Ideal Lift For Stock SE 2.5 / 2.4?

Chris said:
Factory springs, a 1.25" body lift, and 31s. That would be perfect.

Then you get to keep the factory progressive rate springs too (y)
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@Chris , do you have any specific recommendations for the body lift kit, or for some 0.75" coil spacers?
 
TJim said:
@SSTJ
What did you end up doing?
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Hey TJim. I'm moving slowly—got distracted by some much-needed rust treatment.

I picked up some springs off a 4.0, and will soon put them on to see if I get a little lift. Then, probably a spacer in the front to even out the 'rake'. Then, probably a small body lift. But taking it one step at a time, starting with the spring replacement. I have the Rancho shocks for about 0.5–1" in the back, and about 1–1.5" in the front (according to your calculations!). Can't remember the part numbers at the moment.
 
SSTJ said:
Hey TJim. I'm moving slowly—got distracted by some much-needed rust treatment.

I picked up some springs off a 4.0, and will soon put them on to see if I get a little lift. Then, probably a spacer in the front to even out the 'rake'. Then, probably a small body lift. But taking it one step at a time, starting with the spring replacement. I have the Rancho shocks for about 0.5–1" in the back, and about 1–1.5" in the front (according to your calculations!). Can't remember the part numbers at the moment.
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Cool! I hope you are rust free soon! Haha

are you planning for 31” tires?
 
TJim said:
Cool! I hope you are rust free soon! Haha

are you planning for 31” tires?
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I go back and forth. I have a set of 30s right now, and will probably stick with them for the time being. But yes, I'd like to have a setup that accommodates 31s for the future.
 
SSTJ said:
I go back and forth. I have a set of 30s right now, and will probably stick with them for the time being. But yes, I'd like to have a setup that accommodates 31s for the future.
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I’d go at least 2” lift (SL and BL) for 31” tires if I were you. At least if you care about up travel and off roading.

Personally, I would prefer only a SL, that will give you more articulation (being able to use longer shocks) but that might lead into other problems too. You know what suits you best better than anyone.


Have fun building it!
 
TJim said:
I’d go at least 2” lift (SL and BL) for 31” tires if I were you. At least if you care about up travel and off roading.

Personally, I would prefer only a SL, that will give you more articulation (being able to use longer shocks) but that might lead into other problems too. You know what suits you best better than anyone.


Have fun building it!
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Thanks very much. Yea, I'm a little torn. I don't really like the look or idea of a BL, but I do like how it might afford me, later, to do a tummy-tuck. The additional clearance of a tuck would be nice, especially since I will probably never go more than 31s and about 2" of overall lift. And, although it's a little silly, I just don't like the way that 'shovel' of a skid plate hangs down underneath the Jeep. I also value Chris's advice, above, about sticking with the stock progressive springs as long as I can.

I'm going to start with these 4.0 springs just as an experiment. Someone else, locally, is selling some Rubicon springs, but for a little more than I care to spend on an experiment. But after I mess around with these alternative stock springs, I'll decide whether to do a BL or SL beyond that. The truth is that I'm rarely off-road, but I can't resist the temptation to keep building it with off-road capabilities in mind. :)
 
TJim said:
... that will give you more articulation (being able to use longer shocks) but that might lead into other problems too. You know what suits you best better than anyone.
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^^^ This! Yep, I'm really not in a position (in terms of time, money, and expertise) to do anything that would require additional work on the 'geometry' of the Jeep. I'm a rookie at this stuff, and I enjoy keeping things under control by using my 2.5L engine as an excuse not to do anything that will get me in over my head or budget. :)
 
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SSTJ said:
Thanks very much. Yea, I'm a little torn. I don't really like the look or idea of a BL, but I do like how it might afford me, later, to do a tummy-tuck. The additional clearance of a tuck would be nice, especially since I will probably never go more than 31s and about 2" of overall lift. And, although it's a little silly, I just don't like the way that 'shovel' of a skid plate hangs down underneath the Jeep. I also value Chris's advice, above, about sticking with the stock progressive springs as long as I can.

I'm going to start with these 4.0 springs just as an experiment. Someone else, locally, is selling some Rubicon springs, but for a little more than I care to spend on an experiment. But after I mess around with these alternative stock springs, I'll decide whether to do a BL or SL beyond that. The truth is that I'm rarely off-road, but I can't resist the temptation to keep building it with off-road capabilities in mind. :)
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Tummy tuck sounds good! It’s on my mind too. Especially for smalls lifts, I think is extremely beneficial.

The thing that I do not understand though is that most people, if not all, in this forum claim that springs do not play any role in ride quality, which is the benefit of keeping the stock progressive springs as long as you can. The only excuse I can think of is budget. You lose other things though..
 
TJim said:
Tummy tuck sounds good! It’s on my mind too. Especially for smalls lifts, I think is extremely beneficial.

The thing that I do not understand though is that most people, if not all, in this forum claim that springs do not play any role in ride quality, which is the benefit of keeping the stock progressive springs as long as you can. The only excuse I can think of is budget. You lose other things though..
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Yep, I remember our back-and-forth in another thread, about that topic. The moral of the story seemed to be that the difference in spring rate between all available aftermarket spring was only significant enough to account for ride height, but too small to account for a difference in ride quality. So, perhaps the recommendation to stick with stock springs has less to do with spring 'rate', and more to do with spring 'type' (progressive). If I understand correctly, most (if not all) aftermarket springs are not true progressive springs.

So again, I dunno, but I'm thinking that the reason someone like Chris would recommend me sticking with stock springs as long as my ride height allows has to do with them being progressive. @Chris , wanna school us for a minute?
 
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SSTJ said:
Yep, I remember our back-and-forth in another thread, about that topic. The moral of the story seemed to be that the difference in spring rate between all available aftermarket spring was only significant enough to account for ride height, but too small to account for a difference in ride quality. So, perhaps the recommendation to stick with stock springs has less to do with spring 'rate', and more to do with spring 'type' (progressive). If I understand correctly, most (if not all) aftermarket springs are not true progressive springs.

So again, I dunno, but I'm thinking that the reason someone like Chris would recommend me sticking with stock springs as long as my ride height allows has to do with them being progressive. @Chris , wanna school us for a minute?
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If it was me I would go with the factory springs being as though they are progressive rate springs. Pair that with a 1” coil spring spacer and a 1.25” body lift.
 
So, just as a visual, I just did a lift on my ‘97 2.5l SE. I did 2” procomp springs, 0-2” Rancho’s, 0.75 spacers up front and jks disco’s. This is on 265/75/16 which is about 30.5” tires. No body lift. Maybe this will help you decide.
7601400A-E731-451E-9A6E-769A7108CF27.jpeg

***Note. I had just set the rear end down minutes before this pic, so I think the rear end will settle a little bit to level out.
 
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Nashvillwill said:
So, just as a visual, I just did a lift on my ‘97 2.5l SE. I did 2” procomp springs, 0-2” Rancho’s, 0.75 spacers up front and jks disco’s. This is on 265/75/16 which is about 30.5” tires. No body lift. Maybe this will help you decide. View attachment 251280
***Note. I had just set the rear end down minutes before this pic, so I think the rear end will settle a little bit to level out.
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Did you, by any chance, measure how much actual lift you got?
 
Chris said:
If it was me I would go with the factory springs being as though they are progressive rate springs. Pair that with a 1” coil spring spacer and a 1.25” body lift.
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Thanks Chris. What @TJim and I were wondering above is what's so great about the progressive rate springs. In other threads, we've learned time and again that "springs don't determine ride quality—only ride height". So are progressive springs an exception to that rule?
 
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Nashvillwill said:
Btw. My 0.75 front spacers came in a four pack. I used the two I needed. If you pay the shipping, the other two are yours. Just let me know.
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Hey, thanks! I might take you up on that. I need to measure how much I need up front, after I put in these 4.0 springs. Back with you soon.
 
Nashvillwill said:
So, just as a visual, I just did a lift on my ‘97 2.5l SE. I did 2” procomp springs, 0-2” Rancho’s, 0.75 spacers up front and jks disco’s. This is on 265/75/16 which is about 30.5” tires. No body lift. Maybe this will help you decide. View attachment 251280
***Note. I had just set the rear end down minutes before this pic, so I think the rear end will settle a little bit to level out.
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Hey, this is more helpful than you think, because mine is a 97 2.5 in "Flame Red" and "Saddle/Spice". If I could just find some Rubicon wheels in my budget, we'd be twins.
 
SSTJ said:
Hey, this is more helpful than you think, because mine is a 97 2.5 in "Flame Red" and "Saddle/Spice". If I could just find some Rubicon wheels in my budget, we'd be twins.
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I saw a nice set of them in my local group today. I guess I haven’t posted here enough to send a PM. Send me one and I’ll share the link with you.
 
Chris said:
If it was me I would go with the factory springs being as though they are progressive rate springs. Pair that with a 1” coil spring spacer and a 1.25” body lift.
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Where does one find 1" coil spacers?
I can find 3/4 lots of places, and I have found one brand that is 1.25.
There are lots of 2" ones as well. I just can't find 1".
 
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