JT diesel Rubicon 4-5" lift options - help plan a build

[bphage]

Looking to plan a JT diesel build and was looking for thoughts from the community.

Jeep: 2022 JT diesel Rubicon
Use: Primarily overlanding, will take to Rubicon trail once to twice a year. Vast majority is spent on high way to and from places then fire trails, the lift goal is to allow me to be competent on the Rubicon trail without sliding the belly all over the place. When exploring I will often be with my brother who has a Humvee and my goal is to build a very reliable rig that can be counted on to get his Humvee unstuck in the Sierras. While I will try to keep the jeep on a diet, when overlanding I'll have at least 4 people, plus fridge, roof top tent etc. In other words, it will be heavy. The 4-5" will give me room for settling and the weight of the vehicle, If I were not planning to load up I figure a 3.5" kit would work well, but my biggest fear is doing this and then asking why I didn't go just an extra inch. I am also concerned about what happens when I break something on the kits, will there be parts available that I can use or are they so unique that ill be out of luck. Edit: thinking about it there are some grassy areas that can be soft and muddy that I will spend some decent time in as well.
Tires: Planning 37", don't plan on gears or axels. If they break will upgrade at that time.

Priorities:
1) reliability
2) on road manners
3) hard core rock crawling capability (most fun but least time spent doing this - so hard to be realistic)
4) ability to get replacement parts
5) reputable brand that is less likely to get a dealer to deny any warranty problems with the transmission or engine.
6) if there is a choice I would prefer to avoid permanent modifications to structure (i.e. cutting metal brackets off) - not a deal breaker.

So far I have seen:
1) Evo:
A) 4.5" Enforcer
B) 4.5" Fusion Suspension
2) Rock Krawler 4.5" (northridge 4x4, but not on the manufactures site??)
A) adventure-x Long arm
b) x-factor
3) Clayton off Road
A) 3.5" Premium (Not sure this is high enough)

Information seems conflicted on some sites on the above lifts - as an example the evo enforcer vs fusion does not the clearest info on what will be better (or worse) with each kit... what would you guys recommend?

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[trailless]

I debated between the EVO 2.5", up to the EVO 4.5" lift, and everything in between. In the end I settled on the EVO 4.5" Stage 4+ Overland kit. The reason for going larger was that I went through the same decision when I had my JK. I debated between a 3" vs 4" lift. I settled for the 3" lift and in the end I always regretted it.

The ride is a bit firmer than a stock rubicon, which I feel is a good thing. Handling is great on the street and I have no complaints there. I haven't been able to take it offroad so I can't comment on that...

 

[AXISJT]

I'd also take into consideration the Clayton 3.5 it sits a lot higher and has stiffer springs and u can also just put in air bags if need be

 

[bphage]

The EVO fusion kit is to maintain factory tow capacity but you still get the coilover performance and adjustability up front.
EVO king coilover kit on 40’s:

- davidbrumbley, Thank you very much for the post; I had not considered how towing would be effected. I will be towing and it is essential that I can still tow. That said it, I tow a modified HF trailer that I have kayaks on and the fishing gear. So its not a lot of weight. What do you think of the EVO king coilover kit you have vs the fusion given my need to do some towing?

I debated between the EVO 2.5", up to the EVO 4.5" lift, and everything in between. In the end I settled on the EVO 4.5" Stage 4+ Overland kit. The reason for going larger was that I went through the same decision when I had my JK. I debated between a 3" vs 4" lift. I settled for the 3" lift and in the end I always regretted it.

The ride is a bit firmer than a stock rubicon, which I feel is a good thing. Handling is great on the street and I have no complaints there. I haven't been able to take it offroad so I can't comment on that...

I'd also take into consideration the Clayton 3.5 it sits a lot higher and has stiffer springs and u can also just put in air bags if need be

Thank you guys too for the post; Trailless I think your confirming my fears. The time and money is not insignificant and I think I would want to be higher and keep from regretting to low of a lift when I hit bigger rocks in the sierras. I don't mind a little stiffness on the road, handling on the street is what it will spend most of the time doing just getting to where I can off-road. Does me no good to have a capable rig that can't. Any reason why you selected the overland kit vs the fusion?

AXISJT, I have seen lots of good things about Clayton 3.5 and it being a solid kit; you note it rides a little higher; do you think its comparable to the 4.5 evo kits, maybe a 4"? I haven't seen any measurements or other specifics. Much seems anecdotal.

 

[AXISJT]

- davidbrumbley, Thank you very much for the post; I had not considered how towing would be effected. I will be towing and it is essential that I can still tow. That said it, I tow a modified HF trailer that I have kayaks on and the fishing gear. So its not a lot of weight. What do you think of the EVO king coilover kit you have vs the fusion given my need to do some towing?








Thank you guys too for the post; Trailless I think your confirming my fears. The time and money is not insignificant and I think I would want to be higher and keep from regretting to low of a lift when I hit bigger rocks in the sierras. I don't mind a little stiffness on the road, handling on the street is what it will spend most of the time doing just getting to where I can off-road. Does me no good to have a capable rig that can't. Any reason why you selected the overland kit vs the fusion?

AXISJT, I have seen lots of good things about Clayton 3.5 and it being a solid kit; you note it rides a little higher; do you think its comparable to the 4.5 evo kits, maybe a 4"? I haven't seen any measurements or other specifics. Much seems anecdotal.

I have a diesel and the 3.5 lift sitting in my kitchen waiting for it to be installed so I can't say anything for sure yet just what I have seen others post. A few have posted some pictures next to other 3.5 in kits and it's much taller even the 2.5 in kit seems to be taller . I don't know the comparison of it to the evo kit but I do know once you start getting into 4.5 and above you generally have to put more work into your drive line so that's something to think about as well. If you want you could always start with the 3.5 and airbags and if it really wasn't enough just swap springs

 

[Chance575]

I also have a evo 4.5 overland stage 4 kit, love and wouldn’t change it

 

[Gladiator_92]

Did not see metal cloak on that list... I think their quality is some of the best and their kit can flex... https://metalcloak.com/jt-gladiator-3-5-game-changer-suspension-systems.html

 

[trailless]

Thank you guys too for the post; Trailless I think your confirming my fears. The time and money is not insignificant and I think I would want to be higher and keep from regretting to low of a lift when I hit bigger rocks in the sierras. I don't mind a little stiffness on the road, handling on the street is what it will spend most of the time doing just getting to where I can off-road. Does me no good to have a capable rig that can't. Any reason why you selected the overland kit vs the fusion?

The stiffness is very minimal but the ride is much more controlled on the road. I opted for the overland version with the front lower control arm drop brackets for even better on road manners. It truly does ride great on the road. I can top out at 97mph and cruise there with no issues at all.

I didn't go with the fusion since I didn't want to mess with coilover maintenance. I don't really get to go offroading much for coilovers to make any significant distance. If I blow a shock, I can just go and purchase another one and bolt it right in. I'm probably going to put 15k-20k miles a year on the Jeep and I just didn't want to mess with maintaining coilovers...

Here are a couple pictures. The first one is when I went to pick it up after getting the lift and wheels put on. The second is after picking up some flooring. The flooring was around 700lbs and the rear squatted a good bit, I'd say 3-4inches. There was still a good 2-3" left before the bumpstops made contact.

 

[AXISJT]

Did not see metal cloak on that list... I think their quality is some of the best and their kit can flex... https://metalcloak.com/jt-gladiator-3-5-game-changer-suspension-systems.html

They do have great parts but there lifts run very short especially for the diesel. With all the weight he spoke of it would be even worse

 

[DocMcStuffins]

I went with the Rock Krawler 4.5" adventure-x long arm lift after much debate. RK was recommended by one of my buddies with the 3.5 Pro-x lift who upgraded to tons and 4.5 springs but on a gasser, and is now upgrading to long-arm conversion as his geometry could definitely use some optimizing. Still waiting on delivery on my lift, so no real-world experience though. I had considered the EVO, and actually ordered a Rusty's 4" diesel specific lift, but cancelled. I've read good reviews about the Rusty's lift/springs including towing. In the end, I wanted the long-arm for the improved geometry. The RK triple rate front and quad rate rear diesel specific springs should be good for towing/loads according to RK. They do say that with heavy loads though to increase spring height 1".

 

[Lynn_F]

- davidbrumbley, Thank you very much for the post; I had not considered how towing would be effected. I will be towing and it is essential that I can still tow. That said it, I tow a modified HF trailer that I have kayaks on and the fishing gear. So its not a lot of weight. What do you think of the EVO king coilover kit you have vs the fusion given my need to do some towing?








Thank you guys too for the post; Trailless I think your confirming my fears. The time and money is not insignificant and I think I would want to be higher and keep from regretting to low of a lift when I hit bigger rocks in the sierras. I don't mind a little stiffness on the road, handling on the street is what it will spend most of the time doing just getting to where I can off-road. Does me no good to have a capable rig that can't. Any reason why you selected the overland kit vs the fusion?

AXISJT, I have seen lots of good things about Clayton 3.5 and it being a solid kit; you note it rides a little higher; do you think its comparable to the 4.5 evo kits, maybe a 4"? I haven't seen any measurements or other specifics. Much seems anecdotal.

Clayton & Evo both measure their lifts from the height of the rear springs. The amount of lift in the front is roughly 1.5" higher than the advertised lift height. Clayton 3.5 =~5" in the front and Evo 4.5 =~6" in the front. I had the Evo 4.5" on my gasser Gladiator and gained 6" in the front. I did not replace my front driveshaft but if I had wheeled very hard I believe it would have been necessary.

 

[bphage]

Clayton & Evo both measure their lifts from the height of the rear springs. The amount of lift in the front is roughly 1.5" higher than the advertised lift height. Clayton 3.5 =~5" in the front and Evo 4.5 =~6" in the front. I had the Evo 4.5" on my gasser Gladiator and gained 6" in the front. I did not replace my front driveshaft but if I had wheeled very hard I believe it would have been necessary.

Lynn_F: that is supper helpful. Thank you. Looking at the picture it looks like the rear of isn't raised as high. Do you ever have problems with loads in the rear? I am concerned that it will be quite low when loaded up compared to the front and I am not sure how to approach that problem.

 

[bphage]

I went with the Rock Krawler 4.5" adventure-x long arm lift after much debate. RK was recommended by one of my buddies with the 3.5 Pro-x lift who upgraded to tons and 4.5 springs but on a gasser, and is now upgrading to long-arm conversion as his geometry could definitely use some optimizing. Still waiting on delivery on my lift, so no real-world experience though. I had considered the EVO, and actually ordered a Rusty's 4" diesel specific lift, but cancelled. I've read good reviews about the Rusty's lift/springs including towing. In the end, I wanted the long-arm for the improved geometry. The RK triple rate front and quad rate rear diesel specific springs should be good for towing/loads according to RK. They do say that with heavy loads though to increase spring height 1".

I do like the idea of a long arm lift; did you need to cut and weld brackets to make that work? I can't seem to find an install and review on that kit. Also how do you think it would do with the weight in the rear?

Thanks

 

[bphage]

The stiffness is very minimal but the ride is much more controlled on the road. I opted for the overland version with the front lower control arm drop brackets for even better on road manners. It truly does ride great on the road. I can top out at 97mph and cruise there with no issues at all.

I didn't go with the fusion since I didn't want to mess with coilover maintenance. I don't really get to go offroading much for coilovers to make any significant distance. If I blow a shock, I can just go and purchase another one and bolt it right in. I'm probably going to put 15k-20k miles a year on the Jeep and I just didn't want to mess with maintaining coilovers...

Here are a couple pictures. The first one is when I went to pick it up after getting the lift and wheels put on. The second is after picking up some flooring. The flooring was around 700lbs and the rear squatted a good bit, I'd say 3-4inches. There was still a good 2-3" left before the bumpstops made contact.

Its really comforting to know you have been able to get such great road manners with this kit. The 700lbs in the rear is amazingly helpful. Looks like If I load it up constantly I may want another inch or two in the back; think that could be solved with additional spring height or a cheater spring. Maybe a spacer? Given your experience so far I am leaning towards what you have done as its a known quantity and you build is very similar to what I am looking to do.

Thanks again

 

[DocMcStuffins]

I do like the idea of a long arm lift; did you need to cut and weld brackets to make that work? I can't seem to find an install and review on that kit. Also how do you think it would do with the weight in the rear?

Thanks

I haven't installed it yet, but will need to cut/weld brackets. I like that they are parallel to the frame and don't drop down to potentially hang up as I've read they can do. The new Teraflex arms require cutting of the stock brackets, and new brackets bolt on but look like they are lower. On RK's website it says to go with 1" higher springs if planning an overloading rig. Agreed on lack of reviews out there! I've only read/messaged a few people with the long-arm lifts so far and they love it.

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