Hello Everyone,

New to the Jeep stuff with a 17 JKU Sport and loving it. Recently bought some wheels and tires so I would love some suggestions as to what lift kit to buy. Or if you guys can point me in the right direction on this forum.

I was looking at 2" lifts, not looking to go crazy off-road (mall crawler mostly).

Appreciate your help.

Thank you,
Nikola

 

Welcome to JK-Forum. What kind of budget are you trying to work with? What tires/wheels did you purchase? It sounds like you just need/want something more for looks than off roading purpose. You might be ok with a budget boots rather than a full suspension lift. If you can fill in a few more details about what you're looking to get out of the jeep in regards to use, what you're hoping to achieve, and how much you have to spend, members can start pointing a few directions for you to consider.

Also, Dirtman's sticky on lifts located at the top of the modified section is a great place to start reading up on a few things related to lifting in general -

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/modi...-lifts-288269/

 

Hey, thank you for the reply. I bought BF Goodrich KO2 315 70 17 with TM5 wheels. I did not want to spend a lot of money on suspension since the jeep will spend most of its time on regular roads.I was looking at the Rough Country 2.5" suspension lift kit with shocks as they are reasonably priced. I just do not have any experience in the jeep world so I would not have any idea what brands to look at or things to look for to be included in the kit.

 

Hey, thank you for the reply. I bought BF Goodrich KO2 315 70 17 with TM5 wheels. I did not want to spend a lot of money on suspension since the jeep will spend most of its time on regular roads.I was looking at the Rough Country 2.5" suspension lift kit with shocks as they are reasonably priced. I just do not have any experience in the jeep world so I would not have any idea what brands to look at or things to look for to be included in the kit.

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of Just Empty Every Pocket! Ha ha!

You're on the right track with your suspension question. You don't need a lot of lift to install your wheels and tires and keep everything happy for cruising. I would just recommend spending the money on a quality coil and shock so that you don't end up A: hating the Jeep and B: replacing parts in the not so distant future.

RC makes good, very budget friendly suspension kits that will get the job done. A lot of folks start with one of these very budget friendly kits and accept the ride quality as "Its a Jeep", when you could spend a small amount more and have a Jeep that drives, handles, and rides better than stock.

If you open your budget up slightly you can get into a setup from a number of different highly regarded companies. Rock Krawler, Synergy, Teraflex, and Rubicon Express are some popular brands who each have parts available. You can purchase full suspension lift, or just components to put your own system together after doing a little research. A lot of times you will save money buying a system vs components. Some companies offer more complete kits than others, so make sure you're paying attention to the important things.

For example, at 2.5" of lift I'd recommend an adjustable front track bar and adjustable or extended fixed length sway bar disconnects/links at a minimum along with the coils and shocks. Your stock brake lines are fine for your intended use at that lift height.

Hopefully this gets the juices flowing. Learning and picking our your parts is some of the best part of owning a Jeep. Enjoy the research and post away or contact us directly if you want to chat!

Marcus

 

A few things to consider when thinking about lifting the jeep.

You can’t necessarily just go by the height of lift you are buying. Every jeep is different due to various weight factors and mods that have been done. If your jeep is stock (except for the tires), a 2.5” spring/shock lift could very well net you 3+” of actual lift height as you don’t have heavy bumpers, winch, skids, etc. weighing you down.

Also, are you going to install it yourself, or have a shop do it for you. If you do it yourself, factor in the cost of any tools or supplies you may need to purchase (torque wrench, jacks, jack stands, etc) and the amount of time it’s going to take. If a shop is doing it you obviously need to factor in labor.

Most 2-2.5" "kits" are going to be pretty basic and won’t offer any form of caster correction (as the jeep height increases, your axle's caster decreases. Lower caster is going to impact the comfort of the drive). You would probably want to consider adding geometry correcting brackets (~$100) to help adjust your caster after the lift. You might read about cam bolts being an option, but it’s not a GOOD option. Another option to adjust caster would be adding front adjustable lower control arms, but they'd be a pricier option to the correction brackets. Depending on actual netted lift height, you may need an adjustable track bar to re-center the front axle under the jeep. These range in price based on brand, but you get what you pay for. Those are two items that you might want to factor in to the cost of parts.

Another alternative is going with more of a budget boost which would just throw a spacer puck on top of your current springs and re-use your current shocks. You’d still want to address your caster and depending on height, the front track bar to get the axle centered. This option cuts down the cost a bit as you’re not replacing springs/shocks, hence the name “budget boost”. With a budget boost you are going to see the actual amount of lift of the puck you use….unlike with a new spring.

My sense is that you just want a bit of lift for looks mainly. The trick is just accomplishing that without sacrificing comfortable driveability. As Marcus noted…..a lot of people just chalk up crappy handling to “it’s a jeep”, but that doesn’t have to be the case.

A lot of the advice/suggestions moving forward is going to depend on budget. If you want to throw out the budget you’re working with you’ll get some very realistic expectations of what you can or cannot do….ie, you can lift the jeep for a few hundred bucks….but will you be happy with the result?

 

Thank you guys for taking the time to explain things to a newbie!!!
For a jeep that will primarily be driven on pavement, would geometry correcting brackets be enough or will the benefits of lower control arms outweigh the extra cost.
I've been on 4wd.com and extremeterrain.com to look at parts and price stuff out, are there any specific sites that you guys would recommend? Also what would be the labor I should expect to pay to have a basic lift kit installed with coils and shocks?

I know that I have a lot of questions and appreciate any help.

 

Honestly, you are probably just fine with control arm brackets. Many people off road with them as well. You lose a little ground clearance, but honestly, It doesn't sound like you'll be out crawlin all over the rocks. The main advantage of adjustable lower control arms would be you can dial in the caster perfectly to where you want it. With the control arm drop brackets, you'll only have a few mounting options. That said, there is a wide range of acceptable caster, so you should be fine. The important thing is that you just consider addressing it. Even on a smaller lift, it will make a difference.

Personally, I price everything against Northridge4x4.com as the standard. Using the discount code "JKFORUM" will usually get you whatever discount is available on various brands. Some brands that's 10%, some 5%, some are not discounted. Their selection of lower end budget type lifts is limited, so might have to look elsewhere on those.

Rates might be different there in Georgia, but you're probably looking at $250 - $400 for installation if you include the control arm brackets. You might inquire with shops around you to see if it would make sense to order your own parts and just pay them labor, or if they might be able to package the parts and labor together at a better total price out the door.

Marcus, who has already responded here, is known for some pretty good pricing, so you might inquire further with him on parts shipped out to you. In the end, I'd just say do your homework and educated yourself. Definitely don't just do something because anyone says "do this". Strive to understand the logic behind it, or what the benefits would be. Research, read, soak up info like a sponge