TheDirtman

I guarantee you will always find something to get hung up on no matter how much lift you have. The break over angle on the JKU is not good at all and adding extra lift on it is common if you have issues where you wheel. The JK is nice because it allows you to run a big tire without a lot of modifications vs older jeeps even the TJ required quite a bit to run 35's. Many also just don't understand suspensions and thing that lifts add off road capability to jeeps and that is just a myth unless you are doing some extensive custom builds that can optimize the geometry. Bolt on kits simply can not do this.

RiverCityOffroad

In what world does a suspension lift and larger tires not equate to added off road capability? A simple lift will go a long way in the way of increasing both belly clearance and diff clearance by lifting the suspension and running a larger tire.

You are correct, you absolutely do not need a long arm suspension lift for your use. Most don't realize a need for them until going to coil overs or when deciding to move the wheel base around. A nice short arm suspension with the appropriate shocks will take you 100% of where you want to go and more.

Teraflex and Rock Krawler both make excellent suspension systems. You are on the right path wanting an adjustable front track bar and such. If you decide on a 3.5" system I would strongly recommend getting adjustable or fixed length arms to get the caster and rear pinion angle dialed back in.

I am also a fan of this Rancho exhaust modification instead of exhaust spacers:

http://www.gorancho.com/products/acc...-rs720003.html

Let me know if I can help in any way. I've helped build a TON of Wranglers and would be happy to chat if you want to give me a call about your plans.

Marcus

PhantomZ31

After talking with a bunch of folks with jeeps that are both stock and modified, we have all come to the general consensus that a 2.5" suspension lift, paired with the proper shocks with the right travel length, a flat style fender will keep the geometry correct, the daily ride comfortable, and maintain a LCOG. I was very pleased and surprised by what I was able to tackle just stock on some back logging roads to some fishing spots and a campsite we had picked out. Only dragged the belly once or twice over some bigger downed trees from a recent storm. But like you guys said, the mods are only half the solution, just like the old military days with the HMMWV it comes down to the approach angles, break angles, and the line you take on the trails.

wnyaccessoryshop

Im a local shop in Buffalo NY. We have customers all the time looking for daily driver lifts. I run a metal cloak 2.5 game changer with fox shocks on my sahara but my brother runs a 2.5 teraflex shock and springs kit. (Kit number 1251000) He has absolutely zero problems, we take it out on the farm every so often, and he loves it. Install is fairly simple if you have all the tools but he did not have to make any crazy adjustments or anything of that nature and he has his sahara in a manual transmission. The only thing he did add on was a steering stabilizer 9550 teraflex single and loves it. handles so much better. any questions let me know.

Spank

I'm running TeraFlex's 3" lift with the 4 control arms (front lowers, upper rears) and it performs beautifully. The only flaw is my breather hose keeps popping off the rear axle because it's not long enough!

The question of what's a good vs. bad JK lift is extremely simple: If it costs more than $2,000, it's probably going to be a good lift. TF, AEV, RK, Metal Cloak, etc... are all excellent choices. They're all gonna ride better than stock because time and work was put into their engineering and development.

Bolt on cheap garbage that costs you a few hundred bucks, like Rough Country and SkyJacker and the like, and you're gonna run into trouble with performance and longevity. Just be a passenger in a JK with a RC lift and drive around for an hour to know what NOT to buy.

wnyaccessoryshop

Couldn't agree more, just installed a Teraflex s/t3 and removed a 2.5 inch rough country full suspension because after a year on the RC the jeep was completely sagging back to stock and the customer was not happy. You get what you pay for and the s/t3 kit is well worth the money. The kit we installed was Teraflex part number 1258450 added stabilizer 9550 as well as 9550 shocks set of 4 1545200. Ill throw some pics up. dont have the before though sorry guys.

wnyaccessoryshop

The 3” Sport S/T3 Suspension System includes a 3” lift, SpeedBump bumpstops, front trackbar, and 6 sport flexarms

Forgot to mention. part number was for a 4 door
I'm trying to become a sponsored vendor so I can get you guys some untouchable pricing to your door so stay tuned!

Shuffler

Your best bet still is to talk to folks who run the trails you run. You may find you need very little to get the job done.

MudBather

I have built 5 Jk's and had very good luck with the BDS lifts. 4 of the builds I have completed were the 3" type and the last is a 4". All of these have had 315/75R16 Duratracs. I have been extremely pleased with these setups and did not have to spend exorbitant amounts of money to get where I wanted to be.

Good luck on your build.