A lift that rides better than stock...truth or fiction??

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Wendy.HemiDreams

New member
Hello All. I'm a seasoned Wrangler owner, currently between Jeeps. Last year I sold my 7th Wrangler, a '12 JKUR.
Which I decided not to lift because it performed so well and because I paid a lot of money for a perfectly engineered machine. But I MISSED the lift, for the clearance and the look. It just looked like a mall crawler.


My experience with lifts has not been great: bent/cracked control arms, death wobble (not able to drive it), too much travel in steering and the thought of adjustable track bars make me cringe. And, oh yeah, my husband or the local garage does not get to install this one. :naw:

A few year go when we were in Taboe, we ran into Eddie and Cindy. He said that the lift on his rig rode better than my stock Rubi. So, that is my goal. My next Jeep will be driven on road about 80% and light trails into the back country or skiing in the Sierra's for the other 20%. It will be a 2 door and I'll run 33's with flat fenders and a stubby bumper.

So, if any of you could steer me in the right direction, I'd really appreciate it. Thank you all in advance for your time and input.
 
10frank9

10frank9

Web Wheeler
I have a '13 JKUR and run the 4" EVO Enforcer paired with Rancho shocks. I've run and or driven in JK's with Teraflex, Rock Krawler, AEV and Roughass Country suspensions. The EVO Kit is the smoothest ride IMHO.

Honestly do yourself a favor and find folks who will let you drive or ride in their JK's with different lifts. That's the only real way to make a judgement of your own.
 
Panda

Panda

New member
10frank9 said:
I have a '13 JKUR and run the 4" EVO Enforcer paired with Rancho shocks. I've run and or driven in JK's with Teraflex, Rock Krawler, AEV and Roughass Country suspensions. The EVO Kit is the smoothest ride IMHO.

Honestly do yourself a favor and find folks who will let you drive or ride in their JK's with different lifts. That's the only real way to make a judgement of your own.
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True dat! :thumb:
 
Christarp

Christarp

Member
I doubt you'll find one that rides better than stock. I'm sure tons of research went into the bushings and control arms and spring rate etc of the stock suspension as I think the entire goal of the JK was to make it nicer on road. I know when my JK was stock it rode like a dream. Stay away from rubicon express if you like a soft ride :blush:
 
10frank9

10frank9

Web Wheeler
Christarp said:
I doubt you'll find one that rides better than stock. I'm sure tons of research went into the bushings and control arms and spring rate etc of the stock suspension as I think the entire goal of the JK was to make it nicer on road. I know when my JK was stock it rode like a dream. Stay away from rubicon express if you like a soft ride :blush:
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Honesty you have to admit ride feel is subjective. What feeler "better" to you may not be the same for someone else.

In my opinion, my JK on the EVO Mfg. 4" Enforcer lift and 37's rides better than it used to when stock. But that's just me.
 
Christarp

Christarp

Member
10frank9 said:
Honesty you have to admit ride feel is subjective. What feeler "better" to you may not be the same for someone else.

In my opinion, my JK on the EVO Mfg. 4" Enforcer lift and 37's rides better than it used to when stock. But that's just me.
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True, that's completely fair.
 
frenchjk

frenchjk

Caught the Bug
2.5 aev for exploring + city DD.

I know alot of folks here don't really like aev lifts but I put a 2.5 xt lift on my '12 Sahara diesel and it rides better than stock......80% city crawler 20% small roads and fire trails/beaches with an occasional mud bath or rock garden but nothing insane. I'm very happy with it and have a set of 285 70 17 (roughly 33) ST maxx's that are berfect with that lift.....nothing big, nothing off the wall but just a very efficient setup for the type of usage I have.
 
Sharkey

Sharkey

Word Ninja
10frank9 said:
Honesty you have to admit ride feel is subjective. What feeler "better" to you may not be the same for someone else.

In my opinion, my JK on the EVO Mfg. 4" Enforcer lift and 37's rides better than it used to when stock. But that's just me.
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Agreed.

Running a 33" tire with flat fenders though, we shouldn't even be having this conversation. With that tire/fender combination and properly backspaced wheels (or spacers), there is zero reason to even have a lift.

(Unless of course the OP likes the roller skate look)
 
10frank9

10frank9

Web Wheeler
Sharkey said:
Agreed.

Running a 33" tire with flat fenders though, we shouldn't even be having this conversation. With that tire/fender combination and properly backspaced wheels (or spacers), there is zero reason to even have a lift.

(Unless of course the OP likes the roller skate look)
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^^^this^^^

Take a look at the EVO leveling kit. But honestly, with only 33's and flatties it may be a bit much. Unless of course you will add heavy bumpers, a winch and other items which cause some sag.
 
Rccrwlr

Rccrwlr

New member
frenchjk said:
I know alot of folks here don't really like aev lifts but I put a 2.5 xt lift on my '12 Sahara diesel and it rides better than stock......80% city crawler 20% small roads and fire trails/beaches with an occasional mud bath or rock garden but nothing insane. I'm very happy with it and have a set of 285 70 17 (roughly 33) ST maxx's that are berfect with that lift.....nothing big, nothing off the wall but just a very efficient setup for the type of usage I have.
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We are running 285/70 r17 with stock suspension. Just add wheel spacers and ur good
 
olram30

olram30

Not That Kind of Engineer
Almost every stock jeep rides different. The different spring rates make a little difference.
 
W

Wendy.HemiDreams

New member
frenchjk said:
I know alot of folks here don't really like aev lifts but I put a 2.5 xt lift on my '12 Sahara diesel and it rides better than stock......80% city crawler 20% small roads and fire trails/beaches with an occasional mud bath or rock garden but nothing insane. I'm very happy with it and have a set of 285 70 17 (roughly 33) ST maxx's that are berfect with that lift.....nothing big, nothing off the wall but just a very efficient setup for the type of usage I have.
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Thank you. That's exactly what I wanted to know. We've onlygone extreme a few times. And that's not really what we set out to do. Here's our most extreme, with our YJ:

image.jpg


So...it's not JUST for looks. When I do have to go over something, I want it not to stress and break because I went cheap on the lift. I love the look of this YJ setup. But, we bought it this way. The tires are too big and that along with the added shackle lift created alot of body roll and bouncing on trails. Pretty scary.
 
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thechrisjones

New member
I did tons of research and went with EVO 3 inch enforcer with king shocks. Running 37's. Rides amazing!!!!! Very happy with how well it rides! I just put it on this past weekend ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1425764654.051026.jpg
 
MICP3309

MICP3309

Member
I have the AEV 4.5" with 37s. And my buddy has the AEV 2" spacer. I will say when loaded with heavy steel bumpers and a winch they ride like a dream.. However right now I have no rear bumper and stock front (in prep for new bumpers) and it rides like I have no suspension. The AEV lifts are designed to have A LOT of weight to push down the springs to get their ride quality.. (I know I'm changing to EVO long arms and CO)
 
jeeeep

jeeeep

Hooked
I've had a variety of lifts and leaf spring lifts on my older Jeeps, have to say I don't miss the leaf spring setups.

I installed the Clayton Offroad 3.5" lift at about 20k miles on my 2010 JKU, all control arms, adjustable track bars front and rear, Bilstein shocks. IMO the ride and handling is much better than stock, when I'm packed and loaded down the ride is a nice for the long drives.

Now at 111k miles, I recently replaced the Bilsteins with King 2.5's and that made me realize how much stiffer the coils are. I have a set of 4" Evo plushrides on it since the Kings are Evo tuned, the ride is softer than before but it still handles great. Hindsight I would have gone with Bilsteins or coilovers. We'll see how it sits with 37's in the next couple of weeks.

When I got broadsided on the front axle everything was damaged except for the Clayton arms. The installer replaced the track bar, tie rod and drag link with Synergy components. I'm not impressed with the track bar and its noisy heim joints, will be replacing that soon. I also got a PR44 to replace the D44 :thumb:

I've driven Jeeps with the EVO Enforcer (which is what made me decide to install the plushride coils) and like how they perform.

Driven TerraFlex Jeeps and they don't seem to handle the corners as well as I can, and IMO the ride while not real harsh, just feels rough

I had an older Jeep on Superlift but that was the leaf spring days and it just sucked but bigger tires need space.

Also tried Rusty's on an XJ but again, leaf springs.

I'm happy the Clayton arms, they have held up. I replace the bushings in 2013 (because I never greased them) but they weren't in bad condition, could have just cleaned them up and greased them but I replaced them anyway.

Next on the To Do list, flip the drag link within the next 2 weeks, replace the track bar with JKS,
 
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Wendy.HemiDreams

New member
Jeeep...awesome rig. And I like the space from the tire to the fender. I may have to change my mind to 35's. Then I can justify a lift too.
 
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etl330

New member
My AEV 2.5 handles better than stock for sure. It's competent off road, but takes exit ramps fast enough that I can shake the GTI that flew up on me before he realizes I accelerated through a turn in a lifted jeep - I can't ask for anymore than that.
 
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