Leveling kit with a suspension lift
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JK Newbie
Joined: May 2015
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Leveling kit with a suspension lift
Currently have a Teraflex leveling kit 2" front 1" rear using pucks. I've ordered a Rock Krawler 3.5" x-factor lift. Can I use the leveling kit together with the suspension lift? I don't see why it wouldn't work but I thought I'd ask if anyone has done this. It is for my 2015 JKUHR
JK Jedi Master
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 11,463
Likes: 165
From: Austin <--> Colorado Springs
Of course you can.
Let's ballpark your actual lift height gain from the coils at, say, 4" up front. Sound about right? Add a 2" spacer on top, and you have a 6" lift. You are getting one set of adjustable control arms at each end? With one set, you can rotate the axle to adjust the caster/pinion. Can you rotate far enough for a 6" lift with one set?
You will probably want all 8 arms...
You are getting adj trackbars front and back. Do they adjust long enough to center the axles for a 6" lift. (I would guess that they will, but worth asking)
How about roll center? You have a rear raised bracket, but not front. Will you want the front raised at 6"? More than likely. Which means you need to flip the draglink as well. (or go with a drop pitman.
)
You bought shocks for the 3.5" lift. You have 6", so they will constantly be extended. You will have limited downtravel, but a bunch of uptravel. Are the bumpstops long enough to keep the tires from stuffing way up and ripping a fender off?
How about the driveshafts? At 6", plan on losing the tcase joint (or joints if you have a 2door). Have you looked into aftermarket replacements?
Are the brakelines long enough for the extra height?
How about the caster/pinion tradeoff up front? As you lift higher, the pinion tilts up, the caster goes down, the handling gets worse. You have a set of adjustable arms, so you can tilt the pinion back down to raise the caster, right? But, you just made the angles on the driveshaft worse and got some driveline vibes. So you raise the pinion to get rid of the vibes, and the handling gets flighty again. Which can you live with, poor handling or vibes...
Be prepared for a whole bunch of people to tell you not to do it, but I think you should go for it!! It's only money, right? Just fix/add/replace/get it towed back to the shop/etc as you go.
Let's ballpark your actual lift height gain from the coils at, say, 4" up front. Sound about right? Add a 2" spacer on top, and you have a 6" lift. You are getting one set of adjustable control arms at each end? With one set, you can rotate the axle to adjust the caster/pinion. Can you rotate far enough for a 6" lift with one set?
You will probably want all 8 arms... You are getting adj trackbars front and back. Do they adjust long enough to center the axles for a 6" lift. (I would guess that they will, but worth asking)
How about roll center? You have a rear raised bracket, but not front. Will you want the front raised at 6"? More than likely. Which means you need to flip the draglink as well. (or go with a drop pitman.
) You bought shocks for the 3.5" lift. You have 6", so they will constantly be extended. You will have limited downtravel, but a bunch of uptravel. Are the bumpstops long enough to keep the tires from stuffing way up and ripping a fender off?
How about the driveshafts? At 6", plan on losing the tcase joint (or joints if you have a 2door). Have you looked into aftermarket replacements?
Are the brakelines long enough for the extra height?
How about the caster/pinion tradeoff up front? As you lift higher, the pinion tilts up, the caster goes down, the handling gets worse. You have a set of adjustable arms, so you can tilt the pinion back down to raise the caster, right? But, you just made the angles on the driveshaft worse and got some driveline vibes. So you raise the pinion to get rid of the vibes, and the handling gets flighty again. Which can you live with, poor handling or vibes...
Be prepared for a whole bunch of people to tell you not to do it, but I think you should go for it!! It's only money, right? Just fix/add/replace/get it towed back to the shop/etc as you go.
Last edited by nthinuf; May 10, 2015 at 11:31 PM.
Thread Starter
JK Newbie
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 8
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Of course you can. Let's ballpark your actual lift height gain from the coils at, say, 4" up front. Sound about right? Add a 2" spacer on top, and you have a 6" lift. You are getting one set of adjustable control arms at each end? With one set, you can rotate the axle to adjust the caster/pinion. Can you rotate far enough for a 6" lift with one set? You will probably want all 8 arms... You are getting adj trackbars front and back. Do they adjust long enough to center the axles for a 6" lift. (I would guess that they will, but worth asking) How about roll center? You have a rear raised bracket, but not front. Will you want the front raised at 6"? More than likely. Which means you need to flip the draglink as well. (or go with a drop pitman. ) You bought shocks for the 3.5" lift. You have 6", so they will constantly be extended. You will have limited downtravel, but a bunch of uptravel. Are the bumpstops long enough to keep the tires from stuffing way up and ripping a fender off? How about the driveshafts? At 6", plan on losing the tcase joint (or joints if you have a 2door). Have you looked into aftermarket replacements? Are the brakelines long enough for the extra height? How about the caster/pinion tradeoff up front? As you lift higher, the pinion tilts up, the caster goes down, the handling gets worse. You have a set of adjustable arms, so you can tilt the pinion back down to raise the caster, right? But, you just made the angles on the driveshaft worse and got some driveline vibes. So you raise the pinion to get rid of the vibes, and the handling gets flighty again. Which can you live with, poor handling or vibes... Be prepared for a whole bunch of people to tell you not to do it, but I think you should go for it!! It's only money, right? Just fix/add/replace/get it towed back to the shop/etc as you go.
You will probably want all 8 arms... You are getting adj trackbars front and back. Do they adjust long enough to center the axles for a 6" lift. (I would guess that they will, but worth asking) How about roll center? You have a rear raised bracket, but not front. Will you want the front raised at 6"? More than likely. Which means you need to flip the draglink as well. (or go with a drop pitman. ) You bought shocks for the 3.5" lift. You have 6", so they will constantly be extended. You will have limited downtravel, but a bunch of uptravel. Are the bumpstops long enough to keep the tires from stuffing way up and ripping a fender off? How about the driveshafts? At 6", plan on losing the tcase joint (or joints if you have a 2door). Have you looked into aftermarket replacements? Are the brakelines long enough for the extra height? How about the caster/pinion tradeoff up front? As you lift higher, the pinion tilts up, the caster goes down, the handling gets worse. You have a set of adjustable arms, so you can tilt the pinion back down to raise the caster, right? But, you just made the angles on the driveshaft worse and got some driveline vibes. So you raise the pinion to get rid of the vibes, and the handling gets flighty again. Which can you live with, poor handling or vibes... Be prepared for a whole bunch of people to tell you not to do it, but I think you should go for it!! It's only money, right? Just fix/add/replace/get it towed back to the shop/etc as you go.
JK Jedi Master
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 11,463
Likes: 165
From: Austin <--> Colorado Springs
Probably a good call.
When you start looking at taller lifts, you really need to educate yourself on the problems - and how much it is going to cost you to fix those problems. Far too many people slap on a lift, then post frantic "Help Me!!!" threads over and over to diagnose and then fix the issues that a few minutes of research would have bypassed. You'll be plenty happy with just those coils, and if you find that you want more wheel well space, just chop the flares or go to flats.
Thread Starter
JK Newbie
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 8
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Ended up putting on a RK 3.5" x-factor. Used part of the leveling kit to give it another inch so it sits at 4.5 inches of lift. Put on Nitto Trail Grappler 35s on 17x9 ATX wheels. Also smittybilt flat fenders. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.