Spacer or 2.5 Lift?

[amgomez2112]

I have a 2018 JLU sahara. I had installed rubicon takeoff suspension, but am not satisfied with the height. I only got about an inch and half and was hoping for more of a change. Right now it is barely noticeable from stock. Right now my jeep is a daily driver with occasional off-roading trips, so I am running 33"s but want to upgrade to 35"s eventually.

Should I either swap out the rubicon suspension completely for a modestly priced 2.5" lift, or keep the rubicon suspension and add a 1.5 spacer lift? They both would come to about the same height. My hesitation with the spacer is that I will be getting 35"s eventually and don't want to waste money.

Not looking to break the bank on the lift kit itself, and due to my use of the car I dont want to spend crazy money on a super expensive kit for a avid off-roader.

So 1.5 spacer + rubicon suspension, OR new 2.5" suspension lift?

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[Jrp267]

I would go with the Jeep 2” lift. The rubi suspension leaves some to be desired. And spacers just aren’t the way to go if you want to off-road. Although I am strongly considering spacers for the Mojave as I cannot bear to remove the Fox piggy backs.

 

[JeepJLU402]

A 2.5” lift will give you more 2.5” over a Rubicon. So it would be another 1” over the spacer. What is the budget? Both options get tall enough to need control arms, track bars, and new longer shocks.

 

[RedRockRubicon]

2.5" Rough country Spacers with shock extensions.
Rubicon springs
285/70R17

You don't need control arms or a track bar, but I do recommend upper control arms to adjust caster

 

[amgomez2112]

2.5" Rough country Spacers with shock extensions.
Rubicon springs
285/70R17

You don't need control arms or a track bar, but I do recommend upper control arms to adjust caster

2.5" Rough country Spacers with shock extensions.
Rubicon springs
285/70R17

You don't need control arms or a track bar, but I do recommend upper control arms to adjust caster

How does the wrangler drive with the spacer lift? Will it still be capable for mild off-roading?

 

[GATORB8]

The cost difference in spring vs spacer lifts is normally not that significant. The shocks are normally what creates the large price gap.

 

[aldo98229]

I’d do a Mopar lift and resell the Rubicon parts. That will minimize some of the financial blow.

I got the Mopar lift on my Sahara and 35-inch tires: I’m super happy with it.

Took these fully disconnected —got the JKS quick disconnects

 

[rcadden]

I had a similar question here with good discussion: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/yet-another-lift-kit-question.77802/

My situation is similar to you, and it seems like it comes down to a few details:

1. I *only* want a 2-inch lift. I have a short wife, young daughters, and a hard requirement that I can fit in my garage (preferably with my Bestop Sunrider for Hardtops open). The MOPAR lift gives a Sahara ~3-3.5" of actual lift, based on most reports here. A spacer lift is guaranteed to give you exactly the lift it advertises. A full lift kit sometimes gives you a bit more.
2. Cost seems to be *around* the same. With a spacer lift (based on my research) there always seem to be recommended "extras" that are usually included in the proper lift kits.
3. Warranty - a spacer lift (and the MOPAR lift) don't swap out any factory parts, they just kinda re-arrange them. So it's all still MOPAR parts under there, and most dealers shouldn't give you trouble if a warranty issue arises. 3rd party full lift kits usually come with a lifetime warranty, but it's from that company - you can't just take it to a dealer and pick up your loaner, there's more work involved to get it handled. This may or may not be a factor for you with a 2018, but for me with a 2021, it's definitely a factor.
4. Many of the full lift kits are built for offroading, with onroad performance as a secondary factor. For you (based on your introduction), you actually want the opposite. So take the inevitable "You need a MetalCloak Game Changer" or other $2K+ lift kits with a grain of salt as to the purpose/design of those kits.

 

[RedRockRubicon]

Full flex, coils are still tight in their bucket.
This jeep is running Metalcloak control arms, trackbars, and shocks... but a 2.5 Rough country spacer lift with rubicon springs.

Point is. Rubicon springs with spacers won't hinder off-road performance.

 

[GATORB8]

Full flex, coils are still tight in their bucket.
This jeep is running Metalcloak control arms, trackbars, and shocks... but a 2.5 Rough country spacer lift with rubicon springs.

Point is. Rubicon springs with spacers won't hinder off-road performance.

If you did the MC stuff in stages, was there a point when you were droop limited by the control arms (bushings) rather than shock extension?

 

[RedRockRubicon]

If you did the MC stuff in stages, was there a point when you were droop limited by the control arms (bushings) rather than shock extension?

No, they never limited travel. But they were subjected to some pretty extreme loads and started failing prematurely. This jeep saw extreme daily off-road use. For weekend warriors the factory stuff would last for years.

 

[mgroeger]

How does the wrangler drive with the spacer lift? Will it still be capable for mild off-roading?

We ran the RC 2.5" spacer lift with no trackbar bar or control arm updates for over a year on a Sahara. Ran tons of trails and wheeled pretty hard. At the end of it all the trackbar def took a beating by not being relocated or swapped out with an adjustable one, I discovered that when I put a 3.5" Teraflex lift on it.
Side note: Lower control arms will control your caster, not upper ones.

 

[RedRockRubicon]

Uppers can be adjusted shorter than factory. Lowers can be adjusted longer than factory. If on a budget people will usually get the uppers because they are cheaper than the lowers.

The metalcloak instruction actually state to adjust the lower control arms to the exact length of OEM, and shorten the uppers. I Prefer extending the lowers.

as long as the jounce bumpers still hit their pad and none of the suspension and steering interfere with each other, it really doesn't matter

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