match the lift height though also... Not be different from the front. Half the people posting reviews are people who have just read what they typed. As I said im sure there fine, but not for me. Also they dont make them in the length i need id have to make them work fabbing them myself anyway, not worth it. IMO you want a better ride in a 2 door stretch it, on a 4 door not much will be noticable, but maybe im just not picky enough...

TheDirtman

Almost all bolt on kits are the same with the end joints being the real difference. Some of the arms are bent for more clearance or run a thicker tube but in the end they are all pretty capable and while everyone is obsessed with the "best Kit" and the ride of the MC joints they will totally ignore geometry in the suspension and steering. MC joint's are nice and do ride good, a Johnny Joint is not a rough riding joint and does have a rubber type isolator as well as ballistic and the new Rock Krawler joints. They are a spherical ball but are not a metal on metal joint like a Heim joint is. These forums are funny on how they are just a marketing tool for the manufacturers. When I first joined it everybody was all teraflex, then it was rock krawler, now metal cloak is all the rage and is the must go to kit. Find a kit that does what you need it to do and pick the one that fits your budget. If you can't afford a full kit do a budget boost or built it slow over time and just expect it to be a bit rough and improve over time. People out there that tout that MC is so much better then Rock Krawler and that it is the absolutely best kit you can buy and you will so much better at wheeling with that kit is just justifying to themselves spending the money.

Maertz

Very well said sir

jdk

I considering the Metalcloak lift myself, looks very interesting.

GJeep

I'm happy with 4" Full Traction lift and Fox shocks w/ reservoirs, and the Full Traction CRC Link -- because it all works very well (and not because I paid for it... ).
Handling is very good on & off road (including sprints).
The joints work well and silently, after quite a lot of offroading.

I think that Metal Cloak is even better, because of the dual rate coils and more travel -- with either their own 6Pack shocks, or Fox.

rsbmg

Since the subject of geometry has been brought up a couple times, I would be interested in someone explaining how a complete MC kit has poor geometry, especially as compared to any other kits available.

I say complete kit because I don't think we can have a level discussion if you are talking about taking an individual component of kit A and mixing it with kit B from another manufacturer.

JKred

All bolt on kit's use stock bracket geometry, which gets worse the higher you lift it. So it really comes down to what each company does with roll axis and steering geometry. And most do about the same thing.

Maertz

Well the first one i said was there rear trackbar bracket raises the rear trackbar 6.5" when only about 4" would be needed to get your roll center back. The front they do nothing....You want to raise your roll center in the front and back by the lift height you net. There rear goes way up and front stays stock even though you lifted it about 4". As for steering geometry they do next to nothing, they center your front axle, but nothing else. Really should be a track bar raise (axle mounted) and draglink flip at that height. Id bet one reason they dont is because of there stupid design for tons of uptravel most people dont use.. it would possibly limit there uptravel having bumps set to 3" but bumpstops vary greatly by vehicle, so this part is just a variable and may or may not actually effect individual set ups. This is all based of there 3.5 gamechanger netting about 4" If i recall the rk 3.5 max travel raises both. This also can go to show why a kit is usually never as good as what a knowledgable person may be able to set up on there own.

Now i do know they drop the front shock mounts to help with there poor shock size, but no one can argue that this kit is set up to be used with there fenders. Its also said by MK themselves that there are many factors that would make people not use all there travel, another reason you should buy shocks off your specific set up (tire size/fenders/bumps and other variables)

Im not a complete expert by any means, and cant explain what having 6.5" rear trackbar raise and no front would do, or what 6.5" rear or even 3.5" front would do ride wise, but id have to believe it will effect the body roll and weight transfer quite a bit...

Also for people who have never seen a mk joint have a slight downfall, heres one that came up just today..Joint was barely used.

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/modi...5/#post3782814

GJeep

Yes, a bolt-on lift spoils geometry a bit.
You can see a whole thread about why, because of this, 2.5" lift with 37"s is 'MUCH' better than 4" lift on 35"s. I don't buy that this 1.5" difference in lift makes such a big difference.
My 4" lift handles very well, and others' 2.5" lift that I've driven were only marginally better.
I have decided on 35"s, as 37"s put more stress on things, would have required re-gearing, and would have an advantage over 35"s only in the most extreme offroading.
As I chose 35"s and wanted enough ground clearance and approach/departure angles, 4" lift was the obvious choice -- and a good one.
Theory aside, according to my driving experience, the actual handling difference between 2.5" and 4" bolt-on lifts is small, and a 4" lifted JKU -- with a properly tuned suspension -- handles nicely.

TJJK

...pass...