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Author Topic: What lift to use?  (Read 4832 times)

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Offline Delco21

  • Budget Lift
  • Posts: 198
What lift to use?
« on: July 04, 2012, 10:58:24 AM »
Im tossed up between the rough country spacer lift 2.5" or the rubicon express spacer lift

Any suggestions on what you guys would suggest

Its going on a 2012 JK 4 door
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Offline hornblower

  • Baby Wheeler
  • Posts: 71
Re: What lift to use?
« Reply #1 on: July 04, 2012, 11:37:14 AM »
That rough country lift is tempting because of the price thats for sure.

Being as it's just a spacer lift i would go that route.
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Offline Skippy

  • Baby Wheeler
  • Posts: 72
    • Allure Custom Contracting Ltd
Re: What lift to use?
« Reply #2 on: July 04, 2012, 02:24:12 PM »
Just make sure it's for a 2012 jut went through a parts issue with bds and rough country due to parts not matching due to changes in the 2012s
2012 JKU Sahara,
2" BDS lift, BDS manual sway-bar disconnect, 33" Duratracs, 17" Series 050 Rims (All 5)
SmittyBilt XRC Front Bumper with 8,000lb smittybilt x2o winch

Offline NUXJR

  • That CB Yapper
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Re: What lift to use?
« Reply #3 on: July 04, 2012, 07:02:42 PM »
AEV

Offline WK2008

  • UberWheeler
  • Posts: 389
Re: What lift to use?
« Reply #4 on: July 04, 2012, 07:07:56 PM »
Chris do yourself a favor and go Old Man Emu or AEV. You will regret the spacer lift trust me.

Offline WK2008

  • UberWheeler
  • Posts: 389
Re: What lift to use?
« Reply #5 on: July 04, 2012, 07:10:26 PM »
Talk to Stacey (Jeepgirl) about her AEV kit. It rides better than stock. I know the OME kit also gives you 4" of lift not the 21/2" that's online. Sean has a 2 door orange JK with that kit and he loves it. Runs 35s with no issues at all.

Offline w squared

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Re: What lift to use?
« Reply #6 on: July 04, 2012, 08:52:45 PM »
I'd suggest just spending the money once. Only a rich guy can afford to buy a 2 or 3 inch lift more than once....and that's just what you'll end up doing with an el-cheapo spacer lift - at least if you want to wheel it.

Sean and I both run OME-based Frankenlifts, and we like 'em. They flex VERY well for a short arm kit. Jeepgrl runs the AEV kit with the control arm relocation brackets, and she loves it. Does very well on-road. All of us run 35's. I would not hesitate to buy a Currie or Clayton lift either.

Less expensive lifts? Normally engineered to hit a specific price point.
I followed a rainbow out to a garage and found a leprichaun. The rainbow ended in a potted cactus on his porch, but there was no gold :(

Offline WK2008

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Re: What lift to use?
« Reply #7 on: July 04, 2012, 09:59:22 PM »
I agree Todd. I have the OME in my grand and absolutely love it. Can't go wrong with any of these lifts.

Offline Jrama

  • That CB Yapper
  • Posts: 923
Re: What lift to use?
« Reply #8 on: July 04, 2012, 10:45:01 PM »
Fine...I'll play devils advocate...I'm bored and like to think I know what I am talking about ;D

I'd wager you'd be hard pressed to find much of a difference between 2.5" rough country lift (with coils) and an OME kits even with arms ;D on the trail (hell even the spacer lift). All the Geometry is the same the only real difference is that the joints in the arms will last longer.  Stock arms should last a couple years atleast if wheeled fairly regularly......mine where still fine and I wheeled a ton on them.

Ride quality is a different story....
The shocks on the more expensive kits will give a better on/off road ride. Coils too...that said if the cheapo kits get good reviews I'd probably buy them over a more pricey kit. Replace the shocks later....My twin tube cheapo shocks are still good after 3 years of DD and trail use....it rides alright...probably could be better but I don't really care right now.

my 2 cents you don't need to buy an expensive kit if a good cheap-ish kit will get you through. IMO your not changing enough suspension wise to justify a large investment..... That AEV kit is on a different level than these kits and more $$$

Zone makes some good stuff, good quality coils and shocks for the price, get the 3" with the Nitro's and LAUGH at all the silly guys running OME  :D you will have tons o fun wheelin on the bolt in 3" lift for the time being, if you get serious enough to justify the expensive stuff go and purchase a more complete kit for a couple thousand that changes some things up.

**I don't like spacer lifts..they don't actually gain you any travel..they just bump the jeep up higher**

http://zoneoffroad.ca/default.cfm?fa=products&ProdCategoryID=3
« Last Edit: July 04, 2012, 10:56:36 PM by Jrama »

Offline WK2008

  • UberWheeler
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Re: What lift to use?
« Reply #9 on: July 04, 2012, 10:49:54 PM »

Zone makes some good stuff, good quality coils and shocks for the price, get the 3" with the Nitro's and LAUGH at all the silly guys running OME  :D

http://zoneoffroad.ca/default.cfm?fa=products&ProdCategoryID=3

Feelings officially hurt ???? lol

Offline w squared

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Re: What lift to use?
« Reply #10 on: July 05, 2012, 12:17:29 AM »
Fine...I'll play devils advocate...I'm bored and like to think I know what I am talking about ;D
Yup. You do seem bored.

Quote
I'd wager you'd be hard pressed to find much of a difference between 2.5" rough country lift (with coils) and an OME kits even with arms ;D on the trail (hell even the spacer lift). All the Geometry is the same the only real difference is that the joints in the arms will last longer.  Stock arms should last a couple years atleast if wheeled fairly regularly......mine where still fine and I wheeled a ton on them.

Sorry, wrong on a number of points. OME doesn't make control arms. Most of us just buy a pair of Currie or Clayton arms (upper or lower fronts) to adress caster and call it a day. And there is a definite difference on the trail between the OME long travel setup and an el-cheapo coil lift. Mostly that the shocks are better quality, and when set up properly with supporting parts (coil retainer clips and longer brake lines) the OME will get you more travel. You are however correct that three out of four sets of stock arms can be left in place on a JK that is running three inches of lift with no issues.

Quote
Ride quality is a different story....
The shocks on the more expensive kits will give a better on/off road ride. Coils too...that said if the cheapo kits get good reviews I'd probably buy them over a more pricey kit. Replace the shocks later....My twin tube cheapo shocks are still good after 3 years of DD and trail use....it rides alright...probably could be better but I don't really care right now.

my 2 cents you don't need to buy an expensive kit if a good cheap-ish kit will get you through. IMO your not changing enough suspension wise to justify a large investment..... That AEV kit is on a different level than these kits and more $$$

Sorry. Nope. The AEV is just aimed at a different segment of the market. As it's sold from AEV, the kit provides better on-road performance than an OME LT setup, but doesn't provide the same amount of suspension travel. If it did, they would be selling it with longer brake lines. If I tried to run stock brake lines on my rig with the OME setup, I'd lose my brakes about five minutes after I disco'd my swaybar.

You also sacrifice some clearance by using the control arm relocation brackets that AEV provides....but it may be worth it to you if you value the smoother ride gained by keeping the lower control arms closer to horizontal. Oh...and BTW....doing the OME LT setup properly won't save any money versus the AEV lift. They both use good quality components, built to perform at a specific level. Either way, you're looking at around 2K to do it right.

Quote
Zone makes some good stuff, good quality coils and shocks for the price, get the 3" with the Nitro's and LAUGH at all the silly guys running OME  :D you will have tons o fun wheelin on the bolt in 3" lift for the time being, if you get serious enough to justify the expensive stuff go and purchase a more complete kit for a couple thousand that changes some things up.
See....here's the funny thing. That Zone kit doesn't adress centering the axles under the rig - if you ask me, an el-cheapo track bar bracket is a problem waiting to happen, not a solution. Just wait until the increased leverage applied to the stock track bar mounting location starts causing damage - or breaks off while you're on the trail. There's more to selecting parts than just finding something that'll bolt up - take the time to figure out what that part is going to mean to your rig's reliability. The Zone lift also doesn't adress the caster issues that will occur when you move the front axle further away from the frame. Sure, you could add a set of arms, a couple track bars, and brake lines to a zone kit....but what you'd end up with is a kit that's close in price to a proper lift, but still has cheap-arse coils and shocks.

Quote
**I don't like spacer lifts..they don't actually gain you any travel..they just bump the jeep up higher**

http://zoneoffroad.ca/default.cfm?fa=products&ProdCategoryID=3

I agree with you on the spacer lifts. On everything else....please limit your devil's advocacy to areas where you have the knowledge to do it properly.

Delco - to answer your first question....

If a spacer lift is all that your budget will handle right now and you aren't in a position to be patient and save the money to do a coil lift that'll get you good performance on and off the trail, then I'd look at Currie's levelling kit for the JK. It'll probably run you about $600 to do both front and rear, and you can run 33's with it.
« Last Edit: July 05, 2012, 12:24:57 AM by w squared »
I followed a rainbow out to a garage and found a leprichaun. The rainbow ended in a potted cactus on his porch, but there was no gold :(

Offline Jrama

  • That CB Yapper
  • Posts: 923
Re: What lift to use?
« Reply #11 on: July 05, 2012, 01:26:42 AM »
So your argument has one primary focus

 The Cheap kits are not complete, use inferior parts

It would be pretty silly of me to accuse a spacer lift of being equal to to the OME long travel...you just called me stupid...more than once in that post ;D you should know me a bit better. I am talking Apples to apples, coils and springs vs coils and springs OME vs. Zone for conversation sake. How exactly is the base OME kit more complete? Why does OME  sell a kit without arms and tracbars etc?..because its Completely FINE to run! Rear trac bar brackets breaking....caster..lol? its like 3" of lift you will live ....wow.

inferior parts?
Zone gets great reviews they use BDS parts which from first hand and many many internet reviews kick arse. Throw the word cheap around all you want it doesn't hold any water....just sayin. A quick google search will prove my point again....and again...and.....................again.

I wouldn't drop all this money into your first lift, you can get by fine building it up as you go. Don't want to sounds like a Dick but lots of guys lift it and sell it. Get something affordable and sound have some fun and go from there. I built my entire lift from a "cheap" BDS kit 3 years later its holding up great and I have added to it to make it better as the jeep got bigger.

 I have seen the "proper" bolt on rigs and the "cheap" bolt on rigs...lol. Just watch what your buying and its all good! You don't have to jump spend the most to have a fun reliable rig.



« Last Edit: July 05, 2012, 01:47:11 AM by Jrama »

Offline binare

  • That CB Yapper
  • Posts: 771
Re: Re: What lift to use?
« Reply #12 on: July 05, 2012, 07:04:55 AM »
Zone also doesn't address torque twist, or weight balance in their coils, whereas OME does. I'm not knockin Zone, but alot of reviews out there on cheap (talking price only so as not to offend) lift kits and spacer lifts are from mall crawlers. Jeepforum is a good example of that. I spent the extra beans from the getgo on my TJ and went OME, certainly don't regret my decision in anyway.

Offline w squared

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Re: What lift to use?
« Reply #13 on: July 05, 2012, 09:20:42 AM »
So your argument has one primary focus

Yes. My focus is buy good quality parts, buy the right parts for what you are going to do, and don't waste your money on cheap shiz that you're going to have to replace. I'm not trying to tell a new guy that he needs to put long arms on his rig and he better make sure that all his mods leave rooms for coilovers and air bumps because he's sure to want them...I'm just suggesting that if he buys cheap junk to bolt onto his rig now, he'll just end up buying good parts to bolt on in when the cheap junk breaks in a year or two.

Quote
The Cheap kits are not complete, use inferior parts

It would be pretty silly of me to accuse a spacer lift of being equal to to the OME long travel...you just called me stupid...more than once in that post ;D you should know me a bit better. I am talking Apples to apples, coils and springs vs coils and springs OME vs. Zone for conversation sake. How exactly is the base OME kit more complete? Why does OME  sell a kit without arms and tracbars etc?..because its Completely FINE to run! Rear trac bar brackets breaking....caster..lol? its like 3" of lift you will live ....wow.

The base OME kit is NOT complete. The difference is that they don't try to tell folks that are new to modifying their rigs that it is complete. They sell you coils and shocks that work well together, and leave the rest up to you.

I'm not sure where I called you stupid my response, and if that's how you read it, such was not my intention. I did ask you to restrict your comments to areas where you've got the knowledge to provide sound guidance to the new folks. I have no first hand experience with lifting and then wheeling a TJ, so I keep my yap shut when a new guy asks about what to do with his '03 TJ. I have limited knowlege about 4-link geometry, so I keep my yap shut and learn from what Billy and the guys say when someone asks about anti-squat.

As far as not needing to pay attention to the fact that the track bar brackets are the cheapest and least reliable solution to centering the axle under the rig, or assuming that there's no need to adress the change in caster that happens when you lift a rig...it may be acceptable run a rig likt that for a while, that's in the same category as deciding to remove your sway bar links completely because you're too cheap to buy ones that'll fit.

Quote
inferior parts?
Zone gets great reviews they use BDS parts which from first hand and many many internet reviews kick arse. Throw the word cheap around all you want it doesn't hold any water....just sayin. A quick google search will prove my point again....and again...and.....................again.
I read in on the internets, so it must be true.

Quote
I wouldn't drop all this money into your first lift, you can get by fine building it up as you go. Don't want to sounds like a Dick but lots of guys lift it and sell it. Get something affordable and sound have some fun and go from there. I built my entire lift from a "cheap" BDS kit 3 years later its holding up great and I have added to it to make it better as the jeep got bigger.
Since I don't have anything nice to say on this topic, I'll just shut up.
I followed a rainbow out to a garage and found a leprichaun. The rainbow ended in a potted cactus on his porch, but there was no gold :(

Offline WK2008

  • UberWheeler
  • Posts: 389
Re: What lift to use?
« Reply #14 on: July 05, 2012, 09:52:33 AM »
Just a side note.......this would be the first lifted JK for Delco, but not his first lifted rig. He has had a lifted Commander for a few years now and I know it was more than a spacer lift. In the end, I think you will be much happier with a quality kit like the OME or AEV on this rig, but I'm basing that on the OME kit I have in my WK. Guys like Todd and other JK owners would be the best guys to provide feedback.

Did you check out the JK club here in town to get their feedback? There's no better advice than the advice from people driving those rigs.

PS Jamal.......I still like your TJ :) lol