that is the question...

I have been searching and searching and finally decided on wheels and tireS. I went ahead and ordered them before my Jeep even gets here, which should not be long from now.

With that said many lifts level the Jeep with HD springs in the front. But after drooling over many Jeeps in our my.projectjk section I have come to love the rake. I had a truck with about 4 inches of lift in the front and about 5-6 in the rear and it looked great. Granted many didnt agree. I am now starting to wonder why not. The rake gives it a more aggressive stance and probably helps get the air over the brick shaped front end. Also doesnt this help with the hood problem I have heard so much about? Why not rake love the rake, accept it and get to enjoy it.



ON THE OTHER HAND.
Leveling out the Jeep looks great. Provides more room for flex and when those heavy bumpers and winches are added the room is there for some settling. Its been done for years and I remember that my TJ needed a bit of leveling. I also think that the design of the body has the front fender a few inches higher then the rear. So when you level the Jeep the front will actually appear higher then the rear. The rear fender gap has a few inches above it and the seam of the hardtop/softop. The front has even less space before it reaches the seam of the hood. This is the horizontal line of the Jeep. If that is level then the Jeep is level right? Well when this line is parallel to the ground you get this. Which isnt bad either.




So what to do? What to do? Gotta get a lift for my 35's but not sure about the rake. TO RAKE OR NOT TO RAKE

 

A little rake doesn't look too bad. It doesn't really bother me on my 2dr. I prefer level though and am planning on adding a 3/4 inch spacer to level it out.

 

ill wait till im done with bumpers and then get a real lift. i like a small rake too and i figure the front bumper with winch will out-weight a rear bumper/tire carrier and still give me a small rake

 

It still seems like rake concerns are basically worries about looks. As I'm sitting inside mine I kind of lose any concerns about how it looks to someone else. Also all of these dimensions change depending on whether or not you're in the driver's seat, full tank, load you're carrying in the back, etc..... Sometimes as I'm heading up a steep incline, I get to wishing for a bit of front rake for visibility purposes. Other than that, unless you're having a neighbor or significant other taking pictures as you drive by it seems like rake is pretty much a parking lot concern.

 

a little rake is a good thing if you tow.