2014 jku lift
 

Go down to the 'Modified JK Tech' area. Stuck right to the top are two posts, FAQ's and Thoughts on Lifts. Lots of good info in there to browse through when you get a chance, pay particular attention to the various components,what they do, and why they become more important as height increases.

As far as lift height vs tire size goes - Coil heights vary by load and mfg. (a 2.5" coil may give 2", or it may give 4". Could make a big difference regarding which components you might want to add.) Tire heights/widths vary by mfg and psi. (35's that measure 33.5" are more likley to fit without rubbing that 35's that measure 34.5", right?) Are you planning on leaving the flares stock, chopping them, going to flat flares? The more room you make, the less lift you will need. Also think about the backspace/offset of the wheels. Stock rims can be used with wheel spacers, but new rims with appropriate backspace would be better.

For lifts, it really can be 'you get what you pay for'. The more expensive lifts will have better quality, and include more components to fix the angles that are messed up by the extra height. Everyone will have their own opinion, but you might look at MetalCloak. Other popular options are Synergy, AEV, JKS, Rock Krawler.

+1. Some lifts appear cheap mainly because they don't include all the components needed, or they take short cuts. "Short cuts" can include things like brake line extender brackets rather than new longer brake lines, $15 cam bolts as a means of caster correction (or not including any caster correction), or not including bump stops. Some things you might care about, some things you might not. Sometimes it's a good idea to pull up a complete lift, something that you might consider "expensive", and look at each component and as yourself why it's include with that lift, but not with a "cheaper" lift. If you understand what each component does, it makes it easier to determine the best path for you. That's one thing that can be irritating about buying a packaged "kit", cuz a lot of people don't know any better and just think everything they'll need is included, only to find out the hard way they need to pony up some more money. In the long run, "cheap" kits end up costing much more than the initial sticker price.

Determine how you intend to use the jeep. Is this going to be wheeled mildly, heavily, or not at all? Determine a realistic budget. If you're adding larger tires and going to wheel it, you're going to need to think about steering components as well as suspension. Factory ball joints and the factory tie rod might not hold up long (it's hit and miss), and those aren't cheap things to replace. Cheap lifts typically come with track bars with crap joints if you ask me.....that is definitely something to look at as it's one of the most important components on that front end. Also, the higher you go, the more likely you are to kill your front DS (TC side CV joint boot will rip and sling the grease out). You're safer in that 2-2.5" lift range......get up to 3"+ and it's a matter of time. These are things that are often unexpected additional costs.

Best of luck on your build. Maybe if you narrow down a couple lifts that you're interested in, post em up and ask opinions.

There is a huge variety of lifts. I started my JK journey with a rancho sport lift... the cost then was 500 on sale... you can't get it for that today. Almost no part of that lift is on the Jk any longer, but for 4 years... it worked for all I was doing, and had great on-highway manners. There is a huge difference of what you get as far as trail upgrades with different lifts... so your question might be best answered by what you want to do for trails... is it a daily driver... etc... I know there are good entry level kits for having 35 inch tires that still drive like stock.... but you will always loose something with a lower priced lift. IF I were you, I would save and research and get the lift that will do ALL the stuff that you plan on doing trail wise. If not... you can do what I did, I bought my lift in parts and pieces as I had the funds...