Before and after lift kit

[Gaurav]

2 hours ago, Looper said:

Before it used to scoop a lot of sand and loose momentum and fall off the ridges.

Better ground clearance do help but fall off the ridges seems like a line control issue tbh. Choosing and sticking to correct lines make ALL THE DIFF.

Enjoy your new lift and take your time to get used to the new center of gravity. Very imp.

 

[Ilya]

14 hours ago, Looper said:

I’ll have reprogram the car for larger tires

how much does it cost btw? I am just assuming my speed is 10% higher than on the speedome

Edited September 8, 2021 by Ilya

[Looper]

7 hours ago, Gaurav said:

Better ground clearance do help but fall off the ridges seems like a line control issue tbh. Choosing and sticking to correct lines make ALL THE DIFF.

Totally agree. That’s why I mentioned the fact that I have been driving a lot and practiced, including keeping to line and a few more aspects. In every drive I pick up  a driving skill to learn and practice doing it properly. One can drive without lift or wider tires but, having said that the wider tires and lift helps driving a lot. 

[Looper]

6 hours ago, Ilya said:

how much does costs btw? I am just assuming my speed is 10% higher than on the speedometer

You can do it yourself, see this: 

Last month when I had the lift done I was asked to bring it again for a alignment- cost ~900. At this moment not sure what all they are going to do but I think they will reprogram the car as well. Today I have a service appointment and I’ll have more info on it. I’ll update in the afternoon 

 

[Roy Armale]

I've researched this stuff to death and am simply writing the info and experience of others, I am not experienced enough to give a personal view.

1. The lift kit helps a wrangler, but is a little misleading because the lift happens above the differential because we are on fixed axels. That means the tire size is the lift (ground to differential)
2. I regret my Fox 2.0 shocks. Yes, monotube is good, but if you're spending the money on shocks, get a bypass, even if it's a cheaper brand. The desert is all about multiple small/medium vibrations, which is the opposite of rock crawling and a tuned bypass outperforms the big brands.
3. Larger tires means less power. If you get 35s with anything less than 4.11 (default Rubicon) you will struggle a lot. There are plenty of guides online about that to check (changes by engine and transmission)

Those are just things to keep in mind while you do your research.

[Ilya]

On 9/8/2021 at 8:46 PM, Roy Armale said:

but is a little misleading because the lift happens above the differential because we are on fixed axels. That means the tire size is the lift (ground to differential)

Lifting by itself improves the car's geometry (approach/departure/break over angles) which is critical for sand. While ground-axel distance is not really important here (it would be critical when you drive in mud or forest). Plus you lift the car to accommodate larger tires (so the lift itself is not a goal, rather an interim step)

 

On 9/8/2021 at 8:46 PM, Roy Armale said:

The desert is all about multiple small/medium vibrations, which is the opposite of rock crawling and a tuned bypass outperforms the big brands

Could be an interesting discussion if we can do a proper comparison (same car, same tires). But I don't think it was ever made (happy to participate in this kind of test btw). Otherwise its all subjective 

 

On 9/8/2021 at 8:46 PM, Roy Armale said:

Larger tires means less power

100% correct, but Jeeps still have lot of power (+ regearing +cold air intake if really needed)

[Roy Armale]

15 hours ago, Ilya said:

Lifting by itself improves the car's geometry (approach/departure/break over angles) which is critical for sand. While ground-axel distance is not really important here (it would be critical when you drive in mud or forest). Plus you lift the car to accommodate larger tires (so the lift itself is not a goal, rather an interim step)

 

Could be an interesting discussion if we can do a proper comparison (same car, same tires). But I don't think it was ever made (happy to participate in this kind of test btw). Otherwise its all subjective 

 

100% correct, but Jeeps still have lot of power (+ regearing +cold air intake if really needed)

Interested in that test! I've got Fox 2.0 shocks right now and am switching to bypass by the end of the month, so I can do a pre-post, but it will have my bias (and my need not to regret spending more) so a side by side would be awesome.

[Kailas]

I drive a JL 2 door. Soon after I bought my vehicle, I changed stock tires 245 70R17 to 285 70R17 (33") BFG KO2's. I did it only to get an aggressive look. 33's are the maximum you can go with stock suspension & clearance, plus there was no need for re-setting the speedometer.

Only later I began off-roading. I have tested my vehicle at different drive levels and never felt there was a need to upgrade suspension & clearance from drive performance point of view. I have had no issues while sharp ridge riding or crisscrossing.

However, since I installed bigger tires, at IM level my tires were rubbing the fenders. Just to avoid that, I recently installed 1.5" spacer lift on top of factory springs. I still use the factory suspension. Now the tires no more rub the fenders. I had spend close to 1k on the spacer lift.

[Looper]

As @Ilya mentioned you need the lift for if not fo the ground clearance - at least to accommodate larger tyres. I drove once without the lift but with larger 285 tyres. I faced few rubbing issues. @Kailas has been driving without a lift and 285s for months. He is an expert so he manages the rubbing issues a lot better than I could ever do, but they persist.

Anything over those puny 245s will help. A 1.5" spacer lift kit for 285 or 2.5" for 305s will help a lot on the clearance without putting a lot of money into it. 305s perhaps are the sweet spot - to think of it with any lift other than the 1.5" spacer lifts.

With my research, I definitely wasn't going anywhere, and my biggest fear is the "buyer's remorse" - and that meant sticking with agency stuff. Obviously there were stuff I got or tried to get done outside the agency but stuck with Mopar the lift kit at the end. And it was an easy way out for most of the way, there wasn't too many things to go wrong, except for the bank balance.

with 2D JLs these tyres don't add any more weight than the engine can not accommodate with ease and the wider tyres more than compensate for their weight with more traction anyways. 

Edited September 11, 2021 by Looper

[Ilya]

On 9/10/2021 at 2:34 PM, Roy Armale said:

Interested in that test!

I am up for any test (it should be quite funny)! I have JLU with Mopar 2 "(so Fox shocks) + Coopers 305/17/70. It makes sense to compare, of course, similar cars (JLU) with similar tires sizes. Or we can find another JK

A few months ago I also suggested doing a climb battle for stock tires vs 285/305/315, but looks like stock jeeps are not willing to participate in these competitions 😆