$8900 lift kit...Do I need this?

[EP_Nic]

AWESOME POST!!! .... thats why Im asking.... Is a $3k lift enough for 98% of the world?

you wrote "I would suggest doing a good solid big lift with some Fox 2.0 basic shocks and see if you find a weak point. That'll set you back maybe $3K"

What is that good solid big lift for the $3K? Because I don't know....


I guess Im trying to find where the threshold is between... ok / good and GREAT? I made the title to get some attention but If I can find some "EVO " or "Metalcloak" lift for $2800 and it's excellent and works for 98% of all people 98% of the time.... then that is... the answer Im looking for!


Thanks for your info!

I fell down that rabbit hole of thinking and wondered something similar my thoughts weren't to impress people but rather I wanted to do my truck justice. I have nothing against spacers but for me if I spent near 50k, in your case much more, then I want to have a suspension that is better than what I was taking off. I ended up making kit for around 3400 I ordered the clayton offroad 2.5 overland plus lift kit, this kit is much better than stock it also allows you to pick whatever shocks you want that match your lift height and offroad needs. In my case I wanted something adjustable with a reservoir that was fairly reasonably priced so i opted for the falcon sp2 3.3 fast adjusts. I dont think there is a better looking shock out there. I also installed the kit myself to keep the price down and it was literally my first time ever doing something serious on a jeep/car besides your standard brake pad swap or engine oil change. That being said I would reccommend staying in that 4000 range until you can utilize those kits to their full potential. Im no expert as you can definitely see, Im just a fellow owner who went through a similar struggle.

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[Mjolnir]

Metalcloak and RK are top tier kits.

EVO is there, and AEV will come out with something I am sure.

You have to also look at how much maintenance you are ok with doing yourself/how much you are willing to pay a shop to do, and what type of wheeling youll be doing.

MC 3.5" gamechanger lift is absolutely fantastic and IMO, kills the other companies. Get their 6pak shocks and forget it, crazy up and down travel without needing a full overhaul for coilovers.

Any of the companies above you will get compliments on, as well as haters on. Each person has had their own good and bad situations with each company.

At the end of the day, I would suggest at minimum look at complete kits (all control arms, track bars front and rear, springs and shocks tuned to said springs). Otherwise you will get a less than ideal ride if you're lifting over 2-2.5".

 

[Bonanza]

I’m seeing a lot of information here that leads me to believe people haven’t actually wheeled their gladiators to the degree that there can be an intelligent discussion of what to buy. Not meaning to offend previous posters, but I have to disagree.

Stock, the wheelbase is much too long to be good Offroad. 33s, and even 35s won’t get these stretch limos through hard trails. Yes, you can get through things, but you’ll be dragging, crunching, and smashing your way through it. without a good skid plate system, it simply won’t be fun.

Shocks—If the metalcloak shocks were a good idea, you’d see more manufacturers use it. It’s a neat concept but in reality they will overheat quickly at speed and are challenging to rebuild. Wheel travel is not precisely correlated with capability. It helps, but isn’t the end game. The goal to a shock is to have it not be the limiting factor of suspension travel, while offering a satisfactory ride and preventing overheating.

Lifts—I think RK, EVO, and MC are overpriced for what you get. My opinion. 3.5” is the max before having to consider brake lines, driveshaft angles, control arms, etc. Our gladiators don’t suffer from the JK exhaust loop issue, so for now upgrading the driveshafts isn’t a priority as it was before. You can be very, very capable with a basic lift, big tires, and skids.

If you’re going to wheel rocks, which is your only option in Arizona, you need at least 3.5” high, and 37s. 35s are better than stock, but are more suited for a JK/JL wheelbase. Tire height will make more difference than any lift kit on the market. Then rear shock skids. Trust me on that.

Long wheelbase means big tires, and the shortest lift that can accommodate the tires while balancing getting the belly off rocks.

I went with a JKS lift, fox shocks, and adjfront lower control arms to set castor. I needed heavy duty sliders. Then I went wheelin. My sport doesn’t have lockers, but that’s just waiting for the market to catch up. My JKS kit with fox shocks was $1300 I think, then I got the controls arms and sliders as well.

Ive had a 2 door JK, a 4 door rubicon, and now this gladiator. I’ve wheeled everywhere in so cal, hammers included. I bent my front axle on my JK and replaced the housing, and I feel these new axles can handle a 37 much better than the Jks.

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[AzRob]

Thanks to all of you that answered so far.....

To answer some of your questions...

Here’s my opinion and questions op. What are you going to do with it after you get the lift? There’s plenty of lifts out there that will get the attention of many people, but what is it going to do for you?

Im definitely not doing this for anyones attention but my own. Im sure whatever I do will look great but Im not spending money for other people to look and give me a thumbs up. Im in AZ so predominantly desert off roading, rock and bumpy, dusty trails. Definitely no mud here.

Why do you want a lift? Is it to look cool or is it to be functional? Answers will vary.

I stated in the first post that Gladiators look better higher up and bigger tires..... but I ABSOLUTELY want to get a lift to use it off road, and Im not wanting it for looks. I know that there are several brands that are kinda known as "show lifts" and will probably break when used off road... I want to be able to do most trails, in and out, no problems or part failures.

I guess the second part of that question is, If money is no problem... how can someone find out if the $4000 list is SO MUCH better then the $3000 and worth the extra cash?

If someone who knows Jeep and lifts says " that $3k lift is really good...BUT that $4k is really so much better because _______ " thats what Im trying to figure out. Where is that top of the line for 95% of people and trails and what is the dollar amount needed to get to that lift.

Thanks to all that comment!

 

[j.o.y.ride]

If someone who knows Jeep and lifts says " that $3k lift is really good...BUT that $4k is really so much better because _______ " thats what Im trying to figure out. Where is that top of the line for 95% of people and trails and what is the dollar amount needed to get to that lift.

Thanks to all that comment!

this entirely depends on the trails you wanna run. someone posted pics of boulders above. is that what you are after? or are you looking for getting out into the desert or fire roads?

Your $9k lift kit was extra expensive because it's a rear triangle that involves a change in geometry of how the back works. Instead of upper and lower control arms that are on top of each other and braced by the track bar, it moves one set inboard to be welded by the differential. If you don't know you need that then I say forget it. You should be able to get away with the Clayton 2.5" on the stock rear driveshaft. Of course you CAN replace it but it'll run fine. But you can get through some gnarly trails with 5 link just fine.

 

[bastage]

Your $9k lift kit was extra expensive because it's a rear triangle that involves a change in geometry of how the back works. Instead of upper and lower control arms that are on top of each other and braced by the track bar, it moves one set inboard to be welded by the differential.

No actually the expensive part there is the Coilover's.. the Triangulated 4 link rear doesnt add all that much to the cost. Was actually within a couple hundred bucks of the Clayton 2.5" when I got mine done.

 

[j.o.y.ride]

No actually the expensive part there is the Coilover's.. the Triangulated 4 link rear doesnt add all that much to the cost. Was actually within a couple hundred bucks of the Clayton 2.5" when I got mine done.

i was sorta meaning fancy wise to need to weld in the new triangle and being able to remove the trackbar. it's definitely a cool factor.

I dunno how those RRD shocks are. Who builds them for RK? I know they definitely charge enough for them.

 

[jbold03]

So my buddy @libertymtnfab tunes and sells a set of 2.5” 3 tube ADS bypasses along with the Synergy MFG 2” springs. He’s been running those with all stock links on 37s and it looks GREAT. HOWEVER shocks cost 3k but straight up work. DON’T believe me see for yourself.
(this is the route I plan to go)

Personally I like the ICON billet links but they are $$$. My recommendation to the OP is ask yourself how hard you want to wheel and how much “customer support” you will need. A RK or EVO kit is exactly that, a FULL KIT and you pay the premium for it but there are plenty of ways to build your own setup for much less.

here are some pics of his truck

 

[rmerkushen]

I fell down that rabbit hole of thinking and wondered something similar my thoughts weren't to impress people but rather I wanted to do my truck justice. I have nothing against spacers but for me if I spent near 50k, in your case much more, then I want to have a suspension that is better than what I was taking off. I ended up making kit for around 3400 I ordered the clayton offroad 2.5 overland plus lift kit, this kit is much better than stock it also allows you to pick whatever shocks you want that match your lift height and offroad needs. In my case I wanted something adjustable with a reservoir that was fairly reasonably priced so i opted for the falcon sp2 3.3 fast adjusts. I dont think there is a better looking shock out there. I also installed the kit myself to keep the price down and it was literally my first time ever doing something serious on a jeep/car besides your standard brake pad swap or engine oil change. That being said I would reccommend staying in that 4000 range until you can utilize those kits to their full potential. Im no expert as you can definitely see, Im just a fellow owner who went through a similar struggle.

I think what you attempted to message is don't buy cheap parts for 50k truck. So I agree with that. But $99 part doesn't mean its cheap. Ultimately it depends on what you are looking for. AEV describes their 2" spacer kit as following:
Why would I want a spacer lift over a full suspension system?

A spacer lift is an economical alternative for anyone looking to add larger tires for a more aggressive look but does not intend on doing much technical off-roading or need any additional load capability. A spacer lift will perform much like the factory suspension both on and off the road, which on a Gladiator is quite impressive!
It all depends on what your needs are.

BTW I agree with Falcon shocks. They look great, however, non adjustable ones are somewhat harsh. So you have a great setup that I am ultimately looking to get if I decide to drop $3500 on the suspension setup.

And ride is always subjective.. ​

 

[piroman683]

35's and the mopar lift work fine for jumps, this is at 35mph, I hit a much larger one in barstow at 70mph, only rear fenders popped off. I did just purchase fox 2.5 DSC's + 1in taller springs from Synergy since i'm out in the desert a lot, jumping a lot, and beating the shit out of my cheap jeep... a lot. I'm basing my build on achieving front wheel travel of around 10in and rear at around 12. that is similar to the 2700 class of jeepspeed racing which utilizes aftermarket suspensions, so that tells me my set up should handle a hell of a beating. I'd honestly beat the shit out of your Rubi first then evaluate what you really need based on how hard you romp, and how often you romp.

 

[Dewyaw]

35's and the mopar lift work fine for jumps, this is at 35mph, I hit a much larger one in barstow at 70mph, only rear fenders popped off. I did just purchase fox 2.5 DSC's + 1in taller springs from Synergy since i'm out in the desert a lot, jumping a lot, and beating the shit out of my cheap jeep... a lot. I'm basing my build on achieving front wheel travel of around 10in and rear at around 12. that is similar to the 2700 class of jeepspeed racing which utilizes aftermarket suspensions, so that tells me my set up should handle a hell of a beating. I'd honestly beat the shit out of your Rubi first then evaluate what you really need based on how hard you romp, and how often you romp.

Sounds like you need a Mojave...

 

[JEERKJt]

I went with Metalcloaks 3.5" game changer kit with rocksport shocks for about $2400 and couldnt be happier with it. Eventually Ill be changing out the MC's rocksports shocks however I am impressed with the ride quality on the road and trails.

 

[wannajeep]

I think the problem is with your dream goal: thinking too much about what others think of your lift. Once the day is done, or even long before that, they've already forgotten about your lift. It may not be as attention getting but more props should go to how well you navigate the trail on a setup that isn't governed by how much money you've spent. Wow factor is short lived. $8,900 is a lotta clams.

 

[hdhjr]

I’m a big Metalcloak fan. Here’s my ‘17 JK Recon with a 5.5” kit on 35” Nittos and my 20 JTR with just a 2” Metalcloak front leveling kit on 37” Nittos.

 

[Harold0819]

I think for most who are looking for a 'complete' functional kit yo are looking at about 3000-3500. I have RKs Pro-X Stage 1 kit. A good solid complete kit for around 3K. They make a top notch product. Their RRd shocks, which are built in-house, for the poster who asked who makes their shocks are great. They are rebuildable and tunable. I have Their parts on my '08 JK and have zero complaints.

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