I'm sure I'm am the 15th million to post the very same question and yes in the end I must make the choice. I have a 2015 JKU, it came from dealer with "lift kit", after examining it appears to have rubicon springs. Now I have 33" Nittos and new bumpers, winch on the way. I'm sure you see where this is going. I need a little more clearance but I do not want too much either, I also don't want the front to sag after adding the winch. I considered doing a Rubicon Express budget lift with shocks and blocks to see if 2.5 was enough.

Who has been down this road before me and can give some suggestions.

 

2.5" is plenty of lift for 33's if that's your question. You can fit 33's on a bone stock JKU with no modification whatsoever. I run a 2.5" Rock Krawler kit with 37's, so that should give you some idea.

As for sagging....it really depends on what springs you're using. As previously stated, I run a Rock Krawler kit with their springs. I've since added a Poison Spyder BFH rear bumper (steel), GenRight swing out carrier (steel), 37" spare, Poison Spyder Crusher Corners (steel), Poison Spyder Crusher Flares (steel), and a knock-off front stinger front bumper (steel). My lift has ben on for about 4 years now.....and still no sagging yet. IIRC, the Rock Krawler springs a dual rate springs so I'd think anything similar should hold up just fine.

 

I bought steel bumpers front and back with swing out carrier, I did not want the front to nose dive when I bolt on the winch. I also rub on tight turns.

 

Two different issues here.

First....what does the "2 inch lift" consist of? If it's just Rubicon springs....then that's not going to be sufficient to handle the weight you're adding. You can do the Rock Krawler stock mod, which is what I have, for about $600 or less if you don't add additional stuff to it. Mine ended up about $1100 with adding in Bilstein 5100 shocks, Crown brake lines, rear swaybar links, and maybe something else. The Stock Mod actually comes with springs, adj. front trackbar, rear trackbar bracket, and front swaybar disconnects. Only thing I've added to that set-up is 2" rear bump stops and rear coilspring correction wedges.

As for the tire rub....what width are the tires? That's like where your rubbing are coming in because the tires are wider than what the stock wheels accomodate for. Not that the tires are too wide for the wheels themselves, but the backspacing on the backspacing on the stock wheels isn't enough to push them far enough out to where thre tires don't rub. I actually have the same issue on mine but it's never created any sort of problem. Just the inside edges of the front tires rubbing the frame rails at full lock. Rubbed the paint off but no ill effects otherwise. And my wheels are actually 17x8 wheels with 4.5" backspacing, but my tires are still pretty wide at 12.5", which is acutally about the recommended width for 35's or under. I don't think I'd have any rubbing at all if I didn't have 37's. So if you're not too worried about the rubbing and it's not serious, then it's no big deal. If you're concerned about it, though, pick up a set of 1.5" Spidertrax spacers and that should push your wheels out far enough to alleviate the issue.

 

That's the type of good advise I was looking for. I'm running 20x10 wheels with 33x12.5 tires, the rub sounds like what you explained, it does no harm but can be annoying full turn in a parking lot. My big concern is the height after I add the weight. I hadn't looked at any Krawler gear but I will now. I had been checking out the Rubicon Express 2.5 .