I am new to the modification phase of jeeping and I am looking to put a lift on my jeep. My only problem is that my garage has a lower height then most. My concern is that if I put a 2.5 in. lift on my JKU it wont fit in my garage. Stupid question but if you put a 2.5 in lift and then I put 33 inch tires on the jeep how much actual lift will I get? 4 inches? or 3.5 inches? Or what? I have a 2011 that is completlely stock with the exception of new wheels and tires, 18 in Rockstars with 31.5 inch tires. I probably will run the 31.5 for some time after the lift, i know it is a stupid question but trying to get an understanding of the actual change in height. Thanks for any help.

 

I did a 2.5 coil lift from teraflex and fit 35's with no problem and netted about 4

 

well the lift will give you 2.5...give or take, pending on your other equipment. If your stock just assume 2.5. Now the tires you have measure to 31.5 and you go to 33's, thats a 1.5" difference, just cut that in half, so .75"

Your acutal lift will be 3 1/4".

 

I got a little more than 3" with Teraflex BB 2.5 and 295/70/17 Trail Grappler's.

Still fits in the garage just fine.

 

I went from stock sahara to OME 2" lift with HD coils and up to 35 KM2's and netted about 4". I know that seems like a lot, but that is what it is.

 

When I installed my TF 2.5" coil lift, I netted just about 2.5" on the rear and a little over 3" on the front. Just enough to level the Jeep out. I'm also running 33" tires. If I can dig up a tape measure around here(I'm down at the shore, not at home), I'll run out and get you a total height.

 

Here you go! I'm sitting just about 73" to the highest part of the hardtop.

 

It will vary, depending on your JK model, the 'specific' lift, the 'specific tire, etc. No one else can tell you unless they have the same setup you are starting with and moving to.


What is the actual height of your current tires, and the actual height of the new tires? NOT the mfg's spec for the tires, the 'actual' measured height. (ie, a lot of 35's measure out at 33.5", some at 34", and a few may even be up around 34.5").
So, if you start with a 30" actual height tire, and you move to a 34" actual height tire, the new tires are 4" taller. But - you only see 2" of that as actual height gained. Right?

Which specific lift are you going with? ex. TF coils are known to be tall. Their 2.5" coils give around 3.25", assuming a light JK with stock bumpers, soft top, etc. If you have heavy bumpers/winch/tire carrier/armor/hardtop/whatever else, will you be getting 3.25"? Not likely. Also, if you chose the 2.5" 4door coils to put on your 2door, are you going to get 2.5"? Or 3.25"? Nope, expect somewhere up around 4" or a bit more.


So, measure your current stock height, and then do some research on the exact tire you want (the height can vary by rim size as well as mfg), and the exact lift you want - that is installed on a similar model jk.

 

My situation is a little unusual, but I think it emphasizes what Nthinuf is saying: I had a 2.5" Teraflex coil lift on my Jeep--one of the newer ones that doesn't give quite as much height as the older ones. Once I put it into "expedition" configuration (hardtop, MBRP overhead rack, refrigerator, tools, gear for wilderness travel, etc), I had excessive sag on the rear (this included with a Shrockworks rear bumper and all the goodies). So I put some 2" Old Man Emu heavy duty springs on the rear and the Jeep leveled out very nicely. After my running around all summer and such, I decided it was time to go back to "summer-fun" configuration--no top/softop/bikini top, minimum tools and gear onboard, etc. And the Jeep had 3"--yes, three inches!!--too much height on the rear. I just got back from Stillwater where TORN and I restored the original TF 2.5" rear springs--and my Jeep is setting perfectly level.

Conclusion: Lift heights are a bit of a crap shoot. You should expect something close to the lift manufacturer's numbers, but it is not the gospel truth. It can't be because there are just too many configurations out there.

Expedition Configuration:



Summer-fun Configuration:

 

we just did a 3" BDS lift and 315/75R16 tires. Measuring from the center of the axle to the bottom of the stock fender opening we netted 3". Measuring from the ground to the same spot on the stock fender opening we netted 6". we started with the stock 16" steel wheels and 225/75R16. Hope this helps.