Positive outcomes of mopar 2 inch lift kit

[Roky]

Russ,

Nope, no trackbar mods or adjustments. just the standard Mopar lift kit and nothing else (at least not yet). I've provided earlier pics from the front attempting to show that my axels do 'appear' to be centered from just looking, but I have not formally measured anything.

Again, I'm not a suspension purest, have absolutely no opinion about this lift vs that lift etc. I'm certain each one has their own pros and cons. The idea is to choose the one that will put the biggest smile on your face. To some that won't happen without the biggest dent in their wallet. Cost (and the very subjective idea of warranty integrity) were certainly primary factors.

From my perspective the Mopar lift was far superior to spacers (for what I wanted) yet adequate to be just good enough. Time will tell.

Maybe I'll need to tweak on other suspension things as I wheel more. Maybe tire wear or other factors will need to be taken into account. I did not want to over-think this. As of right now I feel I have a great baseline and am looking forward to driving Snoopy (the wife named him) every chance I can get. In fact with this setup that journey can literally now be just about anywhere.

Reposting the front views here just for your convenience. Doesn't prove much but it sure looks good.

Jay

Hi Jay...... rigs looking good. If you got 2.5 “‘of lift, your axle is probably shifted to drivers side a 1/2” . Won’t hurt anything, and it sounds like that’s not going to bother you anyway. Lol...... I , on the other hand , with my ocd , don’t have that luxury. I had to get an adjustable track bar and straighten my shit up. But I got over 3” of lift and my axle was shifted a little over 3/4” . I’m glad you’re enjoying your rig, looks great brother.

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[jeepoch]

Hi Jay...... rigs looking good. If you got 2.5 “‘of lift, your axle is probably shifted to drivers side a 1/2” . Won’t hurt anything, and it sounds like that’s not going to bother you anyway. Lol......

Roky,

You are indeed spot on. If I can assume that all the fender flair outer edges are symetric to the Wrangler's centerline, I measured from the outer edge of the fender to the outside edge of each tire (using a level held square to each wheel). Here is what I determined:

Both rear wheels measured 3" from fender to outside wheel edge. However, the front passenger wheel measured 2.5" and the driver's wheel measured 3.5" from fender to outside wheel edge.

Therefore this does indicate that the front axle indeed appears to be skewed to the driver's side by a half inch just as you stated.

And yes my lower concern level than yours says that 0.5" compared to the width of the vehicle, measured at 78" from outside wheel edge to outside wheel edge (now the widest point on my Jeep due to the -12mm offset of my new Fuel Ammo wheels) leaves a 0.64% difference per total width.

As long as each wheel tracks straight along the vehicles centerline axis then no real issue other than the front axel's midpoint is a half inch off center. However, if this deviation causes any type of skidding (or tracking difference) then the front and rear axels will fight each other by some angular displacement based on something well less than this max 0.0064 centerline offset (which will actually be based on the cosine of this tracking angle). Because this angle is very small to begin with, its cosine value will be even way smaller still, yielding an almost negligible resultant displacement vector. Certainly not zero, but still very small.

Now depending on this tracking angle difference, and the length of the wheelbase, this will then dictate the amount of fighting force between the two axles. The longer the wheelbase the larger the force(s).

However, working as a dampening effect will be the angular momentum of each wheel. Spinning objects carry a large angular force component directly proportional to their mass. Automotive tire/wheels are pretty heavy and Jeep wheels even heavier, so therefore will carry much more kinetic energy than these small tracking angle forces. The forward inertia of the moving vehicle as a whole will tend to counteract and negate any axle to axle tracking force components. In addition, spinning objects tend to maintain their angular position thus keeping the wheels pointing in the same direction.

I'll venture a guess that this misaligned tracking force will be much (much) less than a single out of alignment wheel issue. Almost negligible.

Still any irregularity, no matter how slight, can cause binding forces within both front and rear differentials (and tires) especially if both are under power (a.k.a 4WD). Any misalignment will work towards either higher than minimal stress on the axels / differentials or the contact friction of the tires with the ground. This obviously means higher premature wear.

So, you'll have to weigh your own OCD concern threshold to all of the above. Also with the knowledge that a corrective trackbar while pulling the axle closer to centerline may get the front axle closer to true straight, but who's to say the rear axle isn't tracking straight either?

Granted, some people are adamant that absolutely no axel offsets are the holy grail. I'd rather adjust based on actual measured results. What if this corrective trackbar now causes the front axle to imperfectly match the tracking angle of the rear and its mere introduction now creates yet an even bigger binding force?

The more expensive lifts do their very best to minimize these tracking angle differences by getting each axle to track as true straight as possible. But at what cost? And how important is perfection?

Pick your poison. I'm not worried.

Full disclaimer, I have a BS in Physics. Heavy emphasis on the BS. But I do not hold any type of OCD degree. I'll rock and roll with this Mopar lift and see where it takes me.

Making tweaks may be even more Jeep fun.
For some this may not be fun at all. But look at all the math they'll be missing out on.

Thanks for your advice and OCD.

Jay

 

[JLAFAKASI]

Rough country front adjustable track bar, many other options as well, rock krawler front spring perch pads and super lift rear track bar bracket. If you need/want part numbers just let me know.

You still running on this set up?

 

[JLAFAKASI]

I have a similar setup. I wasn't bothered by the shift either. And mine drove great, no complaints. I installed a set of rancho adjustable trackbars out of curiosity. apparently I have too much money. It did improve the ride though. I had very low expectations but it made a difference. I'm not an expert, so unsure if from centering axles or the fact that the track bar is beefier and has less flex. Just FYI. For what its worth.

Does the mopar lift kit need wheel spacers for the stock rubi wheels?

 

[Jerrybizzle]

You still running on this set up?

Close to it. The front springs started sagging more than I liked and my coworker had some extra rock krawler 3.5 inch front springs laying around so I put those in. I am still running the rough country front adjustable track bar and rear super lift track bar bracket. I added front adjustable lower control arms a while back as well. This pic is right after coil swap. They may have settled a bit as well but still pretty happy with the setup.

 

[JLAFAKASI]

Just going to do the wheel spacers, since I'm getting rub.

Don't feel comfortable trying to do the lift myself.

Did you regear with your mopar and 35s? If so what gears

 

[Pingbling23]

Did you regear with your mopar and 35s? If so what gears

No need to regear if you have the auto.

 

[Mikester86]

I love my Mopar kit (for the 2.0L unlimited). Only word or advice is to double check your spring location for each wheel. The springs are different, as I believe the springs on the left side of the Jeep are slightly longer than the right, to account for the fact that the left side of the Jeep is slightly heavier (gas tank, maybe?). This info is in the Mopar instructions.

Springs on the right side should be longer. Left side is driver’s side, right side is passenger’s side. The side is determined from the driver’s seat perspective. Driver is on the left side, passenger on right. Great point none the less, the springs are corner specific.

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