Question on lifting with my intended uses...

I'm soon purchasing a 2014 JKU Sport S!!! The looks I like the most is 35s w/ 4in lift. I've been doing my research, read tons of threads, and the "My thoughts on lifts" and have some remaining questions I hope you all can help out with...

I've read all the stories of exploded transfer cases, leaks, etc. caused by the higher lifts. These issues scare me. I don't want to severely affect the reliability of the vehicle. Here's some details on my intended usage:

Daily driver, but no commute. I work from home, put less than 5K miles / year on my current car. Use the wife's 2013 Explorer for longer vacation trips. The Jeep would be used for errands around town, frequent beach trips (sometimes with kayaks on top), & weekend fishing trips. I currently do all this in my mustang - I'd just get to be a little more adventurous in the Jeep! I'd also like to hook up with the local Jeep club. Going on some trail rides sounds awesome! I live in Central Florida, so I'm guessing it would be more trail rides through Ocala National Forest instead of rock climbing. Beach trips are 30 minutes to 3 hours drive on the highway, depending on where & which coast.

From what I've read it appears the stock Sport should more than fulfill my needs. So I'd be adding the 35s and 4in lift solely for appearance.

I initially planned on the lift, tires, & upgrading to 4.88 gears. I have an budget of roughly 5K for those items and any other upgrades to make immediately after purchase. What I'm wondering is can I create a reliable vehicle to fit my specific uses with a 4 inch lift? Or to retain a more reliable vehicle without sacrificing too much ride quality for myself and the wife would I need to lower my aspirations of such a high lift? I understand you can make 35s work with a 2.5in lift and flat fenders, but the lower lift just doesn't do it as much for me :( Also, I don't need the extra articulation, and would be completely happy to limit it to stock capabilities with means such as bump stops, limiting straps, misc. brackets, etc. if that were to help. The budget has some flexibility but achieving the end result of a reliable, enjoyable, & safe ride is my primary concern.

To give an idea of what I'd like to achieve for looks, here are links to some setups I like:

http://www.wranglerforum.com/images/...4913/67769.jpg
http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/or...5ba6217abb.jpg

I'd love to get some thoughts on whether or not what I want is feasible, and if not is there a reasonable compromise to retain reliability and still run 35s. Feel free to lay it down how it is, I can take it. I'm extremely grateful to learn from other's knowledge & experience... Thanks!

 

So, is your question: "can I build a reliable jeep on 35's with a 4" lift for $5k?" Are you doing the build or is someone else?

 

You'll save yourself a lot of headaches of you keep the lift more in the 2.5 range. That will be more than enough to clear 35's and will maintain a better driveability.

 

Hi TheDirtman,

Heh yes, I believe that would be a concise way to sum up all the junk I wrote above. I've put shocks & springs in a mustang before, but I believe it would be in my best interests and my preference to have a shop do all the work. Thank you for the quick response.

 

Jeepfisher I am local to you if you need a hand with install. Way better than paying a shop that may or may not do the work correctly. I always install my own stuff to ensure it is done correctly. If you have any questions not answered here shoot me a pm.

 

I would say you would be hard pressed to get all that for $5k. A proper 4" kit replaces nearly everything under the jeep. 2k+ for wheels and tires, $15-2k for gears. $1500 for a complete 4" lift installed is not really feasible.

 

The reason they are saying to avoid 4" of lift is because in order to go that high your gonna need a complete kit including adjustable control arms and such, and will need to change at least your front driveshaft at some point even if you wait for it to fail.

At 2.5" and less you can get away with a less complete kit and often retain the stock driveshaft

There are some fairly complete kits out there that will get you to 4" but expect 2k-4k then either changing your front DS or waiting for it to fail and then spending around $650. You could run the 35s without a regear but you will probably notice it. And expect to change your wheels due to the high backspacing in stock jeep wheels. I typically use the figure of 3k when I'm thinking wheels and tires


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I agree with everyone else on this. 4" lift is too much for 35s. I'm getting ready to put 37s on a 2.5" lift and my current 35s clear with no issues. You should look more into the 2.5" area. You'll thank us in the end.

 

Thanks for the input everyone, I do appreciate it. Sounds like the 4in lift probably isn't in the cards and I should settle for something lower. I suppose I can live with that... for now

On a related note - I was on my way to Bass Pro Shops Saturday, and decided to drop in to the local Jeep dealer along the way... I'm not really sure what happened for the next 3 hours, but I do know that I drove out of the parking lot in a brand new Jeep!!! They happened to have just gotten a Jeep in that matched exactly what I wanted, and were able to hit my price. Very excited and can't wait to start getting more stuff for it!