Lift Kit for Looks Only
 

Hello All! I'm new to the forum and somewhat new to Jeeps. Members of my family have always had Jeeps and I've helped work on them, but this is the first time I've owned one myself. I have a 14 Rubicon JKU 4 door with only 12,000 miles. Spacer lift, 35" trail grapplers, N-Fab steps and Bushwacker flat fenders. Bumpers and wheels are coming soon!

Anyways, I am not happy with my current spacer lift kit. It was already on the Jeep when I bought it. The Jeep tends to "wander" while doing 60mph+

I've read through the lift kit sticky here on the forum and learned a lot about lifts that I didn't know. I've also read about other people have somewhat of the same issue as I am. Some people commented saying that adjustable control arms, rear adjustable traction bar could help solve the problem. Some people also saying too much air pressure in the tires when running 35's on stock wheels (which I am). And some people saying it's the type of lift. IMO I think it's all three for my situation.

So with that being said, I am looking for a new lift. Not just a spacer lift. And my goal for this lift is for looks; road driving ONLY. I do very little to zero off roading in my Jeep. I'm actually not for sure what size spacer lift I have but I would like to stay about the same height. The reason I'm wanting to get a new lift is to hopefully correct the "wandering" and for it to overall ride better on the highway.

So if money wasn't an option; then what would be your recommendation for a lift?


Picture of my Jeep:
Attachment 610248

Welcome to the forum. Maybe consider just getting lower control arms or some control arm drop brackets to adjust the caster. This will likely fix your situation. But if your not set on that then look at the RK 1.5" lift, or the AEV lift. You look around 2.5" of lift right now. People who have the AEV rave about the on road ride quality so that may be a better option for you and since money isn't a concern then maybe look at them because they are a little higher.

I have noticed a lot of people running and liking AEV lifts. I'll do some research on them and I'll look into lower control arms as well.

I second the idea of keeping what you have and adding front lower control arms or the AEV correction brackets. Your issue is likely due to low caster. If you get a suspension lift, there is a high probability that it won't ride as nice and that you have additional issues that will have to be dealt with - especially because most lifts give more than the advertised lift. Keep it simple and you'll be happy.

Might also check the toe on the front axle. That also could be the cause of the wander. It most definitely is not due to the lift components though.

Why drop a thousandish on springs when all you need is to fix your caster? Adjustable lower control arms or drop brackets are all you need. Get caster angle above 4 and below 6. Your building your jeep for street so a spring lift is overkill.

Find a shop that does free alignment checks, have them throw it on the rack and print out the 'before' specs. Leave when try to tell you that you should let them do a bunch of other work.

Post the specs. Then listen to everyone telling you that your caster is low and you need the arms/brackets that all the people above me have suggested.


If you decide to dump money into a coil lift, get a handle on this :

When you lift, angles and handling change. You want to fix those things for ONROAD driving. So if your new coil lift does not include the arms/brackets that people are telling you to get for your current spacer lift, guess what? ...

I have a spacer lift and at 80mph on the highway it drives better than stock...

Amazon.com: Rancho RS6250B Control Arm correction Bracket - Pair: Automotive

and Amazon.com: JKS OGS121 Front Adjustable HD Track Bar for Jeep JK: Automotive

are really the only extra parts I installed {besides the c gussets, which I dont think make a ride difference}....


I would start with the rancho bracket, it took me 20 minutes to install them, I think it was 10mm, 21, 22, and 18mm sockets and wrenches. I can't see a shop charging more than $75 to install them. So for a couple hundred bucks its worth a try IMO...

How are your tires wearing? is the alignment good? Tire psi?

Sounds like its light on caster like others here have said. You can correct it with an adjustable control arm or a relocation bracket if you wanted to. You could of course do a small coil lift if you choose to, a triple rate coil will ride better on road and give you more travel offered then a spacer and factory coil if you ever decided to play around offered.

RK

The height is causing you the issues not the type of lift. Without knowing what you have currently the things to look at are caster like many have said, tire pressure like you said, and I would look at your track bars. Your axles are likely not tracking in the same plane and may cause the wandering you are describing. A front adjustable track bar will allow you to center the front and raising the rear axle track bar bracket by the same amount as the budget boost will re center the rear axle and increase roll center making it more stable on the road and in cornering.
Several companies make drop brackets for the front control arms and will be the best solution for ride. Just buying another lift that does not address these issues will not give you the ride you are looking for.
Welcome to the forum and good luck with the fix.

Thank you all very much for the helpful information! I think I'm going to start off with some drop brackets. I should be getting some wheels soon so hopefully I can install everything at the same time, adjust tire pressure and get an alignment done :thumbsup:

Sounds like you are headed in the right direction. You have received some good advice.

I would be care cautious of making multiple changes at the same time. If you end up with any new symptoms it will be hard to tell what caused it.

Make your changes one at a time. It takes longer but is worth it in the end.

Pretty much known throughout the industry that AEV and OME are the only lifts that can improve the quality of the stock ride on the street.

You are also prob going to get more quality information on those companies in an overland/expedition forum. Not so much here.

And, your choice of tire makes a big difference. Dont buy mud tires for the street, stick with AT or street tires.

That's not really true.

well, the floor is yours ...

It's all opinion and preference to the driver. I like my RK coils and fox shocks better than stock. It corners better and handles better. Rides just as good or even better. It's all bout pairing the right shocks with the right coils and keeping the correct geometry.

I thought my OME coils/shocks gave a stiffer/harsher ride than stock, and I thought that my C rated MT's rode much better onroad than E rated AT's.

But hey, some guy on the internet posted that OME and AT's are better, so it must be true... :D

Bon Jour...:cool:

Update
 

So I ordered the AEV drop kit and installed it last week. Then I took the Jeep for a 8 hour trip over the weekend and it handles SO much better. I was driving 70 mph+ most of the time and I before the kit it would wander on the road...left..right..left..right. Constantly fighting it to keep it straight, but the drop kit has eliminated 90% percent of that.

Here is a picture of how much the angle changed when I installed one of the drop brackets:


(Dark picture)
Attachment 611267
The arm furthest in the picture has the drop bracket installed and the closest one does not.


Thank you to everyone who made suggestions and comments :thumbsup:

Front Page News!
 

Welcome! Thought we'd open this up to the front page too...
JK Forum Member Wants Lift Look With On-Road Performance - JK-Forum

Question
 

What is the current brand of Spacer Lift that you are not happy with? I am looking to buy one for my Jeep soon.

Glad you got things figured out

If money wasn't an option I would get an Offroad Evolution Double Throwdown with long arms.

Just for a lifted look on a jeep. Wow. Lol. If money wasn't an option I still wouldn't waste it. Lol.

Pretty much every spacer lift is going to be the same. Essentially it is a 2" puck of polyurethane so there isn't much if any difference from manufacturer to manufacturer. The issue he was having is mainly involved with caster being too low. So if you get a spacer lift, look into drop brackets and maybe longer shocks. Those two items along with some longer rear sway bar links and moving the longer rears to the front will correct the geometry issues and the ride handling problems that come into play when lifting a jeep. The shocks aren't necessary but the correction brackets are going to definitely help.