The best true 2" lift kit

[task82]

Hey you mob, looking at lifting my 2011 JK (petrol, manual, 2 door) 2" and fitting some 285/70R17 muddies. Not interested in going any higher, mainly for insurance purposes and I don't think it would be necessary for the tyre size I want to run?

From everyone's experience, what would you mob recommend for a true 2" lift. I've looked at a Teraflex levelling fit, mainly because they are so cheap. But I'm worried the theory you get what you pay for will kick in.

I'm also leaning towards Dobinsons coils and shocks at this point in time as I've heard quite a lot of good feedback on the forums and they are well priced.

Anyway, enough from me. Let's open up the thread to the forum!!

[Paul-JK]

If you want a true 2" lift then I'd be looking at a supplier who understands the JK and will work with you get the lift you want based on the range of products they have and not just someone who's going to sell you whatever they happen to import. A lot of lifts claim to be 2" lifts but then end up giving far higher lifts so you want to work with someone who knows what their products will achieve on the various JK's. You own probably the lightest variant of JK (2dr, petrol, manual) so you'd need to be even more careful that the springs you get don't result in 4" of lift rather than the 2 you asked for!

For me the two main guys to speak to would be DBOR & Suspension Stuff. That's not to say there aren't others out there (and I'm sure others will post up with their experiences and let you know), but both of these suppliers come highly recommended but both for different reasons. DBOR have a comprehensive array of lift kits (have a look at their website) from mild lifts created with budget in mind to wild lifts with no expense spared. Somewhere in amongst all of that will be something that suits you and they will explain the advantages and disadvantages of each set up. Suspension Stuff on the other hand don't carry a range of lift kits in the same way that DBOR do but they make an extremely comprehensive array of springs in 15mm height increments so that you can achieve whatever height you want. Once you've briefed them on your JK and your requirements they will keep sending you more coils if necessary until you get the exact height you want. I went with SS and I couldn't be happier, both with the product and the service. They also guarantee their coils against sag for 5 years which I don't think many other suppliers do. The SS coils are progressive so they give a great ride when empty but can still carry a load well and they give great flex off road. If you go the SS route (as I did) you then need to decide which shocks to pair with them. They sell the Bilstein 5100 but I found them to be too firm for my liking and so I chose a softer shock but it's good as you can tailor the ride to suit your likes/dislikes.

At 2" you can just change spring and shocks but many recommend doing a little more to keep the front end geometry closer to factory spec which greatly reduces the chance of developing wobbles and issues down the track (pun intended!). You may also want to look at adjustable control arms to adjust the caster back to normal, along with front & rear track bars and/or brackets to re-centre the axles under the body. You may also need longer sway bar links to allow for the extra 2" of lift. All just food for thought. Some have just got springs & shocks, even with higher than 2" lifts, and then driven for years and everything has been OK but others have had problems that would have been largely addressed by sorting out the front end geometry.

[SeaComms]

Nailed it in the above response.

Sent from Tapatalk as I finally ditched the Windows 7.5 heap of rubbish

[Banshee]

Paul, which shocks did you end up with? (For the record, I bought my '08 JKU 2nd hand with an OME 2" lift already installed (back in '0.)

[Paul-JK]

Originally Posted by Banshee

Paul, which shocks did you end up with? (For the record, I bought my '08 JKU 2nd hand with an OME 2" lift already installed (back in '0.)

I went with the Rancho 9000xl 9-way adjustables. I run them at around 3 if I'm doing slow speed driving around town with an empty car and get a nice soft limo-like ride. I dial them up to around 5 if I'm doing some faster driving or if I know I'm going to have a few people in the car to reduce the body roll and then I have them up to around 7 if I'm fully loaded and that stiffens the ride up nicely and gives greater control. A ride for all seasons so to speak.

Another good thing about the Ranchos is the length of shock you can get. With the length my SS coils (around a 2.5" lift) the normal shock lengths wouldn't allow me to make full use of the length of the flexy coils but long travel shocks would be too long and would cause other issues with drive shafts etc. Rancho (and some other companies but not many) make medium length shocks as well which suit my coils perfectly. Long enough to let the springs work but not too long to cause issues. It basically means I have a 2.5" flexy lift and I'm running shocks that are in theory designed for a 4" lift. Works a treat though and I'm pleased with the set up.

I certainly don't claim to be an expert on suspension though....just learning as I go. Had heaps of advice from others on here, especially JKTOM who I hassled repeatedly for months with questions as he had tried a lot of setups similar to what I was trying to achieve.

[kx steve]

paul-jk..... do you know what are the extended length of your shocks front and rear.

[Paul-JK]

Originally Posted by kx steve

paul-jk..... do you know what are the extended length of your shocks front and rear.

The 0-2" lift Rancho shock lengths are 14"-21.75" in the front and 13.88"-22.63" in the rear.
The 4" lift Rancho shock lengths (which are the ones I have) are 15.38"-25" in the front and 16"-25.75" in the rear.