Lift kit rabbit hole

[loomis]

Hi everyone. Like it says, I'm trying to work out a lift that will suit my needs... but the more I read the further down the rabbit hole I go.

Here's what I have. 2004 Rubicon with what I'm guessing is 2" coil spacers. What I want is to do is get rid of the coil spacers and go with 2' OME coils and Bilstein shocks, I would also like to to a 1.25 savvy body lift. Looking to go 31's, maybe 33's. This is my daily driver, with only occasional off roading.

It looks to me like I need shocks, springs, body lift, bump stops and I already have a set of sway bar disconnects for a 2.5" lift. Do I need adjustable front and rear track bars? Motor mount spacers? Steering stabilizer? control arms, SYE, drive shaft?

I'm not made out of money, but I would rather get it right the first time.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[never monday]

With a BB you can just put the 31’s on and go. A Rubi came stock with metric 31’s
Do you have drive shaft vibration now? Adjustable upper should be on your short list.

 

[primetime4]

An alternative to new track bars would be a relocation bracket for the rear or drilling a new hole for the front. Neither sound great to me so I opted for adjustables. At 2 - 2.5 inches of lift, they might not be essential but your Jeep with be shifted slightly to one side.

The rest depends on whether or not you get any vibes and how you want to address it. A transfer case drop is easiest but defeats the purpose of the lift in the first place so a motor mount lift may be better and recommended with the body lift anyway. That alone might be enough so you may still need to drop the t-case slightly or adjust the pinion angle with adjustable rear uppers.

The SYE and adjustable control arms are another way you deal with vibes without needing a t-case drop. Combined with a body and mml, you may be able to get a slack enough driveshaft angle and clearance to do a tummy tuck. A 2 inch lift isn’t too drastic so you can definitely add things in phases.

 

[never monday]

An alternative to new track bars would be a relocation bracket for the rear or drilling a new hole for the front. Neither sound great to me so I opted for adjustables. At 2 - 2.5 inches of lift, they might not be essential but your Jeep with be shifted slightly to one side.

The rest depends on whether or not you get any vibes and how you want to address it. A transfer case drop is easiest but defeats the purpose of the lift in the first place so a motor mount lift may be better and recommended with the body lift anyway. That alone might be enough so you may still need to drop the t-case slightly or adjust the pinion angle with adjustable rear uppers.

The SYE and adjustable control arms are another way you deal with vibes without needing a t-case drop. Combined with a body and mml, you may be able to get a slack enough driveshaft angle and clearance to do a tummy tuck. A 2 inch lift isn’t too drastic so you can definitely add things in phases.

OP has a Rubicon, no SYE needed

 

[TheBoogieman]

Hi everyone. Like it says, I'm trying to work out a lift that will suit my needs... but the more I read the further down the rabbit hole I go.

Here's what I have. 2004 Rubicon with what I'm guessing is 2" coil spacers. What I want is to do is get rid of the coil spacers and go with 2' OME coils and Bilstein shocks, I would also like to to a 1.25 savvy body lift. Looking to go 31's, maybe 33's. This is my daily driver, with only occasional off roading.

If your Jeep has a 2" BB and is setup for it, all you need is the 2"coils and you're done. Add the BL and new shocks IF you want to.

 

[Goatman]

Split the difference and stay with 32s. Then your 4.10 gearing works perfectly for anything but the hardest rock crawling. Get some Rancho 5000x for a 0-2" lift. Recenter the axles if you want, and Bob's your Uncle! That saves the most cash and can go anywhere a saner person would go. (Sorry Jerry and others) You already have lockers, stock control arms are fine. Everything works as it should with no rabbit hole to worry about.
It's a perfect daily driver, or a great weekend warrior. Perfect low buck build for a TJ. Go to 33s and then you get a bunch of other concerns with a taller lift.

 

[loomis]

Thanks for the feedback! I don't have any issues or vibrations when it comes to the ride. Thanks for sharing the insight about the tires, I would not have even considered looking into 32's. I also looked compared the Ranchos to the Bilstein, and it looks like the Ranchos are a better ride! I might do adjustable Track bars, just because I don't like the thought of doing a bracket. I'm assuming I would have to do front and back.

If I do the Rancho shocks, and OME springs, I remove the Coils spacers, right? Also, If I eventually add a Savvy BL, that doesnt mess with the drive line right?

 

[Irun]

Are you keeping the 16" wheels? Reason I'm asking is another alternative would be to go straight to 33" tires, but do so without adding additional tire width. If you run a 33x10.50R15 tire you'll get the added height, but won't have the drag a 12.5" wide tire has. It's also a C rated tire and a very good alternative for those that want to daily drive their Jeep. The only downside is tire choices are very limited. However, the BFG KO2 would be a good tire for your area and it's available in that size.

FWIW, this tire would work with a 2.5" OME suspension lift, a 1.25" Savvy BL, and a 3/4" - 1" spacer up front. Also, this would still work with you 4.10 gearing and manual transmission.

 

[Goatman]

I had no problems finding good C rated 16" tires. But there is definitely fewer options for a 16"rim.
If you go with the OME (or any) 2" spring lift then you just pull the old springs and spacer lift and replace with the taller spring.
Adding a body lift won't mess with the springs or shocks. Or steering setup. But it can require more than just the spacers. If you want adjustable track bars go for it. But the axle position you have now should stay the same after the new springs.
It's all up to how hard you want to run your Jeep offroad. 32's with 4.10 gears with a 2" lift just works great. And since you are already running 2" spacers, there are no suprises to pop up.
That's the beauty of 32's. There is minimal additional problems to deal with. If you have no vibration problem now then the 2" lift should not cause any vibrations either. And you don't need to worry about a regear in the axles. Or induce any steering issues. Since you are running a 2" spacer now, nothing should change. Do a quick toe in check (which should be no change), add your Rancho 5000x shocks (for a 0-2" lift) and new 32" tires, and you'll be set. If you want adjustable

 

[loomis]

I was looking at 15’s. My buddy swears by his 33x10.5, calls them pizza cutters.

is there really that much difference between 10.5 and 12?

 

[IPerkWVU]

Lots of good advice with the the OME springs and Ranchos

I’d also recommend the ZJ tie rod upgrade to bolster your steering.

If you stay with 16s, Goodyear makes a good load C duratrac in the metric 32.

If you stay with 15s, there are some pizza cutter fans on this forum for sure, handles on the street better.

If you run 33s, you’ll need the Savvy Body Lift, I’d also look at doing the Motor Mount Lift at the same time

 

[L J]

there really that much difference between 10.5 and 12?

a marginal improvement in street handling with the 10.5

 

[Goatman]

Thin tires are best on solid type ground. Fatter tires work better in unstable ground like mud or sand. The thin tire will want to dig for better traction. The fatter tire wants to 'float' on top.
Tractor design has been trying to find a happy medium for a long time, but in the end, tire design is best served by the type of surface you plan to be on. That's why you don't see a Prius running mud terrain tires. And no self respecting Jeep would be caught wearing highway tires.