My experience with JLU Sport with auto, 3.43 gears, Mopar 2" lift and 33" AT tires

[Pig-Pen]

im looking to install stock rubi suspension on my sport next week. im already running on stock rubi wheels/tires. i felt a slight change in the gearing/acceleration. didnt really pay attention to mpg. i have not recalibrated the pcm.

wondering what kind of changes the stock rubi suspension will bring. if it will be worth it.

ive already taken my stock sport on rubi tires out on a trail with light crawling. it performed like a champ and only scraped the bottom a few times (barely). no tire rubbing at all, even with major flexing.

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[Arrowhead]

im looking to install stock rubi suspension on my sport next week. im already running on stock rubi wheels/tires. i felt a slight change in the gearing/acceleration. didnt really pay attention to mpg. i have not recalibrated the pcm.

wondering what kind of changes the stock rubi suspension will bring. if it will be worth it.

ive already taken my stock sport on rubi tires out on a trail with light crawling. it performed like a champ and only scraped the bottom a few times (barely). no tire rubbing at all, even with major flexing.

I don't think you will notice anything at all other than being taller and maybe a slightly stiffer ride (really depends on what springs you have now and what Rubi springs you are swapping on, there are many different spring rates from the factory). I really don't see a moderate lift kit causing the MPG decrease that the OP claims, a brick is still brick after your raise it a couple of inches.

 

[blnewt]

The decrease in mpg is probably more to do with the winter fuel mix vs. a small lift. If you're lucky enough to find ethanol-free gas your mpg will be significantly better, at least 10% more IME.

 

[jmcdtucson]

Rubicon takeoff suspension is what I'm eyeing as well. I'm trying to keep things pretty stock for now and these seem to have the fewest issues.

 

[Yoyo27983]

Update! The dealership kept the Jeep through the weekend. They could not duplicate the rear brake issue but they assumed that it had something to do with resetting the abs system after a bcm update. They told me that the abs usually needs a reset after any other configuration updates. BS ?? I DON'T KNOW. I picked it up Monday afternoon and in the 20 mile ride home it was performing great. It went to 8th gear again and would only occasionally downshift to 7th. The gas milage is now showing 22 at 60mph. At 50mph ,it is around 28mpg. This is very good news to me! Now let's hope nothing else happens with this thing. I still have to carry it to another dealer for a second opinion on the engine knock. Will update that in the thread on 3.6 sound at idle. Thanks to all of you who pushed to get the speedo recal'd.

 

[BWWJL]

I don't think you will notice anything at all other than being taller and maybe a slightly stiffer ride (really depends on what springs you have now and what Rubi springs you are swapping on, there are many different spring rates from the factory).

^^^ this.

I have Rubi take off wheels and suspension. A little stiffer but similar ride. It only raises it 1.25” or so.

I’m quite a bit of city and my computer shows 17.8 mpg if I remember correctly.

 

[Arrowhead]

Update! The dealership kept the Jeep through the weekend. They could not duplicate the rear brake issue but they assumed that it had something to do with resetting the abs system after a bcm update. They told me that the abs usually needs a reset after any other configuration updates. BS ?? I DON'T KNOW. I picked it up Monday afternoon and in the 20 mile ride home it was performing great. It went to 8th gear again and would only occasionally downshift to 7th. The gas milage is now showing 22 at 60mph. At 50mph ,it is around 28mpg. This is very good news to me! Now let's hope nothing else happens with this thing. I still have to carry it to another dealer for a second opinion on the engine knock. Will update that in the thread on 3.6 sound at idle. Thanks to all of you who pushed to get the speedo recal'd.

@Yoyo27983
That's great news! Now maybe you can update all the other threads that you complained about this on:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/posts/478125/

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/posts/477934/

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/posts/462663/

 

[chiggerdude]

Rubicon manual with 37" tires and a 3.5" lift.

Gauges are saying14.5 mpg which isn't actual because I haven't calibrated the Speedo yet.
My JKU with 37's got around 17 mpg. So I'm expecting about the same on the JLUR after a calibration.
Either way,I'm happy.

OP should just put the factory suspension back under the jeep, Buy the Rubicon fenders and run either 33" or 35" tires. But the MPG will still suffer considerably, as I was only getting 21 mpg all stock with 4:10s

 

[namodei]

Update! The dealership kept the Jeep through the weekend. They could not duplicate the rear brake issue but they assumed that it had something to do with resetting the abs system after a bcm update. They told me that the abs usually needs a reset after any other configuration updates. BS ?? I DON'T KNOW. I picked it up Monday afternoon and in the 20 mile ride home it was performing great. It went to 8th gear again and would only occasionally downshift to 7th. The gas milage is now showing 22 at 60mph. At 50mph ,it is around 28mpg. This is very good news to me! Now let's hope nothing else happens with this thing. I still have to carry it to another dealer for a second opinion on the engine knock. Will update that in the thread on 3.6 sound at idle. Thanks to all of you who pushed to get the speedo recal'd.

Great!! Do you have any pictures of your jeep? I'd like to see the lift with the 33's to see how it looks.

 

[robaw]

I have a completely stock Moab and I'm pretty sure it's never seen 8th gear. About as fast as I've had it is around 75mph, at which point it was probably around 2K rpm. I thought it should go to 8th somewhere around there. Is this a problem?

 

[George999]

I have a completely stock Moab and I'm pretty sure it's never seen 8th gear. About as fast as I've had it is around 75mph, at which point it was probably around 2K rpm. I thought it should go to 8th somewhere around there. Is this a problem?

i can only offer what i experienced

I have a 2.5 RC lift with Rubi 33's, I never hit 8th gear, then i had the wheel size changed to the correct setting. Once that was changed i was seeing 8th gear going down hills and not on the throttle. This was all city driving to and from work.
Over Christmas i made a 1900-2000 mile trek, once i hit TN, i decided to relax a bit and took off my shoes. Now i was hitting 8th gear with no issues, averaged 22.5 mpg. and very happy. I think there is 2 very important things to hit 8th gear.

1. You need to break-in the transmission 5 to 6k
2. You need to have your foot act like a feather on the pedal, just enough to maintain your speed. if you give it too much gas or if it feels like it is trying to increase speed it will not shift to 8th gear.

Now that i am back to my daily routine, i am not hitting 8th gear as much and i am back down to about 17.5 mpg

Anyway that is what i noticed, tread lightly on the gas and she should shift to 8th gear

Oh and i was hitting 8th doing 80

 

[robaw]

i can only offer what i experienced

I have a 2.5 RC lift with Rubi 33's, I never hit 8th gear, then i had the wheel size changed to the correct setting. Once that was changed i was seeing 8th gear going down hills and not on the throttle. This was all city driving to and from work.
Over Christmas i made a 1900-2000 mile trek, once i hit TN, i decided to relax a bit and took off my shoes. Now i was hitting 8th gear with no issues, averaged 22.5 mpg. and very happy. I think there is 2 very important things to hit 8th gear.

1. You need to break-in the transmission 5 to 6k
2. You need to have your foot act like a feather on the pedal, just enough to maintain your speed. if you give it too much gas or if it feels like it is trying to increase speed it will not shift to 8th gear.

Now that i am back to my daily routine, i am not hitting 8th gear as much and i am back down to about 17.5 mpg

Anyway that is what i noticed, tread lightly on the gas and she should shift to 8th gear

That probably makes sense. At that speed I usually use cruise control, and I only have about 1300 miles on it so far. I'll give it some more time. Thanks

 

[JLAFAKASI]

Youre actually getting a little better mpg than you think. After you calibrate you'll probably see an average of 18 or so. At least that s what I average.

Are you still on the mopar 2 lift with 33s or 35s? Did you buy an extra components to make the lift better (track bar, rear bracket, correction spring pads, etc) Did you regear yet? I got the lift not installed yet, still on stock gears 3.45 on my JLUS

 

[txj2go]

Are you still on the mopar 2 lift with 33s or 35s? Did you buy an extra components to make the lift better (track bar, rear bracket, correction spring pads, etc) Did you regear yet? I got the lift not installed yet, still on stock gears 3.45 on my JLUS

I just went through part of this with my 2018 JLU Sport.
I put on Rubicon takeoff tires on my stock wheels, Rubicon takeoff springs and shocks, and new Mopar lower control arms. With the combination of Rubicon springs I got there is 1.5" lift in front and 2" in back so similar to the Mopar lift kit, and the lower control arms are the same ones that are supplied in the Mopar lift kit. I have lots of trips planned to Utah so I wanted more durable and more aggressive tires, and a little more clearance. This was essential for some of my destinations so whatever the results were I would just have to accept them.
Highway mileage- I went from about 22mpg to 20mpg. This is driving the speed limit on relatively flat freeways with 70 and 75 mph limits.
Ride- very similar to stock, maybe a bit less jiggly on some types of road irregularities. The new lower control arms maybe have improved steering stability over stock
Transmission- I see 8th gear under good conditions, meaning flat ground, not much head wind, low altitude. When I get to Colorado on the way to Denver, or if there is headwind, then it's mostly 7th gear.
Performance- I don't see any problems with performance. The car is always eager to go and will easily keep up with traffic.

 

[Willys.JLU.2021]

So why are you blaming the tires? You said the lift cost you 8th gear before the tires.
It's no secret that lifts are mpg killers. Bigger/heavier tires will compound that effect. FWIW, you can clear those 33's without the lift, so maybe you should take the lift off to get your mileage back. You should be able to sell the lift to recover most of the cost as long as it's not beat up.

So why are you blaming the tires? You said the lift cost you 8th gear before the tires.
It's no secret that lifts are mpg killers. Bigger/heavier tires will compound that effect. FWIW, you can clear those 33's without the lift, so maybe you should take the lift off to get your mileage back. You should be able to sell the lift to recover most of the cost as long as it's not beat up.

i have a JL Willys sport...I want to put 33s on it at some point..Was thinking about a 1 1/2 spacer lift ..but all this talk of losing 2 to 3 mpg...Would a body lift of say 1 or 1 1/2 in not cause the extra drag..Im not climbiing any rocks..light iff road..maul crawler..i body lifted a cj7 w 2 hockey pucks on my first jeep back in 86..looked great..cant remember any mpg difference..not sure i ever compared before and after

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