To lift or not to lift

[bwally]

Hey everyone. I know it’s a personal preference, but considering a Mopar 2” lift on my Rubicon and 35” tires.

My hesitation is that I love the ride as it is. I don’t rock crawl (live on the coast...no rocks or mountains). I’m afraid a lift and 35” tires will create a more rough daily drive (I don’t commute too far). But I do love the look of a lifted Jeep.

Just wanting to get feedback from those who have lifted. Has it affected your street/highway driving?

Also, will a Mopar lift increase “death wobble” chances.

Thanks.

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[Fonzilla85]

I’m no expert just speaking on what I’ve experienced so far. I’d recommend you start off by installing the 35’s. This way you can drive it around and see how it feels and handles. If you believe you need more or just want some additional clearance then add a lift.

As far as the death wobble, I personally haven’t had any issues. I don’t know if I’m lucky or if the “death wobble” is subjective. I’ve been running the Dynatrac 2” lift on 35’s and I have no complaints. A two inch lift is within original Jeep specs, but as with every modification, you should expect some changes.

 

[RenoMD]

Do yourself a favor and don’t lift. I went back and forth on this. I drive moderate trails mostly but have tackled moderate rock crawling ( difference there) with 12-20 inch boulders. You would be surprised at what the stock rubicon can do that a JK lifted on 35’s can not do. For what your after just put 35’s on the stock wheels or aftermarket wheels.

Read
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/jlu-rubicon-on-35s-no-lift.7290/

if your after the “look” similarly to trucks being lifted for the “look”, lift it. It’s your jeep who cares what others think. If you do my suggestion is to go with a Rancho 2” lift. Don’t like it, uninstall it. Sell the lift kit for half what you paid for.

 

[Dkretden]

I plan on buying a 2020 Rubicon this fall.

My plan is to do exactly what RenoMD suggests above:

1) after I put a couple thousand miles on the Jeep and determine that I don’t have a steering/tracking/wobble issue as stock, I will
2) put 315/70/17s on the stock Rims and drive it on and off road (simple trails, no slamming over boulders) for a while. Then
3) if I find that I need a lift, I’ll lift it. However, I don’t expect that I will need to lift it.

 

[D60]

There's nothing subjective about DW, if it should happen there will be NO doubt and the 2 fillings that fell outta your mouth will prove it. Seriously, it's violent as an earthquake and won't stop 'til you reduce speed to "X"

The JLs have horrendous breakover and nothing but a lift is really gonna fix that. They grew the wb 2" over the JKU and I think that's a mistake, but whatever.

If you don't 'wheel then breakover is irrelevant.

If you like the stock ride do a spacer lift.

Both of my local small town dealerships had a Mopar lifted JLU sitting on the lot. Call around and go drive one.

 

[mandrew]

If you have no plan to do some extreme off-roading, stay stock and enjoy the ride quality of your rig.

 

[bwally]

Thanks everyone for the input.

 

[SleepEatJeepRepeat]

There's nothing subjective about DW, if it should happen there will be NO doubt and the 2 fillings that fell outta your mouth will prove it. Seriously, it's violent as an earthquake and won't stop 'til you reduce speed to "X"

The JLs have horrendous breakover and nothing but a lift is really gonna fix that. They grew the wb 2" over the JKU and I think that's a mistake, but whatever.

If you don't 'wheel then breakover is irrelevant.

If you like the stock ride do a spacer lift.

Both of my local small town dealerships had a Mopar lifted JLU sitting on the lot. Call around and go drive one.

I wheel my stock JK 10-15 times a year and have for years, primarily on intermediate trails.. I am the type the likes to get out to beautiful places and explore and always go around an obstacle rather than over it when possible. But often times to get thru the trail you have to make it thru a tough obstacle or face driving hours back in the other direction. That being said, I have never gotten stuck due to my break-over angle. The times I got stuck were due to being careless, Ice, or Mud. For 90% of jeep users, these things come out of the factory able to exceed what most of us want to do. Adding a 30% wider tire helps a lot, adding an extra 3/4 of height from a bigger tire is cost-effective and looks nice. I am inclined to go that route, and possibly look at some additional shielding underneath. Metal cloak makes a nice full undercarriage system for like 800 dollars, and you take the factory crossbeam out, and the armor shield replaces it, and it sits another 3/4 of an inch higher, increasing your breakover, while preventing damage to any critical parts. Also, you have a lower center of gravity this way as you have a lower stance and 120lbs added to the lowest point on the vehicle. The pics and video's i see of the RUBI on 35s with stock suspension look pretty good. The only thing i am worried about is running bump-stops with no lift, and how much articulation and off-road ride quality will be lost. But my plan is to go that route, and if i am not happy with the ride, add a 2" lift in 6 months to allow for greater wheel travel.

 

[TJ2018]

I'm officially not lifting (other than spacers up front to compensate for the added weight of the winch... I HATE the nose-down stance now). Will be putting on 34's when tires wear out... won't go with 35's since the stock Rubi wheel is 'technically' too narrow (though many have put on 35's without issue). Much more than that and she won't fit in the garage (and my wife told me I can't lift the garage! ). But as others have said much better than I... try the 35's and see if you want/need a lift.

 

[Brosef]

I don't like giving strangers advice without really knowing their situation, but I will just add to the discussion that I put on a very complete 2.5" lift and 37's and it rides smoother than stock - no question about it. It gave up some handling, but unless you're into Autocross with your JL, I don't think that would be an issue.

I would do it again in a heartbeat. the 8 speed auto also handles 37's with no issue

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