New JK Sport Build Advice Needed

I've got a new 2016 JK Sport, manual trans I picked up a couple of weeks ago and I am (of course) itching to put bigger wheels and tires on it to get the look I want. As a side note...this is a weekend driver for me and I will be driving mostly on paved side roads and through a mid sized college town. I am not opposed to trying some things out with the local Jeep clubs, but I am thinking the total NoOb stuff will be all I want to mess with for the foreseeable future. (Who knows, I could end up getting hooked though hehe). I do love the look of 35s for sure, but I realize they come with a pretty hefty price tag. Any advice on where to start for the lifted / more rugged look? I hear all kinds of advice from "go with a 4" lift-you'll be glad you did!", to "you can get by with a 2.5" lift doing what I am doing. Ask 10 different people, get 10 different answers! It's mind boggling. If I am not mistaken higher lifts (like 3.5 and over) will require geometry correction, etc. among other things.

I've gotten one quote from a local shop for this JKS suspension for around $1800 installed. With a wheel and tire package, it would come in around 4k.

http://jksmfg.com/i-18879228-jspec-...-wrangler-jk-2-door.html?ref=category:1044773

Is this kit fine as it stands? Does it need more geometry correction than included? Again I have heard differing opinions from different sources so I am just trying to ask enough people to gain some kind of consensus....Thanks in advance and sorry if the post is a bit long!

Hey welcome to wal. It sounds like for what you want to do a leveling kit and 33s would be plenty. I would also suggest going out and wheeling it to understand what it can do as it surprises many first timers.

I am running a leveling kit with cut fenders and 35s.
The factory bumstops actually are set up perfect with the leveling kit, it flexes ok and nothing rubs with my 3.5 inch backspace wheels.
I did a 4.5 lift on my last jeep and it took a lot of work to get everything driving well.
This time I am going LCG with this build.

IMO you don't need that lift if it's just the look you want. Try looking into a budget boost like a 2.5 from Teraflex. For a few hundred $. You can get away with shock extensions. And pick out some nice wheels and tires. You'll be fine and can still Offroad if you want. No need to drop that kinda cash.

Welcome to WAL!

Good advice flowing IMO. I've slowly added things to mine as I've done and tried different obstacles. Some have been successful with little to no modifications and some clearly needed more work. A few other things, like skids, have been preventative while learning from others hard mistakes.

I'm running the EVO leveling kit and 33's. This has been good to me in terms of pavement vs off road performance and good to my wallet. I'm still on stock gears and driveshafts which are clearly big expenses on top of lift, tires and possibly wheel changes.

Take the great advice offered or do your own thing. In the end, it's your Jeep. You're the only one that really needs to be happy with it.

With a sport you will eventually want to regear as well with 35's depending on where in Tennessee you are is how soon. The hills suck with those tall gears and 35's

Welcome! Personally, I'm running an EVO 2" leveling kit on my 2 door. It gave me the perfect lift height for my 35's. Very simple installation and not much else was needed with it. I picked up a procal to reset my speedometer and help with the shift points (auto).

I have same Jeep, 2010. 3.5" lift works with 33s and 35s. Looks like decent pricing on your quotes.

I will be another of the 10+ opinions on this. You have to do what's right for you, your Jeep and budget. If you never plan to leave the local roads you can go with a less expensive lift kit and shocks and still be a nice ride around town. And no need for quick disconnects.

I did Rubicon Express 3.5 on mine, it's my daily and I go offroad a couple times a month or more if I can. It's capable and fun! I got used 35s to try and I like them. There will be some rub with that size tire but you can live with it if you don't make sharp turns. I do so I added 1.5" wheel centric spacers and that fixed that.

It's a rabbit hole. Welcome.

Go read a ton of build threads and start with CarolinaJK's. He did a great job with making simple yet very effective mods. Tires, leveling kit, trimmed fenders boom!

Then a winch, cb and maybe a bumper.

chipper said:

IMO you don't need that lift if it's just the look you want. Try looking into a budget boost like a 2.5 from Teraflex. For a few hundred $. You can get away with shock extensions. And pick out some nice wheels and tires. You'll be fine and can still Offroad if you want. No need to drop that kinda cash.

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Great advise!!

Thanks for all of the advice! I had a feeling that lift might be a bit much for me considering my newness in the Jeep world. Is it better to go with a budget boost kit with spacers or a coil lift like the one below? It's not much more expensive really...

Also I hear Teraflex mentioned several times...is it the "go to" brand for this kind of thing? Are there any others, and more importantly any to stay away from?

Below is a link to a coil kit I mentioned...

http://www.rubiconexpress.com/Suspe...ks.aspx?t_c=1&t_s=38&t_pt=3533&t_pn=R/ERE7121