m(a)ce

Can't really advise you on the lift, but if you do have someone install & regear it I can rec OK4WD. Good guys doing good work. I've only had positive experiences and heard positive experiences. Some complain they are expensive (but they don't complain about the work). I think they are full price --you get what you pay for. Might as well do it right. I've dealt with Chuck in the past and he's been awesome.

Recently jd1066 upgraded to 4.88's & OK4WD did the install. Heres a link to his experience. Seems like he was happy.

Good luck on your build...looking forward to progress reports!

Hypertech

The AEV ProCal doesn't do anything to increase the performance of the JK. It's more of a gadget than a performance mod. The Max Energy really wakes up the JK.

JKGoose

Ok, so I'm not a big poster, I'm mostly a lurker, but since you asked...

Here are the problems I've had with my Full Traction lift kit.

#1 The instructions that come with the kit are very lacking. Basically you get a bag of nuts and bolts, a few pictures (with not enough detail), and very basic instructions. Thank goodness for your write-up on Project-JK. That's how the instructions in the box should be.

#2 The instructions should have had you re-use the front shock mounting hardware (bushings and washers). These are much heavier duty that the ones that come with their shocks.

#3 The inner metal bushins of the swaybar quick disconnects are way too thin (much thinner than the stock link bushins) and are easily crushed when torquing them down.

#4 One of the shocks was leaking a severe amount of oil each time I went wheeling.

#5 I have the kit with the rear trackbar drop bracket. At full flex this bracket impacts the shock, destroying the shock.

#6 Customer service - Reguarding the leaking shock. I sent it back to them, and they just returned it with a note that said "OK". So basically I think their customer service is lacking. At a place with good customer service I would expect that if they got something from a customer that the customer thought was bad enought to send back, but they thought was ok, then that would start a discussion. A phone call or email: "Hey there, we checked out your item, and it looks ok, what problems were you having with it?" So, it was pretty obvious that they don't care. Oh, and they won't retrun my emails either.

Now, are they any better or worse than any other company out there? I have no idea since this is the only lift kit that I have experience with. Are they bad people? I'm sure they're not, and I assume that they're just trying to do the best they can and still make a profit. Do I hate them and want to see them fail? No. Will I buy stuff from them in the future? No. Do I want to warn others that I've had a bad experience with them? Yes.

wayoflife

thank you for coming back with a more thorough response.

honestly, you're kidding yourself if you think any of the lift kits out there come with good instructions. if they did, i wouldn't be doing write-ups for them

please don't get me wrong, while i agree that the factory stud mount bushings are better, the failure you had really did looked like installation error on your behalf.

honestly, the FT sway bar disconnects are simply terrible and i wouldn't run them on my jeep. but then, i have a rubicon and so i didn't need them.

sounds like the shock had a bad seal and that would suck.

not that i'm doubting you as i have seen this happen on other kits, do you have pics of this?

can't argue with you there. do you happen to know who the rep was that was handling your issues? not that it's an excuses but i do know they were having customer service staff issues and people were let go. it would be my hope that things are better now.

fair enough. like i said, your original comments were little more than open ended generalizations and i appreciate you taking the time to qualify your statements. if you're willing, i would try to contact FT again. they have a new rep on here and i know he's eager to help people like you and address any issues you might have.

Mike De

Just got back from OK4WD. Came to a couple conclusions.
Clayton 4.5 lift (pretty much picked it because Clayton is about 2 hrs away in Ct.)
Bilstein Shocks
[B]5.13 gears
Woods 1310 driveshafts[/B]
AEV pro cal. I was told all the other chips dont do much because the JK engine can only squeeze so much out performance wise.
CAI (still up in the air on even getting this)
MBRP exhaust (regular mounted stainless or relocated one they just came out with)
BFG KM2s. Was a toss up between them and Toyo M/T. They recommened the KM2s. Said were a little softer for better street ride and the Toyos were more square so rougher ride on street(this is my only vehicle so will be driving everyday). Any thoughts on this decision?
Wheels I would say is biggest issue now. Some I liked are backordered till whenever, some I didnt like in person. Im swaying to saying screw it and ordering Hutchinson Rock Monsters in black.
LOD bumpers

Some small decisions to make over next day or so and then they are just gonna order everything at once.
900 bucks for lift install(Clayton would do it for 800) and 1700 for gears and regearing. Pretty much the lift, regear, driveshafts,and pro cal total was 6 grand installed.

bly109

I havent ridden in a JK with KM2 yet, but I have followed a few on the trail and my Toyo's seemed to "stick" on rocks better. I think this is mostly due to the wider contact patch. As far as the highway and street goes, IMO the toyo's ride and handle great. I actually think they ride smoother then the stock Rubi KM's, but I have no idea how they compare to the KM2's on the street.

tkob1060

Hey Mike sounds pretty good, you still thinking of having clayton install? see if they'll do the drive shafts too?

I just saw within the last month someone say that Ok was charging 1500 for gears I know they had been charging 1900

I wouldnt do the cai if you plan to wheel in pine barrons at all, to much water and I would wait on the aev, to see what superchips comes out with, it should be announced by monday.

usgaone

x2 on the Toyos. I've seen 2 flat KM2's (same jeep different trips). In my opinion, the Toyos are the best out there.

Mike De

Im still a little on the fence of which ones. Thats why I was just gonna go with what they recommended. But tires are tires. They wear out. I can go either one and try the other ones the next time around. KM2s are $310 and Toyos are like $340.. Or after these I may bump up to 37s..

tkob1060

you are getting the clayton 4.5 and u think you would upgrade to 37's next time, save yourself and do it now....you'll wait a long time for those tires to wear out like I am