Rubicon take off suspension, is it worth it?

[HjStrater]

Looking to hear from other Sport, Sport S, or Overland owners that have swapped in a Rubicon take off suspension.

What If any lift was there? I hear between nothing and 2" from different people.

On road ride quality, immediately noticable or not and why?

Off road performance, what difference did you see?

Are the control arms actually different or just the shocks/springs?

Just want to gauge if it's worth the couple hundred bucks or if the cash is better spent elsewhere. I'm not looking to lift beyond a spacer kit, and only if I need the space once I have larger tires mounted (can't decide between ~33" or ~35")

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[bastage]

Sport S w/ Max Tow here..

When I added the front coils I also added a 3/4" daystar spacer & got a total of 1.5" of front lift. I did not change the rear coils so no lift there.

On road it was a bit softer, but not in a bad way. I liked the ride better.

Off road I have very little input on as I was only off the pavement once before I switched to the Rubi Take Off's.

Control arms are the same. Dont bother with them.

I was happy with what I spent. I got the Rubi Takeoff Parts for 135 & 40 bucks for the Daystar Spacer from amazon to get 1.5" of front lift (front was still 1/2" lower then the rear) for a total of 175 bucks & the better overall ride the Fox Shocks provided... Totally worth it..

That said I am also spending the money for a complete suspension system less then 3 months later.

 

[Alabama Mud Machine]

I have a JTR so, I've never driven any other model JT's for comparison. I went the spacer lift route, and 5 months later have been slowly piecing-together an EVO Enforcer 2.5" Stage-2 Plus suspension lift for mine to replace all the stock parts.

I have been told that it will improve on-road performance a lot, due to the significantly higher quality FOX shocks. And that offroad performance is also greatly improved. Once again, haven't driven anything but a Rubicon, so I have no 1st-hand confirmation on that. Just what I read a lot here on the forum.

I will say this though... The stock Rubicon suspension with the spacer lift and 37's is giving me some REALLY impressive articulation (with the front sway bar disconnected). I'm getting almost 34" of articulation on the front end from flat ground...

Sure, it's not as impressive as some rigs, but it works for what I need it for. What I was mostly impressed with, was the fact that it's all 100% stock suspension + a 2.5" front & 1.0" rear spacer lift kit...

 

[HjStrater]

Sport S w/ Max Tow here..

When I added the front coils I also added a 3/4" daystar spacer & got a total of 1.5" of front lift. I did not change the rear coils so no lift there.

On road it was a bit softer, but not in a bad way. I liked the ride better.

Off road I have very little input on as I was only off the pavement once before I switched to the Rubi Take Off's.

Control arms are the same. Dont bother with them.

I was happy with what I spent. I got the Rubi Takeoff Parts for 135 & 40 bucks for the Daystar Spacer from amazon to get 1.5" of front lift (front was still 1/2" lower then the rear) for a total of 175 bucks & the better overall ride the Fox Shocks provided... Totally worth it..

That said I am also spending the money for a complete suspension system less then 3 months later.

Thanks for the input. Appreciate the confirmation on the control arms. Really makes the swap almost trivial.

I feel like a softer ride will be needed since i'll be getting E rated tires which will have the opposite effect

Also getting .75" out if the springs makes more sense than those saying they got 2".

If you were closer I would make you an offer on the take offs your taking off!

 

[HjStrater]

I have a JTR so, I've never driven any other model JT's for comparison. I went the spacer lift route, and 5 months later have been slowly piecing-together an EVO Enforcer 2.5" Stage-2 Plus suspension lift for mine to replace all the stock parts.

I have been told that it will improve on-road performance a lot, due to the significantly higher quality FOX shocks. And that offroad performance is also greatly improved. Once again, haven't driven anything but a Rubicon, so I have no 1st-hand confirmation on that. Just what I read a lot here on the forum.

I will say this though... The stock Rubicon suspension with the spacer lift and 37's is giving me some REALLY impressive articulation (with the front sway bar disconnected). I'm getting almost 34" of articulation on the front end from flat ground...

Sure, it's not as impressive as some rigs, but it works for what I need it for. What I was mostly impressed with, was the fact that it's all 100% stock suspension + a 2.5" front & 1.0" rear spacer lift kit...

Well when you flex at me like that of course it makes it seem worth it!

 

[bastage]

Thanks for the input. Appreciate the confirmation on the control arms. Really makes the swap almost trivial.

I feel like a softer ride will be needed since i'll be getting E rated tires which will have the opposite effect

Also getting .75" out if the springs makes more sense than those saying they got 2".

If you were closer I would make you an offer on the take offs your taking off!

It really is an easy job. Basic tools me & my buddy did it in a couple hours. In the end its a waste for me, but I dont regret it at all. Even for the 200-250 that most people spend for the Rubicon Takeoff's & the extra 40 bucks for the spacers from amazon I feel like its the best bang for buck leveling kit one can do.

 

[Alabama Mud Machine]

Well when you flex at me like that of course it makes it seem worth it!

That's what a stock Rubicon can do with a 2.5" spacer lift, 37's and the sway bar disconnected.

It is what it is... The other models being deficient in performance is what makes the Rubicon package so desirable. That's why they can charge all that extra money for it. The parts are expensive, like the lockers and sway bar disco setup, but everything is marked up noticeably because of the iconic-ness of the Rubicon package.

I will say this, with the deal I got on mine, I'm glad I went Rubicon. I'm also glad it had the factory AUX switch option and the factory-ordered Class-IV HD Tow Package (same upgrades as a Max Tow, just different [Rubicon] rear springs, and Fox shocks).

 

[HjStrater]

That's what a stock Rubicon can do with a 2.5" spacer lift, 37's and the sway bar disconnected.

It is what it is... The other models being deficient in performance is what makes the Rubicon package so desirable. That's why they can charge all that extra money for it. The parts are expensive, like the lockers and sway bar disco setup, but everything is marked up noticeably because of the iconic-ness of the Rubicon package.

Thats why I am going for a poor man's Rubicon . (If you call a $46k truck poor anything) I can't justify the extra cost for such a hard core set up with the lockers and sway bar. The ground you can make up in raw capability with just adding in some real tires and an inch or two of lift is the sweet spot for me.

Ride quality and handling is a nice to have, and for how cheap Rubi take off are almost a no brainier for a guy in my position

I just need to make it out to the camp site or out on the frozen lake (ice build up at the launch is no joke).


That flex though...

 

[bastage]

Ehhh Cheapest Rubicon when I got mine was 16k more.. Thats not desirable at all.

 

[Alabama Mud Machine]

Thats why I am going for a poor man's Rubicon . (If you call a $46k truck poor anything) I can't justify the extra cost for such a hard core set up with the lockers and sway bar. The ground you can make up in raw capability with just adding in some real tires and an inch or two of lift is the sweet spot for me.

Ride quality and handling is a nice to have, and for how cheap Rubi take off are almost a no brainier for a guy in my position

I just need to make it out to the camp site or out on the frozen lake (ice build up at the launch is no joke).


That flex though...

That's what I paid for my Rubicon brand new with 20 miles on it, before taxes... I think taxes and all it was $49K out the door. Mine has the 8.4" Navi 9-speaker Alpine stereo, AUX switches, factory Class-IV HD Tow Package, 3-piece Freedom hardtop, and the Granite Crystal Metallic paint upgrade. It's also power-everything (windows, locks, mirrors).

 

[HjStrater]

Ehhh Cheapest Rubicon when I got mine was 16k more.. Thats not desirable at all.

That's what I paid for my Rubicon brand new with 20 miles on it, before taxes... I think taxes and all it was $49K out the door.

$46k was out the door on a $55k sticker. I could have gotten a Rubi for $5k more. But that was cloth, no premium audio, no bed liner, all things I value more than lockers I would only use for 50ft out of every 10k miles.

Not desirable for me either. Only option I desired that didn't come on my overland was the LED package. Tires and headlights are peanuts compared to a similarly equiped Rubi.

 

[Alabama Mud Machine]

$46k was out the door on a $55k sticker. I could have gotten a Rubi for $5k more. But that was cloth, no premium audio, no bed liner, all things I value more than lockers I would only use for 50ft out of every 10k miles.

Not desirable for me either. Only option I desired that didn't come on my overland was the LED package. Tires and headlights are peanuts compared to a similarly equiped Rubi.

What model is your's? Also, I'm assuming you went with leather? I didn't want leather in mine, but I think my Rubicon stickered at like $55K with all those options I listed above, and that $49K OTD price included extra Dent & Ding protection, extra windshield protection, and window tint (they had already installed that before I ever even saw the vehicle).

 

[HjStrater]

What model is your's? Also, I'm assuming you went with leather? I didn't want leather in mine, but I think my Rubicon stickered at like $55K with all those options I listed above, and that $49K OTD price included extra Dent & Ding protection, extra windshield protection, and window tint (they had already installed that before I ever even saw the vehicle).

Mines an Overland, hardtop, leather, tow package, cold weather, bed liner, Trak-lok, 8.4 w/ alpine premium, etc.

Leather is a must have for me between dogs, kids and hating seat covers.

 

[Glad_Sconnie]

I recently swapped out the Sport S Max Tow shocks and front springs for Rubi takeoffs, in my opinion it is worth it. As mentioned above, I believe the ride is a little smoother, as if it "floats" over rough road a little better...and I'm not talking about the wandering that can be attributed to some of the steering issues out there.

I already had the 1.0" spacer installed from the Teraflex leveling kit (comes with a 1" spacer and a 1/2" spacer). When combining the Rubi front shocks, I gained about 1-3/4" as compared to stock, which put the front and rear almost dead level (for me...it's within 1/4" when measuring ground to bottom of flare across the center of the wheel).

When swapping everything out, I "accidentally" over torqued one of the brake line connections (to the stud on the control arm)...so I snapped off the stud, but I just swapped out that control arm with one of the Rubi take-offs so I didn't have to mess with a work around to the broken stud.

For the price you can get the full Rubi suspension (take-offs) for, easily under $200 if you are somewhat patient, I believe it is worth it...shocks alone!

 

[NC_Overland]

The Fox shocks alone are a huge upgrade over the garbage shocks that came on my Overland. The floaty ride is all but gone now. It feels so much better, but still has a pretty soft ride. I haven't changed out the springs yet, I still have my overland springs with rubicon fox shocks.

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