Here’s my thoughts on a budget friendly lift to start off

[mrtm1970]

Also for the financial side of things…Once you select a lift…if your credit is decent, there is Pay per month options available with PayPal and Affirm that can get you into the set-up sooner AND just make monthly payments. Or with PayPal, can get set amount that has 0 interest if paid back before 6 months.

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[word302]

Also don’t discount Rancho 2” Sport Lift (3 1/2” for Sport and which I have but have not installed yet) which is supposed to have gotten 3” on a Rubicon. @wibornz can give a better review! I ordered the RS9000 adjustable shocks AND got these from Northridge 4X4 WITH the Rancho Geometry Correction Bracket for just over $700!!!

FYI…I originally was going the cheaper way with ordering the RC 2 1/2” spacer lift and RC geometry correction bracket for $300 but decided to sell them instead of installing because of the awesome price reduction I got for the Rancho kit I really wanted and I do have just under 48k miles on OEM suspension shocks and springs. I will be going 315/70R17 for tires size and AEV JK Borah wheels.

My future setup will be MC Game Changer 3 1/2” with 37s

The Rancho stuff is about the same quality as Rough Country. I wouldn’t recommend either. AEV is is also overpriced for what you get and like the cheaper brands, doesn’t include everything you need for proper geometry. They get far too much hype for what you actually get.

 

[jhackathorne]

The Rancho stuff is about the same quality as Rough Country. I wouldn’t recommend either. AEV is is also overpriced for what you get and like the cheaper brands, doesn’t include everything you need for proper geometry. They get far too much hype for what you actually get.

That seems excessive! While Rancho may not be the highest quality, it is certainly better than RC. AEV is overpriced for what you get.

 

[rcadden]

I went with 1.5" teraflex pucks to get me started, fully plan to do a proper lift toward the end of this year, now that I have steel bumper, winch, etc.

I do NOT envy you trying to do this research. There are a million different options, at a million different budgets, and every solution will get you people saying it's awesome and others claiming it's garbage.

The most frustrating part for me is that nearly every "kit" seems to still need this or that later. MOPAR LCAs to correct this, new steering stabilizer to address that, etc.

Also frustrating (and one of the benefits of pucks) is that I don't want a lot of lift. I fully plan to stick with 33s, so anything over ~2-3" is going to be too much.

 

[mrtm1970]

I went with 1.5" teraflex pucks to get me started, fully plan to do a proper lift toward the end of this year, now that I have steel bumper, winch, etc.

I do NOT envy you trying to do this research. There are a million different options, at a million different budgets, and every solution will get you people saying it's awesome and others claiming it's garbage.

The most frustrating part for me is that nearly every "kit" seems to still need this or that later. MOPAR LCAs to correct this, new steering stabilizer to address that, etc.

Also frustrating (and one of the benefits of pucks) is that I don't want a lot of lift. I fully plan to stick with 33s, so anything over ~2-3" is going to be too much.

For what you plan, from what I have read, I think Clayton Overland Plus 1.5” or 2.5” will be what you will want to get.

Or actually 392 XR take offs is what you will want with Mopar LCAs, especially if you want to stay 33s-35s

 

[blnewt]

Also for the financial side of things…Once you select a lift…if your credit is decent, there is Pay per month options available with PayPal and Affirm that can get you into the set-up sooner AND just make monthly payments. Or with PayPal, can get set amount that has 0 interest if paid back before 6 months.

I like this post, we need to enable these new members to find creative ways to empty every pocket.
And emptying them slowly over time seems like a plan

 

[word302]

That seems excessive! While Rancho may not be the highest quality, it is certainly better than RC. AEV is overpriced for what you get.

Have you held components from both manufacturers in your hands? Installed/removed said components? I have and I stand by my comments.

 

[blnewt]

Have you held components from both manufacturers in your hands? Installed/removed said components? I have and I stand by my comments.

One thing about Rancho shocks, at least form the data I've seen is they have some of the shortest travel vs. other shocks. One of the main reasons I went w/ Fox 2.0s w/ my franken-lift.

 

[Stuckinthesand]

Speaking from experience. I ran the RC 2.5” spacer kit for 2.5 years with 35”s. Switched out shocks to teraflex 9550’s and ran JKS quick disconnects. The ride wasn’t bad and it served me well for the off roading I did do which included blue trails such as crawl daddy and crawlers ridge. I wanted to try some more difficult trails but still keep the good DD driving. I went with AEV 2.5” lift. I netted 4” overall and the on road driving in my opinion is better than stock. It eats up any road deficiencies. I have not had a chance to play on the rocks with it yet but I am sure it will be able to do what I am comfortable with. The reason I like AEV is it is literally no maintenance to the system. I even left off the LCA brackets because I felt they hung to low for the wheeling I do. Only additional items I bought were a teraflex front and rear trac bar axle brackets. 1st pic is the spacer lift and 2nd pic is AEV lift. Also note I did switch to rubi fenders as well. 1st pic is still sport fenders.

 

[word302]

Speaking from experience. I ran the RC 2.5” spacer kit for 2.5 years with 35”s. Switched out shocks to teraflex 9550’s and ran JKS quick disconnects. The ride wasn’t bad and it served me well for the off roading I did do which included blue trails such as crawl daddy and crawlers ridge. I wanted to try some more difficult trails but still keep the good DD driving. I went with AEV 2.5” lift. I netted 4” overall and the on road driving in my opinion is better than stock. It eats up any road deficiencies. I have not had a chance to play on the rocks with it yet but I am sure it will be able to do what I am comfortable with. The reason I like AEV is it is literally no maintenance to the system. I even left off the LCA brackets because I felt they hung to low for the wheeling I do. Only additional items I bought were a teraflex front and rear trac bar axle brackets. 1st pic is the spacer lift and 2nd pic is AEV lift. Also note I did switch to rubi fenders as well. 1st pic is still sport fenders.

Of course there’s no maintenance because you’re still retaining all the garbage factory components. Your factory control arm and track bar bushings will eventually fail. If you didn’t install the geo brackets then your caster is woefully low.

 

[Stuckinthesand]

Of course there’s no maintenance because you’re still retaining all the garbage factory components. Your factory control arm and track bar bushings will eventually fail.

While I agree 100% with that why replace them before needing to. I have 55k miles on mine and wheel it pretty regularly during the warmer months. Once components go bad I replace them. If it isn’t affecting the ride quality now I don’t see a reason to.

 

[jhackathorne]

Have you held components from both manufacturers in your hands? Installed/removed said components? I have and I stand by my comments.

I have had Rancho on my JK and running RC diff skid and rear LCA skids on my JL. There was a definite difference in quality and fit. The rear LCA's from RC will do for now. If I had not received them as a gift I would have bought something else and sent the RC back. Fit and finish is def better on the Rancho.

I do agree with @blnewt about the travel of their shocks. For the sizes listed they do not match up with other brands. I am running Fox shocks now and they perform well.

 

[blnewt]

Of course there’s no maintenance because you’re still retaining all the garbage factory components. Your factory control arm and track bar bushings will eventually fail. If you didn’t install the geo brackets then your caster is woefully low.

Yeah, I would think that caster would be an issue, have you measured it by chance @Stuckinthesand ?

 

[Stuckinthesand]

Yeah, I would think that caster would be an issue, have you measured it by chance @Stuckinthesand ?

Haven’t measured caster but I did need to adjust the toe by about 1/4”. I was going to have the caster checked if I was all over the road but it didn’t change from before the lift. I run the highway 17 miles each way to work so I would’ve picked up on it pretty quick.

 

[word302]

While I agree 100% with that why replace them before needing to. I have 55k miles on mine and wheel it pretty regularly during the warmer months. Once components go bad I replace them. If it isn’t affecting the ride quality now I don’t see a reason to.

I’d especially keep an eye on the track bars. If you wheel they will go fast.

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