Question about installing 3" Enforcer

2014 Billet Silver 2-Dr JK Sport. Currently running a Rubicon Express 3.5" Sport Kit with the Rubicon Express monotube shocks. I bought the Jeep about 2 years ago and really didn't know too much about lifts but I knew I wanted bigger tires. I've since learned that I could have probably fit my tires 34" Duratracs (with a leveling or spacer kit) without the lift.

Anyway, I can't really say anything bad at all about my lift. The jeep is my daily driver and I do very little off-roading (however I may do more in the future). Right now, I'd like a softer ride. That's why, after doing a good bit of research, I just purchased the 3" EVO Enforcer kit. I read about how their plush springs produced a great ride (although I know "a great ride" is completely subjective). My plan is to pair them with Rancho 9000 series shocks. I'm just wondering if what is making my ride harsh is because my jeep is so light. Again, 2dr with no back seat and aluminum bumpers front and rear. I have a crawler conceptz carrier but most of the time, I don't carry the spare.

Again, my current set up drives, steers, and handles very well. Because of this, I believe my geometry is pretty well dialed in. My question is, could I just replace my springs with the EVO springs? Also, I'm planning to do this myself and I am definitely a noob. When I drop my axles, to drop in the new springs (if I only change the springs at this point) should everything (factory control arms, track bar, drag link etc) line up and still be "aligned" from a geometry perspective?

I plan to install the shocks and EVO adjustable control arms at a later date. I eventually would also like to install a drag link flip kit. I'm sure I'll have more questions then because I've heard that the use of cam bolts require some repair to the bracket in order to switch to adjustable control arms.

Sorry for the long post, I've searched through tons of lift threads but never ran across my exact situation. If anyone has any thoughts and or advice, I'd be grateful to hear it.

Thanks in advance!

I'm guessing that if you already have all the other components for a 3" lift installed, just swapping the springs would be all you need. Note that a 3" plush on a light 2 door will probably get you closer to 4" or better. I've got their 2" plush on my heavy 2 door and I got 2.5" one they settled.

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yea the Rubicon Express kit has actually worked pretty well for me. I'm just looking for a softer ride for now but I went ahead and bought the Enforcer kit so I can upgrade gradually.

Thx for your reply

Just swap in the springs for now. Assuming you don't disconnect anything more than what you need to to remove them then there is no reason you would change any of the geometry of the suspension.

Ok, good to know, thank you

Just to reinforce the point, I think what tgoss said is right, just replace the coils and I think you'll find that alone will help.

ALSO, just to make sure, you should be running your tires at around 30 psi. Too much air in your tires like 35 psi or higher will give you a harsher ride as well.

got it, I think I'm somewhere between 32-35 now but I'll take them all down to 30.
Thx

Melosh (tennis pro) said:

got it, I think I'm somewhere between 32-35 now but I'll take them all down to 30.
Thx

Click to expand...

32-35 isn't terrible. I see guys running closer to 40 all the time and then they wonder why their ride is so harsh. At this point and time, your coils are more than likely the cause of what you're not liking in your ride.

Melosh (tennis pro) said:

2014 Billet Silver 2-Dr JK Sport. Currently running a Rubicon Express 3.5" Sport Kit with the Rubicon Express monotube shocks. I bought the Jeep about 2 years ago and really didn't know too much about lifts but I knew I wanted bigger tires. I've since learned that I could have probably fit my tires 34" Duratracs (with a leveling or spacer kit) without the lift.

Anyway, I can't really say anything bad at all about my lift. The jeep is my daily driver and I do very little off-roading (however I may do more in the future). Right now, I'd like a softer ride. That's why, after doing a good bit of research, I just purchased the 3" EVO Enforcer kit. I read about how their plush springs produced a great ride (although I know "a great ride" is completely subjective). My plan is to pair them with Rancho 9000 series shocks. I'm just wondering if what is making my ride harsh is because my jeep is so light. Again, 2dr with no back seat and aluminum bumpers front and rear. I have a crawler conceptz carrier but most of the time, I don't carry the spare.

Again, my current set up drives, steers, and handles very well. Because of this, I believe my geometry is pretty well dialed in. My question is, could I just replace my springs with the EVO springs? Also, I'm planning to do this myself and I am definitely a noob. When I drop my axles, to drop in the new springs (if I only change the springs at this point) should everything (factory control arms, track bar, drag link etc) line up and still be "aligned" from a geometry perspective?

I plan to install the shocks and EVO adjustable control arms at a later date. I eventually would also like to install a drag link flip kit. I'm sure I'll have more questions then because I've heard that the use of cam bolts require some repair to the bracket in order to switch to adjustable control arms.

Sorry for the long post, I've searched through tons of lift threads but never ran across my exact situation. If anyone has any thoughts and or advice, I'd be grateful to hear it.

Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

I have this same lift on my 2015 JKU and agree with how harsh the ride is, even running 30 psi or lower. I've done hours of research and asked several members for feedback. I put a heavy bumper and winch on the front which made a difference. Then over the holidays I had the rear loaded down. This made an incredible difference. I think those springs are harsh on a stock rig, especially a two door, because they were designed for rigs with lots of armor or heavy bumpers. I've decided not to swap out my springs. Ordered an LOD rear bumper with tire carrier. I'm pretty confident that will solve the rest of my harsh ride issue, and I wanted that bumper anyway. Got the go-ahead from the wife once she felt the difference in ride under load.
Best of luck

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best of luck to you too man, maybe the extra weight is what you need. At least you got "buy in" from the wife. I went into this unilaterally

Hopefully I'll get some positive results. My wife has her own jeep to drive though so I won't have to worry about hearing her complain about the way mine drives...just the $ I spent on the "improvement"

Melosh (tennis pro) said:

best of luck to you too man, maybe the extra weight is what you need. At least you got "buy in" from the wife. I went into this unilaterally

Hopefully I'll get some positive results. My wife has her own jeep to drive though so I won't have to worry about hearing her complain about the way mine drives...just the $ I spent on the "improvement"

Click to expand...

She watched me shopping for new goodies the other day and said "we need to talk" oh shit! Told me that the Jeep is hers, and it is. If if want to do anymore to just go buy my own and do whatever I want with it. Score!

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Yep, that's a green light if I've ever heard one

Hey

I'm reviving this thread a little to make an update and ask a couple more questions. First, thanks for the responses to my first "set" of questions. I installed the EVO springs a couple weeks ago and I'm liking the feel of the ride. I can't say that its a completely different feel, but I do believe they ride a little softer than my old (Rubicon Express) springs. It is hard to be objective though, after buying and installing another set I'm planning to change out the shocks very soon as well. I'm planning to go with the Rancho 9000 series.

Ok so I bought the EVO 3" Enforcer kit, but I've only installed the springs, at this point. I mentioned before that I was coming from a Rubicon Express Sport Kit and that I was happy with the way it handled. I was worried about jacking up my geometry with new springs. I was told that my geometry should still be good with my new springs and that is the case, thanks again!

My next question is regarding the EVO control arms. Currently running factory control arms since the RE sport kit did not come with control arms. I did not install my last lift but I see that "control arm geometry correction brackets" come with it. However, I'm pretty sure they aren't installed on my jeep. Not sure why, but I don't think they used them when installing my lift? The kit also contains "front and rear cam bolts for caster and pinion adjustment" so I'm thinking these were used to correct my geometry instead of the control arm brackets, if that makes sense? I measured 22 1/2" from center to center of the factory control arms both sides. In the install instructions for the Enforcer kit, it says to set the control arms to 22 7/8" as a starting setting. Could I just set the EVO control arms to 22 1/2" to keep my current geometry the same? I'm thinking 22 7/8 would make a pretty big difference in my geometry.

I guess, my final question is is it even worth it to install them at this point? I'm fine with the handling and everything now? I just love the look of these and want to get them installed, but I can wait if there's really no reason for me to install them now...maybe I'll get them painted to match my springs in the meantime

If cam bolts were installed, you will need to get some welding work done before you can install regular adjustable arms. The cam bolts changed the original arm mounting hole from a circle to a rectangle.

The length recommended in the Enforcer kit should get you pretty close to where you want to be. Final adjustments are easy enough with the arms on the Jeep. You should focus on getting the right caster for your setup, not necessarily on keeping the "center to center" the same between your existing and new arms.

Sharkey said:

If cam bolts were installed, you will need to get some welding work done before you can install regular adjustable arms. The cam bolts changed the original arm mounting hole from a circle to a rectangle.

The length recommended in the Enforcer kit should get you pretty close to where you want to be. Final adjustments are easy enough with the arms on the Jeep. You should focus on getting the right caster for your setup, not necessarily on keeping the "center to center" the same between your existing and new arms.

Click to expand...

Thx Sharkey


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Sharkey said:

If cam bolts were installed, you will need to get some welding work done before you can install regular adjustable arms. The cam bolts changed the original arm mounting hole from a circle to a rectangle.

The length recommended in the Enforcer kit should get you pretty close to where you want to be. Final adjustments are easy enough with the arms on the Jeep. You should focus on getting the right caster for your setup, not necessarily on keeping the "center to center" the same between your existing and new arms.

Click to expand...

Sharkey, you mentioned "final adjustments with the arms on the jeep"...might be a dumb question but is it best to make adjustments once they are bolted on?

In other words, I set the arms at 22 7/8" which was the recommended starting length. If I wanted to adjust them from here, would I just turn the adjustment nut on the arm (with them installed at both ends) or would I need to unbolt one side to make the adjustment and then try to move the axle to line up the bolt holes again?

Lastly, if I can make adjustments with both ends installed, would I want to make them with weight on the wheels or without weight on the wheels?

Thx


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Melosh (tennis pro) said:

Sharkey, you mentioned "final adjustments with the arms on the jeep"...might be a dumb question but is it best to make adjustments once they are bolted on?

In other words, I set the arms at 22 7/8" which was the recommended starting length. If I wanted to adjust them from here, would I just turn the adjustment nut on the arm (with them installed at both ends) or would I need to unbolt one side to make the adjustment and then try to move the axle to line up the bolt holes again?

Lastly, if I can make adjustments with both ends installed, would I want to make them with weight on the wheels or without weight on the wheels?

Thx


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Click to expand...

The control arms are designed to make adjustments while they are fully installed. Loosen the pinch bolt, make adjustments with adjustment bolt. Then retighten pinch bolt.



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chipper said:

The control arms are designed to make adjustments while they are fully installed. Loosen the pinch bolt, make adjustments with adjustment bolt. Then retighten pinch bolt.



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Click to expand...

Thx, does the jeep need to be off the ground to make the adjustments?


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Melosh (tennis pro) said:

Thx, does the jeep need to be off the ground to make the adjustments?


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Click to expand...

I don't think it matters. But if your using an angle finder to get the correct adjustment you need to be on level ground with wheels on. There should be a write up here for alignments


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chipper said:

I don't think it matters. But if your using an angle finder to get the correct adjustment you need to be on level ground with wheels on. There should be a write up here for alignments


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Click to expand...

yea I've read through most of the write ups, just never saw that part addressed, just that the wheels need to be on the ground when torquing everything down.

Thx


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