I just ordered my 2008 Sahara unlimited and due to my severe OCD, I've been reading up on lifts with only short breaks for food and naps. Anyway, I'm learning a lot but what I haven't come across is a good thread where the differences in suspension components (not so much difference in brands with same components) is discussed so I thought I'd start one. My application is for a JK unlimited but I imagine the principles would be similar for all models.

So focusing on the 2.5-3.5" lifts in order to not get too deep into the driveline mods.......what I'd like to know is starting with a basic spacer/budget boost type of lift and moving up to an economy spring lift such as the Full traction economy what is the benefit. Then you can move up to a lift that has just lower control arms (short) but not uppers (sticking with FT it would be their premium). What are the benefits of a lift with just the lowers without the uppers over the basic economy with no control arms. Then you've got the short arm lifts that have both lower and upper control arms. Then you eventually get to the long arm full bells and whistles lifts. I may have skipped a few steps but you get the gist of my question.

For my particular scenario I want something that rides great on the road, performs well on high speed washboard since I drive the beach/gravel roads a lot and then can handle moderate off roading. I can afford an expensive long arm lift but think it will be way overkill for me since I won't be doing much offroading besides the beach. I'm thinking is it would be convenient for people like me trying to figure out what level would be best given their scenario if we knew what the benefits were for each jump up in lift components. In the list below I'm guessing I'd fall somewhere in the economy lift, lower control arms or lower and upper short control arm range but I could be wrong. Where I'm confused is what will I notice differently (again using Full Traction as a example though I'm open to any company) from the economy to the premium to the ultimate on the road and limited off road?

-Budget boost/spacer lift
-Economy spring lift
-lower control arms (short)
-lower and upper control arms (short)
-Long arm

Feel free to discuss benefits of other components like adjusted track bars, drop pitman arms or whatever else could fall in the 2.5-3.5" lifts.

 

I say RE for brand maybe up to the 3.5", comes with their arms and RE is one of the best brands you can buy. You will want to run 35s with the 3.5" though and then I'd want to regear to 4.88s. So if this is getting in too deep for you then you just want 33s, just get a 2.5" budget boost. Almost all BB are the same. I'd suggest Bilstein or OME shocks to help the ride alot.

The "short arms" on the JK are way longer than that of the TJ so staying "short arm" with 3.5" it should still ride very well, plus once you take it on a few trail rides those coils will soften up alot. Even at 2.5" and the stock arms I'd still think it rides well, someone will chime in on that I am sure.

Anything you get in the RE kit will be beefier than stock and take more abuse. I just don't have a JK to know how much difference, on a TJ is a larger difference.

If you're just hitting the beach I'd just run a 2.5" BB lift, no real need for anything more.

 

Thanks for the info. I'm definitely going with 35's as 33's look funny on these looooonnnnnggggg wheel base unlimiteds but 35's look proportionate. I'm actually really debating between the RE 3.5" Superflex and the FT 3" ultimate. It's a tough one as FT offers more with the kit but the RE is a little cheaper. I have heard that there is a possible issue with the driveline rubbing with the 3.5" RE when fully extended which probably wouldn't be an issue for me but I would hate to have a problem down the road since parts are hard to get here in Mexico.

 

My suggestion would be to get a 3" (insert brand here) kit with with adjusable upper arms front and rear to dial in your caster and pinion angles, and adjustable track bars front and rear. But the type of driving and offroading you will be doing, I would suggest not going cheapo on the shocks, I would get something like a Fox or Bilstein remote resevoir shocks. These will be better suited for washboard type roads. These will reduce heat and foaming wich reduce the damping ability of the shocks.

 

So the upper adjustable arms are more important than the lower? Is it harder to get things dialed in with both upper and lower adjustable arms? I thought the remote reservoir shocks were more for something like baja as opposed to the road or occasional gravel roads. The main thing is the ride on pavement as that's where this jeep will spend most of it's time. However, here in Mexico they use a lot of pavers so some of the roads are.......not rough, but noisey and a little chattery as you have 1000's or pavers that very in height by 1/4". I'm definitely up for getting some good shocks and have been debating OME, Bilstein 5100 or 5150, RE monotubes and FT M-Force. It sounds like OME are about as good as it gets on the road but they're bright freaking yellow.

 

As you lift a vehicle the axles move closer together. In doing so they rotate slightly. This rotation on the front end is called caster. The shallower the caster is the more darty or wandering the steering feels. In order to adjust the caster back to stock (or further in my opinion) you need to either shorten the upper arms or lengthen the lower arms or better yet a little bit of each.( hence the desire for upper and lower adj control arms) This is always a slight wrestling match between getting the caster just right and getting your pinion angle lined up as much as possible (thats the angle your driveshaft is as it connects to the differential) How much easier is it to use a ratchet with the swivel/angle adapter when it is straight versus when it is at a greater angle.

Budget boosts dont lift you up that much so your caster/pinion angles dont change much so there is less of a need for new control arms. It's liveable but it has changed. When you start getting up in the 2.5 -3.5" range it becomes less livable and almost really necessary to get new control arms. There will be a few who will chime in and say their ride is just perfect with 3" of lift and the stock arms. Okay, if your happy thats all that counts, but I happen to not agree.

Now another area that is affected is your track bars. As you lift upward, your axles also shift towards the drivers side. So the tires stick out more on the drivers side than they do on the passenger side. Budget lifts provide a bracket with the hole relocated to pull the wheels back the other way. It's a band aid approach and is meant to help meet a budget. The better route if you can afford it is new adjustable track bars. (FT $179 ea ???)

The back axle is less of a concern than the front as far as control arms go but it is nice (again, if you can afford it) to help move the axle back a little and fine tune your rear pinion angle)

Another point is in the past, this caster angle situation was usually fixed with upper control arms. I think some are finding that if you have your choice and are buying just one set, then the lower ones are the better solution for the JK (unlike the TJ) The manufacturers must feel the same as some of the middle of the road kits are coming with new lower control arms and utilizing the existing uppers.

Alot of you may disagree with some of these points, but I am just speaking from my own experience. I started with one of the first FT 3" economy lifts to hit the market and have since changed out everything to the ultimate kit as the additional pieces hit the stores. That is the beauty of the FT stuff as you can pick and choose as you go, what components you want to change. I think if you total them up there isn't that much of a difference in price, buying them piece by piece.

Hope that helps! Sorry for rambling!

 

I guess I mis-interpreted what you meant by "high speed washboard" anyway any one of the shocks you are considering will work fine.... but you may be waiting on the OME's

 

My experience from my TJ was that the lower arms are more or less just used to re position your axles (wheel base) and the uppers for caster / pinioin angle.

Also on the front axle Pinion angle vs caster cannot be changed without cutting the axle "C's" loose from the axle and rotating, so you can always find caster using pinion, if you know what the exact relationship is to start with.

 

It should be lower arms... I really need to quit posting in the morning after working graveyards going on my 15th straight

 

Great posts guys thanks for all the help! Now that I'm informed I will make sure that whatever I get has both upper and lower adjustable arms and front and rear adjustable track bars. FT ultimate is currently in first place along with the Rubicon 3.5" superflex. It's a lot of money for either but these unlimiteds aren't cheap vehicles new so it surprises me when someone wants to skimp and only pay 1-2% of the vehicle cost on such a huge component such as the suspension. I'd rather pay $600 but what's another grand when I'm already approaching $30k on the new vehicle. That is a cool thing about the FTs though. One place I checked you'd end up paying about $180 later on upgrading to the ultimate from the economy but the premium doesn't make as much sense because you'd pay way more and get lesser quality components going up to the ultimate.

Regarding shocks, is there anywhere I can read a shootout or comparison on the shocks I'm interested in. It would be nice to have a comparison where someone says this shock will give you a really smooth ride on the road but may be a little too soft for the serious offroaders where as this one excells in the highspeed washboard, etc....you get the picture.