Lift kits

[savagepub]

I have a standard 2003 Rubicon and want to lift it. I have looked at ProComp, terraflex and RE. I want to pu on 33x12.5...... Thoughts. Lots of my pals have used 4 wheeler supply and ATD. Prices and ranges are all over the place. This is not going to be a rock crawler.... but I take it out at least once a month.

thanks

[Griswold]

I have had a 3" teraflex lift on my last jeep with 33's and it worked very well for moderate wheeling. It has been around for a long time, works well, and is relatively inexpensive.

[SHNIPE]

I have a procomp 4" short arm on my jeep now. it flexes really well but the shocks are crap. Its a cheaper lift. i plan on fabbing my own adj control arms for it. Possibly making long arms and triangulating the rear. but for now its great up to a 4.0 trail. havent been on anything worse yet.

[jeepin_in_az]

All have there good and bad points. For once a month wheeling, you should be fine on Teraflex or RE.

Also, you might want to look at RockKrawler.com. Joe Daro is a local club member and owns Absolute Offroad, and he also sells and installs RK.

[DsrtJeeper]

Want a cheap but good solution? Do a Old Man Emu budget boost or something similar. You'll need to install 2" coil spacers on all 4 corners and longer shocks. A 1" body lift will add a tad more clearance at an affordable price. ;)

[Huck]

Good question with an infinite amount of answers. May I also recommend you check out the Rubiconownersforum.com You'll get a lot of Rubi specific info and you can do a search or two to get a ton of threads with answers to what you asked here. Its a great tool.
Regards,
Huck

[savagepub]

Everyone has told me across the board to get a LA....... I really want a premo kit with the best installer in the valley. I am leaning to the RE 724x..... I want to make sure it is done correctly.

ron

[savagepub]

Huck this site is awesome! thanks

[Griswold]

So, which is it? Moderate occasional wheeler as you first stated or a money no object premo LA? :confused: I am not sure how to answer now.

[DsrtJeeper]

So, which is it? Moderate occasional wheeler as you first stated or a money no object premo LA? :confused: I am not sure how to answer now.

He wants aluminumnimunmum and i'm the best installer in the valley. ;) :D

[Griswold]

Eric has my invaluable endorsment. Start polishing the bling and get started.

[dusmcbro]

If you want to go LA I would contact Joe Daro at Absolute 602-248-8949. He can give you everything you need to know when it comes to the RK LA Kit.

[savagepub]

You guys..... caught me. I never go half way especially if I am out in the desert. I use to 4x4 all the time even to work. I am on the fence, I just need 33” but my friends all are pushing me to LA’s. I know I don’t need it, but I was liking the plasma screen…… but if I do it I want a good set of wrenches doing it.

[DsrtJeeper]

4 Wheelers Supply in Phoenix will lead you straight. Go talk to the guys there and they'll give you honest answers along with the best install around. It's truley a one stop shop that a majority of us use for one thing or another. The business is stable and the service is professional. Good luck!

P.S. Stay clear of 4 Wheel Parts in Mesa! :eek:

[savagepub]

I got my warn bumpers from them cause they price matched and had them in stock........ the rest was slim. Have you ever done work with ATD up by the deer valley airport.

[DsrtJeeper]

I got my warn bumpers from them cause they price matched and had them in stock........ the rest was slim. Have you ever done work with ATD up by the deer valley airport.

ATD??? I'm on that side of the valley. Just never heard of them.

[savagepub]

I have really gotten allot of feedback from this site.

ATD is a fab shop 3 of my jeep buds use allot. Pete did an 5.5 RE with 2 inch BL and put 37 on his TJ. He broke an L9 bolt on his front end at Ajax Mine this christmas trip...... He jeep look awesome and goes incredibly.

I am going to price out 4.5 RE LA....... thank everyone

Have to meet you guys on a trail some day

[DsrtJeeper]

I have really gotten allot of feedback from this site.

ATD is a fab shop 3 of my jeep buds use allot. Pete did an 5.5 RE with 2 inch BL and put 37 on his TJ. He broke an L9 bolt on his front end at Ajax Mine this christmas trip...... He jeep look awesome and goes incredibly.

I am going to price out 4.5 RE LA....... thank everyone

Have to meet you guys on a trail some day

No offense but there is no reason at all to run a RE 5.5 lift with 2" BL to clear 37's. The RE 5.5 lift actually yeilds around 7" of lift! The secret is keeping your center of gravity low. "Remove flares and metal and run bigger tires" is the name of the game. ;) I'm running 6" of lift with a 1" BL to fully clear 37's. I'm flat fendered up front and I removed the flares in the rear.

[savagepub]

I know it is overkill....... but it looks awesome.

[KnetAZ]

Just my $0.02, but if you are only going to 33s, a LA kit seems a bit of overkill. A RE 3.5 SF kit and 33s is a very common lift/tire combo, reasonably priced and performs well on the trail. I ran that set up for a while, it ran great, good on the road and good on the trail. If you are looking to go 35s and 4.5" of lift I would start looking at LA kits (actually I AM looking at LA kits, now that I am opn 35s), but I wnat to see what new lifts RE, Nth and other have in store for us at the Easter Jeep Safari.

[flxy_tj]

I put a long arm RE kit on my TJ. I'm very happy with it and it took me about a week to do the install myself but I had a bunch of other stuff I was doing at the same time. Get the kit and install yourself. That way if something happens you how it all works.
That is the only advice I have.

[1BLKJP]

Yeah, I agree with Jon. If you can do it yourself you should. You will feel much better about it. But if you are looking for a shop to help you out. Wheelers is a tried and true shop in town and like Dusmcbro said Flexy at Absolute off road will do killer work for you.

[savagepub]

I can put the kit on and even the extreme duty, its time.... and the place to do the work. I agree 110% do it yourself..... I hate farming out.

[fdxboy]

Call Joe at Absolute....I had 4wheelrs supply do my lift last year and Joe did the install. I liked his work so much I am taking my Jeep to him in a couple of weeks to do a few things. Nothing against 4wheelers...great place but I just chose Joe this time.

[SavageSun4x4]

Good question and based upon your requirements it’s the same answer to you. You want to wheel once a month and in between time have a DD with handling, ride and drive as well as stock.

All kits are a compromise. I don’t run a kit and there is a reason why…

Short or long arm? Going 5” or greater go LA, 4.5” or less then short arm is a superior solution.

Short arm solution:
Arms: JKS Arms bring strength, excellent adjustability and replaceable OEM bushings to the table.

Shocks: The Rancho RS9000X provides 9 selection adjustability and if desired that can be done from the ****pit on the go [add on kit].

Sway bar disconnects: Skip it, go with Currie AntiRock instead. Better performance on and off road without the headache of disconnecting. Keep the rear stock.

Springs: I am still out on this. I am currently running the Teraflex, but am soon to make a switch; perhaps to the new Nth degree springs.

The “shovel”: Since you have a Rubicon, then its already screaming “tummy tuck”. One of the best investments you can make. I like the Nth degree TT* which is almost flat and a simple install. Add a Tom Woods or a J.E. Reel driveshaft [I have been invited out to the JE Reel facility and will be reviewing it soon, I have been extremely impressed with their engineering].

Track bars: Unless you go above 3” you can probably keep the stock ones. Past 3” then you might have to go with adjustable. I have a Teraflex adjustable in front and stock in the rear. Teraflex is good value for money being both stout and cost effective. There are others to choose from, but I have run stock front and rear for over 2 years with 37” MTRs. My front finally gave up the ghost [bushings] a few weeks ago and I replaced it with the Tera because that’s is what they had in stock.

Other factors to consider:

BL,body lift: 2” is the max you should go. 2” and its what I would reccomend Your getting additional tire clearance while only lifting 20% of the weight of your rig. Suspension lifts are the other 80%. COG, center of gravity, is NOT your friend.

MML, motor mount lift: 1” MML tucks the driveline up a little tighter, giving more clearance to oil pan and allowing your to accomplish your TT*.

Some of the above can be an advantage and support a long arm set up [BL, MML, and TT for example].

Research, ask questions and get well-founded opinions. Everybody will tell you what you should do, but few will tell you why. So just don’t ask what, ask why!

If you would like to meet and get a ride in my rig I would be happy to do so. Remember, you only have one chance to do it right the first time!

Long Arm: I’ll let others wax and wane upon this subject; I can tell you what, but I can’t tell you why, so I will refrain.

Most of all IT’S YOUR JEEP, YOUR MONEY.

Enjoy

Don

[danno]

What he said...

By the way, I have a 3.5 year old Rubicon Express 5.5 Long Arm lift, 1 inch Body Lift and 1 inch Motor Mount lift and I clear 37 inch Goodyear MTRs with no problem even though I have lots of heavy stuff hanging from the Jeep and compressing the suspension.

Two pieces of advice though...

1.) If you do go with the Rubicon Express Long Arm lift, replace the rubber bushings that come on the axle ends of the lower control arms with Prothane bushings. They will not limit your articulation and they will last much longer than the rubber.

1.) If you do go with the Rubicon Express Long Arm lift be sure to weld the skidplate sleeves into the frame. At the time I intalled the lift this was listed as optional. If you do not, the spacers may move around and wallow out the holes in the frame.