35" and 37" JL pics with lift kit

[m3lover1]

Nice look. What tire, tank, jack carrier is that?
Greg

Thanks Greg!

It's the tire carrier from @lodoffroad. Really happy with it. Jack is no longer placed there, but the tire carrier is awesome, it's integrated with the rear bumper. I slipped off a rock on my passenger rear tire while on a downhill trail, and the right side of the rear bumper fell hard on the rock. I was pissed off, but upon inspection, only a scuff mark on the impact point, with no damage to body at all.

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[Fire Burns]

Finally getting the chance to post this today. The LNU Complex Fire in Northern California burned to within 100 yards of our property and we were evacuated at 0300 last Wednesday morning. Our home survived, but other neighbors were not so fortunate. When we evacuated, I did so, literally throwing some quickly put together belongings on top of a full set of stock Rubicon suspension that I hadn't even yet taken out of the back of my rig!

Less than 24 hours earlier, Cloakworks installed a full Metalcloak 2.5in Gamechanger suspension with Rocksports shocks and upgraded 1320 front driveshaft.

What you're looking at is my before and after, both pics on 37x1250R20s tires on a 0 offset, 5 inch backspace Hostile rims.

All I can say is WOW! I never believed the whole "drives better than stock" BS until I experienced it myself. I am so damn impressed with the Metalcloak handling, squeak-free/maintenance free control arms. The NVH from their bushings on the arms and trackbars is also less than stock for sure. I can't wait to get it all flexed out very soon as Cloakworks did say to take it through its paces before bringing it back for the free retorque. Honestly, I can't recommend this lift enough!

Bonus pic is the liberal snowing of ashes on my hood. Still smells like a campfire inside and outside of our home. We're counting our blessings indeed!

 

[Headbarcode]

Finally getting the chance to post this today. The LNU Complex Fire in Northern California burned to within 100 yards of our property and we were evacuated at 0300 last Wednesday morning. Our home survived, but other neighbors were not so fortunate. When we evacuated, I did so, literally throwing some quickly put together belongings on top of a full set of stock Rubicon suspension that I hadn't even yet taken out of the back of my rig!

Less than 24 hours earlier, Cloakworks installed a full Metalcloak 2.5in Gamechanger suspension with Rocksports shocks and upgraded 1320 front driveshaft.

What you're looking at is my before and after, both pics on 37x1250R20s tires on a 0 offset, 5 inch backspace Hostile rims.

All I can say is WOW! I never believed the whole "drives better than stock" BS until I experienced it myself. I am so damn impressed with the Metalcloak handling, squeak-free/maintenance free control arms. The NVH from their bushings on the arms and trackbars is also less than stock for sure. I can't wait to get it all flexed out very soon as Cloakworks did say to take it through its paces before bringing it back for the free retorque. Honestly, I can't recommend this lift enough!

Bonus pic is the liberal snowing of ashes on my hood. Still smells like a campfire inside and outside of our home. We're counting our blessings indeed!

Glad to hear you're all safe! You definitely dodged the bullet there.

And congrats on the new lift! Metalcloak is amazing! These jeeps become completely new animals after replacing all the weak factory arms and linkages.

Your Jeep looks badass and very purposeful now!

 

[m3lover1]

Finally getting the chance to post this today. The LNU Complex Fire in Northern California burned to within 100 yards of our property and we were evacuated at 0300 last Wednesday morning. Our home survived, but other neighbors were not so fortunate. When we evacuated, I did so, literally throwing some quickly put together belongings on top of a full set of stock Rubicon suspension that I hadn't even yet taken out of the back of my rig!

Less than 24 hours earlier, Cloakworks installed a full Metalcloak 2.5in Gamechanger suspension with Rocksports shocks and upgraded 1320 front driveshaft.

What you're looking at is my before and after, both pics on 37x1250R20s tires on a 0 offset, 5 inch backspace Hostile rims.

All I can say is WOW! I never believed the whole "drives better than stock" BS until I experienced it myself. I am so damn impressed with the Metalcloak handling, squeak-free/maintenance free control arms. The NVH from their bushings on the arms and trackbars is also less than stock for sure. I can't wait to get it all flexed out very soon as Cloakworks did say to take it through its paces before bringing it back for the free retorque. Honestly, I can't recommend this lift enough!

Bonus pic is the liberal snowing of ashes on my hood. Still smells like a campfire inside and outside of our home. We're counting our blessings indeed!

Bloody hell glad you made it out okay. I'm in East Bay and have ashes on my hood as well. Wishing you and your family well.

Cloakworks are awesome. They also did my lift as well as my uncle's JT. Both of us got 3.5"

 

[ExpeditionBuilds]

Good to hear you guys are safe and made it through! That kind of experience frames everything differently I'd imagine.

I know what you mean about the MetalCloak lift...truly better than stock. Have fun flexing her out, that's when you really see the magic of their DuroFlex joints. I ran their 3.5" GC on my JKU, will be doing the same for the JLU in a few weeks.

Your Jeep looks great, what's next?


-Steven

 

[Fire Burns]

Thankfully my user name - Fire Burns - did not ring true. Thank you for all the well wishers here on the forum. Yes, we did dodge a bullet. We live in rural Vacaville on a couple of hilly acres. There is devastation all around us and even now, a week later we must drive through a 24/7 police manned checkpoint and show proof of residency just to drive on our road. They are worried about looters as some have not been able to return to their homes just yet due to loss of power and water. We were for blessed for sure and keep your prayers up since the LNU Complex Fire is still only about 20% contained even now! There are still new evacuation areas daily.

But anyway, back to the lift.

I am already regretting not going with the 3.5in springs. Yes, its a fairly easy upgrade, but still not exactly inexpensive to do. I like the look of it now, but why not go bigger so long as you are on 37s or larger? I definitely would not go 3.5 if I had 35s.

Second, someone asked me what's next? Hard to say. I need to put it through its paces a bit to see where I'm lacking. I'm not an experienced Jeeper, despite also owning a 2016 JK 2dr Sport on a partial 2.5in MC overland lift and 35s. That's my son's JK and we haven't taken off-road. That's going to change with this rig.

However, what I think I might want to do is purchase some Synergy wheel spacers to get a bit more width to my stance. My zero offset wheels (5in backspace) looked amazing with no lift, but the higher you go, the more width is needed to balance it out visually. Might also help my cornering confidence fear by giving me a wider base. Yeah, I get it. I'm on 20in wheels - don't hate. I intend to run them.

Another thing I want to do is regear. Yes the Rubicon can easily handle 37s, but also seems to lug a bit too. I want to tow a small trailer and this would only make matters worse. So probably 5.13s are in my future.

Again, the NVH (Noise, Vibration & Harshness) on the Metalcloak bushings and Duraflex joints are just astoundingly better than I could have imagined on the road. Even the Rocksports are at least as good as the stock shocks, if not a bit better. This was something I was worried about. However, everything just seems flexy and compliant, yet stout and confident.

Also while they were under there, I had Cloakworks install their Rocksport high mount steering stabilizer and FAD skid. Very solid feel all around and just good peace of mind that the FAD is covered and SS is out of the way. I have no shimmy or shake in my steering, but then again, I had been running a few hundred miles with no SS at all and no problems. I got a better than average steering box from the factory.

I owe you guys actual lift numbers. I measured each corner before the lift and will get you all the new numbers here shortly.

Thanks all!

Fire (didn't) Burns...

 

[Daywalker78]

Question for the people running 37s. A buddy suggested a max of 35s for a daily driver, and also suggested that 37s would wear on the axles and other suspension parts really badly. Also, a gear swap is strongly suggest for a tire larger then 35". What experience have you all had with these things, if any? Thanks!

 

[Fire Burns]

Question for the people running 37s. A buddy suggested a max of 35s for a daily driver, and also suggested that 37s would wear on the axles and other suspension parts really badly. Also, a gear swap is strongly suggest for a tire larger then 35". What experience have you all had with these things, if any? Thanks!

My answer is there is that there are two types of daily driving. I drive my Jeep daily, but have owned it for 23 months and only just hit 11k miles on the odometer - 6k miles on 37s. So while I am out and about each day, I don't use it for my daily 80 miles round trip commute. Its not a commuter. Would 35s make it more commute worthy? Sure, but I probably still wouldn't unless I had a significantly shorter commute as there are far more efficient vehicles out there.

Second thing is, you've got to have a Rubicon to get the 4.88 gears in there to really enhance the driving on 35 and 37s. The 8 speed automatic transmission is also I must in my opinion for best daily driving experience.

So yeah, an 8 speed Rubicon on 35s, makes a great daily driver, but still not a distance commuter in my opinion.

Fire

 

[JJsJL]

Thankfully my user name - Fire Burns - did not ring true. Thank you for all the well wishers here on the forum. Yes, we did dodge a bullet. We live in rural Vacaville on a couple of hilly acres. There is devastation all around us and even now, a week later we must drive through a 24/7 police manned checkpoint and show proof of residency just to drive on our road. They are worried about looters as some have not been able to return to their homes just yet due to loss of power and water. We were for blessed for sure and keep your prayers up since the LNU Complex Fire is still only about 20% contained even now! There are still new evacuation areas daily.

But anyway, back to the lift.

I am already regretting not going with the 3.5in springs. Yes, its a fairly easy upgrade, but still not exactly inexpensive to do. I like the look of it now, but why not go bigger so long as you are on 37s or larger? I definitely would not go 3.5 if I had 35s.

Second, someone asked me what's next? Hard to say. I need to put it through its paces a bit to see where I'm lacking. I'm not an experienced Jeeper, despite also owning a 2016 JK 2dr Sport on a partial 2.5in MC overland lift and 35s. That's my son's JK and we haven't taken off-road. That's going to change with this rig.

However, what I think I might want to do is purchase some Synergy wheel spacers to get a bit more width to my stance. My zero offset wheels (5in backspace) looked amazing with no lift, but the higher you go, the more width is needed to balance it out visually. Might also help my cornering confidence fear by giving me a wider base. Yeah, I get it. I'm on 20in wheels - don't hate. I intend to run them.

Another thing I want to do is regear. Yes the Rubicon can easily handle 37s, but also seems to lug a bit too. I want to tow a small trailer and this would only make matters worse. So probably 5.13s are in my future.

Again, the NVH (Noise, Vibration & Harshness) on the Metalcloak bushings and Duraflex joints are just astoundingly better than I could have imagined on the road. Even the Rocksports are at least as good as the stock shocks, if not a bit better. This was something I was worried about. However, everything just seems flexy and compliant, yet stout and confident.

Also while they were under there, I had Cloakworks install their Rocksport high mount steering stabilizer and FAD skid. Very solid feel all around and just good peace of mind that the FAD is covered and SS is out of the way. I have no shimmy or shake in my steering, but then again, I had been running a few hundred miles with no SS at all and no problems. I got a better than average steering box from the factory.

I owe you guys actual lift numbers. I measured each corner before the lift and will get you all the new numbers here shortly.

Thanks all!

Fire (didn't) Burns...

Great looking Jeep! Any chance you can get a shot from the front straight on? Curious how the 5” backspace looks.

 

[JJsJL]

MetalCloak 3.5 GameChanger with Fuel Covert rims Tires are Nitto Trail Grapplers 37x12.5x17

One more question. I’ve seen a person or two mention the MC rear sway bar drop spacers puts the rear sway bar close to the DEF tank. Any issues or comments on that?

 

[Halstem1]

Yeah.... I’m with you on this one. I’ve been almost going in to re-gear now for a couple months, driving my buddy that has the Jeep shop that’s gonna do it, nuts, lol...... I still see 8 th gear once in a while, and it still has some get up left with 3.6 and auto. My 37 nittos are 35.75 on the Jeep. I’ve decided to wait on gears now till these wear out, then go 38 or 39s at that point I’ll re-gear. Well that’s the plan today anyway.................

I've been going back and forth on re-gearing like you. I probably would have already done if not for covid. but now after some rethinking... like you, I think I'm just going to wait until I go 38 or 39. I live in flat country and actually still see 8th some. It probably hunts for a gear a little more than it needs to when it downshifts. but I still get get 18-20 miles per gallon all the time. In the meantime, I'll keep slowly building the axle I think. I have the chromoly rear shafts which I'll put in. I'd like to do something with front shafts still. Maybe truss at some point in the next 12-24 months. By then when my tires are toast, I'll see if 39's and re-gearing is in order. Plan may change tomorrow.

Now I have gear money to spend on something... wheels? control arms? rear bumper? Light bars?

So no 37 actually measures 37? Never new. I'll quit feeling bad about my "baby 37"" bfgs.

 

[Halstem1]

Still running 37" KM3 Tires with the Mopar 2" Lift.

Have you done control arms or anything?

 

[Roky]

I've been going back and forth on re-gearing like you. I probably would have already done if not for covid. but now after some rethinking... like you, I think I'm just going to wait until I go 38 or 39. I live in flat country and actually still see 8th some. It probably hunts for a gear a little more than it needs to when it downshifts. but I still get get 18-20 miles per gallon all the time. In the meantime, I'll keep slowly building the axle I think. I have the chromoly rear shafts which I'll put in. I'd like to do something with front shafts still. Maybe truss at some point in the next 12-24 months. By then when my tires are toast, I'll see if 39's and re-gearing is in order. Plan may change tomorrow.

Now I have gear money to spend on something... wheels? control arms? rear bumper? Light bars?

So no 37 actually measures 37? Never new. I'll quit feeling bad about my "baby 37"" bfgs.

There’s a couple true 37s out there but can’t remember brand , but they’re a MT tire. I don’t know if 39-40s are more true to size or not, I asked a while back but no one answered, lol.

 

[Halstem1]

There’s a couple true 37s out there but can’t remember brand , but they’re a MT tire. I don’t know if 39-40s are more true to size or not, I asked a while back but no one answered, lol.

fair enough. If they are all releatively the same size, I guess I don't care. someone last week argued that my 37's weren't actually 37's... I don't know why but it annoyed me. I need to not care.

Its just funny because they used to look huge and now they look small. And my mopar lift used to look taller so I think it settled because it measures exactly 2" now. I don't even know why i care. haha.

 

[Roky]

fair enough. If they are all releatively the same size, I guess I don't care. someone last week argued that my 37's weren't actually 37's... I don't know why but it annoyed me. I need to not care.

Its just funny because they used to look huge and now they look small. And my mopar lift used to look taller so I think it settled because it measures exactly 2" now. I don't even know why i care. haha.

Lol.... yeah, no need to worry over it, your rig looks great......

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