Im wandering what the cons would be of a 4.5" lift vs a 3.5" lift. Im looking at possibly getting a clayton lift. And the 3.5 & 4.5" lifts are the same price. So is there other things i would need for that extra inch added?

 

depends on what all comes with the kit. 4.5" of lift is A LOT of lift and, unless you're trying to clear 37" tires, not something i would recommend. on top of having your center of gravity way off, your suspension and steering geometry will be off quite a bit and, unless your kit comes complete with new adjustable control arms, track bars and some kind of front track bar relocation bracket and dropped pitman arm or drag link flip kit, your handling will be quite off. also, with short arms, your ride quality will suffer and, at 4.5", i typically recommend that you go long arm to help address this.

 

I wouldn't go 4.5" and I wouldn't buy a lift unless it was a complete package. Save a buck upfront and you are likely to spend tons later to cure all the deficiencies. The more lift you have the bigger the tires you want to fill the gap. The more tire you stuff in there, the more money you spend to support the extra strain on all parts.
I went 3.5" and with flat fenders 35's look too small, So I'm bumping up to 37's. In order to be safe I had to regear, upgrade axle shafts, and sleeve and gusset my d44's. Now that all that is done I still have to spend another 2k for the tires!

 

Ok. I will stick with the 3.5" then. I dont want to have a crappy handling jeep on the road. Especially since its my daily driver. Thanks

 

In what way does the ride quality suffer with a short arm lift? I have a 4.5" Trailmaster lift and it uses all the stock control arms, all the stock bracketry, and no high steer kit or drag link flip or anything like that. Honestly, I'm quite happy with how it all handles on the road. On the highway it is easy to control, no flighty steering that I can tell, handles well both on and off road. I don't have cam bolts either. I am running 35" tires and I think it looks good. My centre of gravity may have changed with the ride height, but all my armor, heavy tires and everything else weighs the vehicle down pretty good (keeps it well planted) and also the wider track of my tires helps with stability. I know that my experience is probably quite out of the ordinary, but it just goes to show that it can be done with minimal upgrades. I think a lot of it depends on your expectations. I think some people buy a bunch of stuff and change things out just because they can (they can afford it or they have the skills, so why not?) and not that it's really necessary. There is a difference between something that works, and something that works better though, that is very true. I'm just happy that mine works and it meets and/or exceeds my expectations.

This is my daily driver....

 

Well it is a complete lift i believe. It just doesnt come with shocks or the front driveshaft. Oh, they recommend tom woods driveshafts. Why is that? I seem to read on here that Coast or JE Reel is better. So would i be good with a Coast driveshaft?

 

TW= Sore subject here. The short answer is a dshaft is dshaft is a dshaft. Quality joints like Spicer tend to be the most desirable by the majority of folks on here. There is a coast install write up on project-jk, which is helpful, one of the reasons I went with coast.

 

you'll forgive me but, looking at your pic, there is no way you really have 4.5" of lift. maybe it's because of all your extra weight but, it looks like you have closer to 3" in that pic and, if that's the case, that would explain why you're not experiencing any handling or ride quality issues. even still, handling and ride quality is completely subjective to the person driving the vehicle and, unless you've had a lot of experience comparing what one suspension setup feels like next to another, it'd be impossible for you to really know what is good and what isn't. but hey, what do i know.

Please, only sore for all the tom wood fanboys

as mentioned, so long as they are balanced well and come with quality components, a drive shaft is for the most part a drive shaft. i personally like coast and je reel because they come from the factory with spicer or neapco u-joints and without having to upgrade them like you would on a tom woods shaft.

 

Well thats what im wandering. All i want right now is 35s. But i just wonder if after a while the 3.5" will not look very big, but i think i'll be good with the 3.5". I just dont want to run into something thats always needing to be repaired/replaced cause i went too big

 

if you're only planning to run 35's, 3" of lift is all you need. i personally wouldn't recommend anything more as that would throw your COG off unnecessarily. trust me, 3.5" will look plenty big.