Very interesting forum, loss of good comments and advice, I'll be Keeping it stock except for bigger tires in the not so distant future

 

im running stock suspension as well. IMO it works really well and i have been saying since i got my JK there is no real need for a lift unless you love big rocks. my JK sports 35's and no lift and when visiting the Bantam fest this past weekend i was inline for the mud pit and a red lifted TJ was in the hole stuck, the pulled him back once or twice to allow him a chance to make it but he couldnt. I lined up and hit it and my JK never even wanted to get stuck. i cant say i will never lift it but i was surprised how well it did everywhere with no lift. Now i know it has it limits and i cant go rockcrawling in Moab with the lifted JK's but for here out east it works very well, and i say you should see what your Jk can do without a lift not only will you get a better idea for how much lift you need but also what kind of lift will suit your needs.

 

I'm another "over 60" guy. Kept the JK mostly stock for a year to decide what would work for me. Ran a LOT of miles in the southwest deserts and figured out 3 things: 1. The desert can really throw you around in the Jeep when the shocks heat up and the suspension bottoms out. 2. Ground clearance can use a little help. 3. Stock 32" tires are big enough that it takes a MUCH bigger tire to make any real difference.

So, I decided on a couple inches of extra spring height for more clearance and suspension travel, and some good shocks. Also some kickass (and expensive) bump stops. Then some spacers behind the wheels to compensate for handling with the extra height. Added some swaybar discos to keep the front wheels on the ground. We'll see how long it takes to install lockers so that getting to the top is more about traction and less about momentum.

Bottom line: Even when you like a stock Jeep, mods happen!

 

For rebar81 per request.

 

Are those ome finders cut?

 

Yes they are

 

I've been dealing w/ the stock height for a year now and it's ok. Reason beings is I don't have the money to lift it, I'll prolly stick with that for a while but I, at least, wanna get a leveling kit on it just for a better looking stance. Ultimately, I want a 2-2.5" BB done. It's not extreme and good for being in the city but there when I need it to go wheelin. A little added insurance/assurance when I wanna crawl over something. I'm in the process of doing everything that makes the jeep "look" lifted. no stepboards, black-painted pinch seem, cut flares, etc..

 

I did a bit of offroading at stock height with 265/75R16's. But even mild trails resulted in lots of scraping. So then I went to a leveling kit, and it helped a lot surprisingly. Places I scraped before I now cleared. But still hit quite often. Then I went to a 2.5" BB. This made a world of difference. I was now able to run quite a bit more difficult trails without tons of scraping. Then most recently I went to a 285/75R16 tire. I think this is the sweet spot for what i do.

If you are looking for a comparison of setups, here are some of my progression. And the reason i show you this is if you do any offroading, you will ultimately end up going up. It always happens. But here is how your rig may look if you ever decide to change

STOCK


265's on Stock Wheels


265's on ProComp Wheels (I later added black center caps)


265's w/ Leveling Kit


265's w/ 2.5" BB


285's with 2.5" BB

 

In the 3 or so years I've owned by Jeep, I've probably installed and removed my small spacer lift at least 3-4 times. It's only a 1.75" lift, but still affects the ride and handling enough that I miss riding around stock. Then I ride around stock long enough, and I miss the looks of the little lift.... but anyway.

Just swapped back to stock the other night. Love the handling. Currently riding around on 32.6" tires, which fill the wheel-wells pretty well. Cant help but wonder what flat fenders and moving up to a 34" tire would look, ride, and perform like.

 

I started with a base sport on 29" el-cheapos, then in a matter of weeks moved to 33s on 16s and 18/59 springs and rubi shocks which netted me about 1 1/4" lift. It rides/handles better on the beefier spring/shock combo, and makes a huge difference off-road since I have better traction and picked up close to 3.5" of clearance.

Soon enough I will upgrade to 35s and cut the fenders and rear seam.

Stock:



33s with 18/59 springs: