Recommendations for Adding ~1" to 2.5" Coil...
 

I have a RK 2.5 max travel kit with 35 trail grapplers but I'm looking for just about an inch or so of extra tire clearance. I don't want to trim the fenders and a body lift isn't an option. Would I be OK throwing some Synergy 3/4" spacers in front and back? If so could I use the same height spacers front and rear or need more in front to stay level? Running AEV bumpers front and rear, full size spare, 9500 winch.

Thanks for any help.

I have some 1" coil spacers on this forum for sale..... just sayin'. :wink:

Just so you don't waste too much time on this, adding a spacer will not help tire clearance. It will make your Jeep sit higher at ride height, increase driveline angles and therefore wear, and also make the handling characteristics worse.

If you are trying to prevent your tires from eating your fenders on uptravel, you need to increase your bump stops (they limit how far your axle can travel up). Just be aware that as you add bump, you lose suspension travel.

Sorry, I'm having a hard time following. If he adds spacers and increases his ride height, will his tires not have to travel an additional inch before hitting the fenders? I get what you're saying about bumpstop, and mostly agree with other comments you made, but I think adding spacers absolutely will help with clearance. I realize he needs to increase bumpstop to actually prevent the tires from hitting the fenders, but how does adding 1" spacers not help with tire clearance?

Clearance from what? He's not rubbing at ride height. The shocks will still compress and extend the exact same amount.

Let's try it this way. How does adding 1" spacers effect the tires rubbing the fenders?

Think about it in terms of geometry. Your shocks and coils represent the y-axis. There is a min and max (full compressed and fully extended). That is determined by your shock extended length and bump stop. You can set your ride height anywhere you want on the y-axis (where on that axis will change what we refer to as uptravel and down travel). Maybe you have 5" up and 5" down. Add a 1" spacer and now you have 6" up and 4" down.

This is the most misunderstood topic with lifts. People think more lift means more tire clearance. It means nothing (shocks and bump stops held constant). Now, the one argument for more lift is when a person has to limit uptravel significantly (like 37s and stock fenders) and they want to balance up and down travel.

How is that? I added spacers and did not notice any negative handling characteristics.

I get what you're saying, but seems to me you're talking about travel and not clearance. Maybe you're just defining "clearance" differently than I am, and then again maybe I'm just wrong. Consider the top of his tire as a fixed point and measure to the fender. Now add a 1" spacer. You've raised the fender 1" and have therefore increased clearance between the fender and the tire. I call that increasing the clearance. You've also increased the clearance at ride height underneath the vehicle pretty much everywhere except the axles.

I understand what you're saying. He won't be increasing his travel any because he's still limited by his bumpstops (or fender in this case) at full stuff, and by his shocks at full droop. However, I would say he is increasing his clearance, even if only at ride height.

And just to be clear, I agree 100% that he really needs to add more bumpstop if his goal is to keep his tires off his fenders. I can't tell from this guy's post what he's actually looking for. All he asked was if he could add some 3/4" spacers front and back to add a little more clearance. To that, I say yes. You could simply add 3/4" spacers front and back and you will get a 3/4" more clearance between the top of the tire and your fender. No need to add any additional height to the front since it sounds like the 2.5" lift he's already running probably removed the stock rake he's concerned about. If he adds equal-sized spacers to front and back, it will lift the front and back equally. If he has any rake or uneven ride height that he's trying to remove, he'll need to add different sized spacers accordingly to compensate.

The other things Invest2m4 mentioned above are considerations though. I wouldn't necessarily be concerned about a substantial decrease in handling characteristics, but you could experience driveshaft issues or at least increased wear due to the increased angle.

He lost height due to the bumpers and winch, bringing the tires closer to the fenders (or the fenders closer to the tires, I guess), and compressing the shocks a bit. Adding the spacers brings him right back up to where he started. The fact that the phrase 'tire clearance' was used, or that the shocks started at 5up/5dn and are now at 6up/4dn doesn't matter. He adds the spacers and returns to the same lift height/shock travel/tire clearance/whatever that he started with.

For what height you need front/back to get level, you are asking for guesses. You might be a bit better off just doing some looking and measuring.

It was a generality. If you increase ride height and make no other changes, you will decrease caster and therefore have some decrease in handling (whether you notice it or not, depends on some other factors).