j.o.y.ride
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 26, 2020
- Threads
- 96
- Messages
- 2,937
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- 3,874
- Location
- Foster City
- Vehicle(s)
- 20 Gladiator Overland
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- #1
Like many I see on here, I was going through the hemming and hawing over which lift kit to do. How much, which components, adjustable or not, shocks or extensions etc etc.
I spent a lot of time discussing it with members and vendors and mechanics. I looked at the Stage 2 2.5" EVO Enforcer kit For $1160 but it lacks any track bars. In speaking with the mechanic who will be dong this he strongly urged me to get the proper track bar. This guy is the mechanic and co-driver on a 4400 King Of The Hammers truck currently tied for 6th place in the Ultra 4 points class. If he tells me to get the proper track bar, I am going to get the proper track bar. So the EVO kit was out.
The MOPAR kit was a big contender because it is all proper length, but not knowing exactly what I would end up doing I wanted more downstream flexibility. Do it right the first time and not have to swap everything over. So I knew I wanted adjustable and enough shock travel to accommodate without extensions. With an adjustable kit and the proper shocks, if I want to go to 3.5" it's a matter of just springs and adjustments not a whole new kit.
I began speaking to @Clayton Off Road and explaining what I was looking for. Their kits are fantastic but they were a bit more than I was looking to spend for what I planned to do. Like many people these days we have a big interest in Overlanding, even as a day trip, and being able to confidently access remote lakes and creeks to distance and explore.
I was originally looking at the 2.5" Overland Plus kit but asked if they had a more 'stage' type of kit where I could get started today and add on the other parts I need later if I decided I need them for what I am doing. As it turned out, yes they were planning to release one soon and I could get an advance build of it.
So here it is. It's basically the Overland 2.5" kit with fewer control arms. So long as we have one set up front we can dial in the alignment my mechanic tells me. So If I want extra tweaks based on how I use it I can add those on as needed. If this does everything I need then fantastic.
Weights are: springs 21.2# and 12.2#. Front track bar 11.6#, rear 11.4#. Arms about 6.5#. Shocks 5# and 4.5#. Add in the sway bar links and you're at 125lbs or so on the Bak Revolver X4... barely any sag.
I added in the Fox shocks because the stock ones are garbage. I do a lot of highway driving and the back end can get hella sketchy on certain sections of highway that are undulating. It can get into a rhythm of building rebound, I even had it hit the bump stops once on the way to Yosemite with the bed loaded pretty well.
I also added the JKS disconnects because not Rubicon.
It is heading to the shop today and I will pick it up probably Thursday, just based on my wife's work schedule to be able to drive me back. I plan to run the stock tires for a few days to see how much the kit and shocks itself contribute to the drive vs also introducing tires and rims. Yeah it'll look a bit goofy for a bit but no worries.
I will grab some stock measurements for height before I head out.
I spent a lot of time discussing it with members and vendors and mechanics. I looked at the Stage 2 2.5" EVO Enforcer kit For $1160 but it lacks any track bars. In speaking with the mechanic who will be dong this he strongly urged me to get the proper track bar. This guy is the mechanic and co-driver on a 4400 King Of The Hammers truck currently tied for 6th place in the Ultra 4 points class. If he tells me to get the proper track bar, I am going to get the proper track bar. So the EVO kit was out.
The MOPAR kit was a big contender because it is all proper length, but not knowing exactly what I would end up doing I wanted more downstream flexibility. Do it right the first time and not have to swap everything over. So I knew I wanted adjustable and enough shock travel to accommodate without extensions. With an adjustable kit and the proper shocks, if I want to go to 3.5" it's a matter of just springs and adjustments not a whole new kit.
I began speaking to @Clayton Off Road and explaining what I was looking for. Their kits are fantastic but they were a bit more than I was looking to spend for what I planned to do. Like many people these days we have a big interest in Overlanding, even as a day trip, and being able to confidently access remote lakes and creeks to distance and explore.
I was originally looking at the 2.5" Overland Plus kit but asked if they had a more 'stage' type of kit where I could get started today and add on the other parts I need later if I decided I need them for what I am doing. As it turned out, yes they were planning to release one soon and I could get an advance build of it.
So here it is. It's basically the Overland 2.5" kit with fewer control arms. So long as we have one set up front we can dial in the alignment my mechanic tells me. So If I want extra tweaks based on how I use it I can add those on as needed. If this does everything I need then fantastic.
Weights are: springs 21.2# and 12.2#. Front track bar 11.6#, rear 11.4#. Arms about 6.5#. Shocks 5# and 4.5#. Add in the sway bar links and you're at 125lbs or so on the Bak Revolver X4... barely any sag.
I added in the Fox shocks because the stock ones are garbage. I do a lot of highway driving and the back end can get hella sketchy on certain sections of highway that are undulating. It can get into a rhythm of building rebound, I even had it hit the bump stops once on the way to Yosemite with the bed loaded pretty well.
I also added the JKS disconnects because not Rubicon.
It is heading to the shop today and I will pick it up probably Thursday, just based on my wife's work schedule to be able to drive me back. I plan to run the stock tires for a few days to see how much the kit and shocks itself contribute to the drive vs also introducing tires and rims. Yeah it'll look a bit goofy for a bit but no worries.
I will grab some stock measurements for height before I head out.
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