Naddanme

This is more of a rant then a question lol. So after months of research I decided on going with a 2” mopar lift for my 2016 Jku. But everywhere I look that has a decent price is at least a month back ordered. So what else is comparable. I don’t want to much more that 2.5” of lift. But I would like to run 35” tire eventually and improve my flex. I drive it most days but it might not be my daily for to much longer. I’m mostly do trails and some mid level rock crawling. I’d like to go with MC but would really like to stay well under 2k. If possible. I don’t have the knowledge to piece together my own. Any thoughts?

karls10jk

Go with Metalcloak and stay under $2k. Last time I picked one of their kits that was similar to what my cobbled together suspension is becoming, it was around $1800, maybe closer to $1500 even. It can be done.

jadmt

AEV 2.5. I have a mopar 2” on my current jeep and had an aev 2.5 and aev 3.5 on my last and while people will bash the aev as not being a hardcore offroad lift they do very well doing things most of us mere mortals do and excel on road and in daily driving.

resharp001

Keep in mind that lift does not simply translate directly to increased articulation. There are a lot of moving parts to the puzzle (makes me think of time i wheeled with a guy who had just installed a new 3.5" lift, and first small rut I saw him max out his articulation I immediately asked what size shocks he had on that thing cuz he was comically limited). Rergardless, the MC kits are about as good of quality as you can ask for. The only issue I'd see with that for you particularly is their 2.5" spring is most likely going to give you more actual lift than 2.5", and that isn't always " I just got an extra free 1" of lift!"

The AEV lift might not be a bad thing for you. My only beef with AEV is using brackets to reuse factory sway bar links and shocks rather than just replacing those components with something sized appropriately. Been a while since I've really looked hard at those kits though so maybe some things have changed. Jadmt has pretty well documented history using those AEV lifts over the years. You should at least look at that kit.

TheDirtman

Metal cloak 2.5 with rock sport long travel shocks. $1575 https://metalcloak.com/jk-wrangler-2...lift-kits.html Everything you need is in the kit.

The Key to AEV's ride quality is the drop brackets. Several companies offer these now and are a better alternative to buying an AEV kit. The AEV 2.5" kit does not even come with the brackets, has fixed length bumps stop extensions and uses weak OEM parts. Metal Cloak has has a 2.5" kit with the brackets. It lacks shocks and track bar correction for some reason though, likely to keep the price point under $1000. https://metalcloak.com/jk-wrangler-2...-lift-kit.html This kit I would add the Rocksport shocks, Front Track bar https://metalcloak.com/durotrak-trac...-wrangler.html, and rear track bar bracket https://metalcloak.com/jk-rear-track...nting-kit.html

The Rocksport shocks are also long travel giving you more flex (if you have everything set up right) then what you are going to get from AEV. The Stacked bump stop extensions metal cloak gives you make it easy to fine tune your travel.

Sign up the for the metalcloak emails. I got one a couple days ago for 10% off and free shipping. They do this quite a bit.

Naddanme

Thanks. A lot of good advice. I really appreciate it. If I could get a Metalcloak 10% off with free shipping that would definitely be the way to go. I’ll look into it.

Mr.T

Another worth looking at is the OME (Old Man Emu) 2" kit. It's a basic 2" spring lift with good shocks that have 1" more down travel. It doesn't have extended bump stops, or the really extended length shocks that some kits have -- Good for 2" without changing drive shafts, brake lines, etc.

jdinny

Here's what I would do, giving the way you use your JK

The AEV 2.5 DualSport kit with the GC brackets is an awesome kit!

You definitely do not want to go cheap budget kits for your JK suspension.

I have 2 JKUWW's in the family, and my JK. They are all daily drivers, and light weekend off roaders. We do overland style wheeling, so nothing hard core. All three are using this kit. All on 315/70-17 Cooper ST-Maxx(D rated) @ 28 psi. The 2 door is on AEV Salta wheels, one 4 door is on stock Willys wheels with spacers, and the other 4 door is on Bully Pro wheels.
The tires on the 2 door have 46k miles and still going strong.

What works really good on a daily driver, moderate off-roader is that 2.5 kit, with the Geometry Correction brackets.
Rough Country 1134 rear sway bar links, and move the OEM rear links to the front, eliminating the brackets.
Pro Comp Suspension front brake line extension/lowering brackets,
90-7203, and 90-7204, these allow just unbolting, and rebolting the front brake line brackets instead of removing the factory brackets.

This kit handles awesome on a JK. My little 2 door handles like a little sports car. They do not wander, they do not nose dive, and are really fun to drive on the road, and off. In my opinion, they handle and drive better than stock. These suspension systems were designed by one of the engineers that developed the JK suspension.

chiapeteater

MC usually has flash sales on or near major holidays and sometimes they'll do a random flash sale. Definitely get signed up for their emails. Hell, if someone discovers a cure for this beer virus, they'll probably have a sale.

Naddanme

Thanks I signed up for the emails. I’m hoping to decide soon. It would be nice to be able to install a new lift since I’m kinda stuck at home right now.