Newbie needs lift help

[Reaper82ND]

Hi all, this is my first post and I'm new to Jeeps, looking for some advice.

I recently bought a 07 JK. I found a great deal on 35" Mickey Thompsons with rims. I live in NYC, so really I'm looking for something very affordable as I wont be doing much offroading. Maybe once or twice a year.

I've decided on the Superlift Superide 4" Lift with Shocks (http://www.quadratec.com/products/16207_020.htm) . (trying to keep to a budget)

So heres my question. What else would I need to purchase? I've heard from different people that I could need new gears, driveshaft etc etc. Living in NYC, there arent that many people with knowledge on this subject that I have found lol.

I probably should also mention I purchased these rims and tires with about 1000 miles on them, and they were previously installed on a Jeep 2door JK. (ebay)


Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give.

[rstarch345]

Originally posted by Reaper82ND:

I've heard from different people that I could need new gears, driveshaft etc etc.
Going to larger tires effectively reduces your power to the wheels and re-gearing gets everything back in the factory power band. For some additional help, see this link http://bbb.quadratec.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=38;t=008269#65

[b1pig]

welcome to the forum... and with a reference to "82nd" in your user name... I'm guessing Army. Hoorah!! ;) :D :D

as stated, with 35's, gearing changes would be recomended. check either your build sheet or crawl under the Jeep and look at the tags on your axles. if you have 3.24 gears, go ahead and plan to invest in regearing both axles. if you have 4.10 gears, you may be able to get by for a little while... but you should change the gearing if you expect to have any kind of performance beyond 1st gear.

there is one thing you dont mention, and that is whether or not you have a 2dr or 4dr. the dr is less sensitive to the driveshaft issue due to its longer wheelbase. if you have a 2dr.... you may be investing in some aftermarket driveshafts.

a cautionary statement on those used tires and rims. if the wheel diameter is less than 16", you amy not want to try and use em. some wheels clear the brakes, some to dont.

[Stuttgart-Rubi]

Actually its "Hooah", Hoorah is Marines........or for him its "airborne"!!!!

[b1pig]

i prefer "hoorah".....
the "hooah" version was more often shortened to a definition of "Head Up Ass" ;)

oorah
hoorah
erp
eyah

they were all eccepted responses during my short time in the Army depending on duty station. smile.gif

[Reaper82ND]

it is 82nd Airborne, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment.... HOOAH!!!!!!!!!!

(if any of you boys use myspace, you can find me at www.myspace.com/reapertssoc (http://www.myspace.com/reapertssoc) )

In regards to the Jeep...

I have a loaded 2dr Wrangler X. When I bought it from the dealer, I was looking to get a Rubicon but around here you can only get them if you order and I couldnt wait. She has all the options that were available at the time, including the largest wheels I could get.

I'm going to crawl under the Jeep as soon as it stops raining and check those tags. The wheels and tires I bought were off of ebay with less than 1000 miles on them, and they were previously installed on a 4dr Unlimited. The owner made it clear to me he had no issues with the rims clearing the brakes or rubbing etc, with the feedback he had, I tend to believe him. I could be wrong though!!

Thanks for the help boys. I plan on hanging around here quite abit since I'm in love with all things Jeep now lol.

HOOAH!!!!!

[Jason J Crawford]

Reaper,

Chek out the Off Topic forum. I left a message there for you.

-ABN

[b1pig]

hm...
you may want to ask the manufacturer of the lift you are thinking of for your SWB JK. unfortunately, the JKs come with driveshafts having a CV joint on them. work fine for light offroading and highway duties, but running a lift causes problems. they tend to vibrate. the SWB pretty much needs new shafts right out of the gate.

if you are going to stick mostly with highway duties at first, may i suggest playing around with a 2.5" to 3" lift? The tires should fit firmly in the wheel wells. a proper aplication of bumpstops should keep the tires from chewing on your fenders. If I were gonna go on up to 35's, a 3" lift owuld be my first choice. besides that, if you experience vibes with the 3", you can buy aftermarket driveshafts at your convenience without too much worry. kinda like running stages. set it up at 3", run it a while, buy the new driveshafts later, and run it... then go a little taller. ;) :D (then you'll want 37's and alloy axle shafts)

[Reaper82ND]

I had heard that the 35's wont fit on anything less than a 4" lift, but hell if they fit on a 3" thats fine too. Living in NY, I mostly wanted the lift and tires for winter duty with the occasional offroading. I'm going to price this out. Thanks again you guys rock.

[b1pig]

35s on 3" lift:
http://omgwtf.kicks-ass.org/Jeep_Lift/Lifted_Side.jpg

35's, no lift

http://www.ayresweb.com/RedRockJK/X_with_35s/X_35s_2_P1010838.jpg

[Knuckelhead]

Originally posted by Reaper82ND:
I had heard that the 35's wont fit on anything less than a 4" liftYour thinking is about a TJ...

[b1pig]

my ideal tire size is 34".. but the only company i can think of with a 34" tire is Internco... but it's the LTB tire, which is NOT good for higway. my JK is the rig we are taking on road trips if it's just me, Lori and our two boys... if we can get child care for the babies.

either way, you can make a larger tire fit, but some careful consideration must be made when looking at bumpstops and such.

[navy08]

I have a question. Newbie ...

I have a 4dr '08 JK unlimited X ...

my questions .. I have been talking with husband, doing research and learning more about all everything to do with engines and drivetrains on jeeps and mostly my jeep.

My questions ..

what is the difference between a budget coil spacer lift and a bigger and more expensive lift? Details. My hubby says the more expensive themore parts that are replaced meaning 'better' ..

<b> i have been told that coil spacer lifts just give you more room for bigger tires. I want more room for bigger tires and more flex, for when I am off road. </b>

I go wheeling almost every weekend now. I didn't buy my jeep just to be cool to have a jeep. Lots of girls do that aroiund here.

Anyways ..

my next question

w have the money for the rancho kit. I guess we don't have 'long arm' setup. They're just longer than the before's omn the TJ's.

I was wondering, I am going to talk to a lot more pepole too, but do you know how much of a lift will affect the drivetrain(driveshaft?) I think thats right? I know what the driveshaft is ...lol i feel stupid .. geez.

Anyways .. my husband wanted me to research lift and which ones will affect the driveshaft and gearing ... meaning if I went to the 4 - 4.5" with rancho would I have to extend my driveshaft and would I have to regear?

We are running at 3.73 .. I was told running 33's won't hurt with everyday driving (planning on 35's for wheeling) Which means we would have to go to 3.5 or 4 inches.

I was also told that ifwe wanted to run 35's that we would most likely need to regear so it doesn't have a 'shot' feeling while driving and to restore the stock feeling. We have a steering stablizier already in place .. will do that anything if we put a lift on .. .or we will have to replace it? My husband said we wouldn't have too ..

my question though.

We have the 3.73 ... we would probably regear if we went with a cheapr lift ... is it recommended or is it done only on a need t0 basis

I thought since we have a longer wheel base that the driveshaft will have extra stress put on it an I read a earlier post on this topic that my driveshaft has a cv joint thing apart of it.

Sorry for all the question and if they don't make since I am tired.

Thanks guys.

[b1pig]

welcome to the forum!

dont feel stupid. everyone has to start somewhere. ;)

a spacer lift is just that. plastic, metal or poly spacers that are installed between the coil springs and the frame. your ride quality will not change. if you buy a kit with new coils, then the ride will largely depend on the way the coils were made, how "firm" they are.... and in some instances, I have heard others that have installed a lift found that the JK would lean to one side... such as when the gas tank is full. An issue the previous SWB Jeeps didnt have due to the placement of the fuel tank.

regearing is based on the tires. lift has nothing to do with the final drive ratio. i run a 4.56 gear set on my ZJ with 33s and have had a very good experience with them. My JK Rubi has roughly 32" tires and came with a 4.10 gear ratio. I think that if you go larger, you could get away with a 32 or 33" tire with a 3.73 ratio....... but trust me. you wont be happy.

the weight and size of the tires sap power from the engine. the v-6 in our JK has very little kick down low like the 4.0 engines do.... so you will feel the change.

For example... you could install a 3" lift an run some 33's. The JK will pull ok with your 3.73 gears, but you will be doing alot more downshifting. with an auto, you may be turning your O/D off. you can ride like that for a while and not have much issue. Offroad performance will be ok. Low Range will compensate for the tires and lack of lower gears. then, locating a REPUTABLE and EXPERIENCED shop to do your regearing at your convenience.

up to 3 or 4" with the 4dr Unlimited should be ok with light to moderate wheeling with the stock driveshafts. If you like to stand on the skinny pedal or you want to run 35s or larger, then you should consider the upgrade to aftermarket front and rear driveshafts. Again, several people i have spoken to and listened in on with larger tires and 3-4" lifts have run the stock driveshafts and not had a failure.... YET....

also, a word of knowlege. the past rule on the D35 and D30 axles was that 33" tires was about as far as one should go without expecting to break an axle shaft. Yes, there are many who have ran 35-37" tires on tjeir rigs without snapping a D35 axle... but there are others with 33's, a locker and a heavy right foot that have poped more than their fair share of axle shafts. I'm only guessing that you are not drive a Rubicon with front and rear D44 axles.... which is a little tougher than the base axles.

if you plan to run 35s, then again, in the future, you should expect to cough up the dough for aftermarket alloy axle shafts from Warn, Superior, Yukon and such.

with only 3-4" of lift as your goal... stick with a simple lift. the control arms on the JK are plenty long enough to handle that kind of lift. ofcourse, the more you spend, the more "complete" a kit will come.

look for:
coils
shocks
swaybar extentions (discos up front)
extended brake lines (or reloc brackets)
some form of caster adjustment
adjustable trackbars- front and rear
---if you want em---
upgraded control arms
- you can get as simple or sick as your wallet allows here. poly or rubber bushings will ride ok, (poly tends to squeak) and arms with "johnny joints" or similar flex joints will trasmit more vibes and noise into the cabin.

i look at it like this.
I have a Rubi with 32" tires and lockers. my plan is to run with a 2-2.5" budget boost, add some wheel spacers and then bump up to a 34" or so tire and run it. as posted above, you can see that there are others that have experimented with larger tires on the stock suspension. the key there is "droop".... which is maximizing the way the suspension drops out. carefully choosing the shocks and extending the brake lines.

do some research on the lift kits that look like what you are after. beware that sometimes they will put a Jeep in the add climbing a juge rock with massive articulation and then show you their cheapest kits... i have seen one do that... but a very close look shows the "super-sweet" control arms, swaybar discos or (in one) a Currie swaybar. ;)


good luck. feel free to ask as many questions as you need to.

smile.gif

OH!!!
forgot to add....
dont let ANYONE tell you that a rig with a budget boost cant flex. sure... with factory coils, there is some limitations... but if you upgrade your shocks and disconnect your swaybar, then you will be VERY surprised where an open diff Jeep can roll. ;)

[navy08]

Okay so I have taken all you wrote back into consideratoin.

my jeep ... I have a 4dr 08 JK ... 3.73's front 30 and rear 44 dana

My hubby wants me to get the 4.5" long arm kit by rubi express ...

I have it narrowed down to the 3" teraflex, 4" teraflex and the long arm kit by rubicon express.

We are willing to dish out the dough for
driveline mod's and regearing if needed. I honestly want one where we don't have to do so many mods, what is so much better about the long arm kit over the 3" and 4" teraflex systems.

I want your opinion on what is better? I do easy to moderately hard trails .. not lots of climbing or rock crawling .. but lots of mud and wet wet (lakes and huge puddles) on the trails.

What would you reccomend?

I want to fit at least 35's .. and go as cheap but awesome quality as possible. I am asking on other forums too .. quadractec and jk-forum

[navy08]

Okay so I have taken all you wrote back into consideratoin.

my jeep ... I have a 4dr 08 JK ... 3.73's front 30 and rear 44 dana

My hubby wants me to get the 4.5" long arm kit by rubi express ...

I have it narrowed down to the 3" teraflex, 4" teraflex and the long arm kit by rubicon express.

We are willing to dish out the dough for
driveline mod's and regearing if needed. I honestly want one where we don't have to do so many mods, what is so much better about the long arm kit over the 3" and 4" teraflex systems.

I want your opinion on what is better? I do easy to moderately hard trails .. not lots of climbing or rock crawling .. but lots of mud and wet wet (lakes and huge puddles) on the trails.

What would you reccomend?

I want to fit at least 35's .. and go as cheap but awesome quality as possible. I am asking on other forums too .. quadractec and jk-forum