No trying to hijack - I purchased and installed a 2.5 RC Lift Kit before I knew any better. Would replacing just the shocks with OME be enough or would I also need OME springs? Not sure how RC can fuck up springs but who knows.
Thank you!A spring is just a spring for the most part. There are different spring rates for handling different weights, but basically all the springs are doing are lifting your jeep to a desired height and keeping it there based on how much your rig weighs. The shocks do all the dampening work. Since you have a budget in mind, I hear good things about Rancho's RS5000X shocks being tuned nicely to our TJ's. They usually have a "Shocktober" special in October where you buy 3 and get the 4th free, FYI.
I agree. The real weak point of the RC lifts (aside from horrible and crappy bushings) is the shocks. The shocks shouldn't even be considered shocks, they're just pogo sticks.
When I had an RC lift way back in the day, I swapped the shocks out for Bilstein 5100 shocks and it totally transformed the way it drove.
These are the shocks I reccomend for that lift:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BPDDPKM/?tag=wranglerorg-20
Those appear to be for a 2'' lift. I have a 2.5 inch lift. Would they still work?
Amazing how that works! @Ted (who was from Alaska as well) would always go through this as well, how so few companies were willing to ship to Alaska. Talk about annoying!
A spring is just a spring for the most part. There are different spring rates for handling different weights, but basically all the springs are doing are lifting your jeep to a desired height and keeping it there based on how much your rig weighs. The shocks do all the dampening work. Since you have a budget in mind, I hear good things about Rancho's RS5000X shocks being tuned nicely to our TJ's. They usually have a "Shocktober" special in October where you buy 3 and get the 4th free, FYI.
That's why I asked for your help. The fear of being an invalid kit came to me and luckily I found people like you who took my doubts off.A question I commonly see asked around here is, "Should I buy a RC (Rough Country) lift?"
I'l answer that one for you plain and simple. NO! Rough Country lifts are garbage, pure and simple. First and foremost, ask yourself this: How can they afford to sell a complete lift kit for such a fraction of the cost of the other name brands such as Currie, Metalcloak, etc.?
The answer is simple, because it's cheap, piss poor quality. The shocks in the RC kits are widely regarded as garbage. The shocks are so bad that when you install the lift for the first time, you'll feel like you're riding on railroad tracks with no suspension at all. Coincidentally the shocks in a lift are the major determining factor in how well your suspension rides. The difference between a good shock and a crappy shock is night and day both on-road and off-road. Most people who end up purchasing the Rough Country lift end up swapping out the shocks for new shocks, which adds another $300 onto the price, and at that point you could have just bought a nice OME lift (with good shocks) from the start. So in reality, you aren't actually saving any money on the Rough County lift at all.
I'm not just saying this either, this is coming from a guy (me) who has run both the Rough Country 2.5" lift and the OME 2.5" lift. You can't even compare the two, the OME lift rides so much better you'd think you were dreaming.
The bushings in the Rough Country kit are also garbage as well. The rubber deteriorates faster than OE bushings, and if you spend any time off road at all, you'll be replacing them rather quick.
I don't want to be that guy who tries to talk down on people just because they are using a Rough Country lift. However, I also don't like seeing people waste money, only to realize that they made a mistake. I was in this situation myself when I bought a Rough Country lift and then realized how crappy it was.
How would a company like Rough Country be able to sell a lift for $350 and make money off of it if it used such high quality components? They get those $350 lifts manufactured probably somewhere around the tune of $150. I'm sorry, but you can't make a quality suspension for that price, plain and simple. This is common sense if you think about it.
Save your money and do it right the first time with a good quality kit such as OME or similar. I promise you, if you're buying a Rough Country kit with the intention of keeping your TJ for a long time, you will be disappointed.
Totally agree with all of thisMy problem with Rough Country is two things:
1) The absolute garbage quality shocks they use. When I had my Rough Country kit, I ended up changing out their shocks for some Bilstein shocks. Sure enough, it totally changed the way the lift rode. It was no longer "rough", but much, much better. This seems to be the general consensus too... it's not the springs that are bad, it's the shocks.
2) The joints / bushings. On the X-series lifts you get an OE style clevite / rubber bushing. I have nothing bad to say about that since it's much better than the crap quality poly bushings you get in their lower end stuff (or at least the stuff they were using once upon a time). I will however say that if you really want to do some serious crawling, it would be better to spend more money and go with a better solution such as a Johnny Joint. Of course lifts that use JJs cost a lot of money, and a good part of what you're paying for in those lifts is indeed the JJs themselves. The nice thing those is you can rebuild them, and I know Jerry (who does some serious rock crawling) has said he's been on his original Johnny Joints for 12 years now with no rebuilds yet! That's damn impressive considering the type of terrain they do down there in Johnson Valley!
I think you get what you pay for. Those X-series RC lifts don't actually look that bad. However, I'd still want something with some Johnny Joints!
OME ultimate kit would be a great kit to look at.Purchasing a 2005 X with 90k miles with Dana 30/35. This will be a DD or mild off road. Believe there is some type of lift already and either 32s or 33s mud claws on it.
I am interested in:
3" total lift.
33" tires.
Can someone guide me where to start?
1. Exchanging the lift for a better one? If so, Give me options and what to buy exactly.
2. The process I need to go through to get a 3" total lift... what to do first/what to buy first.. then what comes next.
Im new to building Tjs.