Lift Decison: Mopar vs Teraflex

[Sigz]

2022 JT Sport S (3.73 auto)

Wants: 2-2.5 lift for aesthetics and eventual 34s/35s.

Choices:

Mopar Lift: I can buy off quadratefc of BAM auto for $1700-1800 plus another $750 for install.

Pro's: MOPAR parts, dealer install/maintain dealer relationship.

Con's: Incomplete lift - no front/rear adjustable track bars. Maybe more than a 2.5 lift? Expensive for what you are getting.


Teraflex 2.5:

Pros: More complete lift. Price point is better for what parts you are getting.

Cons: Not MOPAR/dealer specific. Not included with shocks.


I'm thinking of going the Teraflex route and then purchasing Bilstein 5100s for the front and rear. I was wanting to DIY this -but time is money, and with a newborn - my wife would probably rather have an experienced shop perform this lift. This same shop installed my front level without any issues/problems.

What do you guys think?

Sponsored

 

[40x40]

2022 JT Sport S (3.73 auto)

Wants: 2-2.5 lift for aesthetics and eventual 34s/35s.

Choices:

Mopar Lift: I can buy off quadratefc of BAM auto for $1700-1800 plus another $750 for install.

Pro's: MOPAR parts, dealer install/maintain dealer relationship.

Con's: Incomplete lift - no front/rear adjustable track bars. Maybe more than a 2.5 lift? Expensive for what you are getting.


Teraflex 2.5:

Pros: More complete lift. Price point is better for what parts you are getting.

Cons: Not MOPAR/dealer specific. Not included with shocks.


I'm thinking of going the Teraflex route and then purchasing Bilstein 5100s for the front and rear. I was wanting to DIY this -but time is money, and with a newborn - my wife would probably rather have an experienced shop perform this lift. This same shop installed my front level without any issues/problems.

What do you guys think?

View attachment 411136

i think no one but you can answer your question. let's strip down your situation by removing your bride and bambino. what would your gladiator build look like, how would it be used, how much do you WANT to spend and how long will you own it? ponder that and temper it with the bride and baby. the mopar route would certainly give your ride a great stance and a mostly oem parts list and available nearly everywhere if a replacement component is needed. i went with a 4.5" teraflex lift except for the sector shaft brace and front track bar. i installed falcon (teraflex) sp2 3.3 shocks. in my opinion these components do what i want them to do, looks great, rides great and my bride likes it. sorry to say there is no easy answer. one area of mutual agreement is everyone enjoys the new baby smell! congratulations.

 

[Sigz]

i think no one but you can answer your question. let's strip down your situation by removing your bride and bambino. what would your gladiator build look like, how would it be used, how much do you WANT to spend and how long will you oZwn it? ponder that and temper it with the bride and baby. the mopar route would certainly give your ride a great stance and a mostly oem parts list and available nearly everywhere if a replacement component is needed. i went with a 4.5" teraflex lift except for the sector shaft brace and front track bar. i installed falcon (teraflex) sp2 3.3 shocks. in my opinion these components do what i want them to do, looks great, rides great and my bride likes it. sorry to say there is no easy answer. one area of mutual agreement is everyone enjoys the new baby smell! congratulations.

Thanks for the reply. My vision is selfishly for more looks rather then rock crawling. My JT is my DD and I plan on keeping it until the frame rusts out!

 

[azmojave]

Lots of people like Tflex but I don’t. I, and some others, have been burned by them in the past so they won’t get anymore of my money. My buddy loves his long arm kit from them so YMMV

 

[40x40]

Lots of people like Tflex but I don’t. I, and some others, have been burned by them in the past so they won’t get anymore of my money. My buddy loves his long arm kit from them so YMMV

i have read horror story posts on the forum about teraflex. i bought my components in july 2021 and worked with Taylor. i found his knowledge and customer service skills to be top notch. perhaps something has changed in the last 3.5 years.

 

[Sigz]

The only thing that I can't wrap my head around is - the folks who designed the JT, the suspension, and the MOPAR lift - WHY did they not include parts to correct geometry?

Part of me just wants to put a simple 2.5 spacer lift on and call it good.

But then the other part of me knows that things will be off - thus why new adj control arms / track bars exists.

But the thousands of JT owners who put on their MOPAR lift who never hit trails - I assume their driving has been totally normal without all of the additional suspension parts?

You sure go down rabbit trails here with all of the things you should/could/have to add.

 

[Greg_L]

The only thing that I can't wrap my head around is - the folks who designed the JT, the suspension, and the MOPAR lift - WHY did they not include parts to correct geometry?

Part of me just wants to put a simple 2.5 spacer lift on and call it good.

But then the other part of me knows that things will be off - thus why new adj control arms / track bars exists.

But the thousands of JT owners who put on their MOPAR lift who never hit trails - I assume their driving has been totally normal without all of the additional suspension parts?

You sure go down rabbit trails here with all of the things you should/could/have to add.

If it's just for looks then do the cheaper simple spacer lift. You won't need to throw a ton of other stuff at it.

 

[wchevron]

Agree, if no plans to offroad much, then go with the spacer lift. You'll get the look you want at a fraction of the price. And you can install yourself. My 16 yr old daughter and I did a spacer lift on our JL in 4-5 hrs. Took less time when I installed my Teraflex leveling kit on my JT since it was pretty much the same steps.
Kids are expensive, you'll appreciate the saved money. Congrats on the baby

 

[B34c0n]

The only thing that I can't wrap my head around is - the folks who designed the JT, the suspension, and the MOPAR lift - WHY did they not include parts to correct geometry?

Part of me just wants to put a simple 2.5 spacer lift on and call it good.

But then the other part of me knows that things will be off - thus why new adj control arms / track bars exists.

But the thousands of JT owners who put on their MOPAR lift who never hit trails - I assume their driving has been totally normal without all of the additional suspension parts?

You sure go down rabbit trails here with all of the things you should/could/have to add.

Not sure what you mean by don't include parts to current geometry. They do. There are front longer control arms. You can instead go for the AEV correction bracket if that's more your style.

If you mean longer front track bar. I did a 2" lift and don't need the track bar. Ymmv but it's visually fine for me. And with the longer control arms it tracks well as well.

I piece mealed mine to get to keep the rear max tow springs. Here's my setup if you're interested: https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...eekend-overlander-tj-tower.78474/post-1376655

 

[Sigz]

Holy man. Did not mean to post the pic of my daughter’s birth footprints. Lol.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

I was in the same boat as you. Wanted a lift for looks. Also concerned about the axles being centered because things like that bother me. I ended up going with the Clayton 2.5” Ride Right. It’s a little cheaper than the Mopar lift, but more expensive if you add shocks. I’m using Bilstein 5100 shocks with it which I think are decent for a cheap shock.

 

[Jaydebe]

As 40x40 said, only you have the vision for your truck. And a lot of money for some of us and a drop in the bucket for others.

IMO, humbly I'd lean towards the spacer lift and save the money for nicer shocks that work for your intended use. Maybe an AEV spacer level/lift kit. They even have a kit with brackets for control arm relocation giving the truck a factory drive experience.

Clayton lifts seem to be very reputable and they also offer some variations from mild to wild $$ wise.

In terms of shocks, TerraFlex and Fox, etc, have less dampening and thus, ride great off-road, but squishy on road.

I'd likely pick up some Bilstien (4000/5000 series) shocks; slightly firmer shocks, great on road and do well off-road.

All of that said, depending on the MOPAR kit that you are looking into; the newest kit comes with Bilstiens.

I think that you should be able to get by with a factory trackbar front and rear, if not, it's an easy upgrade in the future.

 

[JO_178]

Up to you, really. I went with the MOPAR (Bilstein) 2.5". I'm happy with it.

 

[Reddout99]

I'm running the Mopar 2" lift. Mine is only a daily driver and performs really well on the road. Took a round trip from Nebraska to San Diego in May with zero issues. Very happy with the setup.

The kit does come with everything you need, springs, shocks, longer lower control arms & longer sway bar end links. It rode and tracked down the road fine. I added the adjustable track bars to center the axels up and I needed a track bar out back to accommodate my 37" spare.

If my JT didn't have it already installed when I bought it, I was going to have it installed. It was engineered by Mopar specifically for our vehicles. I was good with that.

You've come to the right place for great information, but keep in mind you'll probably get a ton of opinions on lift components other than the 2 you were asking about.

 

[Minty JL]

Do the Mopar lift for the ease of it, plus it comes with the remote reservoir Bilstein's (8100s I believe), plus the wife won't argue with dealer parts, installation and warranty. Save that stress for other things LOL

I have the Mopar lift on my wife's JLUR. Installed it and 35s when it only had 207 miles on it. 5+ years and 29k miles no issues.

1) the lift ended up being closer to 3" then 2"
2) the geometry you reference is corrected with the slightly longer LCAs for Castor
3) there was no need for the front or rear trackbars, everything was already w/i OEM spec
4) save the trackbar money and get a Fox ATS steering stabilizer.......substantially better than OEM and is adjustable
5) dealer installs it, aligns it, warranty's it and doesn't talk you into or upselling more shit you won't "need"

You can always add the trackbars if you see fit. I didn't require adjustable ones until I went up to the MC 4.5" GC kit, even then my front axle was only offset by 3/8" in the front and the rear was between 1/16-1/8".......not even worth adjusting.

Just my food for thought based on actually wrenching, measuring and wrenching again.

Cheers

Sponsored