I have been lurking for awhile now on many forums and taking in all of the knowledge I can. I am ready to pull the trigger on a 2013 JKUR and am a little confused on what to do. The only dealer in my area has been good so far with questions and such and will be competitive on prices so that is out of the way but now my dilemma is as follows:

I can get a 3 inch lift dealer installed from TeraFlex lift # 1251200 and have a 36000 mile warranty on my Jeep from the dealer. This lift seems very
basic i.e. no control arms, no shocks etc... And while I know TeraFlex is a quality company this lift just seems to be lacking. Total price $2831.00 including labor and some other misc. small parts. The warranty part is the only thing that really even keeps this option on my radar and can't get a straight answer from my dealer if I lift it myself will they void my warranty or make things much more difficult. Obviously they are a mod friendly dealer to some extent or they wouldn't offer lifts out the door but if I don't buy it from them who knows.


Option 2 is a Metal Cloak 3.5 inch Gamechanger Lite lift. this seems like a nearly complete kit and have read very good things about their lifts. I am a newbie so I am not sure what else would be required or at least highly recommended with this kit. Price of this kit is $2599.00 but I would need to do the install which I think I could tackle. Seems pretty straight forward. I feel like I would be getting far more for my money this route depending on any warranty issues that could arise with the Jeep. Also how many other recommended components I would need to add would jump the price up i.e. track bars or brackets, high steer kits etc.... Don't know much about these things.

Option 3 would be RK 3.5 max travel for $2279.00 and I also know that they are a great company as well. This kit does not include shocks like the Metal Cloak so in the end it would be a little higher priced. My concerns with this lift are the same as the Metal Cloak as far as everything else goes.

I plan to run 35 inch tires for now and possibly may want to upgrade to 37s in a couple years but may not who knows as this is my DD as well.

If anyone could help with some advice I would appreciate it as all of the research has made me a little wiser but more confused if that makes sense.
Thanks in advance and this forum has been a wealth of knowledge so far.

 

Welcome to The forum. We have a teraflex sponsor on the forum. The 3" kit should come with shocks thinking. if the dealer warranties it you can't go wrong yes you will pay more but if you end up needing the drive shaft they will have to replace it. and I don't know what teraflex warranty is anymore but they have great customer service.good luck

 

According to the TF part you posted, it comes with shocks. The kit sells for about $1000 and I would guess its a 7 hour job if you did it in your garage. So factor in 7 hours labor from deler at what price?? $125 an hour? Soi installed it should be about $1900. $2800 is a total rip off....sorry...

I know the waranty thing is scary but it won;t be the lift that causes you issues but the heavy tires. If they are going to sell you a 3" lifted Jeep an 35's and warranty EVERYTHING...then maybe it is worth paying a huge premium from the dealer. Afterall, you are likely to break something in 3 years running 35's. Or at least bend something!

So if the tires are not covered, skip the dealer and do a different lift by yourslef. I run the RK 3.5" Xfactor and couldn't be happier. Installed it with friends in about 8 hours (including 2 driveshafts).

 

You are correct the TF does come with shocks. I have been doing so much research I must have mixed them up. The RK does not come with shocks at the price I typed. I had already planned on replacing the DS as I read that anything over 2.5 or 3 can or will cause problems. I don't like the fact that it does not come with adj control arms though since basically it seems like a requirement to get the geometry correct after a lift. The other systems just seem far more complete and if I install myself I can save the $900 labor and get a more complete lift.

 

This is their breakdown:
Lift-$1080
Spring Spacer-$40
Wheel spacers-$294
Spare tire spacer-$60
Limit strap-$88
Track bar bracket-$12
Freight/supplies-$55
Labor w/warranty-$752
Subtotal $2381

Then they go on to add recommended Add Ons:
Speedo calibrator-$180
Adj rock Rails on Rubi-$95
Exhaust extension-$60
5-35x11.50/17 MTR tires-$2020
Wheel locks-$44

Grand total if you add all recommended add ons $4780


It just seems that I can put together a much better system for almost 5 grand although I understand $2000 of that is tires.

I would like to stay in the $5000 area for now with lift and tires and any other goodies needed.

 

Actually seems ok. A few things may not be needed but in general it's not bad. So if they are going to cover everything including tires, I'd day it's not a bad deal.

I actually had my dealer regear my jeep. Cost me about $200 more than if I had bought my own gears and took it to a local shop. But, they are coveting my warranty including the expensive e locker.

So sometimes it's ok for the dealer to do work. Since they broke down expenses, it makes more sense. The TF lift is actually very good but you may end up needing lower front arms to help adjust caster as the 3" TF lift will probably give you more like 4" and your steering will feel flighty

Good luck. If it was me, I'd probably do the deal!

 

Oh...skip the speedo calibrator and get a procal. It's cheaper and has more functions you can use.

 

I'm no expert but in my research/experience in shopping lifts $900 sounds way high...

I'm going with the bds lift and the labor is only $450 to install everything + $90 for the alignment

Matthew

 

X 2 on the Procal vs having the dealer do the speedo calibration... Not to mention you can do so many other things with the Procal like reset the TPMS sensors (tire pressure)...