A BETTER BUDGET BOOST : Rancho 2" Sport JL Wrangler Rubicon Lift

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
For about 4 months now, Cindy and I have been running a 2.5" coil spacer lift on JET Li, our 2018 Jeep JL Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited and while we were happy that it got us running a set of 37" tires, I can't say that we've been overly thrilled with the quality of its ride. To be clear, the ride wasn't exactly terrible but compared to stock, something we thought was awesome, it just felt "okay" to us at best.

From what we could tell, most of what we were feeling was coming from the factory shocking having a hard time keeping up with the added unsprung weight of our bigger tires and heavy beadlock wheels. In an effort to smooth things out, we did installed a brand new set of Rancho RS5000X JL shocks which now come with DRS (dynamic rebound spring) technology and they did help out quite a bit - but we still felt that our ride could be better. I should also note that thanks to the added weight of an aftermarket, heavy duty steel bumper and a winch, the front end of our JL sagged a lot and enough so that we were left with maybe 1.5" of lift. Also, with the weight of all our gear loaded in the back, our rear end sagged a whole 2" - as in, we were left with only .5" of lift on our longer trail runs and that had us bottoming out on just about ever rut, bump and rock we hit. In other words, there's only so much a factory coil can do.

While we've been more than happy testing out a budget boost on our JL Wrangler and for as long as we had, it was time for us to move on to the next stage of JET Li's build. Being that we had EVO adjustable control arms installed and were already running a set of longer Rancho shocks, all we were really needing was a set of replacement lift coils to make that happen. As luck would have it, the all new Rancho 2" Sport Lift for a Rubicon came with what we were needing and after making a couple of calls, JET was ready to get a new spring or should I say, "springs" in his step.

Here's a shot of everything that comes with the Rancho 2" Sport Lift. As you can see, it comes complete with new, progressive rate corner specific coils, longer RS5000X shock absorbers, 2" front and rear bump stop extensions, rear sway bar links, front sway bar link relocation brackets and an emergency brake cables relocation bracket.
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Here's a shot of what the front springs look like. I should note that these look like they are made out of a thicker wire, are about .5" wider in diameter and have 5 more winds than the factory coils.
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As mentioned, the progressive rate springs that Rancho provides with this kit is corner specific and each one is labeled accordingly. After each part number, there is an "LF" or "RF" as in, left front or right front.
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Just like factory, the passenger side front spring is measurably taller than the driver side spring.
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This is what the rear springs look like. Just like the front set, these are made out of a thicker wire, are about .5" wider in diameter and have 1 additional wind than factory.
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Again, the rear coils are labeled with part numbers that end with an "LR" or "RR" to help identify where they go.
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The difference in height between the 2 sides is even greater on the rear coils.
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On the rack and ready for a well needed upgrade!
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Being that we spent most of our time filming this install for a future JL JOURNAL, we didn't take a whole lot of pics but here are a few of what JET Li looks like with his new springs installed.
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If you see a slight lean to the driver side, it's not your imagination. I should note that we could see it from the day we brought JET Li home and as we would later come to find, it was because of the passenger side factory coils were physically taller than the driver side. Well, the same is true with the Rancho coils and our best guess for why they've done this is to help eliminate the passenger side lean that all JK's had.
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Overall, JET Li's stance didn't change much at all and if anything, his rear end was now sitting about .5" higher up.
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Here are a few shots of what the new Rancho springs and shocks look like installed.
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wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Okay, so we know this new Rancho 2" Sport lift makes our JL Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited looks great sitting in our driveway but how does it perform? Well, here are a few shots that we took from the testing we did, out on the trail. :cool:

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What's the verdict you might ask?
HUGE IMPROVEMENT!

Just to put things into perspective, the Rancho 2" Sport Lift is a $640 kit running entry level RS5000X shocks and yet, the ride quality of our Jeep JL Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited has improved significantly!

On pavement, our ride is much smoother, bumps and imperfections in the road are dampened much better and what I was really surprised by was that our cornering was significantly improved. I can only assume that the factory coils never liked having the center of gravity on our JL sitting higher than stock and so with our coil spacers installed, we felt a LOT more sloshing around. Getting up to the trail we ran, we took one of the windiest mountain highways in our area and was super happy to have JET feel like a sports car now or at least by comparison. Also, loaded up with all our gear, we only saw a .5" drop which means, we still had about 1.5" of solid lift.

Off road is where we really felt a difference, if only because we weren't sagging as much in the rear. I have no doubt that the progressive rate springs were helping out a lot as well but hard as I tried, I couldn't get our JL to bottom out or at least, not in the bone jarring way that our coil spacer lift did. The additional .5" of stuff helped make flexing feel more stable and the shocks seemed to do a much better job of working with the springs to dampen the bumps while jamming across rougher terrain. Again, I need to point out that this is in comparison to what we were running before.

PROS
The biggest pro of the Rancho 2" Sport Lift is that for it's SUPER LOW COST of $640, you get a complete kit with new springs and shocks, one that provides a fair amount of lift and most importantly, one that provides a really nice ride, especially for the money. To me, this kit makes it really hard to recommend a budget boost when a mere $150 more can get you this instead. Another pro is that the kit is easy to install and comes with an emergency brake cables relocation bracket.

CONS
I have to say that I'm not a big fan of progressive, dual or even triple rate coils. While they may do a good job of making your Jeep "look" more level when loaded up and keep you from bottoming out on the trail, they often use up the softer side of the coil and leave you on the firm side - thus leaving you with a firmer ride. Also, coils like these will work against stuff when trying to flex and this is something I saw in our test. I suppose it's a small price to pay for what they do for you but it I think it's worth noting. Last but not least, I can't say that I'm too happy with taller passenger side coils that come with this kit. I know a lot of manufacturers are doing this but has they've left our JL with a visible lean to the drive side. I literally have to load up all our heaviest gear on the passenger side just to make it look more level. But then, we did have this problem with the factory springs as well.

ADDITIONAL NOTES
It's nice that this kit comes with an emergency brake cables relocation bracket but it really isn't necessary to install, especially for just 2" of lift. Installing it will allow your rear axle to droop more and that will make it easier to install your new springs but this will also leave your emergency brake cables with a lot more slack. In other words, your emergency brake lever will need to be pulled up a LOT higher for it to feel like it's working at all.

Also, I'm not sure why Rancho chose to use relocation brackets so that you can still use your factory front sway bar links especially when installing the factory rear links up front is probably the easier and better way to go.

Finally, it is my understanding that the 2" Sport Lift for Rubicons is the exact same kit as the 3.5" lift for Sport and Saharas. Not sure why there's such a height difference but, there you have it.

IS IT A BUY?
YES. Based on my experience, this Rancho Sport Lift Kit is worth every penny and it's a MUCH BETTER BUY than a basic budget boost with shock extensions. Sure, it does costs a bit more but - just a bit.

:thumb:

Please let me know if you have any questions. :cool:
 

Sharkey

Word Ninja
Curious if this came with rear bump stop extensions? As you know, i basically have the JKUR version of this kit with the 9000 shocks and, while I’ve been very happy with it (especially for the price), I definitely need rear bump extensions. I almost ruined my tires flexing the Jeep out.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Curious if this came with rear bump stop extensions? As you know, i basically have the JKUR version of this kit with the 9000 shocks and, while I’ve been very happy with it (especially for the price), I definitely need rear bump extensions. I almost ruined my tires flexing the Jeep out.

Yup, front and rear bump stop extensions are included with the kit.
 

TOPLESS

Caught the Bug
Looks great! Any reason why you went with 5000’s and not the 9000’s? Just curious cause I’m looking at the JK kit but with 9000’s.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Looks great! Any reason why you went with 5000’s and not the 9000’s? Just curious cause I’m looking at the JK kit but with 9000’s.

The RS5000X shocks are made specifically for the JL and they're what come with the kit. To the best of my knowledge, 9000's are not available for the JL yet.
 

azphil

New member
0.5" thicker....that equals one-half inch

Are you sure those springs are that much thicker?? Helluvafreakinrideireckon.
 

Andy5160

Hooked
Great and simple review for those who knows and especially for those who is new to it [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]
Oh and was about to ask about yellow jeep but it was already answered [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


Sent from my iPad using WAYALIFE mobile app
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Are you sure those springs are that much thicker?? Helluvafreakinrideireckon.

Um, welcome back from last year. I don't recall saying these springs "are that much thicker" - just that they "looked" thicker. I could be wrong. The fronts springs measure 5.5" in diameter and factory are only 5". The rears measure 6.5" in diameter and factory are 6".

Great write up eddie. Still have been trying to decide the route I plan on going with the wife’s jl. Love how it drives stock. Lol

No lie, unlike a stock JK, I too think that the stock JL rides awesome. This lift is a big improvement over coil spacers and stock shocks running big heavy wheels and tires but I'd be lying if I said it was like stock. Close but a bit off.

Great and simple review for those who knows and especially for those who is new to it [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]
Oh and was about to ask about yellow jeep but it was already answered [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

Thank you :)
 

Mybadjk

Caught the Bug
Um, welcome back from last year. I don't recall saying these springs "are that much thicker" - just that they "looked" thicker. I could be wrong. The fronts springs measure 5.5" in diameter and factory are only 5". The rears measure 6.5" in diameter and factory are 6".



No lie, unlike a stock JK, I too think that the stock JL rides awesome. This lift is a big improvement over coil spacers and stock shocks running big heavy wheels and tires but I'd be lying if I said it was like stock. Close but a bit off.



Thank you :)

I haven’t rode in a stock jk, but heard it’s comparable to the jl. But seems like stock geometry for control arms is a lot flatter than a jk. Seems a little flatter even when lifted. Thought about dealer doing mopar life. But think of saving and buying once and doing the evo long arm. Thinking of finishing the jk first.


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
I haven’t rode in a stock jk, but heard it’s comparable to the jl. But seems like stock geometry for control arms is a lot flatter than a jk. Seems a little flatter even when lifted. Thought about dealer doing mopar life. But think of saving and buying once and doing the evo long arm. Thinking of finishing the jk first.

LOL!! Don't know who told you that. I've owned 4 JK's and can tell you that I hated the stock ride. In fact, I always laughed whenever someone told me their lift kit rode like stock - made me think, poor thing! The JL is way nicer or at least, in my opinion anyway.
 
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