Lift question

JOHN73738

Member
Greetings,

My fantastic wife allowed me to buy a '16 Rubicon unlimited and I am researching lift kits. Sadly I will not be doing any offroading that is honorable to be vehicle I bought, but I do plan to do easy to intermediate trails (Rocky Gap/Wheeler Pass for example)

I am looking mostly at 2 kits.

Rough Country 2.5" lift with shocks at $320
Teraflex 2.5" lift with shocks at $500

I do plan to install myself.

I am not one to cheap out, I do believe in do it right or do it twice, however I also do not like to spend more when not necessary. I recently put Pro Comp springs and shocks with 2" lift on my Wife's 01 TJ and it looks great, but rides quite a bit rougher.

I appreciate any help/advise given.

20160202_120441.jpg
 

mo0s3

New member
Grats on the new JKU.
I will tell you from personal experience to not go cheap on the lift. I have had three different lifts on my Jeep and wished I did more research.
One of our group just replaced his rough country lift and went with the evo plush and he loves it.
And as far as teraflex my parents run the 3 1/2 lift and the kit didn't come with adjustable arms so you are stuck with their pinion angle that teraflex runs.
Take your time, think about exactly where you want to go with your build in the future and research the crap out of it .
But in the end it's your Build and you can do whatever you like :) that's the great thing about jeeps but it is also a double edged sword lol
 

Napalm

New member
If you're looking for something in the 2inch range, might I recommend the EVO leveling kit. While slightly smaller than the lifts you are looking at, the 2inch Plush ride coils included for the front of the Jeep are a great coil and give you a great ride(in my opinion).

Not sure what tire size you are looking to run in the future, but this kit will allow you to run 35s. If you are sticking with stock wheel/tire, this kit will still look great with them.
 
Based on the prices you mentioned, I'm guessing you're referring to the 2.5" Teraflex spacer lift kit and the Rough Country spring lift kit?

http://havocoffroad.com/teraflex-budget-boost-spacer-kit-2-5.html

Rough Country will be a bit stiff and is a bare bones minimum kit that will affect your handling somewhat.

The Teraflex spacer kit does include a set of sway bar links, bump stop extensions and a track bar relocation bracket to relocate your axle back under center. Your rear sway bar links are longer than your front, so you swap the new sway bar links in for the rear and then the rears go on the front. RC doesn't address this. Also, the RC kit doesn't address bump stops or the rear axle location. I'm generally not a huge fan of spacer kits because if you take it off road at all, your coil length remains the same and the short rear springs can pop out. The reason why I do like Teraflex spacer kits is because their rear spacers have a funnel which guides your spring back in place.

In my opinion, the better way to lift it (while staying within a similar price point arena) would be the 2.5" Teraflex spring lift.

http://havocoffroad.com/teraflex-lift-kit-2-5.html

I've installed tons of these and the ride quality is great. For a mostly street driven rig that just sees the occasional trail, I think it is one of the best values for the money out there.

If you do take her offroad, invest in either an aftermarket driveshaft so that you don't tear the boot or run a simple set of exhaust spacers.

http://havocoffroad.com/teraflex-exhaust-spacer-kit-2012-tfx-2610000.html
 

Rayford85

Member
I went cheap first and got a zone 2 inch bb lift with there shocks and it rode like absolute shit. Swapped it out with an evo leveling kit paired with some rancho 9000 shocks and the ride quality is so much better.
 

MR.Ty

Token East Coast Guy
Welcome to WAL! If you like the way your new JKUR rides a budget boost (AKA spacer lift) is the way to go. I have been running the Rough Country Series 2 budget boost for almost 2 years now. Its about $180 and comes with everything you need except bump stops. The pucks are steel but you shouldn't have an issue with rust since you live in NV. Regardless of which budget boost you get I don't suggest getting the shocks that typically come with these kits. Typically they are very cheap and are prone to failures, you are better off getting a kit with shock extensions and reusing your Rubicon shocks.
 
I´m happy with my 2 inch ome lift.

Just be very carefull about what coils you choose if you go OME. If you have stock bumper and no plan for winch, choose the right coil for that and if you are planning to invest in heavy steel bumper and winch, choose coil for that. Ome have a chart there you can see what coil to choose. Do not go for the recomended coil that the webshops have. Often to stiff. Use ome chart instead. This is very important or you will end up with either a to stiff and to high jeep or a jeep with no lift and to soft.

My 2 inch ome gave me about 1,9 inch of lift. About 1 to 1,5 inch of extra wheel travel compared to sahara stock. No need for bumpstop or extension brackets for break fluid lines. The ome shoocks travel lenght are made within the limit of the jk stock components.

Running 285/70/18 tire cooper stt max with very very little rubbing against the swaybar at full steering. Easy to fix, just adjust the steering wheel nut.
 
Last edited:

Red Knight15

Caught the Bug
Welcome to WAYALIFE.
I'm running a Rubicon Express budget boost 2.5" front 1.75" in back with Rancho RS 7000 shocks. It came with bump stops and extended swaybar links for the
back.
It fits 35s no problem on factory Rubicon wheels with 1.5" wheel spacers. ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1468863291.182302.jpg
 

Heavyhaul07

New member
Me id drive it the way it is and injoy it. Save some money and get a good lift. I run a rubicon express 3" springs and they are stiff. There not bad when I fly down dirt roads but when I Cruz down one I feel it.
 

JOHN73738

Member
I appreciate all the response. It has given me a lot to think about.

Realistically the only 2 things I am doing is the lift (mostly to level and help on intermediate trails) and a http://kmsafaristore.com/en/content/13-highlander. We like to camp but not rough it so I need a way to haul all our gear.

Thanks again, I will post my progress.
 
Last edited:

JOHN73738

Member
Finally got it into the shop to have my lift kit installed. Went with the Rubicon Express 2.5" Basic kit with monotube shocks. Picking it up tomorrow then taking it out on a trail for the before and after pics.

Thanks again for everyone's input. It really helped.
 
Finally got it into the shop to have my lift kit installed. Went with the Rubicon Express 2.5" Basic kit with monotube shocks. Picking it up tomorrow then taking it out on a trail for the before and after pics.

Thanks again for everyone's input. It really helped.
It's a great kit. I have it. Had it on 2 years now. No issues. 35 mtrs on it now with flatties. Thinking 37 on the next go aroundhttp://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/580f399dc2c22/20160429_154654.jpg?
 

JOHN73738

Member
Finally made up my mind and had the Rubicon Express 2.5" basic kit with monotube shocks installed. Extremely happy with the on road ride quality both on surface streets and highway. 1477765439679.jpg 1477765446571.jpg 1477765450360.jpg

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-P907A using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
Top Bottom