Hello.

so i'm finally going to lift my 2012 jk 2 door

right now it just has Goodyear Duratrac 285/70/17's so i'm only going for a 3" lift as i really don't think i'm going to 35's anywhere in the near future, i'm pretty happy with the 285's

the lift i'm most likely getting is the BDS 3" suspension lift

the local shop thats going to do it had a couple of suggestions for options and one thing that i might need...

they said that there was a small chance i would need to spend $275 on new ball joint offsets? not sure what those are, do i really need them? or is that just a longshot thing?

for options they mentioned a steering stabilizer for $54 and they mentioned upgrading from the stock kit's shocks to fox shocks for $220

so i'm looking for feedback on all of the above

thanks

matthew

 

Odd advice. Offset ball joints would only be needed to adjust camber if you have a bent front axle. The stock steering stabilizer is fine assuming all of your steering components are in good shape and everything is torqued properly. I'd cross shop a 3" Teraflex, Rock Krawler, Full Traction, etc. and maybe talk to another shop or find a local Jeep club and do the lift yourself.

 

thanks for the input...

they said the ball joint thing wasn't likely but they wouldn't know till the lift was installed and the alignment done.

what about the fox shocks, is it worth the $220 to upgrade to those vs the default shocks?

matthew

 

I did the 3.5" series II from Rough Country and absolutely love it. I got an adjustable track bar and extended brake lines as options and didn't need the steering stabilizer and I too am running 285's. Oh I did get a set of hub spacers to eliminate tire rubbing.

The offset ball joints? You shouldn't need them unless you outer C's are tweaked now..if you looked at the front tires on your jeep and the C's were bent they would look like /---\ <-maybe not that dramatic but you get the picture. Now if they recommended C gussets that would be different story. With regard to the shocks...I know Fox makes good products and I'm sure they'll be an upgrade to the stock BDS shocks...but I guess I wonder if you need the upgrade if the BDS shocks are designed around the JK and the springs in the kit...would the Fox shocks be that much better. Over time yes..as they are rebuild-able..but not sure if it's necessary. I might consider an adjustable track bar instead or some extended stainless brake lines.

 

$220 is 10 less than ordering online. The steering stab is probably to prevent death wobble in the future. I did a 4" mopar to keep my warranty. I have 33 duratraks and this will allow me to go to 35s if i choose. I paid $2k.

 

Thanks for the pictures

Matthew

 

Do you wheel a lot? You seem happy with your current tires, why spend so much on a lift.
This is what I have
1.75 front spacer .75 rear spacer, 1.25 body lift. I run 35's and have done very well on the trail. I have spent my money on full skids and I have only spent $160 on the lift

 

I wheel every other month or so

The local off road park is fairly aggressive and I can use the extra clearance

First mod I made was the evo protek skid plate system

Then the duratracs

Was gonna get some nice black rims but figured getting higher up was more important than visually improving my rims/color scheme

Matthew

 

I'm running stock 18 sahara's painted gloss black with 35x12.5 km2's with the full evo protec system, don't need to spend a lot to have good looking rims

 

I just found a set of mickey Thompson all black rims that I really liked the looks of

They are only $100 each but x5 that's close to a third the cost of a good lift

No rush in getting the lift, not a ton of off roading during the winter this far north

Matthew