Jolene32

Thank you for this info! Exactly what I was looking for!

TheDirtman

You are welcome. Feel free to reach out on what you are doing with your rig.

bpbat21

I really think you guys miss the point. You have beginners coming to this exciting adventure into building a vehicle that they can call their own. Of course it will depend on what the purpose of the vehicle will be to determine what type of lift to get, but they come to experienced off roaders to get advice. There are cheap lifts and there are expensive lifts with lots in between. I work hard to earn the money to put upgrades on my jeep. I don't want to waste money. I am willing to spend a little more money on manufacturers that don't cut corners. Sure, it will help to know all the different components to the lift and what you might need...but, before you get on your soap box, try to understand that some of us are just looking for a reputable manufacturer that puts out a quality product.

Andrej Bartko

Hi guys,

Dirtman, thank you for the beginners guide, was really helpful.
Although I am thrilled to experience some greenhorn paths, my JKU Sahara 2011 is mostly used on road and occassionaly for towing a 3500kg (cca. 7700lbs) boat trailer for which the JKU with old 3.8 auto is actually rated in Europe. I have cca. 33 wheels and I am considering a light lift around 2.5" (yes, also for the appearance, please dont kill me) - that would be probably coils and shocks. The thing I am unsuccessfuly trying to figure out what to consider in order to not degrade the already very poor handling with such load. By poor handling I do not mean breaking, the trailer brakes help and the whole 6ton "rig" actually brakes reasonably. My biggest issue is swaying even on highway (mostly, but not only to sides) in speeds over 80kmh / 55mph, also in lower speeds if road conditions degrade.

As far as I learned, the most important thing here is to correctly choose coils and shocks.
My question would be any advice on coils? Any advice on shocks, e.g. would I gain advantage from adjustable shocks (I found only quite expensive adjustable shocks)?
Any other suggestions are welcome, just please dont tell me how dangerous it is, etc. I drove with this setup 3000km, and it is only that much dangerous, how dangerous you are driving and/or staying focused. This however means that I need 10hrs for a 500km drive

*autotrans cooling - not installed (temporarily solved by superchips trans coolant monitor, in steep mountain passes switch to 4lo)
*regear - not installed (so far seems too expensive)
*weight distribution - not installed - googling along with lift options

TheDirtman

Have you looked into load leveling hitches?

jowens

I'm going to preface this with it's probably going to be long and rambling so bare with me... I love all things mechanical and how they work, I just have very limited mechanical expertise or knowledge. I also live in in area where I'm about 90 miles to the nearest reputable "jeep shop." I'm your prototypical internet reader, so I read and I read and I read about Jeep lifts and axles and beadlocks and tires. I make my mind up and then change my mind. I have a '15 JKU that I bought brand new. I've ran a 4" Rancho non adjustable short arm kit on it since it's had 1000 miles on it. It's been fine for the "mall crawler" it's pretty much been. I swore I'd pay it off before I started exploring wheeling it and doing more adventurous things. Well that time is now. My biggest issue I keep running into is what I want vs what I truly need. I daily drive my Jeep as it is. I don't plan on daily driving it in the near future but I also want to be able to drive it 70 miles or more to wherever we want to go whether it's camping and wheeling or to the river or just for a drive. Do I want 40s? Yes. Do I want 1 tons? Yes. Do I want the Gen Right Elite suspension? HELL YES. Do I want to do an LS swap someday? Yes. But with all those things obviously comes a big price and patience since I can't do hardly any of the work myself. Now with all that being said, I've really narrowed a few things down. I do want Fusion axles. My debate now is do I go with their 60 rear and 44/60 front hybrid since I already have the Currie currectlync drag link and tie rod and yeti track bar but then I have to upgrade brakes, I still have ball joints and the list goes on? Or do I spend the $3000 and go with their Elite 60/60 combo? Makes more sense to me for the 60/60 but that's what I'm trying to learn. Also, the lift. Whole new set of overthinking issues. I would love to have a coil over setup. But I don't really plan on tackling huge rock crawling obstacles. I think the Metalcloak Gamechanger fits all my needs without being able to do a coil over setup. Then I read all the talk on here about "long arm kits and how they really don't do much when the upper control arms are so short" etc etc. 3 link front vs 4 link. Then I think well shit, what do I do???

From every thread I read it seems like there are a whole bunch of us in this same gray area of what to do with our Jeeps. I personally will just go all in with whatever I do. I want to do it once. Be done with it. Fix whatever if I break it. I'm all open to suggestions. I think I covered all my random thoughts.

TheDirtman

Get the 60/60 combo and be done with it. People only go these other routes it to save money. If you have the budget go coil overs or ORI struts and a custom suspensions set from someone that knows what they are doing. Don't even bother with a kit.

grassmaster

Newbie Rubi - Guilty as Charged!

17ram2500

Hey Guys,

Bought a "new to me" (but I'm not new to wheeling, have a XJ on 34's, exocage, long arms, etc) JK.
2012, 91k miles, original owner...
Dana 60 up front, 14 Bolt (shaved) in the rear. PSC hydro assist steering, with their box,
Rock Krawler long arms, all the goodies, King Recon Complete coilovers, front and rear.
ARB lockers, 5.38 gears.
Nitto Trail Grapplers

Long story short, knew it needed some sorting. Drives like CRAP on the road. Wanders, and bump steers like crazy (front and rear). to the point on a choppy road you're fighting constantly to keep it within 4 feet of center.

took it to the local fab guy, we pulled tape. It's square. That's the good news. The bad news, is it drives like crap. Looking for a *GREAT* custom suspension guy that knows King Coilover setups on JK's very well.

Any recommendations? I"m sure I could eventually work all the kinks out myself, but, honestly, I'd rather just give it to the fellow with a LOT more experience than I have and let him work magic.

Thanks!

caryt

Knowing where your located would help.
Tape measuring won't tell ya much check Castor, toe etc!
Joints tight, bolts tight etc...
off the shelf coilovers are never valved or spring correctly you need a expert for the best results.