Is a 2 inch spacer lift acceptable for 35 inch tires on stock rims on the Rubicon Gladiator

[Renegade]

What you have said is all correct. However when you lift without correcting geometry on a solid axle you shift the axle due to the track bar. It affects the toe and steering wheel adjustment. I have always set my own toe in the driveway but it seems that a tire shop that doesnt understand lifts sets the vehicle back to stock and usually messes up the toe setting which is what happend to my friends JK. They also screwed up his steering wheel center which causes problems with the stability control system.

Alignment shops are one of the biggest rip offs for owners of solid axle vehicles. I have used one to identify my caster, but set toe and steering alignment with a tape measure.

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[Mig]

Yes, a 2-inch spacer lift is fine. Stuff those pucks in there and slam on some 35s or screw it, some 37s! Is it going to make you a King of the Hammers champ? Nope. Is it going to destroy your rig, kill your alignment and destroy your handling? Nope.. Is it going to impress the ladies at the mall? Well, that's resounding yes!

Now let's get down to the brass tacks here. There are not many lift kits available for the JT yet. Like, Evo has some and hell, rough country, that is about it. So ask yourself this question, do you want to plunk down $3500 for an early design Evo kit (admittedly good quality) or drop hundreds on a poor quality RC kit? That is it. Those are your options. BUT WAIT, what about the spacer lift you say??? Look, tossing a spacer lift on your rig is not going to make you a Trail hero, that is just a fact. So what possible benefits could there be to a spacer lift? Well, here we go...

1. It gets your Jeeps ride hight to a point where you can buy those new rims and tires, giving you the look and perspective that you are after.

Oh hey, why did this dude bold and italicize the word "perspective?" Great question, glad you asked! Is you're shiny new Jeep even going to fit in your garage? Does your wife hate it because she can't get into it? Are you going to enjoy the rig with ONLY 2 inches? (side note, my wifey gave that a resounding no. Geez, size queens right...) The list goes on...

2. It buys you time. OMG, what does this mean??? It buys you time to drop $2000.00 on rims and tires that you will be using 2-3 years down the road while you wisely bide your time until the inevitable Kick-Ass, In your Face, Thank god I waited for this, Lift kit comes out.

Little note about el numero dos. There is a 100% chance that before the last sunset in 2019, we will see some wicked awesome lift kits released from the dozens of outstanding manufacturers. Any one of them could completely revolutionize the JT lift market. Will it be Metal cloak?? Teraflex??? Synergy??? Hell, I really could just list all these guys out but yeah, I have things to do right now, other than state the obvious...

So to summarize,
1. A puck lift won't screw up your shiny new Gladiator.
2. It will save you a TON of money by giving you time to allow the market to mature while you get the respectable look that all Jeep owners are working towards.
3. Do not go hardcore, panty-dropping, flex to the max off-road cuz yeah, you are still driving a basically stock jeep with some incredibly cheap rubber pucks holding it up. Stick to the malls for a little bit.
4. Use this time to thoughtfully plan out your build, while the market catches up. I mean, there isn't even a decent set of skid plates out there for the JT yet, gotta preorder Artec or something. Hell, JCR Offroad hasn't even released any good Gladiator stickers or LoL youtube videos yet... We got time.

So drop the crazy money (a date night or two worth of the greenbacks) on a budget lift. You won't regret it. Oh and if you for some reason do regret it.... Craigslist is your friend buddy. You will recoup that big ol two hundred bucks in no time flat.

 

[smlobx]

Why not just get the Mopar 2” factory lift?
Designed by the engineers who designed the truck and carries the full factory warranty...

 

[wch_Chip]

Or as stated earlier you don't need any lift to run 35s on a Gladiator Rubicon.

 

[Vsmith]

This is a 2.5” with 37” tires

 

[Desert Outlaw]

Why not just get the Mopar 2” factory lift?
Designed by the engineers who designed the truck and carries the full factory warranty...

I personally passed on the Mopar lift for not being enough to run a 38" tire with sufficient uptravel. I purchased a 4.5" Skyjacker lift that will inevitably need an upgraded front track, lower control arms and shocks. But, like the Daystar, I will be able to run a taller tire competently, and as my needs change, I will upgrade.

Here is the ride height that I need for the trails out west and in Baja California that I prefer to run.

 

[Punkin Luvin]

35s fit stock and the 2" spacer by daystar is simple and actually helped mine drive better by correcting caster. Looks great and looking forward to 37s.

 

[Deleted member 24603]

I put Teraflex 1" pucks on the front, Daystar 3/4" pucks on the rear and then had an alignment done after adding 35's. Total cost including alignment was $200. This maintained stock clearance from the top of the tires to the fender flare. I like the look, and will trail test eventually to see if anything rubs.

 

[TheNewWampsCat]

So I don’t even have my Gladiator yet, haven’t ordered it, or even driven one.. soon to be though.
I thought about going 37s, but my tired old body doesn’t want to lift them to change them out. So have decided to go with 35s. Now I was surprised I didn’t see anyone say 35s on a stock rim won’t fit. Unless I’m way off the 35s I’ve seen were 35x12.50, with a stock rim being 7.5” wide how’s that going to work? Somebody enlightenment me please.

 

[mojocho]

I put Teraflex 1" pucks on the front, Daystar 3/4" pucks on the rear and then had an alignment done after adding 35's. Total cost including alignment was $200. This maintained stock clearance from the top of the tires to the fender flare. I like the look, and will trail test eventually to see if anything rubs.

That's just about perfect from my perspective. Well done

 

[mojocho]

So I don’t even have my Gladiator yet, haven’t ordered it, or even driven one.. soon to be though.
I thought about going 37s, but my tired old body doesn’t want to lift them to change them out. So have decided to go with 35s. Now I was surprised I didn’t see anyone say 35s on a stock rim won’t fit. Unless I’m way off the 35s I’ve seen were 35x12.50, with a stock rim being 7.5” wide how’s that going to work? Somebody enlightenment me please.

12.5 is the width of the contact patch not the bead/rim. if you look at the specs (i.e. tire rack) on a 35x12.5, the recommended wheel rim width is usually 8"-10" or something like that.

On my JKU I had 35/12.5 on my stock rubicon wheels. It bulged a little, but no issues on road, on trails, at speed, etc. I actually liked the slightly bulky look.

 

[Jdyowa]

So I don’t even have my Gladiator yet, haven’t ordered it, or even driven one.. soon to be though.
I thought about going 37s, but my tired old body doesn’t want to lift them to change them out. So have decided to go with 35s. Now I was surprised I didn’t see anyone say 35s on a stock rim won’t fit. Unless I’m way off the 35s I’ve seen were 35x12.50, with a stock rim being 7.5” wide how’s that going to work? Somebody enlightenment me please.

I have a Overland. with 18 inch rims. I got 285/75r18. The trail grapplers measure 35" they are only 11.5 wide, which I like better than wider.

 

[Jdyowa]

The Daystar 2” spacer lift comes with longer control arms, longer swaybar links, and shock spacers. I’m starting with that until more options are available. I also found it for $298 shipped...

did you ever get this? how'd it turn out? Do you like it? Got pics?

 

[rafaelsmith]

Am I correct in assuming I can go with a 2" spacer lift + 35s and keep stock wheels on a JT Rubicon w/o rubbing, etc?

 

[Desert Outlaw]

Am I correct in assuming I can go with a 2" spacer lift + 35s and keep stock wheels on a JT Rubicon w/o rubbing, etc?

Yes

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