Ride quality of different lift kits

[TT32VGT]

Ive had past trucks that were leveled and or lifted and some didnt drive great. I think the front leveling kits limits the travel, is that correct? I just ordered a 22 gladiator rubicon diesel and planned to do a 2" mopar kit with a 3/4 or 1" front leveling kit.. planned 17" wheels and lighter weight 37s. I hated how my past setups made noise and didnt drive well so Id like to try and prevent that if possible.. I do really like the look of the evo 4.5" kit but know its not needed for 37s.

This will be my daily.. just moved to evergreen colorado so occassionally there will be snow.. once in a while ill take it offroad.. id love it to be level and look great, but want as good of ride quality as possible..

with that said what lift and tire do yall think is right for me?

THanks!

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[jay21mojave]

IMO you should be good with the MOPAR 2". Enjoy this comparison on kits; Its old but informative.. BTW.. I go with AEV 2.5" on my JKU (a company that has many former/retired Jeep-Mopar personnel).

 

[MCATDT]

The AEV gets rave reviews for its ride quality. The AEV however will not level the truck as you mentioned being one of your goals, it is designed to maintain the rake and keep it looking like a truck. It was actually one of the deciding reasons that I went with it as I did not want the the truck sitting low in the rear when you use it as a truck . I absolutely love the lift. Top quality, amazing ride, great for the off roading I do in Florida, and maintains the look of a truck.

 

[stil2low]

I’ve lifted quite a few Jeeps, and before that I was into lifting trucks
The poor ride quality you experienced in the lifted truck world was most likely due to cheaply lifting an IFS like a leveling kit. These push the a arms down and put the ball joints at such an angle that shock load is sent staring into the frame rather than being soaked up by the strut

The mopar kit is incomplete as a whole, not a bad riding set up once you add proper arms and track bar/bracket, but there are far better ride quality kits out there
AEV is a great company, especially if you are more into trail riding/over landing. A lot of their kits you will see the use of geo brackets over adjustable arms. While the geo bracket does hang lower creating less ground clearance, they help provide the best shock absorbing. As you lift a solid axle and use the stock control arm mounts, the more shock can be transferred to the frame when hitting a bump
Think of holding a hand cart/dolly, hold it at 45 degrees and hit a bump. You feel it in you arms. Now drop the handle to 25-30 and hit the same bump, the cart will absorb most of the bump while sending very little to your arms
One of the biggest things I cannot stress enough tho is, pair your shocks properly to the springs. I see so many get falcons for example and pair them to a multi rate spring then can’t figure out why their fillings are rattling out of the mouth lol some do like the harsher ride, but that just comes down to personal preference

I’ve personally been a rock krawler fan for last few years now. Their spring rates provide such a great daily driver while still being able to preform flawlessly off-road and their track Bars and arms will take the abuse all day

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

Clayton 2.5" Ride Right.

Same price as the Mopar kit, but it's minus shocks. So ends up being a little more. But you get adjustable arms and adjustable track bars.

It's not quite level, but it's pretty close. I think it's just the right amount of rake. Probably 1/2" I'd guess.

 

[Dougstdig]

IMO you should be good with the MOPAR 2". Enjoy this comparison on kits; Its old but informative.. BTW.. I go with AEV 2.5" on my JKU (a company that has many former/retired Jeep-Mopar personnel).

As soon as I saw the thread topic this is exactly what I was thinking.

That being said…Gladiators ride better than JL’s due to the increase wheel base. The link Jay provided above is a 2 or 3 part series…well worth the time to view all.

 

[Hipbilly]

I got upsold, and I'm really glad I did.
As to who packages up the lift? I'm not 100% sure it matters... but I wanted a level lift, and it didn't look like the Mopar lift and 1.5" spacers played well together, so I started looking at the Rubicon Express kits (recommended by 4 Wheel Parts). They have several offerings, delineated by the shock options. I was headed for the 2.5"/3.5" lift with Fox 2.0 (like a level version of Mopar), but they convinced me to "cry once" on the price tag.
These shocks are built by Walker Evans Racing and are about as smooth as can be expected from a solid axle Jeep. on road, off-road, all great. It corners and handles better than stock, and (its tough to compare) I think takes washboards much better.

2020 Jeep Gladiator| Rubicon Express 2.5/3.5" Standard Suspension Lift Kit with 2.5" Extreme-Duty Monotube Shocks - JT7141NR | 4wheelparts.com

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

I got upsold, and I'm really glad I did.
As to who packages up the lift? I'm not 100% sure it matters... but I wanted a level lift, and it didn't look like the Mopar lift and 1.5" spacers played well together, so I started looking at the Rubicon Express kits (recommended by 4 Wheel Parts). They have several offerings, delineated by the shock options. I was headed for the 2.5"/3.5" lift with Fox 2.0 (like a level version of Mopar), but they convinced me to "cry once" on the price tag.
These shocks are built by Walker Evans Racing and are about as smooth as can be expected from a solid axle Jeep. on road, off-road, all great. It corners and handles better than stock, and (its tough to compare) I think takes washboards much better.

2020 Jeep Gladiator| Rubicon Express 2.5/3.5" Standard Suspension Lift Kit with 2.5" Extreme-Duty Monotube Shocks - JT7141NR | 4wheelparts.com

4wp and RE are both owned by Transamerican Auto Parts.

 

[DocMike]

Loving my ride. 2.5 Clayton Overland Plus with the Falcon SP2 3.5 shocks. It does have the rake.
You can run 37s on the Rubicon with this lift. And as an added bonus you do not need to regard for the diesel.
That point needs to be considered. You are running a diesel and need things dialed in for that beast.

 

[Mac]

I got upsold, and I'm really glad I did.
As to who packages up the lift? I'm not 100% sure it matters... but I wanted a level lift, and it didn't look like the Mopar lift and 1.5" spacers played well together, so I started looking at the Rubicon Express kits (recommended by 4 Wheel Parts). They have several offerings, delineated by the shock options. I was headed for the 2.5"/3.5" lift with Fox 2.0 (like a level version of Mopar), but they convinced me to "cry once" on the price tag.
These shocks are built by Walker Evans Racing and are about as smooth as can be expected from a solid axle Jeep. on road, off-road, all great. It corners and handles better than stock, and (its tough to compare) I think takes washboards much better.

2020 Jeep Gladiator| Rubicon Express 2.5/3.5" Standard Suspension Lift Kit with 2.5" Extreme-Duty Monotube Shocks - JT7141NR | 4wheelparts.com

Did you install the alignment washers for caster correction, how do they install to restore caster from the lift?

 

[Hipbilly]

Did you install the alignment washers for caster correction, how do they install to restore caster from the lift?

Oh it gets worse than them just selling me a $2K lift.... I let them install it for me
SO, I don't know.
Normally I would tackle this sort of thing my self, but 1.) I don't have a good place to work on trucks, and 2.) I don't own the truck yet so I want to keep the build as respectable [reputable?] as possible (I know opinions vary on this, but oh well).

 

[stil2low]

Did you install the alignment washers for caster correction, how do they install to restore caster from the lift?

I’m not a huge fan of these, I’ve seen them cause so much death wobble over time on Jeeps that are wheeled
You have to over out the hole on the control arm bracket on the axle, then these plates go on like a cam washer

I will always recommend getting proper length or adjustable control arms to correct castor

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