Guys,

I know what everyone is thinking (another thread about lifts)...well and I agree

I have been searching and reading ton of threads around lifts, some giving me partial answers and some leading to sheer confusion. With this said, I'm fairly new to Jeeps and this will be my first lift so hopefully some of the veterans can help with sme solid advice.

Here is what I want to do:

-Maintain stock rubi wheel and tire setup
-Maintain rubi stock suspensions components
-Still have good road manners, as its my daily driver and tow vehicle for my jetski
-Give the Jeep what I think it should have had OE, no rake and a little taller stance
-The only offroading I really do is snow covered logging roads, etc. nothing crazy

Here is the lift I had in mind (based on hours of threads and research, kinda driving me nuts actually..)

Teraflex 2inch Leveling Kit

Teraflex 1155200 - Teraflex Leveling Kit for 07-15 Jeep® Wrangler & Wrangler Unlimited JK - Quadratec

Anything else I should be worried about or missing? Thanks in advance....

 

Your still gonna have move rear sway bar links to front. And buy new longer rears.

 

Maybe I'm confused...in the kit it says "Install new Teraflex front swaybar links
that are included in the kit."

It only comes with front swaybar links? Do I need to by something else?

 

Generally lifts around 2" include longer rear sway links and tell you the move the stock rear links to the front. ( rear links are longer that front. ) What kind of off roading are you going to do? You might need to have front brake line brackets. At that height someone might suggest more parts for you to get but you don't NEED more.

 

OK, so I downloaded the instructions from quadratec.... http://www.quadratec.com/Assets/Installation/119314.pdf

They make no mention of this...only thing I see is this leveling kit only is 1 inch lift in the rear, 2 inches front...assuming this means I can keep my rear end links?

 

You're fine. There are a bunch of different variations of components for the various lifts, which can cause some confusion. The one you are getting keeps the stock rear links and adds longer links up front. Shouldn't be any issues doing this.

For taller lifts, it is common to replace the rear links, then move the stock rear links up front.


Other items to be aware of: as the lift height increases, the caster goes down and the steering gets more flighty. Drive it and see what you think. If you want to firm up the steering, you have several options. If you are ok with it, leave it alone.

Both axles will shift to one side. The higher the lift, the further they offset. If you don't mind, leave it alone. If you choose to correct it, look at a rear trackbar bracket and a front adjustable trackbar.

The brakelines will be stretched tighter. Shouldn't be an issue at that height, just something to be aware of and check.

Your shocks will be extended at ride height, giving more uptravel and less downtravel. Flex it and check the bumpstops/tire clearance, and maybe look at shock extensions.

 

Some great information...thank you.

Assuming that I would need an alignment after the lift...any issues or concerns with odd tire wear? Just wondering if I am losing caster is that going to cause issues or would it just be minimal based on the small lift?


Last one...everyone has commented on the Teraflex leveling kit...but open t suggestions. Do you think this is a good choice for what I plan on doing?

 

Most people start thinking about caster correction in the 2.5-3" range. Some will correct it with lower lifts, others will not correct it with taller lifts. Totally personal preference, drive it and see what 'you' think.

With factory components, the only things that an alignment shop can do are recenter the steering wheel and set the toe in/out. The steering wheel is a wrench, two bolts, and 5 minutes of your time. The toe will not change with the lift. If it is ok now, it should be ok after. (not saying you won't want to adjust the toe, just that the lift itself will only minimally affect it. Not like caster which is greatly impacted with lift height)

Caster can not be adjusted without adding components.
Camber can not be adjusted without adding components.
Axles can not be centered/adjusted without adding components.


If you want to pay for an alignment just to pay for an alignment, go for it. But before doing that, try and find a shop that does free checks (not full alignments, just throwing it on the rack and printing the 'before' specs) so you know where you're at.


Teraflex's levelling and BB kits are very, very popular. When you are looking, compare prices and which components are included. (which means learning what the components actually do!!)

 

I see you are looking to keep the stock rubi wheel/tire combo. I want to chime in with my two pennies... Here is what me and the wife have,

The Wife: 2010 JKUR, no lift, cut fenders and 35's(still on stock wheels). She is running spidertrax wheel spacers. It drives like a dream. If we go anywhere generally its in her jeep

Me: 2009 JKUR, 2in BB sitting on 33's. I bought it used with the lift on it and I am going to take it off when its time to buy tires and do the same thing that I did to the wife's jeep. It gets flighty and likes to wander going down the road, nothing dangerous but its not great.

The jeeps are "almost" the same height, mine is a little taller than her's but you would never tell the difference unless you were looking for it. And in the snow when we wheel I would rather have the 35's than my 33's any day. Little more clearance especially when we air down, nothing worse than being a snow plow.

One more thing, and this is again just my two pennies. If you lift a couple of inches and keep the same size tire you are going to have a lot of open wheel well. Some people are into that look but its definitely not for me.

 

If you just want to get rid of the rake install a $20 3/4" coil spacer up front and you are done. Just realize why the jeep has a rake, it is so when you are carrying heavy gear or towing. Otherwise you will have a jeep with the front end pointed up in the air with a load which kinda looks dumb. The rake also reduces hood flutter and slightly aids in areodinamics of the jeep. I know its a brick but having the front lower does help a bit.
Good luck with the mods.