Hello folks,

I joined the site shortly after purchasing a 2016 JK 2 door back in May. Had 27000 miles, priced right with many extras. Bumpers, 9500 winch, flat fenders, MB 17x8.5 wheels on 315/70 G2 Grapplers, and a few other things.

It has a lift using 2.5 - 2.0 Teraflex spring spacers front and rear on the stock springs with 5100 series Bilstein. All control arms are stock. Track bars are also stock. I do not see a front bracket however there is a frame side bracket on the rear. Sway bars are level so assume when lifted, the links were swapped. Drives well, tracks straight, solid on the road, shocks seem a bit stiff, but has no noticeable bad habits. Overall, a clean nicely taken care of ride.

After researching some threads and putting some miles on it, the suspension could use some work to correct some install issues, improve the ride and stance, mainly to clean up the budget install. There may be some minor off roading/beach use in the future but mainly overlanding the Great Tundra of Long Island.

I believe the front stock springs with spacers are not happy with the added weight of the bumper and winch. The front is visibly lower. I assume the stock springs are not up to support the additional weight.

An upgraded 2.5” aftermarket spring should support the additional weight up front however to set the Jeep level, should I consider maybe a 1.5-2” upgrade spring for the rear?

When the springs are swapped out, the plan at minimum is to install adjustable lower front and upper rear control arms. May end up doing all while there, (would be the right thing to do.) Also plan to replace track bars with adjustable plus all the little trimmings that go along with these changes.

The overall goal is quality suspension upgrades regardless of “on” or “off-road” use. I believe I am on the correct path to accomplishing that goal. If not please do not hesitate to straighten me out.

Thanks for any suggestions,

B

 

Nice Plan; however, given you said overlandiing & Long Island, you might save some $$ and go with Geometry Correction Brackets.. You said your JK is driving and riding good with no issues so IMO I'd not be changing control arms.. You have spring spacers, not a lift kit - Correct? My suggestion would be to contact Lift Kit mfgs and ask about just Springs in the 2.5-3.5 in range and what load capacity they withstand. You will probably get many suggesting lift kits AND I would seriously consider a Kit over just springs and spacers as these are designed to compliment components; there are many choices available. You might get some ideas here:

 

That frame side bracket for the TB should go and be replaced with an adjustable track bar and diff end raise bracket. EG: (I will talk about Metalcloak here as I am familiar with it and the results I got) 2.5" Springs, rear adj TB/Raise bracket and front LCA from MC are about $1050 right now and they have free shipping and 10% discount. The LCA's will allow you to adjust your caster back to where it was stock, springs stay put for life IE they don't sag and are holding up my sons winch and Smitty bumper just fine. I only have a light compact bumper with winch and also that V8 and the Jeep is about 3/8" downhill. I suppose your Bilsteins are the extended length units which work for a 2" lift.

 

I'll reiterate a couple things above....

When it comes to track bars, always raise the axle side mounts rather than lowering the frame side. Keeping those mounts as high as possible at the frame will help with roll center.

Up front it's all about caster correction. If you really aren't out playing in big rocks which require as much clearance as possible, control arm brackets may indeed be a better option for you. Almost opposite thought of the track bar mount.....by lowering the frame side control arm mounts you really flatten the angle of the arm, and a flatter angle is going to be a lot more forgiving on the pavement. Adjustable control arms allow you to position and adjust caster up front, but the downside is the angle at which the arms sit is much steeper. When you play in big rocks the need for clearance at the frame rails is more important than the angle of the arms. Given your short wheelbase, I do think regardless what you do up front, upper adjustable arms at a minimum are a good idea. On a 4dr the rear DS angle is pretty forgiving due to the double CV joints, but your shorter wheelbase makes the DS angle bit steeper.

I'll give a +1 to Metalcloak as a brand too. When looking at components really scrutinize the joints each manufacturer uses. I'd also discount features like "adjustable while installed" cuz a lot of that is just a nice selling feature more than it is worth the additional cost.

 

Gents,

Thanks for the suggestions. Some great info above which helps immensely. The vid was generally very informative for the systems reviewed.
Being very close to retirement and planning to move South out of "Newyorkastan", the usage may change slightly so will keep that in mind as well.

This certainly give me some more info to digest.

I will keep you posted and sure I will ask more questions along the way.

Thanks again Gents,

B

 

Morning Gents,

After looking at everything, review of suggestions with "real" experience, going over related threads concerning suspension upgrades, I will be going with MC to replace/upgrade the suspension on my 16 2D JK. The 2.5 True Duel Rate Lift gets me headed in the right direction plus the ability to add more upgrades in the future.

When checking the MC suspension kits, there is a question on wheel backspacing. The JK came with 17x8.5 MB Chaos 5 wheels with 315/70R17 Terra Grapplers. I pulled the spare off to get a rough measure of backspacing. It measures around 5.3 inches.

There is no real plan to be stuffing the suspension but who knows. Would a set of adapters or new wheels with less backing spacing be a better approach?

Thanks for the help,

 

Are you planning to increase tire size or width? Most folks running a ~35" tire will opt for a 17x9 wheel that has 4.5" BS. If what you currently have is working fine, it's going to continue to work fine with the new suspension. If you don't have major plans to stuff a tire and max out articulation, steering clearance on pavement is the real concern. If you ever need just a smidge more clearance you could slip a washer or two in the steering stops. Unless you just want a different wheel based on looks, there's probably not a huge rush to buy new ones just because. Adapters work in general, but a 1.5" adapter with the current wheel is going to net a pretty low BS and push that tire further out.....on top of adding 20 more lug nuts to the equation. I'd get new parts installed and then just reassess after.

 

Thanks for the input.

No real plan to increase tire size. This is my daily driver. The Grapplers are maybe 40% worn so in good shape there

Jeep looks nice now except (in my opinion) for the slight “nose low” stance. Once the suspension mods are done and the time comes for new rubber may look at wheel options.

Thanks again for the input.

B.

 

An update,

Pulled the trigger today on a MC 2.5 Game Changer with shocks for my 16 2D JK. They had a sale, had to jump. Being a mechanic by trade, I plan to install the lift myself with some help from some friends. Been collecting parts for a few months for several other mods/improvements during this process so have lots of work ahead.

Looking forward to the challenge and the finished project.

Will post some progress pics along the way.

Thanks to the folks that have posted info and replied to this thread to help make some educated decisions to finally make this purchase.

B

 

It's hard to pass up those sales when they come around and you're planning on going that route. I think you'll be pretty happy with their quality.