RC 2.5" front with Rusty's 1.5" rear and MetalCloak Duraspring Bumpstops

[RedRockRubicon]

I recently installed Rough Country's 2.5" Leveling Kit on my 2020 JTR. The kit is designed to lift just the front of the truck to equal out the height difference between front and rear or "rake". This allows for bigger tires or just for looks. The kit comes with a 2.5" steel spacer, bump stop extensions, shock extensions, and all hardware needed for the install. You also get a nice Rough Country sticker. The packaging is all top-notch and the parts arrived undamaged. The powder coating was unchipped and looks to be decent, and the welds on the spacer are solid. Overall a steal for $130

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RK4DRLQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The kit is exactly the same as the JL spacer lift but without any of the rear components that come with the JL. I've put the kit on all of my JLs and they have performed well. When it came time to lift Kassandra, my own personal jeep, I didn't hesitate to order the RC kit again.

There is one complaint that I do have about the RC kit, especially if you intend to wheel your truck. The bump stop extensions are hard plastic, with a regular hex bolt on top. There are also hollow voids from the forming process. The problem with this set up is it absolutely shred your factory bump stops.

Although the yellow bump stop in this picture is from a JL, the JT's bump stop won't fare any better. So, time for an upgrade. I have had really really good results with the Metalcloak Duraspring bump stops. They are longer than factory but progressive. Since equipping them on my JLs I have not experienced any hard bottoming out. There is a dirt road I travel on frequently that has a shallow gulch and when driven at speed the suspension will almost fully compress at the bottom (g-out) and then there is a 2" bump caused by runoff that overload the suspension and causes two hard BOOM-BOOM impacts as the axles compresses the factory jounce bumpers completely into the metal cups and then have metal on metal contact. Since swapping to the Durasprings, the suspension is still bottoming out, but without the harsh impacts, it is now a smooth event. Also, control is maintained without sliding or slipping sideways. Not bad for a fancy piece of foam. They are not equal replacements for hydraulic bump stops, but with zero maintenance and low cost, I recommend everyone run them.

https://metalcloak.com/upper-front-durostop-bump-for-the-jk-and-jl-wrangler.html

So first is to come up with a better bump stop extension. I used a 2" hole saw in a drill press to make the impact surface. The steel was scrap and about 1/8" thick.

Then used some 5/16" countersunk hardware for a nice flat top. A hockey puck serves as the actual spacer. simply drill a hole in the middle. A lock nut holds the whole thing together.

And the finished product. Nice and clean, and no more shredded bump stops.

The Metalcloak Duraspring bump stops do not fully compress into the metal cups like the factory jounce bumpers. According to MC, they will compress to about 1" tall, possibly 3/4" on a really severe impact. So you have to adjust your bump stop extensions accordingly so you don't waste suspension travel. The best way to do this is to pull the springs from the jeep but reattach your shocks. Then carefully lift your front axle until the shocks completely compress. Measure the distance between the axle pad and the metal cup the bump stop sits in. If you don't have an extension to fill this space, the shocks could potentially become damaged. With my bump stop extension in place, I had 3/4" of space between pad and cup... PERFECT.

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[Renegade]

Nice write-up!

 

[RedRockRubicon]

Nice write-up!

Thanks! Hopefully it helps someone out there!

 

[MobileHomeboy]

I recently installed Rough Country's 2.5" Leveling Kit on my 2020 JTR. The kit is designed to lift just the front of the truck to equal out the height difference between front and rear or "rake". This allows for bigger tires or just for looks. The kit comes with a 2.5" steel spacer, bump stop extensions, shock extensions, and all hardware needed for the install. You also get a nice Rough Country sticker. The packaging is all top-notch and the parts arrived undamaged. The powder coating was unchipped and looks to be decent, and the welds on the spacer are solid. Overall a steal for $130

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RK4DRLQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The kit is exactly the same as the JL spacer lift but without any of the rear components that come with the JL. I've put the kit on all of my JLs and they have performed well. When it came time to lift Kassandra, my own personal jeep, I didn't hesitate to order the RC kit again.

There is one complaint that I do have about the RC kit, especially if you intend to wheel your truck. The bump stop extensions are hard plastic, with a regular hex bolt on top. There are also hollow voids from the forming process. The problem with this set up is it absolutely shred your factory bump stops.

Although the yellow bump stop in this picture is from a JL, the JT's bump stop won't fare any better. So, time for an upgrade. I have had really really good results with the Metalcloak Duraspring bump stops. They are longer than factory but progressive. Since equipping them on my JLs I have not experienced any hard bottoming out. There is a dirt road I travel on frequently that has a shallow gulch and when driven at speed the suspension will almost fully compress at the bottom (g-out) and then there is a 2" bump caused by runoff that overload the suspension and causes two hard BOOM-BOOM impacts as the axles compresses the factory jounce bumpers completely into the metal cups and then have metal on metal contact. Since swapping to the Durasprings, the suspension is still bottoming out, but without the harsh impacts, it is now a smooth event. Also, control is maintained without sliding or slipping sideways. Not bad for a fancy piece of foam. They are not equal replacements for hydraulic bump stops, but with zero maintenance and low cost, I recommend everyone run them.

https://metalcloak.com/upper-front-durostop-bump-for-the-jk-and-jl-wrangler.html

So first is to come up with a better bump stop extension. I used a 2" hole saw in a drill press to make the impact surface. The steel was scrap and about 1/8" thick.

Then used some 5/16" countersunk hardware for a nice flat top. A hockey puck serves as the actual spacer. simply drill a hole in the middle. A lock nut holds the whole thing together.

And the finished product. Nice and clean, and no more shredded bump stops.

The Metalcloak Duraspring bump stops do not fully compress into the metal cups like the factory jounce bumpers. According to MC, they will compress to about 1" tall, possibly 3/4" on a really severe impact. So you have to adjust your bump stop extensions accordingly so you don't waste suspension travel. The best way to do this is to pull the springs from the jeep but reattach your shocks. Then carefully lift your front axle until the shocks completely compress. Measure the distance between the axle pad and the metal cup the bump stop sits in. If you don't have an extension to fill this space, the shocks could potentially become damaged. With my bump stop extension in place, I had 3/4" of space between pad and cup... PERFECT.

Did you keep the factory Fox Shocks (JTR)? Im looking to do a similar set up but the kit that was ordered came with 2 new front shocks. Not sure if i should change all 4 or keep the factory ones.

 

[RedRockRubicon]

I chose to keep the JTR Foxes, because I like the way they ride. Try out the new shocks and if you don't like them, go back to the foxes :D

 

[Trauma PA]

Did you keep the factory Fox Shocks (JTR)? Im looking to do a similar set up but the kit that was ordered came with 2 new front shocks. Not sure if i should change all 4 or keep the factory ones.

I’d keep the stock Fox shocks and use shock extensions. Rough Country’s shocks in the past haven’t had the best reputation although their warranty is good. Plus I’m not a big fan of mix and match and to me it would really be an eyesore to see RC shocks up front with Fox shocks in the rear.

 

[RedRockRubicon]

After getting the front lifted 2.5", the jeep sat a little high on the front. Since I'm not afraid of a little rake, I chose to lift the rear 1.5". The only kit I could find was from Rusty's Offroad.

Rusty's Spacers 1-1/2" Poly Rear Spacer

The suspension works best when at ride height the shock is about halfway through its travel: so you have 5" up and 5" down. More up travel is good for going fast, but within reason...something like 9 up and 1 down is useless. Somewhere in the middle. Since the Spacer is 1.5" I wanted shock extensions to keep the shock mid-travel at ride height, and Rusty's makes those too.

Rusty's Rear Shock Extensions

Its not listed how much extension they give on the website, but its 2"

The poly spacer goes on the bottom of the coil, no instructions came with either part, but it's pretty easy to figure out. The extensions are heavy gauge steel and perfectly formed. You do have to drill a hold in the factory mount so the extension cant move, but again, very easy and self-evident.

Again, I was forced to make my own bump stop extensions. Luckily, from one of my JL's I had the rear bump stop extension from a Rough Country kit. You can actually see where the steel cup from the JL's jounce bumper hit hard enough to chip the paint. I upgraded the bump stops to Metalcloak Durasprings and no longer needed these extensions. They are 2" tall so a perfect match for Rusty's shock extensions. Honestly, any old piece of 2" steel would do.

Since the bolt holes don't line up, I made some little tabs from scrap steel and welded them on.

Metalcloak doesn't make provisions for rear bump stops on the JT yet, but they said they are working on it, and hopefully, they will have something this spring. If you haven't noticed, I'm a huge fan of the Duraspring. This will do for now.

 

[FR33DOM]

Nice work! Any photos of before and after the 1.5” spacer in the rear? I’m considering something similar. Hoping MC finishes their 2.5” GC soon but I think it will be a long wait...

 

[RedRockRubicon]

Before:

After:

 

[Moe_Fugga]

How did it drive with only the front lifted without longer control arms, track bar, etc? Any tracking of steering issues? Looks good BTW

 

[FR33DOM]

Before:

After:

good call on adding the rear spacer—looks great thanks for posting!

 

[RedRockRubicon]

How did it drive with only the front lifted without longer control arms, track bar, etc? Any tracking of steering issues? Looks good BTW

Honestly, It drove just like stock. It does have a Metalcloak front track bar that tightened things up slightly, but still comfortable at 80 mph. The full MC control arm set is coming as a future upgrade.

From previous experience on my JL's: I drove one with a 2.5" RC lift to pick up a stock one from the dealer, so I got to drive the two back to back on the interstate, and I can say with confidence, a 2" ish spacer lift does not change the way the jeep rides, or drives.

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