Looking at 3.5” - Readylift vs JKS?

[jayinyourway]

Looking to put a full suspension lift on my new 2023 Gladiator Rubicon.

The local shop is recommending Readylift but I know nothing about them. I had an awesome experience with a JKS lift on my Wrangler. Has anybody had great or terrible experiences with these kits on the gladiator?

Primarily a daily driver, however, I will end up doing some moderate trails in Rausch Creek, PA - nothing too crazy.

Thanks for any input!

Sponsored

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

Readylift is part of the Hoonigan group that recently filed bankruptcy. I wouldn't go with anything made by them.

JKS makes decent stuff. The lower priced J-Venture kit doesn't come with arms or brackets. It uses caster lock plates. I'm not sure how well those work. They also have a J-Kontrol kit that comes with control arm brackets. I'd rather spend the extra $150 on this kit instead of using the caster lock plates.

There are a few people here running the JKS kit. Hopefully they chime in.

 

[JT1]

What size tire are you planning on? Start there and work backwards.

 

[TheSolarWizard]

3” rockkrawler adventure series
Superb vibration isolation, flex and allows for proper caster adjustment.
load the jeep up as if you’re going on your typical trip, take it to a cat scale and weigh it then call them. That’ll get you springs and shocks tailored to your jeep

 

[Trailman]

I went with JKS, but also used a shop that made a few other modifications in addition to the kit itself.

Note that if you go the JKS route you have four options on shocks, and the price changes dramatically. The J-Spec shocks that are the entry level are kind of crap. I have used both the J-Spec and the Fox 2.5 IFP Performance. There was a mix-up in my original order, and my kit did not arrive to the shop with the 2.5 Performance, so they gave me J-Spec loaners while we waited on back ordered 2.5 P. To the shop's credit, they said "go wheel them, if you break them, its on us." So, I had some fun on them.

In comparison, the 2.5 P are MUCH burlier and soak up the hits more evenly and return to level smoothly. The J-Spec are pretty harsh, kind of an off/on feeling. And, clearly, the shop has seen people break them. They look really small.

The four tiers are:

J-Spec
Fox 2.0
Fox 2.5 IFP Performance
Fox 2.5 Elite

So, you could call mine "level 3". The 2.5 Elite more than double the cost of the entire kit as compared to 2.5 IFP Performance. The main attraction to going the higher level is the remote reservoir and the ability to change the shock level. As someone who likely would never get out and mess around with the settings, the 2.5 made more sense to me.

Jeep Gladiator Lift Kit | 3" Lift Kit | J-Venture – JKS Manufacturing (jksmfg.com)

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

3” rockkrawler adventure series
Superb vibration isolation, flex and allows for proper caster adjustment.
load the jeep up as if you’re going on your typical trip, take it to a cat scale and weigh it then call them. That’ll get you springs and shocks tailored to your jeep

Rock Krawler makes nice stuff, but I don't think any of those 3 factors are selling points or advantages.

Vibration isolation will not be noticeably different with Rock Krawler, Clayton, Metalcloak, Evo, or any of the popular choices that make suspension links. Maybe if you run Johnny Joints you might feel a little more vibrations, but I never did when I ran them on my TJ.

Flex, the shocks are going to be the limiting factor.

Proper caster adjustment, that is any kit with adjustable arms or control arm brackets with multiple holes. And if the kit doesn't include them, you can always add them.

 

[montechie]

Looking to put a full suspension lift on my new 2023 Gladiator Rubicon.

The local shop is recommending Readylift but I know nothing about them. I had an awesome experience with a JKS lift on my Wrangler. Has anybody had great or terrible experiences with these kits on the gladiator?

Primarily a daily driver, however, I will end up doing some moderate trails in Rausch Creek, PA - nothing too crazy.

Thanks for any input!

Not quite apples to apples, but I have a full JKS lift (adj arms, brackets, trackbars, swaybar) on my 05 LJ for 8ish years and couldn't be happier, the thing handles down the road better than my Gladiator stock. I've banged them around in the Rockies and haven't had to mess with them at all. I'm also using the JKS trackbars on my Gladiator. When I decide to go adj. arms on the JT I'd have no issues going JKS again.

If you have an OnX Offroad Elite membership there's a 15% discount on JKS. There's other discounts too (wheels, radios, etc) if you're doing multiple upgrades this year.

 

[jayinyourway]

What size tire are you planning on? Start there and work backwards.

37” because bigger than that and they won’t let me on the beach…

 

[JT1]

37” because bigger than that and they won’t let me on the beach…

Makes sense. I wouldn't limit myself to the 2 you are looking at. MetalCloak, Clayton and AEV all make 2.5" kits that will allow you to run 37s on the high fender trucks.

 

[jayinyourway]

The shop by me was also pushing the AEV kit plus or minus the high capacity Springs. It just seems to be like people add an adjustable track bar kit if I’m not mistaken. I have very little mechanical knowledge so I am relying on the shop plus whatever you guys tell me to make my decision.

 

[klejeune]

I am running the JKS 3.5" kit. I used Rancho geo brackets as I had a shop order the kit and didn't realize it did not come with it. I installed the kit myself actually. So far I have had zero issues and it feels solid. I've put about 12k miles on it since install and I still love it.

 

[JT1]

The shop by me was also pushing the AEV kit plus or minus the high capacity Springs. It just seems to be like people add an adjustable track bar kit if I’m not mistaken. I have very little mechanical knowledge so I am relying on the shop plus whatever you guys tell me to make my decision.

at 2.5" a trackbar isn't necessary, but it won't hurt and you can add it later. I personally don't like the bilsteins, but everyone is different.

Metalcloak true dual rate 2.5 with some rocksports is a cheap entry into the lifted club that you can add to over time.

Are you looking at a re-gear also?

 

[TheSolarWizard]

Rockkrawler being mentioned by no one else here is completely wild

 

[JT1]

Rockkrawler being mentioned by no one else here is completely wild

That batch of janky bushings soured a bunch of people on them. The rear suspension options are pretty fantastic though.

 

[jayinyourway]

at 2.5" a trackbar isn't necessary, but it won't hurt and you can add it later. I personally don't like the bilsteins, but everyone is different.

Metalcloak true dual rate 2.5 with some rocksports is a cheap entry into the lifted club that you can add to over time.

Are you looking at a re-gear also?

Thanks for the info.

A re-gear is the future, likely 4.88s. I had 4.10 in my JKU with heavy nitto ridge grapplers and it was fine, not awesome.

Sponsored