Question regarding lifts.

[Knightindullarmor]

So... I've been through many posts on this site and watched many YouTube videos regarding different lift options.

One thing stands out. Supposedly the "best" way to maintain factory ride with a suspension lift is to use brackets that relocate your front & rear upper & lower control arms to a horizontal position after the lift.

Seems like a good idea, but help me understand this: after running Rausch Creek last weekend and finally having a chance to figure out exactly what my point(s) of contact were when I had "thunks" or scrapes, the only thing that scraped on rock were my LCA-to-frame mounting brackets. Now, if I do the lift using the best possible method to keep factory ride, I use the extended (downward) brackets to maintain a horizontal LCA angle.

The one thing that actually scrapes on the trail would be lowered using this method.

The whole point of the lift is to put more ground clearance between the ground/rocks and the point of the vehicle that scrapes on those rocks. But if I use LCA relocation brackets, the exact part of the Jeep that I want further from the ground now becomes lowered and I net 0" ground clearance gain between the LCA bracket & the ground. Which makes the whole point of the lift (getting the parts that actually scrape on trails further from the ground) null & void.

I'm basing this on real-world testing. The only part of my JT that whacks rocks is the only part of my JT that would gain 0" ground clearance with a 100% proper lift.

Am I missing something?

(Yes I know lift = bigger tires = the only way to put more clearance between pumpkins & obstacles)
But I plan on running these great 32" MT that came factory with my Willys until they need replaced. Even then, when I go to 285x70r17 version of same tire, I only gain 3/4" to 1" additional ground clearance and I don't even need a lift to clear 33.5/34" tires.

What am I missing?

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[j.o.y.ride]

Control arm relocation brackets aren't meant for wheeling, they're for comfort. It's a cheaper way to lift a truck and keep the alignment of the axle without more expensive control arms.

 

[mx5red]

Are you talking about the front lca geometry brackets? There are only front drop brackets, and it seems like the rear LCA frame joints are more prone to hitting anyway. I know this is debated but people who have front geometry brackets seem to do ok and not destroy them, and the rear frame joints get scraped more often and can be covered by Rusty’s skids (and don’t get drop brackets).
I haven’t heard of any rear geometry brackets, track bar drop brackets yes but that’s different.

 

[Knightindullarmor]

I get that. But many lifts do come with front (mopar) or both front & rear lower control arms.

Am I overthinking things, or maybe trying to have my cake & eat it too?

I need my JT to pull a trailer up to 4500lbs (well within the safety envelope of my 600lbs tow rating with factory tow package), so keeping factory ride & geometry as close to stock as possible is paramount. But I also need my $40k+ truck to be able to do green trails without any scrapes. And I need to keep my entire warranty intact, especially seeing as I paid $2600 for 10 year 100k bumper to bumper extended warranty. As it is from factory, it is really close. I think 1" lift (if LCA brackets moved up too) might meet my needs except that means non-mopar parts. Mopar 2" might work, but front axle would be shifted 1/2 inch passenger & rear axle shifted 1/2 inch driver unless I used additional (non-mopar) parts (longer or adjustable track bar). Seems like if you actually want to tow, there are really no lift options that keep full warranty & single point of contact (dealership where you bought truck, lift, lift installation, etc...) unless you want to chance slightly offset axles (which is a no-go for towing a 4500lbs 26' trailer).

Maybe Mopar lift purposely omitted rear LCAs & extended track bars just to F us on warranty claims. IDK.

 

[Knightindullarmor]

I banged front driver 1x, front passenger 2x, rear driver 1x. (1' rocks submerged in 1.5 to 2' mudholes). If I could just get these LCA brackets up an inch via lift, I would be happy.

 

[red/green hawk]

(Yes I know lift = bigger tires = the only way to put more clearance between pumpkins & obstacles)

What am I missing?

This is really all there is to know. Scraping is not a big deal IMO. As long as you get the bare metal covered with paint or something asap scrape away. A vast majority of the lifted Jeeps in my area have not a scratch on them meaning only one thing...I have a 1.5" leveling kit and 33s. Almost every square inch of my underside has been coated with "Submarine Cooler Coating." It would be the same way if I was running 35s or 37s. Wheel the shit out of those 32s and if you get high pointed that's why they make jacks.

 

[friskeljr]

pick better lines, or bigger tires for more clearance... haha jk. lift woth adjustable CAs for little bit more space.

 

[Knightindullarmor]

pick better lines, or bigger tires for more clearance... haha jk. lift woth adjustable CAs for little bit more space.

Not much you can do when the top of the 1 foot rock is 6 inches under the surface of the 1.5 foot mudhole. So much for picking lines, lol.

 

[Knightindullarmor]

I'm going to talk to my dealership service department. I'm thinking 1" spacer lift would give me the tiny bit of extra distance between those brackets & obstacles without buggering up the geometry. Honestly, the rear LCA are negative to horizontal (they slope downward from axle to bracket), about 3/4 to 1" spacer lift would be needed to make them horizontal.

Appreciate the feedback, just getting overwhelmed. Lifted tons of 4x4 trucks & keeps in the past, just never had warranty or < 1k lbs towing in the equation.

 

[j.o.y.ride]

You're asking for too much imo. In tact warranty, retain tow capacity, but also crawl over rocks submerged in a mud hole without a scrape.

 

[kevman65]

The whole idea behind suspension lifts is to give you the lift you need without sacrificing the on-road driving comfort.

You are the only one who can decide how much of the on-road comfort you are willing to lose to gain maximum off-road clearance.

There is a reason people tow their off-road only rigs to the trails, they are too brutal to drive on the street.

 

[NachoRuby]

After going through the same mudholes you went through, and getting similar scrapes, I'm thinking 2-inch Mopar lift with 35 inch tires. I'm only towing about 2000 lbs, though. My Rubi has about .5 inches on you, thanks to the 33s. I scraped the lca bracket on the passenger side once, not too bad, and scratched up my fuel tank skid plates and front bumper skid plate a little bit. Nothing too bad considering all the hidden rocks in the mud, but the Mopar lift plus 35s should keep everything safe, protected, and warrantied.

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