I recently bought a 12 sport 4dr with the 24s package, 17 inch wheels etc and absolutely love driving this thing. I've had older ragged out Jeeps in the past, but this new engine with the auto tranny is super slick and a blast to drive. The Jeep is slowly becoming my daily driver and I really love the way it handles as a stocker, but I do hate the skinny street tires, just doesn't look right to me at all. I've been considering doing a 3" bds and some 20 or 18 inch wheels with 35's of some sort. My question to any of you who have done this is simply do you regret doing it? I would hate to invest the 5k and be miserable with the way it drives. I have really been considering buying a set of take-offs and powdercoating them black and putting on some Toyo mt's and leaving the suspension stock, but I really do love the way the lifted jeeps look, just not sure if I want to drive it. I have lots of experience with 4x4 trucks, but not so much with Jeeps.

 

being that you have a 2012, you can do it and, so long as you have 3.73 gears, you won't even have to regear. as far as your ride goes, you'll only regret it if you don't spend the money to do it right and by right, i mean get a complete kit that allows you to dial in your suspension and steering geometry. ride quality is 100% subjective and, you'll need to decide if you want a firm ride or one that is softer as different kits come with different spring rates and shock. at 3" of lift or there abouts, you will also want to get a new front drive shaft as the factory one will fail sooner than later even if you address the exhaust cross over.

 

My only lifted Jeep regret is the cost of Gasoline!

 

how bad did it hurt your everyday mileage? I really don't care too much, but I don't want to go from 18 avg to 12 or something terrible like that. Out of my three vehicle, the Jeep is currently doing the best on fuel.

 

I haven't collected all the parts for my build yet, so I can't speak from personal experience, but I have asked at least a dozen forum members who have done this with a 2012. Most folks seem to lost 2-3 mpg going from the 255/75/17 to 35x12.50's. This seems to be true whether they have 3.73, 4.11, or 4.56 gears, but I'm told 35's on 3.21 axle gears is barely drive-able.

To only lose 2-3 mpg, you need to make sure you get a Pro-Cal to fix your shift points with your Auto. Also, remember that when you start driving over 65 mph, no matter what your gear and tire size, you're going to start losing mpg the faster you go because you're driving a box.

I'm getting 17 around town, 23 on 55 mph roads, and about 19-20 on interstate. I suspect I'll get 16 around town, and 17-18 on any highway once I get my 35's on. It may be a bit lower than that, but these are the going rates on a 2012.

Also, keep in mind that even if you lost 5 mpg, even with a 25 mile daily commute, the extra money you're spending in gas is minimal compared to what you're spending to have bigger shoes.

 

Well the Dana 30 with 35s is questionable. I am going with 33s till I can save up for a prorock 44. My rubicon take offs are almost bald and I don't have money for 35s and a prorock

 

I am one of the few that regrets lifting and 35's, but I regret it all the time.....










I should have went higher and got 37's!!

 

No regrets... I knew what I was getting into when I lifted and put on bigger tires (lower mpg, rougher ride, blah blah blah...) It's a jeep and that's what I wanted to do with it... However, I agree with WOL about the front DS. You'll need it sooner or later....

 

I haven't regreted it for a second !

But as WOL suggested, you need to be prepared to spend the money and do the research to design your build to fit your needs.

I went with the Northridge OME LT Kit...Nemo's first set up if I remember correctly.
It gave me about 3 to 3 1/4 inches, leveled the JK, and provided me the ride I was looking for on/off road.
The Kit comes with the basic necessities:

Heavy Duty Coils & Long travel OME shocks
Extended sway bar links, gas lines, bump stops
Adjustable front & rear track bars
and Adjustable front lower control arms.

I'm not that knowledgeable on the 2012, but for my 2008, I regeared to 5.13 and adjusted my spedo, gears, and tire size with the Superchips Flashpaq. All were necessary in my opinion to get the ride I was after.

I also invested in a new rear bumper and tire carrier in preparation for the added weight of the spare and 35".

The only "ride quality" complaint I could possibly come up with if I had to.....would be the 12.5" tires running in and out of the poorly worn asphalt of my daily commute. In the future, I might go with a taller and skinner tier if possible.

If you are going to get a set of stock rims and powder coat them black, you will need 1.5" wheel spacers in order to correct your back spacing and eliminate tire rubbing. I would however consider not going bigger then a 17" rim if you plan on going off road so you have adequate side wall when aired down.

MPG's. Stock i was 17 / 21 mpg. Now I'm 14-17 mpg.

Good luck....and post pics when you've got that thing off the ground and on some new rubber.

(next on the to do list is sleeve & gusset my axels and new front drive shaft)

 

Just regret not doing it sooner!

As for those that have chirped about gas mileage... it's all where they are coming from. If you are in say a Sport with road tread going to 35" MT's then, yeah, you will notice a pretty 'big' shift from say 19-20 mpg to about 15-16 mpg. But if you're in a Rubi with stock 32 MT's going to 35's... not that much difference... a little, but not much.

As as WOL says and I echo... with lifts, you really do get what you pay for. My $.02 - go for quality/complete set.