Post Date
January,
16
2018
There is so much information and things to consider when lifting your Jeep. I am still a newbie trying to learn all the in's and out's of a lift. Just trying to figure out what all those parts do... like a drag link, steering stabilizer, etc is a lot of work. The best place to start is to ask myself some questions.
"Why do I want a lift?"
For me the number one reason is to have more ground clearance for those rocky trails at Rausch Creek Off Road Park. Of course the second reason is to have a more "badass" Jeep look. And.... to move out of that "Stock" category.
This is important to me because I want to keep my Jeep in the garage. The opening to my garage is 83 inches, but when the garage door is up it hangs just below that at 81 inches. It leaves me with 7 inches to spare. Now, I need to start looking into how much height my Jeep will get with certain lifts and tires sizes.
There is still a lot more research I need to do and the best research for me is from you, my fellow Jeepers. Right now I am leaning towards a 2.5' with 35's. I really, really want the Clayton 3.5 lift, but garage clearance is a big hurdle right now. Once I figure out how tall my Jeep will be with certain lifts and tires then I can narrow it down.
What I do know is I plan on getting the lift, tire and wheels all at once so I need to start saving those dollars. The other must do is fortifying my Jeep by adding armor underneath my Jeep.In the meantime I will continue to ask questions of my fellow Jeepers. Here are some great comments from yesterday's post. Thank You to all of you who shared your thoughts!
"Think carefully before you have a lift kit fitted, the geometry of the vehicle will change. "
"Long arm is not necessary on a JK with under 4" of lift and/or standard 11-12" travel shocks. "
"I wheel has a lot of off camber wheeling. I have kept mine low for the pucker factor. I purchased a highline kit from AEV and picked up a 2.5 inch from rough country. Running 35s on a TJ and I sold my old fenders and hood to a guy that rolled his Jeep which offset the cost of the AEV kit"
"Jk's max out around 4" before caster/pinion angle becomes a balancing act. That and driveshafts. Many folks run 37's with as little at 2.5" of lift. The JK unlike the Tj Has way more fender clearance for bigger tires. Yea you may have to trim
The flares, trim the seams but thats it. I would stay around 2.5 -3" max. 3.5+ means highsteer, driveshafts, etc."
"2.5 budget boost will net 2.5. Coils tend to run more. Then add 1/2 tire size.
A 2.5 BB with 35's = 4" over stock height. "
"My first question would be, what do you want the jeep to do. If you want to go over any obstacle, go big. If you want a little bit of cool factor, the keep it short. Maybe a 4". A body lift kit may even be good. That will give you the ability to get a slightly bigger tire, without messing with driveline angles."
"But remember, the higher the jeep, the more of a pain it is to get in. Also, PA has some ridiculous lift laws. So if you go too big, you may be hassled on the highway going to Rausch Creek. I live in PA, and have been looking at lift laws. My height is questionable now, and my new axles will add about 3". So it's been on my mind lately."
"Bigger tyres are going to kill mpg. And if you go too big, you will need to regear your difs. So you may want to find what tires you are going with and go from there.
Mike made an interesting comment to me once. He recommended that I add all the armour to my Jeep first, then add height so the extra weight doesn't bottom me out."
"On a previous post that I read, and cant remember where now, a commenter recommended that when you go up, any height, you go out as well, eight with wheels that are inset, or with spacers. his example was 3" up, and 1.5" out on each wheel to maintain stability. Something to think about. :-)"
"HI Tammy..I read the blog by "Matt" (not me). . I noticed that there was no mention of anything of a downside to lifting. Nothing about comfort, increase gas cost, having fun getting in and out, cost of tires etc. I'm riding on 17s with 32 inch tires. Do I really need to lift if I'm not planning on rock crawling or deep mudding? If you look at the original jeeps during WW2 they went through all kinds of terrain without any serious lifting. My jeep is basically stock and I drive it everyday. I do want to off road, but not on piles of rocks. My first mods are to add something to protect rockers and frame with a step and change the headlights. I love the look of a lifted jeep but I'm not convinced I should do it for a daily driver. "
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