my wife has a 08 2 door x automatic. She wants it lifted. I read that a lift over a certain height puts a bad pitch on the drive shaft. The jeep will not see the mud or rocks or anything. It gets driven to her work everyday which is about 3 miles. we also may take it to the beach house which is about a 3 hour drive. i dont want to spend a whole lot like a long arm setup or anything. any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

how big of a tire are you looking to clear?

 

havent really decided but atleast 33"s possibly 35"s

 

if you're just trying to clear 33's and you want the look of a lift to go with it, i would recommend that you install a basic 2.5" budget boost (coil spacers) with shock extensions. at this height, you will not have any problems with things like drive shafts and your ride will essentially be just like stock. if you really don't plan on doing any wheeling or very light wheeling, you can even clear 35's with this setup and, it's very affordable to do and easy to install.

 

If i went with TF's 2.5 spacer lift+shocks and threw 35"s on, do you think its necessary to do the C Gussets? I know most people reccomend it but I just wanted to see if you had any insight since I always see your name dropped!

Also, what can i do to run a 35" spare with my stock rear bumper?

Thanks, WOL!

 

the c gussets are their because of the heavier tiers and added weight with bumpers and such you might be able to get away with out them but it sure wouldent hurt to do it on the safe side. and the rear tire carrier can do it with an extension piece but its a lot of weight to have on the tailgate and not recommended. but with not wheeling it you again might be able to get away with it.

my 2 cents

brett

 

The gussets would be a waste of time and money for a street driver. Even moderate reasonable off-roading would be fine. I installed smittybilts rear tire kit (did an install writeup here too) for $100, which holds my 37" BFGs, and its awesome.

 

If you dont want to deal with some of the hassles, I think the easiest route would be a leveling kit.

 

if you have an automatic, i would advise against getting the shocks with this kit unless you are ready to replace your front drive shaft with an aftermarket u-joint style one. the shocks will allow for additional droop and this will cause your drive shaft to make contact with your tranny and cause the boot to tear. regarding c-gussets, if you can afford them, yes, i would recommend them as the 35" tires can cause your axle c's to bend and they will help prevent this from happening.

depending on what wheels you will be running, there really isn't a whole lot you need to do other than make sure that you have a wheel spacer handy to help make the installtion possible. also, you'll want to make sure that the side walls are making full contact with the rubber isolators on your tail gate to help prevent jiggling and a set of daystar isolator extensions may be needed for this. still, even with all this, you should know that over time, you will most likely experience some problems with your tailgate due to the added weight.

 

Its shock length not lift height that you need to worry about on the two door. If your going for 33's a simple BB would be your best bet, even for 35's it does well.
I disagree, 35's or 37's on a street driver you should still gusset the axle.