Do I NEED a lift and tires?

[$uicide$hift]

Many people ask this question and get the answer that for off road a 2.5" lift and 35" tires are what they need to an extent. Most people are not going to be doing any serious off road trails that require any modification to the stock Wrangler. Some do and that is great.

If you want that "LOOK" there is nothing wrong with that. Many perform these modifications for a look but never see any serious off road trail that takes advantage of the modifications they have made.

People need to keep in mind that simply tossing on big tires and adding a lift can cause a lot of issues down the road they had not thought of. So before you go and modify your Jeep I suggest you do a lot of research as to the effects these modifications can have.

- Larger tires = more rotational weight causing more wear and tear. A good write up HERE and additional searching will get you more information.

- Lifts when not done properly can cause alignment issues and wear out other parts quicker. Some decent starter information HERE.

- Ride Quality can be affected adversely. I have read many people state that they loved the look but did not enjoy the way the Jeep drove on pavement which is what most of us use it for 90% or more of the time. A nice write up on Jalopnik HERE.

A decent beginners guide to lifting a Jeep I found HERE.

In the end do what you want but I encourage all the people new to Jeep's to do their research before slapping on a lift kit and bigger tires. I am not against doing this I just want people to be well informed before spending a lot of money on something they may regret down the road. Also realize you can get that look and not have any large adverse effects but you will need to spend more money to do it properly.



10-reasons-not-to-put-a-lift-kit-in-your-jeep

1. After a lift, your Jeep will NOT ride like it did when it was stock height (don’t believe the marketing hype or message boards)
2. You WILL spend significantly more money on your Jeep after the lift kit is installed
3. Lift kits lead to bigger tires. Bigger tires lead to new steering parts, better brakes, gearing upgrades, a stronger tire carrier, refinancing your house, etc.
4. Your wife/girlfriend will complain that your Jeep is hard to get into and is scary to drive
5. 33-inch tires will start to look tiny. Your brain does strange things in an effort to make you justify that 38’s are the new 33’s
   
6. Fixing driveline vibrations & re-balancing tires will drive you insane
7. You may experience the dreaded “death wobble.” If you do, you’ll be investing in new underwear
8. You’ll get pissed at Jeep for not adding welders and onboard air as standard equipment from the factory
9. You’ll start wondering if your Jeep can climb random things (e.g. the rock in your neighbor’s yard, guard rails, the hood of your boss’ Mercedes)
10. There will be times when you hate your Jeep and will want to burn it to the ground

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[K9Jeeper]

As noted with tons of JKs traded in almost immediately after someone puts a lift on. Seen it over and over again. People just don’t know what they are getting themselves into sometimes. Good post!

 

[martyb511]

Thank you for posting this... Bookmarked!

 

[MikeM1968]

Many people ask this question and get the answer that for off road a 2.5" lift and 35" tires are what they need to an extent. Most people are not going to be doing any serious off road trails that require any modification to the stock Wrangler. Some do and that is great.

If you want that "LOOK" there is nothing wrong with that. Many perform these modifications for a look but never see any serious off road trail that takes advantage of the modifications they have made.

People need to keep in mind that simply tossing on big tires and adding a lift can cause a lot of issues down the road they had not thought of. So before you go and modify your Jeep I suggest you do a lot of research as to the effects these modifications can have.

- Larger tires = more rotational weight causing more wear and tear. A good write up HERE and additional searching will get you more information.

- Lifts when not done properly can cause alignment issues and wear out other parts quicker. Some decent starter information HERE.

- Ride Quality can be affected adversely. I have read many people state that they loved the look but did not enjoy the way the Jeep drove on pavement which is what most of us use it for 90% or more of the time. A nice write up on Jalopnik HERE.

A decent beginners guide to lifting a Jeep I found HERE.

In the end do what you want but I encourage all the people new to Jeep's to do their research before slapping on a lift kit and bigger tires. I am not against doing this I just want people to be well informed before spending a lot of money on something they may regret down the road. Also realize you can get that look and not have any large adverse effects but you will need to spend more money to do it properly.


10-reasons-not-to-put-a-lift-kit-in-your-jeep

1. After a lift, your Jeep will NOT ride like it did when it was stock height (don’t believe the marketing hype or message boards)
2. You WILL spend significantly more money on your Jeep after the lift kit is installed
3. Lift kits lead to bigger tires. Bigger tires lead to new steering parts, better brakes, gearing upgrades, a stronger tire carrier, refinancing your house, etc.
4. Your wife/girlfriend will complain that your Jeep is hard to get into and is scary to drive
5. 33-inch tires will start to look tiny. Your brain does strange things in an effort to make you justify that 38’s are the new 33’s
   
6. Fixing driveline vibrations & re-balancing tires will drive you insane
7. You may experience the dreaded “death wobble.” If you do, you’ll be investing in new underwear
8. You’ll get pissed at Jeep for not adding welders and onboard air as standard equipment from the factory
9. You’ll start wondering if your Jeep can climb random things (e.g. the rock in your neighbor’s yard, guard rails, the hood of your boss’ Mercedes)
10. There will be times when you hate your Jeep and will want to burn it to the ground

Id drive it stock for several years, maybe until the warranty is done or I get it completely paid off- then the ONLY lift I’d really consider is the Mopar 2” lift because it won’t affect the original vehicle performance.

I’ve done some homework on this and it definitely seems like Mopar doesn’t guarantee original performance beyond the 2” lift kit they offer.

Bigger lifts require modifying the geometry of the suspension parts slightly or drastically- even the drivetrain itself.

So with something like a sport and 2” of lift , you’re probably looking at being able to run 35” tires- a Rubicon might make it up to 37”

The question on the sport is whether the 3.45 gear ratio with anti slip rear axle would be adequate enough for such a mod

OR just don’t put a lift on it at all and “just” buy a stock Rubicon- but, for many buyers, that’s not a realistic option. Those buyers that can’t afford above the sport / sport s level might want that “beefed up “ look for a fraction of the cost

 

[FrenchSSGTMike]

3. Lift kits lead to bigger tires. Bigger tires lead to new steering parts, better brakes, gearing upgrades, a stronger tire carrier, refinancing your house, etc

That ! Lol

 

[Swanny297]

Id drive it stock for several years, maybe until the warranty is done or I get it completely paid off- then the ONLY lift I’d really consider is the Mopar 2” lift because it won’t affect the original vehicle performance.

I’ve done some homework on this and it definitely seems like Mopar doesn’t guarantee original performance beyond the 2” lift kit they offer.

Any 2” lift will affect OEM performance just by removing any factory rake. Mopar will offer bigger lifts than a 2” - they started with a similar lift for JK but now have a 4” as well so it won’t be long.

If you are looking at a 2” lift there will be much better aftermarket kits for the money.

Always keep your factory suspension and wheels, if you aren’t happy you can always go back, a lift doesn’t have to be permanent neither do bigger tires.

 

[mcclain]

This is my 3rd jeep, 4th one in my family. Everytime we drive out with that lift kit, it looks badass, but there is definitely a moment of mourning for how it used to drive. Out of the 4 jeeps our family has owned, 2 of them at some point ended up with really bad death wobble....no, that pro comp lift that is on sale for 299.99 is probably not the way to go, lesson learned the hard way.
My last jeep everything was pretty much done top notch, but after driving it as a daily driver for over 2 years and running it on 37's with a 4 inch lift and doing alot of highway miles for travel between college and vacations and trips home on the weekends, I can say with certainty that it makes so many of the parts break down and wear out much more quickly, and turns a great jeep into a squeaky ride. if you have an unlimited budget and don't mind constantly replacing parts then it won't be a concern, but for me, this go around I drove out of the tire shop on Nitto Ridge grappler's 285/75/R17's and yeah there is a moment of doubt, do I want that lift...? Maybe, but for the time being I am going to enjoy driving a jeep that is enjoyable to drive again and still has plenty of power and acceleration for me to be fine driving it on long road trips. I do offroad abit, but for now after the sticker shock on my JL I will most likely stick to off road paths that are challenging and fun, but for sake of my pocket book for awhile I will stay off the big rocks. I have been looking into the Rubicon Express budget boost, more for the look and a little bit of clearance, and if I decide to go with a full lift kit, I will probably wait until they have perfected the new Mopar 2" lift and go that route.

 

[RockAltered]

I appreciate the concept of strict "one design" and wish for a stock Jeep and moderate trails club.
Daily Driver Upgrades lead to Bank Busting Buggies.

 

[RussJeep1]

A man walks into a weekly nearby meeting at a civic hall, sits down with 11 other strangers and a moderator and says, "hi, my name is Stan. I purchased my Wrangler 2 years, 4 months, and 5 days ago and I've not much altered it from its factory configuration."

"Hi Stan," everyone says in unison, but the moderator replies, "Stan, that's great, but this is alcoholics anonymous. 'Not much modified my Wrangler anonymous' is 2 doors down on the left."

 

[passingnotes]

thanks for this post! i’m likely to put some 33 rubi tires on my sport s when it arrives, with no lift, which limits some off road choices - is like to do a lift but am trying to avoid it for many of the reasons above

but, it also appears that 33 on stock sport might be a bad idea and make driving crappy above 60-70 mph per somebody’s comments elsewhere about 8th gear fighting that tire size at higher speeds.

 

[JeepEagle1]

I plan to install the Mopar 2" lift with 35s. Does anything need to be reprogramed to accommodate the larger tires? If so, who usually does this? The dealer?

 

[mcclain]

thanks for this post! i’m likely to put some 33 rubi tires on my sport s when it arrives, with no lift, which limits some off road choices - is like to do a lift but am trying to avoid it for many of the reasons above

but, it also appears that 33 on stock sport might be a bad idea and make driving crappy above 60-70 mph per somebody’s comments elsewhere about 8th gear fighting that tire size at higher speeds.

I had driven back to Dallas from Austin to get my tires and rims on, and I was worried about the same thing. I had read that comment and really was considering how different it would make it. As I was driving I noticed that even with the stock tires and wheels on it really had a hard time staying in 8th. It seems like the jeep cruises pretty comfortably around 80/85 and it starts becoming more of a push toward 90. It does it easily, but I have to be much heavier on the gas pedal to keep it there. After I put my 285/75/17's on and drove back to Austin on them, I didn't notice a huge difference at all, and after having gone through the new wheels/tires/lift process a few times I was really relieved. The tires gave it enough height for now, and kept the power that I really loved about the JL. The only real difference i have seen is I noticed my gas mileage has gone down about 2 mpg less than where I was at stock. I seem to be hovering around 16, but this being a jeep, i am not complaining. My first JK was the 2010 and after the lift and tires, with that mini-van engine in it I was lucky to get 10-11 MPG in it. I will be running the super chip when it comes out, that made a HUGE difference in my 2012 jk. The nittos I got are really 34's, and i have no regrets. It kept the handling that I like so much, and gave me a more aggressive look, for now I am satisfied, idk how long that will last before i'm back to chewing over the lift, but hoping to get a couple of years down the road. I am going to concentrate on the other mods I can do, getting my bumpers changed out, side steps, getting my Warn winch back on etc, etc.

 

[kacper244]

Here is a base Sport that I saw with the 2" Mopar lift.

 

[Documan.Terry]

https://expeditionportal.com/the-passing-of-a-legend-mark-a-smith/

Yea stock ride height can take you plenty of places. Winch > lift/bigger tires. For the money function beats fashion in my book... every time.

 

[PavementWarrior]

About 30 years ago I built up a truck, with a suspension and tires that were awesome off road, the big tires ignored holes and ruts/rocks and it feels great in the ruff!

Then driving on freeway to get offload you felt like you needed to stop to pee blood for a bit. And back then with a 4 barrel carb and stepping on gas... you could see the gas gauge move lol.

Now my off road is snow/mud trails, and beach so wide 33s, lsd and stock suspension is fine, other than maybe fancy shocks and a great tire choice that can deal with conditions is good enough.

People freak out if you buy a jeep and dont want rock crawl.. I dunno, I want a small off road suv, that can take dogs, kayak and fishing poles and me up into mountains, lake and rivers and then hose the entire thing in and out. the fact that its looks great and is convertible.. too cool.