Highway with liftkit?

[Campdaddy]

I travel for work which means I travel on the highway alot.

I love my 2021 2 door Rubicon, but I want a lift kit although idk how one would effect driving on the free way.

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[TheBirdie72]

It will still drive on the freeway, just higher.

 

[blnewt]

Just be sure to keep your caster in the 6 degree range. Since you have a Rubicon your caster is already low, and as you go up your caster goes down. If you lift more than 1.5" you'll want some adjustable Lower Control Arms (LCAs) or adjustable Upper Control Arms (UCAs). You can get by w/ fixed Mopar lift LCAs if you lift less than that. This will keep your Jeep tracking straight at high speeds. With caster too low you'll have to fight your Jeep to keep it on the road and will always want to wander off center.

 

[At Risk Ute]

I went with 37s and a 3.5” lift on my two door. You’re definitely a little tippier, but no regrets on the highway. Concur with getting the caster right!

 

[Reinen]

You generally get what you pay for. If the kit just contains springs & shocks your geometry will be off and it can be detrimental on the highway. The biggest thing would be adjustable lower control arms to not reduce your caster. That's huge on the highway. Then adjustable track bars to re-center the axles. Lifting with the stock track bars will shift your axles to the driver side in front and passenger side in the rear. How much will depend on how much you lift. While driveable it's obviously not ideal. Better off centered.

When I did my lift I got all the parts to fully adjust. 2" OME springs, shocks, adjustable UCAs/LCAs and Track Bars. Drives better than stock on the highway because they're good components and everything is perfectly adjusted for the new height.

Some might consider that overkill and unnecessary. They're kinda correct but my engineer OCD wouldn't accept "good enough" and I think it's completely worth it for how well it drives.

 

[Campdaddy]

Wow I didn't realize that much goes into it. I'd be worried about whoever did the work does it properly.

I know I read somewhere that on a 2 door that a 1.5 inch lift will be more like 2 or 2.5 or something.

What about just spacers??

I wouldn't even begin to know where to look for compatible parts

 

[GATORB8]

Wow I didn't realize that much goes into it. I'd be worried about whoever did the work does it properly.

I know I read somewhere that on a 2 door that a 1.5 inch lift will be more like 2 or 2.5 or something.

What about just spacers??

I wouldn't even begin to know where to look for compatible parts

Spacers will net you lift exactly the thickness of the spacer. Most manufacturers seem to design springs based on a fully armored/bumpered rig which tends to add some more height if you aren't that heavy (and normally it's a little higher than that even).

Regardless of how you accomplish the lift (springs or spacers) you'll want to consider the items mentioned above depending on height. A quality lift kit from a good manufacturer will include the items needed.

 

[blnewt]

Wow I didn't realize that much goes into it. I'd be worried about whoever did the work does it properly.

I know I read somewhere that on a 2 door that a 1.5 inch lift will be more like 2 or 2.5 or something.

What about just spacers??

I wouldn't even begin to know where to look for compatible parts

Need to decide how much tire you want and go from there, your JLR is perfect for the stock 285/70 tires. If you want to run 35s (or 315/70/17s) you should be ok running a spacer like a 1.5" Teraflex kit.
They make them with or without shocks, probably best to go w/ a new shock set to allow full travel.
Here's a thread on that. I'd give that thread a look and see what you think.
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/1-5-inch-spacer-lift.12882/
You can also gain clearance by chopping your fenders to keep a lower center of gravity and keep your suspension stock or at least the parts req'd to a minimum. @Headbarcode and many others have done the fender chop and it looks great when done well!

 

[rkwfxd]

2dr with MC 2.5” GC and SteerSmarts sector shaft brace on 315s. I make sure to use the CC on the freeway otherwise I find myself creeping up to 80-85 + mph because it feels so stable.

 

[Headbarcode]

You generally get what you pay for. If the kit just contains springs & shocks your geometry will be off and it can be detrimental on the highway. The biggest thing would be adjustable lower control arms to not reduce your caster. That's huge on the highway. Then adjustable track bars to re-center the axles. Lifting with the stock track bars will shift your axles to the driver side in front and passenger side in the rear. How much will depend on how much you lift. While driveable it's obviously not ideal. Better off centered.

When I did my lift I got all the parts to fully adjust. 2" OME springs, shocks, adjustable UCAs/LCAs and Track Bars. Drives better than stock on the highway because they're good components and everything is perfectly adjusted for the new height.

Some might consider that overkill and unnecessary. They're kinda correct but my engineer OCD wouldn't accept "good enough" and I think it's completely worth it for how well it drives.

The factory control arms, track bars, and steering linkages are barely adequate for stock height and tire size. Increasing tire size and ride height will also increase stress and leverage forces between both the ground and axles and axles to frame/body.

All of those arms, bars, and linkages share one main objective. To maintain a definitive distance between opposed connection points. If there's any flex or give, that unwanted and uncontrolled movement will translate to a mushy and vague feel to the suspension and steering systems.

The factory components are undeniably constructed from thin-walled box and round tubing. This is done to keep weight and material costs lower, while also helping with fuel economy. The downside is their lack of enough strength to properly stand against the added forces that come with larger tires and lift.

Since I'm a very firm believer in the great importance of supportive parts, I don't at all find it to be overcompensation to add stronger arms, bars, and linkages. In my opinion, it's the minimum required for those with lift and larger tires that are looking for as good of, if not better, ride and handling quality as stock, along with maximized longevity.

 

[Reinen]

Wow I didn't realize that much goes into it. I'd be worried about whoever did the work does it properly.

It's not as hard as it sounds and can be done in your garage/driveway over a weekend, even accounting for going slow your first time. It definitely helps to have someone around who has done it before. Ask a local Jeep club if anyone can help guide you.

I know I read somewhere that on a 2 door that a 1.5 inch lift will be more like 2 or 2.5 or something.

This can be referring to one of two things. When you replace springs they will typically sit higher than advertised initially and then settle to the advertised height after a little use. This applies to 2 & 4 doors. Or it could be referring to the off-road effectiveness of a lift & tires on a 2dr. Because of the shorter wheelbase a 2dr doesn't need as big a lift/tires to go over the same terrain as a 4dr. Performance wise, 33s on a 2dr is about as effective as 35s on a 4dr.

What about just spacers??

Spacers will impact your suspension's geometry exactly the same as longer springs. They're just cheaper with less performance. Think two people who are the same height, one has platform shoes the other longer legs. That's spacers vs springs.

The Jeep suspension has parts that all work together and all those parts move in arcs. So if you adjust your spring height (or add spacers) everything will rest on a different point of that arc and will be slightly off. That's what "impacting geometry" means. The adjustable control arms and track bars are for adjusting those arcs so everything is centered again for the new resting height and important angles (such as caster) aren't changed for the worse. That's the difference between a cheap lift and a quality lift. The cheap lift will get you to the height and leave the geometry slightly off. The quality lift will include parts to adjust the arcs so everything is centered and in balance for the new height.

As @Headbarcode said, greater height & larger tires = more leverage on suspension components. Stronger arms & bars is a good thing which will be noticed on the highway.

So back to your original question, a cheap/incomplete lift will reduce performance on the highway. A quality/complete lift will be as good or better on the highway.

I wouldn't even begin to know where to look for compatible parts

Watch YouTube videos. They will really help you understand what happens in a lift. When you know what's involved it will be much easier to understand the parts needed and why. Initially it will seem more daunting than it actually is.

 

[Headbarcode]

Need to decide how much tire you want and go from there, your JLR is perfect for the stock 285/70 tires. If you want to run 35s (or 315/70/17s) you should be ok running a spacer like a 1.5" Teraflex kit.
They make them with or without shocks, probably best to go w/ a new shock set to allow full travel.
Here's a thread on that. I'd give that thread a look and see what you think.
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/1-5-inch-spacer-lift.12882/
You can also gain clearance by chopping your fenders to keep a lower center of gravity and keep your suspension stock or at least the parts req'd to a minimum. @Headbarcode and many others have done the fender chop and it looks great when done well!

Or if not longer shocks, a good spacer lift will also include relocation brackets for the factory shocks. That will maintain factory suspension travel vs limiting down travel with just spring spacers.

That approach can save some money for a possible future swap to an actual suspension lift.

I know that you know this, blnewt, so it's meant for other readers who are working on their Jeep knowledge.

And yeah, a fender chop can increase tire to fender clearance by about 3.5" in the front and 2-2.5" in the rear. Rubicons and Saharas have 2-piece fenders, which makes it easy to split the outer shell from the innards. The Sports have 1-piece fenders that can still be chopped, but with the added step of cutting a similar parting line, which is easy with a smaller cutoff wheel on a grinder or dremel type of tool.

 

[TX_Ovrlnd]

Maybe put a NSFW tag on this next time bro, too much Wrangler porn!

 

[Headbarcode]

Maybe put a NSFW tag on this next time bro, too much Wrangler porn!

 

[Shibadog]

No going in there are no free lunches. There have been big $$ spent by Jeep designing the suspension under your Jeep. If you decide to play with that do yourself a huge favor and buy a Complete, high quality suspension replacement system. If you try to “go cheap” do not be surprised when the handling gets wonky. If you feel you “must” change, I’d strongly suggest a Rubicon take off suspension-can be had pretty cheap, uses all factory parts and will fit/run just fine. If this is your thing, be sure you get the Complete set up, not just springs…good luck.

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