nthinuf

Lift it. Find somewhere to flex the suspension. Get out. And actually check the clearances.

With stock arms and a lift, the rear axle moves forward a bit, which brings the tires closer to the pinch seams. (plenty of people have posted pics of cuts in their tires from this.) But, the body will be higher, and newer jk's come from the factory with the seams chopped further up than older jk's. Assuming you stay with 35's, this shouldn't be an issue - but check it anyway! If you find that the tires stuff up too close to the seams, add taller bumpstops, chop some more off the seams, get both sets of arms and move the axle back, whatever you decide is the right way to handle it.

TheDirtman

You may want to look at the 2.5" coils instead of the 3.5" since you already have flat fenders. This will lessen the need for extra components and you are likely going to get more then 3" of actual lift from those coils.

resharp001

Agree with comments above. You will be fine on the stock rear arms and 35s for a while IMO. Rear arms are nice, like nthinuf says, in that you can reposition the axle again. Without them your axle is scooted a bit forward in the wheel well. The biggest draw back is that this starts to look a little wonky. It's not as bad with a 35 as it is with 37s. Also, when you use adjustable arms to scoot that axle back, you can start getting in to some clearance issues with your rear sway links hitting your upper control arms on the axle....so you move the sway bar back, which can sometimes lead to clearance issues with the factory muffler. I wouldn't say never do it, but you should be ok for a while on the factory rear arms if budget dictates that.

Also, I agree with Dirtman saying you might want to look at their 2.5" coils. I'd put my $5 on you getting 3" of actual lift out of those.

MC does run flash sales from time to time....sometimes 10% off, sometimes free shipping...if you're patient. Sometimes it's a mental hurdle to get over....the idea that you're paying full price, or so much more than a different brand, but I have a hard time imagining you won't be happy with their stuff, and the cost will then just be an afterthought. Add the additional arms later on down the road to complete the full build.

Mike H.

As mentioned above, rear arms are a benefit to center (fore/aft) the rear axle in the wheel well.
Long story short, I did all 8 arms at once because I did 1310 double cardan driveshafts as the very first mod (2dr, anticipating I would end up with 3.5" lift)... and to run those, pinion angle must be altered from stock, therefore, 8 arms to get angles correct.
So, I guess my first mod was arms and drive shafts.

I know most folks will say you can get away with less "stuff" running at 2.5" than you can at 3.5", but in "my" experience, my budget boost (2.5" initially, about 1.75-2" after fully armored) required everything a 3.5" lift does to get it to go down the road "right". Maybe I'm too picky, but with the money these things cost up front, and as nice as they are to drive, I was not happy compromising in the driving experience... that, and my XJ was rather tractor like/vague and the main reason in getting rid of it was to have a nice driving rig again.

Mike H.

Geez... finally read your signature... and see you are already running a 2.5" BB and some armor... which is the same path I took... no idea what the trails are like in LA... but I was happy to have done arms/steering before adding height... once the height was added everything was there to adjust geometry and make the rig go down the road well... rather than adding height, loving the look, and hating the drive.
'Course, at 50yrs old, my priorities are much changed from years gone bye... there was a time I would have (and did) put up with a lot to have something that looked/sounded the part... even if driving it was not so pleasant.

MystikFix

well I think I've decided to bite the bullet and I'm just get the full 3.5" Game Changer kit. I will have to wait a couple more weeks but i think i will be alot happier in the end. I'm planning on getting a set of the OME L's at the same time. do y'all think they will complement the lift well?

TheDirtman

They use to use OME so I would think they would. Give them a call and they will be glad to advise you on the build.

Mike H.

Running OME long travel (sourced by MC when they offered them) on my 3.5" game changer and very happy on road and off.
If I recall correctly, the rock sport and OME shocks are valved very similarly... and again, IIRC when the Rock Sports were first introduced they were marketed as a cost option to the OME... again, similar ride, marginally different shock length, but, in that department I'm betting 99% of lifted Jeeps are not set up to take full advantage of the shocks anyways, so, really is moot... and, tire air pressure/flex is likely going to be more a factor in "rti" than 0.5" of shock stroke in the real world.
Call MC, and let us know what they say.