Hello everyone, hope everyones doing great!
i actually want to upgrade to some 35s on my jeep. I was leanin towards getting a 2.5 inch lift for my jeep. But on a budget. Dont want to go budget boost or just some spacers. Want to improve the ride quality a little bit as the stock one feels like cars gonna break apart lol. Want a full suspension kit maybe but dont want to break the bank also worried about the axle not being straightened or any issues with the pinion, bump stops etc. also i want the ride to be more controlled the way it is right now dont want the rear end to feel like its flying here and there. I wont be offroading with it ‘ i can live with the mall crawler title for now’ just want the looks and some nicer performance. Do i need something with adjustable control arms, track bars etc?

i recently changed the entire front steering components of all the steering tire rods, after market track bar, teraflex balls joints etc just want a simple lift on a budget. Every response will be appreciated thankyou

 

If you scroll down, you'll see a section titled Modified JK Tech. Might be better to post there rather than keep going here in the 'introduce yourself' area. And when you get some time, browse through the threads stuck right to the top of that area. There is quite a bit of lift and component related info that may help, and will likely bring up some more questions that you had not even considered yet.

 

Hey thankyou sorry i am new here dont know what to post where appreciate it though

 

Hello everyone, hope everyones doing great!
i actually want to upgrade to some 35s on my jeep. I was leanin towards getting a 2.5 inch lift for my jeep. But on a budget. Dont want to go budget boost or just some spacers. Want to improve the ride quality a little bit as the stock one feels like cars gonna break apart lol. Want a full suspension kit maybe but dont want to break the bank also worried about the axle not being straightened or any issues with the pinion, bump stops etc. also i want the ride to be more controlled the way it is right now dont want the rear end to feel like its flying here and there. I wont be offroading with it ‘ i can live with the mall crawler title for now’ just want the looks and some nicer performance. Do i need something with adjustable control arms, track bars etc?

i recently changed the entire front steering components of all the steering tire rods, after market track bar, teraflex balls joints etc just want a simple lift on a budget. Every response will be appreciated thankyou

 

Also... the search bar is great! Try punching in Rancho 2.5, skyjacker 2.5... etc... it will bring up posts and probably pics of how the jeeps look after install! It is one cool feature on this forum!

 

Greetings and Welcome to JKU,

I may be out of place here as I am only a month in to owning my 2017, however I am not new to Lifting 4x4s. I'll start with a question.... What is your idea of an affordable lift? 2 door or 4 door? There are many options you can choose from but affordable and cheap are not always the same. With that out of the way I do believe there are some reasonable options for what some might consider "affordable". Another question I have is what are you intentions for your jeep other than running 35's? Quite a few options available for achieve 35's without breaking the bank.

Based on my experience here is what I'd suggest you look at in order of "affordable" lifts. These might change however based on more info and your intended use

Rough Country: Many would disagree but as far as cost goes the quality isn't that bad. Although there are less expensive 2.5's that provide the same basic parts.
Rubicon Express: My 2017 was bought with an AEV 2.5. The coils were oddly swapped out for RE coils and it rode very nice. I went back to AEV however
AEV: About twice the cost of RCX and a little more than RE, but the quality is on a another level.

There are really a ton of options. I'd check out Extreme Terrain, filter your year and model and choose 2.5. Just about every lift available will get you were you need to be.

2.5 inch, from what I've learned is right about where things remain simple as far as geometry of the suspension. Taller, say 3" or 3.5 will begin to require more parts which adds more expense and can adversely affect your road manners while on the road.

Regardless of which 2.5 you go with, consider drop brackets for your control arms. Most 2.5's do not come standard with their kits.
disclaimer, these are opinions based on experience. Others will vary

Hope this helps

Cheers

Nem

 

Hey thanks for the reply bud. I am more newer than you in the jeep world but been trying to research my way and understand stuff. My jeeps a 4 door sahara and like i said I honestly wont be going off-roading with it just want some kinda a lift that doesnt mess up anything under neath seriously. I am leaning towards rough country but just unsure what other parts i need to add so that i dont have to worry about it in the long run.

 

So, what exactly is the objection to a budget boost? Bragging rights? Seems to check the 'low-budget' box, the 'add some height for looks' box, and the 'make room for bigger tires' box. Nothing at all wrong with spacers for your stated use. Offroad, you might get better travel out of coils, depending on which mfg you go with. And maybe better load handling if you are planning on running heavy. Do either of those matter much?

Performance doing what? You aren't building for offroad. So slapping on the cheapest lift RC offers will make your jeep perform better than the stock setup, how? I'm missing something here.

Only you can answer that. Start with what those components do. Control arms are one version of component to correct the Caster, which is lowered after a lift. There are cam bolts, control arm brackets and longer/shorter fixed control arms as well as those adjustable arms. And if you choose arms, are you considering one or two sets at each end? Quite a range of prices between all those options, and they all have pro's/con's, so which is right for you? Are any of them? It's personal opinion. Many people don't bother to correct the Caster at 2.5", others do. None of us can tell you which group 'you' will fall into. Same for trackbars. Many kits will come with a bracket to center the rear axle. How close to perfectly centered is a guess, because it will depend on how much height you actually received from the lift. Will some minor discrepancy bug you enough to add an adjustable trackbar also? No idea. How about up front? You mentioned already having an aftermarket trackbar. Is it adjustable? Or will you be tossing it in the trash and buying another new one after the lift if you want that axle centered better? So again, Need/Want for axle centering is he same answer as Caster correction. Some want both axles perfectly centered at 2.5", others don't worry about it. As you are likely starting to see, there is a lot of opinion involved in lifting, not firm answers that work for everyone on every build. (my opinion, go for a set of control arm brackets for Caster. In the rear, buy a trackbar bracket if it does not come with the kit. And, assuming your new front trackbar is not adjustable, wait and drive it a bit with the lift so you can form your own opinion before buying yet another new one)

RC doesn't have the best reputation, but a lot of that comes from the dirt cheap price tags that suck people into their taller 3.5" and 4" lifts. Much of it seems to be centered around the inclusion of 'budget-friendlier' options, like Drop Pitmans instead of Draglink Flips. But we've also seen more than a few complaints about sagging coils and blown shocks in the past. Though on the plus side, they seem to stand behind their warranty and willingly send out replacement parts of the same quality... But honestly, I have no personal experience with their coils, shocks or steering, so maybe search for threads started by people who do.

 

Things are getting pretty clear to me now! Well the honest answer is this is my only vehicle and i do alot of highway driving rather that offroading (mall crawler for now) as i have a new born not leaning towards the off-roading scenario atm. I dont want the vehicle to shake and get vibrations 60+ and dont want it to feel like its sloppy and floating here and there after a lift. I basically want the stability and control of how the jeep is rn being stock. Also to mention about the performance issue i was trying to see if i can improve the stifness ride as a new jeep owner from coming from a standard sedan whenever i hit bumps or anything it feels like the jeeps falling apart which is not the case ik but thats how i feel.
i wanted to go with just the spacers for now but i am willing to spend a little extra if i can somehow get what i kinda want. Also yes i want the caster and pinions to be corrected i just get stressed out if something doesn't seem right with my car as its my only source of traveling for now. After all the research and advices i came down to a list of things that i might kinda build custom according to my budget just want you guys opinion and advice on the stuff i think would work great with me.

1. spring and shocks
2. geometry correction brackets
3. Rear trackbar relocation bracket
4. Extended Sway bar links back and front
5. Steering stabilizer
6. Bump stop extension

is that good enough guys? Thankyou again for the concern really happy for all the help

 

If you do a lot of highway driving I would first look into what gearing you have in the axles. You are going to have 3.21 or 3.73 gears in the Sahara. If you have a 2007 it may have 4.10 gears as it was an option that year. With a true to size 35" tire you are going to want 4.56-4.88 gears depending on the year and transmission. I don't see what year your jeep is. 2007-2011& 2012-2019 are two different drivetrains. Lifting for a good on road ride takes more that building a rock crawler. You can wheel a piece of crap with poor handling and bad caster. You don't want that same vehicle running 80 mph on the interstate.

You mention stiffing up the ride then compain about the feeling of hitting bumps. If you stiffen up you are going to make the bumps worse. Tire load ratings make a big difference in ride, an E rated tire is going to ride rougher than a C rated tire. There are way more choices in E and many people make the mistake of putting a tire built for ton trucks that tow 30,000 pounds on a light jeep. You will get more roll out of a C rated tire since there are fewer sidewall belts and you run a much lighter tire pressure vs and E. Forget your sedan quality of ride, its not going to happen on a Jeep with 35's.

https://metalcloak.com/jk-wrangler-2...-lift-kit.html is a good qulity kit for everyday non hardcore off road.
I would add a front adjustable track bar and raised rear track bar bracket to the kit. MC's Rocksport shocks work very well with their kits.

This is a good kit to go with if you think you might go full blown over time. https://metalcloak.com/jk-wrangler-2...lift-kits.html

You don't need an aftermarket steering stabbilizer. The factory one works fine. That is one of the biggest waste of money on the jeep mod list.

Check the link in my sig for more info.