fst

Greetings, I’m a novice getting into the JK scene. I had purchased my 07 jk a year ago and it came with a Pro Comp Xtreme 4” lift stage 1 with the ES9000 shocks. I’ve been liking it for a while but lately been thinking about switching and dropping down to a 3” lift. I’m uncertain what’s all involved and whether I can reuse any of the current components or will I need to get a whole new 3” lift kit? What about if I go to a 3.5”? this is assuming I’m using all Pro Comp parts. A rep from Pro Comp responded that I would need to get a 3” lift kit all together as none of the parts from the 4” kit can be reused.
thanks for your help and for reading!

TheDirtman

Really all you need is some smaller coils unless you are going to try and get every bit of suspension travel out of it. Without seeing what you actually have and how it was set up it is hard to get into specifics. Why would you go from a 4" to a 3.5" lift? Pro comp is a junk company that makes crap at a low price point to sell to uneducated people. What size tires are you running? That is what should determine the lift size you should be running.

fst

thanks for the response TheDirtman, to be honest i didnt know about the quality of Pro Comp til months aferwards. for the price i paid for the JK it was a steal, plus the suspension has been working well for me *knock on wood*
currently im running the stock 18s with nitto trail grapplers 295/70 which is roughly 34" tires.
the reason to lower is cause at higher speeds on the freeway, especially on windy days and the fact its aerodynamically shaped like a brick, it becomes unsteady above 70mph for example. plus going around hairspin turns i would need to go 15-17mph lower than the warning signs to prevent rollover.
i was hoping that going lower to 3.5" or 3" would assist on center of gravity stability if only a little bit.

sa29560

You don't even need a lift to run those tires much less 4" of lift. Get some smaller springs and some better shocks bro.

TheDirtman

For the tire size you are running a decent 2"-2.5" lift will be enough and not require as much stuff to correct geometry and offer a better ride without having that top heavy feel and wandering on the highway. Truthfully going down that far I would look at taking off the all the pro comp stuff and replacing it with a 2" coil, shocks that of proper length, you will need sway bar links sized for the smaller lift and if you really want to increase stability use a rear raised track bar bracket on the axle and put an adjustable front track bar on. This will align your front and rear axles so they track in the same place. You can also add front drop brackets that will improve your caster numbers and flatten the control arm links that will improve the ride. At 2" adjustable arms and drop brackets are a personal preference and some think they are needed and some don't want to spend the money on them. Adjustable arms are expensive mainly due to the joint. Drop brackets offer a superior ride vs adjustable arms but also will cost you some ground clearance if that is important to you.
Read the link in my signature to get an overview of your suspension and feel free to ask if you need any more clarifications.

fst

thanks guys for the info. does brand matter when switching the springs and shocks?
Im fairly certain the lift is all Pro Comp i dont know if the rep from Pro Comp is giving me the runaround but here is their response when i asked if i can reuse some/any of the components from the kit:

Pro Comp rep:
Hello fst, if you are planning on going down to 3" we offer a 3"/2" Level Lift Nitro kit part # 66150k. this consist of front coil spacers rear coil spacers shock extension brackets bump stop extensions and a rear track bar bracket. this utilizes factory coils and shocks as well as factory front and rear sway bar end links. the kit you currently have does not use factory ones. it is a different configuration.

then when i asked if i could then go with the 3.5" instead hoping to reuse the brackets and such:
that would be kit # K3100B. this kit is also configured differently. 4" uses aftermarket sway bar end links and the 3.5 uses sway bar drop brackets, the coils are completely different also. rear track bar setup is different as well. The shocks are the same on both kits

sa29560

Ditch his word and the parts he's selling. Just because he can't say the kit you bought previously is inadequate he's trying to sell you more garbage.

I bought a cheap large lift to start as well, eventually it was all off the jeep. I built my kit around what my needs are and placed the right components there. I have a lot of different Mfg's parts on my jeep but it drives very well as a reflection of that.

Do some research, keep asking questions. But if you get a better spring shock combo it'll be worth it

fst

thanks for the advic sa29560. i'll shop around. any suggestions on shocks/springs combos? teraflex or rc?

kjeeper10

Check out the Rough Country series II budget boost. With geo brackets comes to about $300
Or with shocks the rancho 5000x will bring you to about $500

TheDirtman

Rc is pretty much the same as Pro comp as well as zone, BDS, rubicon express, skyjacker and a couple others. They all typically sell incomplete lifts to keep the price point down. Personally I don't care for teraflex either and their shocks are noting to write home about. If your jeep is pretty light, no full width see bumpers, heavy winch, sliders, armor then look for a 1.5" of 2" coil from one of the better companies out there. as most coils will give you more then advertised height. Rock Krawler, Off road Evolution, Old man Emu, Currie, Clayton all have pretty good reputations. AS far as shocks it really depends on what kind of ride and how munch you want to spend. The Ranchero adjustable are popular and are reasonably priced. Some will chime in with bilstien 5100's and others will point you at the fox 2.0. There are lots of threads on shocks and coils and encourage you to look around at the threads as they are all over the place with recommendations and remember ride "feel" is a subjective term.