MystikFix

I am about to order the Rock Krawler 3.5" Max Travel kit and adding the rear trackbar also. I am trying to decide what shocks to go with. I'm really leaning toward the OME shocks and stabilizer. Does anyone have any experience with this combination? Would this be a good combo or does anyone have other suggestions? Thanks!

TheDirtman

I would give Metal Cloak a call and look at their duroflex kit as they used to pair their kits with the OME shocks before they came out with their rock sport shocks. Their kit will ride better and is more complete since they include a full set of control arms instead of just a partial set. Their stackable bump stops are a big plus as well so you can dial in the suspension to how your jeep is set up. There are no bump stops in the base max travel kit. The metal cloak kit uses longer free length coils vs RK for a longer available travel with out having to use coil retainers.

Overall it, comparing apples to apples the Metal Cloak kit is a better value, will ride better, and will have less maintenance then the RK kit. Take some time at metal cloaks web site as it is really well done and gives a lot of useful information vs just trying to sell you stuff.

https://www.metalcloak.com/JK-Wrangl...tem-p/7112.htm

Rock Krawler Suspension

In all honesty we have not used the OME shocks with our applications. We have used the Bilstein 5100 which is the best steel bodied shock when it comes to holding up to rust and corrosion in our opinion or the newer Fox 2.0 with CD Adjuster are another great option.

Our coils are all Triple Rate Coils which have a dead zone similar to Metal Cloak, but then they have a nice "street ride zone" and then a firmer "hard cornering-hard bottoming" rate. More of a true high quality, good handling, almost racing coil and are used a lot in off-road racing applications.

A good example on free length would be our 3.5 4 Door Triple Rate Front Coils have a free length of 21.00". If the MC website is up to date, their 3.5 4 Door Dual Rate Front Coils have a free length of 21.125. Yup, they are 1/8" longer in free length. But the only shock that can take advantage of their free length or our free length top to bottom in the stock locations is their Six Pack Shock. All other "standard construction shocks" will not have enough travel to worry about it...


We offer stackable bump stops as well and in the rear you can actually center it properly with our slide adjusters.

Good luck with your build.

RK

nthinuf

I ran Bilstein 5100's for a while with MC 3.5" coils. (the standard off the shelf variety bilstein, not ones that said 'tuned for this specific mfg'...) The ride was fairly stiff, jarring on heavier road imperfections. Swapped to the OME long travel shocks that MC was recommending before they introduced their rocksports, and the ride softened up quite a bit. Not cadilac plush or anything, but much better than the 5100's. They aren't expensive tunable/rebuildable shocks, but they're not half bad.

The specs are similar.

OME
Front - 27.28 / 15.90 / 11.38 - 60066L
Rear - 27.79 / 16.61 / 11.18 - 60067L

Bilstein 5100
Front - 27.56 / 16.41 / 11.15 - 24-186872
Rear - 27.36 / 16.96 / 10.40 - 33-186887



No experience with RK coils, but if you do consider MC coils: They are designed for heavier/armored rigs. I got closer to 5" than 3.5 on my relatively light 4door.

MystikFix

I only get to hit the trails 3 or 4 times a year so are all 4 control arms really necessary? The Metal Cloak kits are really pricey. Though I would like to go with the Rock Krawler X-Factor kit to get all of the control arms, that kit is a little out of my budget which is why I'm going with the Max Travel. And I am planning on getting the front and rear Rock Krawler bump stops.

TheDirtman

IF budget is the big concern then the rocksport edition may be the right kit for you and includes shocks that were developed and tuned for the MC coils plus the needed bump stops all at a price that is less then the RK kit without shocks. Like any kit out there, metal cloak sells all the components that you might want in the future to complete the lift. Its hard to beat MC ride quality and fit and finish. Rock Krawler is hyped up more by f few on the forums and social media but really is no comparison to MC.
https://www.metalcloak.com/product-p/7127.htm

karls10jk

RK is deff over hyped. I have it and I'd sell it today if I got a decent offer on it. Metalcloak is going to be more affordable in the long run when you're not doing maintenance and replacing joints as frequently.

Just because we've been burned by the RK media doesn't mean you need to feel the heat as well.

MystikFix

So what is the difference in quality between the two? Doesn't RK have a lifetime warranty on all of their parts as opposed to MC having a limited warranty?

kjeeper10

I wouldn't worry much about warranty, most manufacturers will cover something that breaks in half. As far as joints (wear parts) most do not so read the small print.

TheDirtman

No, RK does not have a warrantee on all their parts although if you complain enough on the forums they will replace just about any part they have. Metal Cloak stands behind their products and to tell you the truth the only person that has had one of the parts that I know of is me. I broke one of their first control arms joints and they reached out to me and replaced all 8 of the joints I was running of theirs at the time with no questions asked. From what I have been told by people with problems with RK stuff is that they give you the run around on the phone then blame you for installing the part wrong or over greasing their joints then fix the issue once it gets posted on the forums.

To tell you the truth, you generally don't have many warrantee issues with any kit although once in a while you see something pop up. RK has had one of the worst records I have seen as far as issues with parts, mainly joints which have gone thru several design changes over the years. Their current joint has an issue if you over grease it so be aware not to grease it too little or too much. You can do a simple search and find all kinds of threads with the issues they have. Recalled pro arms, bowed coils, failed joints, track bars hitting shocks.

Metal cloak has a better finish to prevent corrosion if you live in a place that uses salt in the winter and their joints really hold up over time and require little if no real world maintenance. You don't hear as much about Metal Cloak because they sell mainly thru their own web site and a few other retailers like Northridge4x4. They also give back to the off road community and you can find them at all the major jeep as well as racing events handing out t-shirts and evaluating any jeep on their trailer no matter what the lift is and will give you suggestions on anything you might need to adjust. Their joints are really the best thing about them, self centering, comfortable ride, and plenty of misalignment. RK will tell you this joints have more misalignment and that is true but you will never ever use that much misalignment unless you really bend a control arm bad. RK likes to use marketing hype to sell their products with terms like pro flex joints, mid arms, and their lifts are upgradeable where metal cloak shows you how their stuff works and gives detailed information on products like lengths and videos of the components working.

I build my own extreme custom set ups and have installed most of the lift kits out there on JK's. Rock Krawler, Clayton, EVO double throw down, metal cloak, rubicon express, rough country and if I were to buy a kit it would be from either Synergy or Metal Cloak. Rock Krawler would be at the bottom of the list with rough county.

Don't get caught up in the hype and look up some of the Metal Cloak threads to see them close up and don't be afraid to ask questions about them if you have any. Don't be surprised if you get a PM form RK calling me a hater that does not know anything as that is the kind of people they are over their if you say anything negative about their products.