Purchasing my first lift?

[Bigbell07]

I just bought my first JL — a 2021 Wrangler Unlimited with the 3.6L V6 — and I’m looking to install a lift kit.

I’ve been looking at Teraflex since they seem to have a strong reputation and a well-regarded setup, but I’m also considering options like Rancho. Are there any reasons to avoid Rancho, or situations where you’d recommend one over the other?

Any advice on lift height, supporting parts (shocks, control arms, steering correction, etc.), and what to watch out for would be appreciated.

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[andy29847]

I bought the Mopar lift and I have been very happy with it.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...it-2-door-kit-on-a-4-door.152536/post-3155699

 

[jadmt]

What are your intended uses?

 

[Bigbell07]

What are your intended uses?

It’s my daily driver with intentions of traveling to do some trails, but mainly my daily driver.

I bought the Mopar lift and I have been very happy with it.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...it-2-door-kit-on-a-4-door.152536/post-3155699

I never even thought of that I’ll look into those as well. Anything you like or dislike about the Lift you have?

 

[jadmt]

AEV dual sport lifts handle very well on the road and do well off-road.

 

[mwilk012]

Rancho shocks are prone to rusting heavily. They look pretty bad after a few years even on our roads with zero salt.

 

[73TAWM]

I went with this one for three reasons.
1) As a daily driver, I didn't want to lose that factory smoothness running down the highway.
2) It and the Tera Flex kit were rated as the top two for keeping factory handling while doing occasional off roading, climbing. etc. Another mechanic on another jeep forum has been installing three or four a week and swore by them.
3) I wanted to do it all myself (I'm not a mechanic, had to buy a few extra tools that I use frequently now)

Since I was adding weight to the front with a new bumper and winch, I also installed a 1/2" coil spacer to keep it level. Based on the previous mentioned mechanic who installs a lot of these, he suggested ordering the front lower control arms out of the Mopar kit since they were about a half inch longer they kept everything lined up better. You use the included sway bar links but you take the original sway bar links off and move to the rear of jeep. Several Youtube videos of how to on this one, some of which had girls doing the swap. It's that easy. It says 2" but I ended up getting 2-1/2" out of mine. We love it.

https://www.quadratec.com/p/dynatrac/2-endurosport-lift-fox-shocks-jeep-wrangler-unlimited-jl

https://www.extremeterrain.com/tera...-load-leveling-kit-1155110-jeep-wrangler.html

first photo is the lift with factory 33 tires.
Second photo is with 37 tires.

I wouldn't do any extreme or serious crawling with this lift though.

 

[Bigbell07]

Rancho shocks are prone to rusting heavily. They look pretty bad after a few years even on our roads with zero salt.

Good to know.

 

[vetygud]

Rancho shocks are prone to rusting heavily. They look pretty bad after a few years even on our roads with zero salt.

These came off my 2018 Silverado with 15K miles at 3 years. They were OEM. They were leaking. I would never buy Rancho's.

 

[mwilk012]

These came off my 2018 Silverado with 15K miles at 3 years. They were OEM. They were leaking. I would never buy Rancho's.

Yep. We throw away a lot of them that look just like that. On a work truck, they do function well, but the body rusts so bad I would never put them on a personal daily driver.

 

[Maverick909]

no reason to get Teraflex. look into the mopar or Dynatrac lifts. good ride quality and affordability

 

[Punkn89]

AEV dual sport lifts handle very well on the road and do well off-road.

Second this kit - settles in nice and does great on road.

 

[Adv_aw8s]

Another huge fan of the AEV lift. We overland, tow a trailer, and rock crawl and it handles everything well.

 

[JeepinPete]

I am happy with the Endurosport lift, though I have replaced the Fox shocks with Rancho 7 series shocks. The Fox shocks gave up the ghost after 40k miles. Ride is similar to the factory ride though the springs do not sag as bad when weight is in the back or with a trailer attached.

I'd also recommend front geometry brackets, a front adjustable track bar, and a rear trackbar relocation bracket. They will all improve handling on the street.

 

[Rubi SoHo]

What are your tire size goals? 35’s, i’d do a 2.5” lift or less. 37’s-40’s, 2.5” to 3.5” (and steering and axle upgrades at minimum).

I’m a fan of Metalcloak, but they’re aimed toward the more extreme end of things. I’m running a 3.5” kit with 37’s and there’s plenty of clearance, could probably fit 40’s without additional lift if I wanted.

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