New Clayton 2.5" Kit!

[nickd]

The jam nut has come loose before you've finished installing it and you are considering using lock tight and putting it on the vehicle???
this sounds like a terrible idea. Either you have a defective part or you're doing something wrong. In either case locktight is not the answer

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[nickd]

Why are you guys doing this 2.5" kit instead of the Mopar kit with an adjustable track bar? This kit doesn't make sense to me.
The adjustability is nice if you plan to change ride height or if you have a huge lift where finding fixed control arms that are the right length is a problem.
But Mopar makes this exact kit that is about half the cost and has less points of failure. Trusting a jam nut and a small threaded rod in a LCA sounds insane to me.

 

[Wet Willys]

Why are you guys doing this 2.5" kit instead of the Mopar kit with an adjustable track bar? This kit doesn't make sense to me.
The adjustability is nice if you plan to change ride height or if you have a huge lift where finding fixed control arms that are the right length is a problem.
But Mopar makes this exact kit that is about half the cost and has less points of failure. Trusting a jam nut and a small threaded rod in a LCA sounds insane to me.

I chose this kit for the adjustability, durability, and the net lift is at least 1-1.5" more than the Mopar kit. There's nothing wrong with a jam nut and threaded rod, this design is used in a lot of different applications. The ability to adjust caster angle is pretty huge on these trucks, especially when you're going up in height and putting big tires on them. The size of the threaded rod on these kits is also not too small, I'm not sure where you're getting that idea.

The Mopar lift is great for the light-use offroader or mall-crawler, but it's not in the same league as the Clayton Overland plus or Premium kits. I would say it's more comparable, but still subpar to the Clayton Ride Right kits, and the pricing is on par as well when you consider the Clayton kit has adjustable trackbars and front upper control arms. It doesn't come with shocks, but the Mopar kit Fox shocks aren't great.

 

[StingyJT]

I chose this kit for the adjustability, durability, and the net lift is at least 1-1.5" more than the Mopar kit. There's nothing wrong with a jam nut and threaded rod, this design is used in a lot of different applications. The ability to adjust caster angle is pretty huge on these trucks, especially when you're going up in height and putting big tires on them. The size of the threaded rod on these kits is also not too small, I'm not sure where you're getting that idea.

The Mopar lift is great for the light-use offroader or mall-crawler, but it's not in the same league as the Clayton Overland plus or Premium kits. I would say it's more comparable, but still subpar to the Clayton Ride Right kits, and the pricing is on par as well when you consider the Clayton kit has adjustable trackbars and front upper control arms. It doesn't come with shocks, but the Mopar kit Fox shocks aren't great.

I’m looking to move to 3.5” Clayton myself. I’ve been running Mopar Lift for 2 years with some Clayton Controls arms added over time. Although I did add adjustable track bars from the start.

I think it’s unfair Mopar is just for light off-roading. I’ve used it for 17 Badge of Honor trails, including Golden Spike. Clayton is certainly better quality but the Mopar kit is under appreciated by folks that have never used it.

 

[Wet Willys]

I’m looking to move to 3.5” Clayton myself. I’ve been running Mopar Lift for 2 years with some Clayton Controls arms added over time. Although I did add adjustable track bars from the start.

I think it’s unfair Mopar is just for light off-roading. I’ve used it for 17 Badge of Honor trails, including Golden Spike. Clayton is certainly better quality but the Mopar kit is under appreciated by folks that have never used it.

Nice work on all the BOH trails, that's impressive.

I guess my biggest reason for saying that is that the Mopar kit doesn't include trackbars or adjustable arms but I know that's not the biggest factor in gaining off-road capability. So yeah you're right, that's probably not a fair statement.

 

[Painkillerspe]

The jam nut has come loose before you've finished installing it and you are considering using lock tight and putting it on the vehicle???
this sounds like a terrible idea. Either you have a defective part or you're doing something wrong. In either case locktight is not the answer

You misread my post. It comes loose on the vehicle. My lift has been installed for months. Everything is torqued to spec with paint marks. But for some reason that jam nut works it's way back out. I guess it's defective. That area is right next to the exhaust and gets really hot Wonder if the heat had anything to do with it.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

Why are you guys doing this 2.5" kit instead of the Mopar kit with an adjustable track bar? This kit doesn't make sense to me.
The adjustability is nice if you plan to change ride height or if you have a huge lift where finding fixed control arms that are the right length is a problem.
But Mopar makes this exact kit that is about half the cost and has less points of failure. Trusting a jam nut and a small threaded rod in a LCA sounds insane to me.

The Clayton kit comes with adjustable parts. The Clayton kit is a little taller. The Clayton kit does not have as much rake.

The Mopar kit doesn't make sense to me. Fixed length arms are practically worthless. And the kit does not have a front or rear track bar.

Clayton has been making adjustable suspension links for over 20 years. Several other reputable suspension manufacturers use the same design and have forever. Currie, Metalcloak, Rock Krawler, etc.

 

[nickd]

do you need an adjustable track bar and UCAs for a 2.5" lift?? Most install videos I've seen show people setting those lengths at stock to start. Then they all say it's it's fine once the install is done. The only thing most people will change is the length of the LCAs which are different in the Mopar Kit.

my point is don't just buy something that will decrease the long term reliability of our vehicle because it sounds cool on the internet. Unless you have a 4" lift or 37+ MTs then you don't need most of this stuff.

Go on Clayton's website there is a reason this is called an "off-road" suspension kit. Suspension components with jam nuts that are subject daily vibrations from normal on road driving will eventually fail (loosen). So these kits maybe awesome to show off at Jeep fest or on extreme off road conditions but is it really something you are going to put on a vehicle that spends 90% of its life on a paved road??

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

do you need an adjustable track bar and UCAs for a 2.5" lift?? Most install videos I've seen show people setting those lengths at stock to start. Then they all say it's it's fine once the install is done. The only thing most people will change is the length of the LCAs which are different in the Mopar Kit.

my point is don't just buy something that will decrease the long term reliability of our vehicle because it sounds cool on the internet. Unless you have a 4" lift or 37+ MTs then you don't need most of this stuff.

Go on Clayton's website there is a reason this is called an "off-road" suspension kit. Suspension components with jam nuts that are subject daily vibrations from normal on road driving will eventually fail (loosen). So these kits maybe awesome to show off at Jeep fest or on extreme off road conditions but is it really something you are going to put on a vehicle that spends 90% of its life on a paved road??

Yes, you ideally need adjustable parts when you do a lift that is 2.5” or taller. You want to center the axles and dial in caster and pinion angles.

I have a Clayton kit on mine and it’s on the road 100% of the time. I haven’t touched the jam nuts since it was installed a year ago.

 

[bleda2002]

do you need an adjustable track bar and UCAs for a 2.5" lift?? Most install videos I've seen show people setting those lengths at stock to start. Then they all say it's it's fine once the install is done. The only thing most people will change is the length of the LCAs which are different in the Mopar Kit.

my point is don't just buy something that will decrease the long term reliability of our vehicle because it sounds cool on the internet. Unless you have a 4" lift or 37+ MTs then you don't need most of this stuff.

Go on Clayton's website there is a reason this is called an "off-road" suspension kit. Suspension components with jam nuts that are subject daily vibrations from normal on road driving will eventually fail (loosen). So these kits maybe awesome to show off at Jeep fest or on extreme off road conditions but is it really something you are going to put on a vehicle that spends 90% of its life on a paved road??

Even if the jam nut loosens it wont "fail" since it cant spin given its bolted in. The jam nut prevents wear on the threads by providing constant tension on them. The Jam nut style suspension has been used for millions of miles, and is every bit as reliable as the stock stuff, usually stronger as they're made out of thicker metal and the solid rod ends. The mopar arms will actually fail before most of these as the rubber clevite bushings dry out and can easily be damaged by articulation, not to mention the amount of bind they add to the suspension.

I considered the mopar kit, but for the components provided its really poor value not to mention that it provides no way to correct geometry other than fixed length control arms that provide less caster than i'd prefer for the height it gives.

 

[Clayton Off Road]

Why are you guys doing this 2.5" kit instead of the Mopar kit with an adjustable track bar? This kit doesn't make sense to me.
The adjustability is nice if you plan to change ride height or if you have a huge lift where finding fixed control arms that are the right length is a problem.
But Mopar makes this exact kit that is about half the cost and has less points of failure. Trusting a jam nut and a small threaded rod in a LCA sounds insane to me.

Hey Nick!

We understand not everybody is looking for fully adjustable lifts, but in 20 years of building Jeep suspensions, we have never had any sort of failure due to adjustable rod ends or jam nuts. The main advantage to a system like this over something like the Mopar, is that you are perfectly correcting suspension geometry for your specific build, not only by dialing in the caster angle with the front upper control arms but also by centering the axles using our front and rear adjustable track bars. You're also getting our coil springs, which are designed using a slightly higher spring rate for less body roll, more performance, and overall improved comfortability on and off-road. This kit is also fully upgradeable to our Overland Plus kit, in case somebody wanted to get into some more extreme trail riding at some point in the future. And of course, all of our products are 100% Made-In-The-USA and come with our lifetime warranty against bending or breaking!

It's all about what's right for your specific build and your wants and needs, but if you really are looking to do things the right way we stand behind our products and suspension systems 100%!

 

[@californiajeeping]

Nice. I'm pulling the trigger next month on my lift but i'm still 50/50 on whether to go with a spacer kit on my current max tow suspension. This is a direct contender to the MC setup i have in mind.

How long did it take to receive the kit?

I did spacers on max tow on my 2020 with 35's it actually was pretty decent. On my 2022 diesel sport s I did the metal cloak. Metal cloak is like floating on clouds but has nowhere near the weight capacity of the clayton stuff. If I had a heavy bed rack or RTT clayton would have been my go to.

 

[DeezJT]

@californiajeeping I also went MC and added the front driveshaft. Sold the jeep last year though.

 

[jmgb91]

Hey Nick!

We understand not everybody is looking for fully adjustable lifts, but in 20 years of building Jeep suspensions, we have never had any sort of failure due to adjustable rod ends or jam nuts. The main advantage to a system like this over something like the Mopar, is that you are perfectly correcting suspension geometry for your specific build, not only by dialing in the caster angle with the front upper control arms but also by centering the axles using our front and rear adjustable track bars. You're also getting our coil springs, which are designed using a slightly higher spring rate for less body roll, more performance, and overall improved comfortability on and off-road. This kit is also fully upgradeable to our Overland Plus kit, in case somebody wanted to get into some more extreme trail riding at some point in the future. And of course, all of our products are 100% Made-In-The-USA and come with our lifetime warranty against bending or breaking!

It's all about what's right for your specific build and your wants and needs, but if you really are looking to do things the right way we stand behind our products and suspension systems 100%!

Hello! Sorry to revive an old thread!

I am contemplating the 2.5" lift kit for my Max Tow. I saw that 2.5" doesn't need LCA drop brackets or even a new driveshaft, however, 4" lift would probably require them. Since the Clayton 2.5" is closer to 4" on a Sport, would you say I will need to get a new driveshaft? And break lines and all the stuff associated with a regular 4" lift

 

[Dougstdig]

Hello! Sorry to revive an old thread!

I am contemplating the 2.5" lift kit for my Max Tow. I saw that 2.5" doesn't need LCA drop brackets or even a new driveshaft, however, 4" lift would probably require them. Since the Clayton 2.5" is closer to 4" on a Sport, would you say I will need to get a new driveshaft? And break lines and all the stuff associated with a regular 4" lift

Do you have a steel bumper and winch?

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