Looking for suggestions on a capable lift kit

[Calvin.8]

I am currently running a 2.5 inch RC lift that is just springs and shocks. It was already on my jeep when I bought it and I'm running 33's on it. It works for onroad driving and mild trails, but I'm wanting to be able to to do some more challenging trails, nothing insane tho as it is still my daily.

I dont have the money right now but when I do I'm looking at getting a 3-3.5 inch(so I can keep 33 inch tires and not 35's) higher quality complete lift. I am willing to spend a little more money on a good lift but still want to budget, so what I'm not sure on is where can I save a few bucks on certain parts and go with a cheaper brand, and what parts I need to put the money into.

Parts I want to have:
Springs
Shocks
Control Arms (Preferably all 8, but if it is not really needed then I'm ok with only going with just uppers or just lowers)
Front Track Bar
Rear End Links (Already have JKS quick disconnects for the front)
Transfer Case Drop if necessary (I really dont want to spend the money right now on sye and CV driveshaft)
Anything else I may have forgotten as well. Not looking to spend money where I dont need to.

It is my daily but is also my weekend warrior. So I'm looking to make my jeep capable, but save money on parts that I dont really need to be great for the things I will be doing.

 

[Calvin.8]

Would also like to mention that I would feel the most comfortable buying teraflex items for the more expensive items, as they have been a company I have done the most research on. Looking at getting the their 3 inch coil springs, with their shocks, and control arms. If there is a cheaper option that will do me well for those parts I am fine with not going with Teraflex.

 

[Chris]

My best advice for you if you want a lift that will be not only capable, but give you a good ride for both on-road and off-road would be a Currie 4" lift or a Savvy 4" lift.

Both of those lifts are considered top-shelf lifts, meaning that as far as "kits" go, they are the best you can buy. This is in part due to the Johnny Joints that they use on their control arms. Those lifts are both very well designed but companies who have stellar reputations and are very well known in the Jeep community. Both of them compete in the KOH competition, and again, both build amazing parts.

Yes, you will pay a lot of money upfront, but it's a one and done lift, meaning you buy once and cry once. Those Johnny Joints should last well over 8 years (compared to a Rough Country joint which will maybe last a few years at most), and paired with the right shocks, it will ride excellent (I suggest the Rancho RS5000X, as they are very well known for providing the best ride).

Ideally of course if you want to do this right, you'd have a SYE and CV driveshaft so that you could avoid the transfer case drop, which won't serve you well if you plan on doing any serious off-roading (it will actually be detrimental).

Teraflex is okay, but they are not anywhere near Currie or Savvy quality in my opinion. I always base a lift kit off of what type of joints they use for the control arms.

If they don't use Johnny Joints, it's not worth buying in my opinion. I think many would agree with me on that. Johnny Joints have been tried, tested, and used on probably more off-road vehicles than any other joint out there. They really are the shit!

Note that the lifts I suggested will all be 4", but 4" is perfect for 33s. For 35s you really want 5" or more.

 

[Calvin.8]

My best advice for you if you want a lift that will be not only capable, but give you a good ride for both on-road and off-road would be a Currie 4" lift or a Savvy 4" lift.

Both of those lifts are considered top-shelf lifts, meaning that as far as "kits" go, they are the best you can buy. This is in part due to the Johnny Joints that they use on their control arms. Those lifts are both very well designed but companies who have stellar reputations and are very well known in the Jeep community. Both of them compete in the KOH competition, and again, both build amazing parts.

Yes, you will pay a lot of money upfront, but it's a one and done lift, meaning you buy once and cry once. Those Johnny Joints should last well over 8 years (compared to a Rough Country joint which will maybe last a few years at most), and paired with the right shocks, it will ride excellent (I suggest the Rancho RS5000X, as they are very well known for providing the best ride).

Ideally of course if you want to do this right, you'd have a SYE and CV driveshaft so that you could avoid the transfer case drop, which won't serve you well if you plan on doing any serious off-roading (it will actually be detrimental).

Teraflex is okay, but they are not anywhere near Currie or Savvy quality in my opinion. I always base a lift kit off of what type of joints they use for the control arms.

If they don't use Johnny Joints, it's not worth buying in my opinion. I think many would agree with me on that. Johnny Joints have been tried, tested, and used on probably more off-road vehicles than any other joint out there. They really are the shit!

Note that the lifts I suggested will all be 4", but 4" is perfect for 33s. For 35s you really want 5" or more.

My best advice for you if you want a lift that will be not only capable, but give you a good ride for both on-road and off-road would be a Currie 4" lift or a Savvy 4" lift.

Both of those lifts are considered top-shelf lifts, meaning that as far as "kits" go, they are the best you can buy. This is in part due to the Johnny Joints that they use on their control arms. Those lifts are both very well designed but companies who have stellar reputations and are very well known in the Jeep community. Both of them compete in the KOH competition, and again, both build amazing parts.

Yes, you will pay a lot of money upfront, but it's a one and done lift, meaning you buy once and cry once. Those Johnny Joints should last well over 8 years (compared to a Rough Country joint which will maybe last a few years at most), and paired with the right shocks, it will ride excellent (I suggest the Rancho RS5000X, as they are very well known for providing the best ride).

Ideally of course if you want to do this right, you'd have a SYE and CV driveshaft so that you could avoid the transfer case drop, which won't serve you well if you plan on doing any serious off-roading (it will actually be detrimental).

Teraflex is okay, but they are not anywhere near Currie or Savvy quality in my opinion. I always base a lift kit off of what type of joints they use for the control arms.

If they don't use Johnny Joints, it's not worth buying in my opinion. I think many would agree with me on that. Johnny Joints have been tried, tested, and used on probably more off-road vehicles than any other joint out there. They really are the shit!

Note that the lifts I suggested will all be 4", but 4" is perfect for 33s. For 35s you really want 5" or more.

Ok thanks. And I guess I really didnt mean to say kit but, just buying a bunch of different parts to lift my jeep. So to me it sounds like Rancho shocks then either Currie or Savvy control arms. Would you recommend going with eithe of those two companies too for the springs, or could I get away with something cheaper. I'm not really sure how much the springs actually effect ride quality and offroad capabilities. And would you recommend to get just either upper or lower control arms, or all 8. Trying to save as much money as possible

 

[Calvin.8]

My best advice for you if you want a lift that will be not only capable, but give you a good ride for both on-road and off-road would be a Currie 4" lift or a Savvy 4" lift.

Both of those lifts are considered top-shelf lifts, meaning that as far as "kits" go, they are the best you can buy. This is in part due to the Johnny Joints that they use on their control arms. Those lifts are both very well designed but companies who have stellar reputations and are very well known in the Jeep community. Both of them compete in the KOH competition, and again, both build amazing parts.

Yes, you will pay a lot of money upfront, but it's a one and done lift, meaning you buy once and cry once. Those Johnny Joints should last well over 8 years (compared to a Rough Country joint which will maybe last a few years at most), and paired with the right shocks, it will ride excellent (I suggest the Rancho RS5000X, as they are very well known for providing the best ride).

Ideally of course if you want to do this right, you'd have a SYE and CV driveshaft so that you could avoid the transfer case drop, which won't serve you well if you plan on doing any serious off-roading (it will actually be detrimental).

Teraflex is okay, but they are not anywhere near Currie or Savvy quality in my opinion. I always base a lift kit off of what type of joints they use for the control arms.

If they don't use Johnny Joints, it's not worth buying in my opinion. I think many would agree with me on that. Johnny Joints have been tried, tested, and used on probably more off-road vehicles than any other joint out there. They really are the shit!

Note that the lifts I suggested will all be 4", but 4" is perfect for 33s. For 35s you really want 5" or more.

I would eventually get the SYE/CV driveshaft, but just wondering if the TC drop would be good enough till I got the money for that. Or just save up more money to get those things with the lift.

 

[Chris]

Ok thanks. And I guess I really didnt mean to say kit but, just buying a bunch of different parts to lift my jeep. So to me it sounds like Rancho shocks then either Currie or Savvy control arms. Would you recommend going with eithe of those two companies too for the springs, or could I get away with something cheaper. I'm not really sure how much the springs actually effect ride quality and offroad capabilities. And would you recommend to get just either upper or lower control arms, or all 8. Trying to save as much money as possible

I gotcha.

So I think you're on the right track. I actually think you can get a better lift in most cases if you piece it together yourself. For instance, while both the Currie and Savvy control arms use Johnny Joints, the Savvy arms have the advantage of being aluminum, and they are double adjustable, which makes them a lot easier to install and set pinion angles with (believe me on that one).

The Currie springs are probably one of the best 4" springs I am aware of in the Jeep world. While springs can dictate ride quality to a degree, it's not nearly a big of a deal as the shocks you run. This is due to the fact that spring rates don't differ that much from spring-to-spring on TJs, and there isn't a huge variety of rates to choose from. Another thing is that some springs have different heights to them than others, and this can be a factor when properly setting up your suspension. The Currie 4" springs are a 100% safe bet. They are a spring that was designed with the TJ in mind, and they work well in most applications.

I also don't think they are that much either in terms of cost. The real ride quality is going to be determined by the shock you run (again, run the Rancho RS5000X if you want a nice ride), the tire load rating (run a C or D rated tire, don't run E rated tires if you can help it!), and the tire psi... YES, the tire psi is huge one. You should ideally be running between 26-28 psi in your tires (I run 26 psi) on-road. That's going to give you an infinitely better ride than let's say 35, which will make it ride like it's on rails. This is also one of the most common things that TJ owners overlook in regards to ride quality... tire pressure.

If it were me, I would go with all 8 control arms. Can you get away with just the rear uppers? Yes. However, having Johnny Joints on all your control arms is going to give you less inherent bind with the suspension, and it's going to provide maximum misalignment as well.

 

[Chris]

I would eventually get the SYE/CV driveshaft, but just wondering if the TC drop would be good enough till I got the money for that. Or just save up more money to get those things with the lift.

Yes, you can absolutely run a TC drop until you save up for a SYE and CV driveshaft. That's what a lot of people do.

 

[Calvin.8]

I gotcha.

So I think you're on the right track. I actually think you can get a better lift in most cases if you piece it together yourself. For instance, while both the Currie and Savvy control arms use Johnny Joints, the Savvy arms have the advantage of being aluminum, and they are double adjustable, which makes them a lot easier to install and set pinion angles with (believe me on that one).

The Currie springs are probably one of the best 4" springs I am aware of in the Jeep world. While springs can dictate ride quality to a degree, it's not nearly a big of a deal as the shocks you run. This is due to the fact that spring rates don't differ that much from spring-to-spring on TJs, and there isn't a huge variety of rates to choose from. Another thing is that some springs have different heights to them than others, and this can be a factor when properly setting up your suspension. The Currie 4" springs are a 100% safe bet. They are a spring that was designed with the TJ in mind, and they work well in most applications.

I also don't think they are that much either in terms of cost. The real ride quality is going to be determined by the shock you run (again, run the Rancho RS5000X if you want a nice ride), the tire load rating (run a C or D rated tire, don't run E rated tires if you can help it!), and the tire psi... YES, the tire psi is huge one. You should ideally be running between 26-28 psi in your tires (I run 26 psi) on-road. That's going to give you an infinitely better ride than let's say 35, which will make it ride like it's on rails. This is also one of the most common things that TJ owners overlook in regards to ride quality... tire pressure.

If it were me, I would go with all 8 control arms. Can you get away with just the rear uppers? Yes. However, having Johnny Joints on all your control arms is going to give you less inherent bind with the suspension, and it's going to provide maximum misalignment as well.

I actually didnt know that about tire psi. I had been running at 32-33. So would I be able to just run the springs, arms, shocks, and tc drop (eventually sye) and be just fine, or would a track bar or other parts be recommended as well with this lift. Thanks for all this info btw, it has helped tons.

 

[Calvin.8]

I gotcha.

So I think you're on the right track. I actually think you can get a better lift in most cases if you piece it together yourself. For instance, while both the Currie and Savvy control arms use Johnny Joints, the Savvy arms have the advantage of being aluminum, and they are double adjustable, which makes them a lot easier to install and set pinion angles with (believe me on that one).

The Currie springs are probably one of the best 4" springs I am aware of in the Jeep world. While springs can dictate ride quality to a degree, it's not nearly a big of a deal as the shocks you run. This is due to the fact that spring rates don't differ that much from spring-to-spring on TJs, and there isn't a huge variety of rates to choose from. Another thing is that some springs have different heights to them than others, and this can be a factor when properly setting up your suspension. The Currie 4" springs are a 100% safe bet. They are a spring that was designed with the TJ in mind, and they work well in most applications.

I also don't think they are that much either in terms of cost. The real ride quality is going to be determined by the shock you run (again, run the Rancho RS5000X if you want a nice ride), the tire load rating (run a C or D rated tire, don't run E rated tires if you can help it!), and the tire psi... YES, the tire psi is huge one. You should ideally be running between 26-28 psi in your tires (I run 26 psi) on-road. That's going to give you an infinitely better ride than let's say 35, which will make it ride like it's on rails. This is also one of the most common things that TJ owners overlook in regards to ride quality... tire pressure.

If it were me, I would go with all 8 control arms. Can you get away with just the rear uppers? Yes. However, having Johnny Joints on all your control arms is going to give you less inherent bind with the suspension, and it's going to provide maximum misalignment as well.

If I was to just choose 4 control arms and add the other 4 later on, would you go with 4 uppers or 4 lowers. Because I looked at the price, and wow, was not expecting the 8 control arms themselves to be more expensive then a lot of kits haha.

 

[Chris]

I actually didnt know that about tire psi. I had been running at 32-33. So would I be able to just run the springs, arms, shocks, and tc drop (eventually sye) and be just fine, or would a track bar or other parts be recommended as well with this lift. Thanks for all this info btw, it has helped tons.

Yep, lower your tire psi to 26 and you'll thank me... big time! It makes a very, very big difference.

With 4" of lift you'll need adjustable track bars, otherwise your axles will be way off center laterally. However, you can get good JKS adjustable front and rear track bars for a reasonable price, see here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005TTZO9O/?tag=wranglerorg-20
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005TTZOU8/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Those are the ones I run on mine.

If I was to just choose 4 control arms and add the other 4 later on, would you go with 4 uppers or 4 lowers. Because I looked at the price, and wow, was not expecting the 8 control arms themselves to be more expensive then a lot of kits haha.

If you just choose 4 control arms for now, and 4 later on, you will want either all 4 uppers, or just the 4 rear arms.

Yes, those Savvy arms aren't cheap. Like I said though, they use the best joint you can buy (Johnny Joints) on all end, they're double adjustable, and they're lightweight aluminum (which also means they won't rust!).

Expensive, no doubt. But trust me, if you want the cream of the crop in terms of control arms, those would be them. Savvy is a very well known and highly regarded brand. They build that stuff in-house in California.

 

[Calvin.8]

Yep, lower your tire psi to 26 and you'll thank me... big time! It makes a very, very big difference.

With 4" of lift you'll need adjustable track bars, otherwise your axles will be way off center laterally. However, you can get good JKS adjustable front and rear track bars for a reasonable price, see here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005TTZO9O/?tag=wranglerorg-20
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005TTZOU8/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Those are the ones I run on mine.



If you just choose 4 control arms for now, and 4 later on, you will want either all 4 uppers, or just the 4 rear arms.

Yes, those Savvy arms aren't cheap. Like I said though, they use the best joint you can buy (Johnny Joints) on all end, they're double adjustable, and they're lightweight aluminum (which also means they won't rust!).

Expensive, no doubt. But trust me, if you want the cream of the crop in terms of control arms, those would be them. Savvy is a very well known and highly regarded brand. They build that stuff in-house in California.

I think I'll end up going with the 4 uppers. And the aluminum will definitely be worth it since it doesn't rust.

And do the track bars only recenter the axle, if so that sounds like something I might be able to go cheaper on, then upgrade later?

 

[Chris]

I think I'll end up going with the 4 uppers. And the aluminum will definitely be worth it since it doesn't rust.

And do the track bars only recenter the axle, if so that sounds like something I might be able to go cheaper on, then upgrade later?

Good call!

The only purpose of the track bars is to center the axle under the vehicle. Technically you don’t need the adjustable track bars, but without them, your axles will be off center enough to be noticeable. While that won’t hurt anything, it will look weird.

A solution to this on the cheap, would be to get some track bar relocation brackets for a 4” lift, that would slightly move the track bars to where they need to be for that lift. The long term solution is of course replacing the factory track bars with adjustable ones.

 

[Calvin.8]

Good call!

The only purpose of the track bars is to center the axle under the vehicle. Technically you don’t need the adjustable track bars, but without them, your axles will be off center enough to be noticeable. While that won’t hurt anything, it will look weird.

A solution to this on the cheap, would be to get some track bar relocation brackets for a 4” lift, that would slightly move the track bars to where they need to be for that lift. The long term solution is of course replacing the factory track bars with adjustable ones.

I was thinking about just getting some adjustable rough country track bars. They are just a little over $100 each and I would imagine they would be stronger than stock, even though it is still just rough country.

 

[Chris]

I was thinking about just getting some adjustable rough country track bars. They are just a little over $100 each and I would imagine they would be stronger than stock, even though it is still just rough country.

Those will work just fine! Rough Country track bars are just track bars, so they aren’t going to affect ride quality at all. That’s a solid plan!

 

[Calvin.8]

Those will work just fine! Rough Country track bars are just track bars, so they aren’t going to affect ride quality at all. That’s a solid plan!

Is there any other items I am not thinking of that I would need to add? Or would this be a good complete lift?

 

[JMT]

Here’s another idea on the cheap, add a 0.5” spacer, a 1.25” body lift and a 1” motor mount lift to your current 2.5” setup. Then you’ll be at 4.25” overall lift, plenty for 33’s, likely no vibes, and no need for the control arms or TCase drop. Grab some Rancho 5000X shocks 55239 and 55241 and front and rear track bar relocation brackets and be done for~$620

 

[Calvin.8]

Here’s another idea on the cheap, add a 0.5” spacer, a 1.25” body lift and a 1” motor mount lift to your current 2.5” setup. Then you’ll be at 4.25” overall lift, plenty for 33’s, likely no vibes, and no need for the control arms or TCase drop. Grab some Rancho 5000X shocks 55239 and 55241 and front and rear track bar relocation brackets and be done for~$620

That is a good idea to save money and that was in my head at one point, but I want to increase the capability of my jeep off road. And I feel like getting the control arms, springs, and shocks all together will be a definite upgrade over just my rough contry springs and shocks. Ya getting the rancho shocks would make the ride quality better, but it wouldnt really help with offroad capabilities, right?

 

[Rob5589]

Don't run a t/c drop. If you are going to drop a good amount of coin on a lift for difficult trails, it is silly to give up ground clearance by dropping the case. Not to mention you limit travel by running the standard slip yoke driveshaft.

 

[Chris]

Is there any other items I am not thinking of that I would need to add? Or would this be a good complete lift?

That would be a complete lift. I can think of many more items that you don’t need, but would be cool as hell to have! But that would add a lot of extra cost of course!

 

[Calvin.8]

Don't run a t/c drop. If you are going to drop a good amount of coin on a lift for difficult trails, it is silly to give up ground clearance by dropping the case. Not to mention you limit travel by running the standard slip yoke driveshaft.

What brands would you suggest for the sye and CV driveshaft. Again, if I dont need to buy a more expensive brand I dont want to, but if it is recommended to put more money into it for this part I am ok with it.