sunburnt

Okay I must have OCD because I can not make a decision on a lift kit. I could really use some help and advice. I know there are a ton of posts and I have probably read them all 5 times but if a few of you would be kind enough to throw in your two cents, I would really appreciate it.

I have a 2007 4 door Sahara and I want to run Mickey Thompson MTZ's in a 315/75/16. My usage will be primary city driving and ride quality and noise is important. Off roading for me will consist of some sand (Silver Lake, MI) and some mild trails and mud (Manistee Forrest, Mounds ORV park). At this point I doubt that I would really need disconnects but I am concerned about the ride and adjustability of the BB's. I am leaning towards the Terraflex 3" economy lift so there is approx $700 set aside in the budget. Here is were I am stuck. For my needs, would I be better off with the 2.5 Terra BB with shocks instead of a 3" economy lift. If so, should I get the Terra shocks or should I get the BB with different shocks. Then what is a better shock, gas or hydro and manufacturer?

Also, the Full Traction and Skyjacker lifts have plenty of good reviews and the Skyjakcer 2.5 coil lift sounds like it can easily be upgraded later with the lower arm kits. Will this add height or just more adjustability.

Another important factor is cost. I have been saving for a while and I can afford the $700 for a lift along with rims and tires, but I don't want to waste money either. There are still plenty of things I will want in the future. I also don't want to go with the cheapest now, only to regret it later and end up spending more overall in 6 months or a year.

I have learned so much already from the site and value your opinions, if you don't mind throwing them out one more time I would love to read them.

lnufnu

Welcome sunburt, I can tell you that I had the same requirements and I chose to go with the Teraflex BB 2.5 with 33 inch BFG's AT. I got the kit with the "shock adapters" figuring that the amount of on road vs off road I would have a close to stock ride.

That being said I should have bit the bullet and spent the money up front, I have since added Teraflex sway bar discos, then pro comp mx6 shocks, and now I am looking at buying springs (when i can afford them). I could have just bought the kit and been done with it. I also now wish I would have gotten 35's....

But hell, I also added an LOD bumper, winch, cb etc etc etc.... I love my jeep...but it hates my wallet.

Good luck with your decision, but I can tell you DONT compromise...if someday you want a 4 inch...just wait and get what you ideally want rather than piece it together.

LnuFnu
Houston.

MileHighAko

I'm looking at the same lift and tires as sunburnt.

Question: what is the advantage of going to smaller rims vs. mounting larger tires on the stock rims? Seems like if most folks want smaller rims, why then is it an "upgrade" on the Sahara to get 18" wheels?

Thanks...

mikegronholz

I too had these requirements ... I chose the TF 3" and added the front and rear adjustable trac bars. I will see how the TF shoicks work out and if I am not happy, I'll get some Bilsteins.

sunburnt

The main reason I picked 16" rims is cost. The price difference for the tires to go with 16's will almost pay for the new rims and I figure will give me a long term savings as they are replaced in a few years.

jeepbozo

I went with the TF 2.5" BB with the shock extenters. I figured it was cheap and had good reviews. My thought was the cost was low so I wasn't out much if I upgrade in a year or so. So far happy with choice but I'm sure that sooner or later I'll upgrade to a high quality performance lift. I just don't know what that lift is and didn't want to spend 2 grand then not like it.

BLKRuby

Greeting fellow Michigander!
I was like you at one point two, going crazy trying to filter all the info out here. I was between the 2.5" BB from Teraflec and the 3" Econo kit from FT. I ended up foing with the FT, here is why, it is a coil lift base kit that i can add parts too as i desire or have funds. The kit is very well put together IMHO. I added a front trac bar, which is a must in my opinion, and went with the M-force shocks which seem to be great. Overall i am very happy and am very glad i didn't BB it. One thing to consider is while you may save money now, you may end up spending twice as much later if you upgrade.
[IMG][/IMG]

red7

I'm in the same boat (only I'm still waiting for my '08 4dr Sahara), have very severe OCD, have read many threads on many forums and I can tell you I will be going with the 3" FT lift. I thought about going with the economy but I know how I am and my "this is going to be a daily driver/beach vehicle and I'll never off road it will evolve into.....man, climbing that little hill was fun let's see what else this thing can do (i.e. try to jump the doubles or triples on my supercross track." Anyway, though I probably won't use it I'm going with the ultimate lift. It sounds like FT's 3" lift is about as good as it gets and the cool thing about the economy is you can start with that for $500 and then add a front adjustable track bar for $180 followed by another one in the back and then add your adjustable control arms. Total to build it out to be identical to the Ultimate will cost you about $180 more than if you just bought the ultimate right off the bat. The one that doesn't make any sense is the FT premium because the control arms you get aren't adjustable and not as beefy as the ultimate arms plus you spend way more getting the other parts in the ultimate even though you get inferior control arms.

If $700 is your budget with shocks then I'd say go with the FT economy with shocks and add the front adjustable track bar as soon as you can. If $700 didn't include shocks than do that track bar right off the bat and you should be good for quite a while!

sunburnt

Thanks for the help guys.

I ordered the FT Economy today and will add the adjustable trac bars in the future. I went with the Hydro Shocks instead of the gas shocks to save a few dollars. Hopefully these will be as good or better than the stocks. I think I read somewere that the gas shocks were a little to firm a DD.

red7

Congrats on buying the FT lift!

Please post comments about the ride with those hydro shocks. From what I've read there is a big ride difference paying a little more for the gas shocks but I'd love to hear your experience. I wont skimp on the shocks as I've heard bad shocks can make a good suspension ride lousy and good shocks and make a mediocre lift perform great. I'm not saying the hydros are bad as I haven't personally used them.