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2018 JLU Lift kit recommendations

Cableeb

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Caleb
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Hey all. I have a '18 JLU Sport S that is mostly stock, other than a MOPAR steel front bumper. I have permission from my lovely wife to spend up to around $1,500 on a lift. The Jeep is a daily driver for me and still under warranty, as we got it a few months ago as a CPO. It came with previously mounted Rubi wheels and tires. I have been told no wheel and tire upgrades for a while after the lift expense.

We wheel it locally and can survive moderate trails in stock form. We would, however, prefer not to scrape along the rocks on the trails we do, and gradually grow to do more challenging trails. The friends we go wheeling with are mostly Rubicons lifted 2-4 inches and other more heavily modified Wranglers, and we are tired of holding them back when we go.

What I am looking for is a lift that we can grow with as we look to challenge ourselves. I looked at the EnduroSport, but we are often loaded with gear (family and camping.) I have also read that it is a kit that is not easy to grow beyond without totally replacing it. I am not looking to sacrifice on road driving for budget sake. I am hoping that the answer is not, "Spend $2-3k or more, or it is not worth doing anything."


And......GO!"


Thanks in advance
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JasonInDLH

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Iā€™d Rather Talk Jeepā€™s!
Hey all. I have a '18 JLU Sport S that is mostly stock, other than a MOPAR steel front bumper. I have permission from my lovely wife to spend up to around $1,500 on a lift. The Jeep is a daily driver for me and still under warranty, as we got it a few months ago as a CPO. It came with previously mounted Rubi wheels and tires. I have been told no wheel and tire upgrades for a while after the lift expense.

We wheel it locally and can survive moderate trails in stock form. We would, however, prefer not to scrape along the rocks on the trails we do, and gradually grow to do more challenging trails. The friends we go wheeling with are mostly Rubicons lifted 2-4 inches and other more heavily modified Wranglers, and we are tired of holding them back when we go.

What I am looking for is a lift that we can grow with as we look to challenge ourselves. I looked at the EnduroSport, but we are often loaded with gear (family and camping.) I have also read that it is a kit that is not easy to grow beyond without totally replacing it. I am not looking to sacrifice on road driving for budget sake. I am hoping that the answer is not, "Spend $2-3k or more, or it is not worth doing anything."


And......GO!"


Thanks in advance
Iā€™m perfectly happy with my AEV 2.5 DualSport lift on my ā€˜21 JLUR. Ride is fantastic on road and the flex is perfect IMO. Not sure if I still have manufacturers warranty or not with it. Iā€™ve heard the Mopar kit allows you to retain the warranty. I never checked into it though.

Hereā€™s the AEV in action with 325/60/20 BFGā€™s on 20x10 -19mm offset (or 4.75ā€ backspacing). I ran out of rock pile to get to full flex. šŸ˜‰

Jeep Wrangler JL 2018 JLU Lift kit recommendations F09972A3-7BD4-4832-8796-5FEBA2D98D68

Jeep Wrangler JL 2018 JLU Lift kit recommendations C23A8CA4-C807-46C8-856D-4ACC73218B7E
 

GATORB8

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Caleb, I posted this earlier on another new members thread, but I think it may help you, he was asking about 2ā€ lifts:

I realize I got a little long winded on this, but hope it helps:

A few considerations from what I've learned on ours over the last couple months. The solid front axle setup is pretty simple to work with, and realistically each piece could be sourced separately.

Springs/Spacers - Establish Ride Height (lift) and ride quality (spring rate). Spacers don't impact spring rate, so a spacer on a stock spring will not impact the ride. You want enough spring extension to not have it fall out at full droop. Spacers will get you the exact advertised change, springs can be hit or miss, and give you more or less.

Bumpstops - Establish tire clearance at full stuff, and the max amount of uptravel. You want the bump stop to hit before your chosen shock "tops" out. Stock, the rubicon has 3.75" of uptravel, I would recommend not going under this, and getting closer to 5" if possible for balanced trail riding (Accutune's Recommendation).

Teraflex Bump Recommendations for Tire Fitment:
ā€¢ Sport/Sahara Fenders: 35" (w/ 3" front & 2.5" rear bump stops)
ā€¢ Rubicon Fenders: 35" (w/ 2" front & 2" rear bump stops)
ā€¢ Rubicon Fenders: 37" (w/ 2.5" front & 3" rear bump stops)

Shocks - The extended length of your shocks establish your max downtravel/droop. Shocks over 29" full extension require aftermarket replacement front driveshaft per Rock Krawler.

Swaybar End Links - With the electronic disconnect in the Rubicon, you don't need aftermarket disconnects. You want the sway bar to be relatively level at ride height, so it's good to extend them by the amount you lift.

Caster Correction - The lift will place the front axle further down in the travel arch, decreasing caster. You'll want to correct the caster one of two ways, extended/adjustable LCAs, a full set of adjustable CAs, or Geometry correction brackets (or some combination)

Axle Location (left/right) - The lift will place the axles further down in the travel arch, moving the axle in one direction. Adjustable track bars or track bar brackets allow you to recenter your axle.

So what should you choose?

The cheaper the kit the less of these pieces it will include. Also, shocks are a huge part of the cost difference you see in kits. But that doesn't mean you can't address all of the above items at a cost less than the high-end kits.

So looking at 2" here's some "value" recommendations:

1. Spring/Spacer - Use a spacer to keep your stock spring rate, make sure you get one that is indexed. The Teraflex 1.5 spacer kit will get you 2" front lift, and 1.5" rear.

2. Bump Stops - 2" extensions front and rear will get you clearance for 35s on a rubicon. Paired with a 2" lift, this will maintain the stock 3.75" of uptravel. Brand doesn't matter. This is different than the Jounce Bumpers which do not necessarily change the stop.

3. Shocks - Apparently the stock rubicon shocks are monotube emulsion style. The Monotube design is better than Twin Tube shocks (sometimes called gas shocks). You can find plenty of cheap twin tubes, the best value I've found for quality Monotubes is the Bilstein 5100 at about $90/corner. Stock front bump stop is 16.25, so you'll want a collapsed length of 18.25" or less with 2" bump stops to make sure you don't top out the shock. If you don't want to replace the driveshaft, you'll want an extended length of less than 29". Another option here is using shock extensions with the stock rubicon shocks, which will get you 17.75" Collapse, 25.63" Extended (front).

4. Sway Bar Endlinks - Match your lift, and watch for designs different than the stock one that may require more backspacing.

5. Caster Correction - The Mopar Lift LCAs are available separately, and are a great value at $60 for the pair. Geo Correction Brackets will be the next step in cost, then adjustable arms.

6. Axle Location - With 2", you can get by without these and have a axle shift of 1/2" or so. Brackets are probably the cheapest, and Rough Country adjustable are a pretty good value at $150/axle.

Hope this helps you while you're shopping.
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