Which 4.5" lift kit... Rebel Recon or Evo Fusion?

[danenglish2]

Just joined the Gladiator club with a 2020 Rubicon. I'm trying to decide between the two lifts below... prices are comparable, so I'm wondering about included components and ease of installation. The Recon instructions are only half a page with no photos. As a secondary question... are front coilovers worth the extra $ for this vehicle? Thanks!

https://rebeloffroad.com/recon-complete-2020-gladiator-4-5-overland-stage-2-kit/

http://evomfg.com/EVO-MFG-Products/...T - Suspension-Systems- FUSION?product_id=687

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[sass JT]

Both are good kits... if you got the scratch, aka $$$, why not go all the way and do coil overs all the way around???

http://evomfg.com/EVO-MFG-Products/...ystems > JT PRO Suspension Kit?product_id=703

 

[danenglish2]

Both are good kits... if you got the scratch, aka $$$, why not go all the way and do coil overs all the way around???

Recon kit doesn't offer it (I supposed you could customize). But this is what they say... "We chose to run a coilover in the front to optimize suspension articulation and desert performance, while maintaining a spring and shock in the rear, to allow for your Gladiator's tow capacity and payload to still be used to it's full potential."

 

[Alabama Mud Machine]

If you got the money, go EVO.

 

[Pizziola29]

Just joined the Gladiator club with a 2020 Rubicon. I'm trying to decide between the two lifts below... prices are comparable, so I'm wondering about included components and ease of installation. The Recon instructions are only half a page with no photos. As a secondary question... are front coilovers worth the extra $ for this vehicle? Thanks!

https://rebeloffroad.com/recon-complete-2020-gladiator-4-5-overland-stage-2-kit/

http://evomfg.com/EVO-MFG-Products/Jeep-Gladiator-JT/Suspension Systems/Jeep - Gladiator- JT - Suspension-Systems- FUSION?product_id=687

I hope I can shed some light on both of these solutions. I have full EVO Coil over kit on all 4s.
Evo
Pros
- Great ride on all types of terrain
- I have zero, and I mean zero concerns when crawling with articulation etc.

Cons
- Install was a massive pain and the instructions were not intuitive to a group of long standing off road builders. I am sure its just us as we have heard from EVO before but I am not the only one to have heard the complaints about the install procedures
- The front coil over mounts were not the same for both sides, meaning one was 1/2 higher which made adjusting a pain in the you know what
- I needed to get new coils from King in So Cal as the springs that come from EVO were not suited for my build. I think the factory kit was designed for prerunning or something, but not for overlanding.
- Coils in general make noise but dang these make tons of noise on all 4 sides.

Now, onto the Recon kit.
I have the 2021 Diesel JT on order. I have started ordering my parts and after speaking to Bond and Tyler at Rebel for many many months about their builds and the fact they put a few thousand miles they just put on their rigs along the continental divide trip I am going with the Recon kit.
Reasons
- I want coilovers in the front. Again, for me, they are exactly what I need and do not want to upgrade later.
- Rebel actually will talk to you, have you come to the shop or whatever in regards to help or questions you have about the suspension whether you have them install it or someone else. This is huge in my books after my current build experience.
- The rears on the recon are so dialed in because they ran them on their own 3 Jts. They use them for overlanding and rock crawling. This kit is built from the thousand of miles they put on them and dialed them in. The adjustable king rear allows to dial to not dip if you are loaded or have a trailer, or have a light load and want a softer ride.

This is soley my opinion and for my own needs. Every kit and solution is meant for its own need. But, taking the 2 kits you mentioned, because I have experience with 1 of them, I knew exactly what to look and think about for the next build which hopefully happens next month. Any questions let me know.

 

[danenglish2]

I hope I can shed some light on both of these solutions. I have full EVO Coil over kit on all 4s.
Evo
Pros
- Great ride on all types of terrain
- I have zero, and I mean zero concerns when crawling with articulation etc.

Cons
- Install was a massive pain and the instructions were not intuitive to a group of long standing off road builders. I am sure its just us as we have heard from EVO before but I am not the only one to have heard the complaints about the install procedures
- The front coil over mounts were not the same for both sides, meaning one was 1/2 higher which made adjusting a pain in the you know what
- I needed to get new coils from King in So Cal as the springs that come from EVO were not suited for my build. I think the factory kit was designed for prerunning or something, but not for overlanding.
- Coils in general make noise but dang these make tons of noise on all 4 sides.

Now, onto the Recon kit.
I have the 2021 Diesel JT on order. I have started ordering my parts and after speaking to Bond and Tyler at Rebel for many many months about their builds and the fact they put a few thousand miles they just put on their rigs along the continental divide trip I am going with the Recon kit.
Reasons
- I want coilovers in the front. Again, for me, they are exactly what I need and do not want to upgrade later.
- Rebel actually will talk to you, have you come to the shop or whatever in regards to help or questions you have about the suspension whether you have them install it or someone else. This is huge in my books after my current build experience.
- The rears on the recon are so dialed in because they ran them on their own 3 Jts. They use them for overlanding and rock crawling. This kit is built from the thousand of miles they put on them and dialed them in. The adjustable king rear allows to dial to not dip if you are loaded or have a trailer, or have a light load and want a softer ride.

This is soley my opinion and for my own needs. Every kit and solution is meant for its own need. But, taking the 2 kits you mentioned, because I have experience with 1 of them, I knew exactly what to look and think about for the next build which hopefully happens next month. Any questions let me know.

Hey I appreciate the detailed review. You reminded me to update my thread. I actually went with the Evo Enforcer 4.5 non-coilover. I decided I wasn’t ready to cut and grind my brand new truck quite yet. I’m still waiting for all of the parts but will update again once I start the install.

 

[Pizziola29]

Hey I appreciate the detailed review. You reminded me to update my thread. I actually went with the Evo Enforcer 4.5 non-coilover. I decided I wasn’t ready to cut and grind my brand new truck quite yet. I’m still waiting for all of the parts but will update again once I start the install.

Nice! That was the kit I had before I went coilovers. Such a great kit! You will love it.

 

[briandmiles]

So, I just ordered my 2021 JTR w/ecodiesel and have been talking with the dealer about lifting it. I was initially going to go with the Mopar 2 inch lift to keep it "factory". The accessories guy at the dealership said they are just getting the 2 inch Mopar lift for JL's and they won't be widely available until next year. He had no timeline at all for when the JT version would be available.
The dealership also puts in a lot of EVO kits, far more than the Mopar kits. When he spoke to the tech at EVO they weren't sure about any of their kits with the Ecodiesel Gladiator because of the weight distribution. The only one they could recommend was coilovers on 4 corners because of the adjustability. That way, regardless of the weight they could dial it in for what I want and need.
I like the ability to adjust the ride height in the future if I wan't and not really have to invest in anything else later. I know the word scratch will come in to play here but I've got it so it's not a problem.
My big question is towing with coilovers. I looked and couldn't find much on youtube or other forums as far as what it will typically do with the tow capacity. I don't tow often and what I tow isn't anywhere near the current max capacity but I'd like to know, ballpark, what to expect.

Thanks,

 

[danenglish2]

So, I just ordered my 2021 JTR w/ecodiesel and have been talking with the dealer about lifting it. I was initially going to go with the Mopar 2 inch lift to keep it "factory". The accessories guy at the dealership said they are just getting the 2 inch Mopar lift for JL's and they won't be widely available until next year. He had no timeline at all for when the JT version would be available.
The dealership also puts in a lot of EVO kits, far more than the Mopar kits. When he spoke to the tech at EVO they weren't sure about any of their kits with the Ecodiesel Gladiator because of the weight distribution. The only one they could recommend was coilovers on 4 corners because of the adjustability. That way, regardless of the weight they could dial it in for what I want and need.
I like the ability to adjust the ride height in the future if I wan't and not really have to invest in anything else later. I know the word scratch will come in to play here but I've got it so it's not a problem.
My big question is towing with coilovers. I looked and couldn't find much on youtube or other forums as far as what it will typically do with the tow capacity. I don't tow often and what I tow isn't anywhere near the current max capacity but I'd like to know, ballpark, what to expect.

Thanks,

Yeah if you need adjustability, you'll want the coilovers. Not sure about the towing.

 

[danenglish2]

Got the evo kit installed this weekend. Stoked with the result.

 

[AKGerman]

Got the evo kit installed this weekend. Stoked with the result.

You like the 37” tires with that lift? (I assume those are 37’s) What’s the total height (highest point) from the ground? 81”? Need to fit in my garage.

 

[danenglish2]

You like the 37” tires with that lift? (I assume those are 37’s) What’s the total height (highest point) from the ground? 81”? Need to fit in my garage.

Yep. Highest point is around 79-80"

 

[Darkamek]

Yep. Highest point is around 79-80"

Did you install new driveshafts for your lift?

 

[Desert_Chief]

Just joined the Gladiator club with a 2020 Rubicon. I'm trying to decide between the two lifts below... prices are comparable, so I'm wondering about included components and ease of installation. The Recon instructions are only half a page with no photos. As a secondary question... are front coilovers worth the extra $ for this vehicle? Thanks!

https://rebeloffroad.com/recon-complete-2020-gladiator-4-5-overland-stage-2-kit/

http://evomfg.com/EVO-MFG-Products/Jeep-Gladiator-JT/Suspension Systems/Jeep - Gladiator- JT - Suspension-Systems- FUSION?product_id=687

I think both are great. However, Rebel offers much better customer service. They will actually spend the time to understand what you want and recommend what's suitable for your needs. While Evo has no time for customers (at least from my experience) and I had to pull information from them to decide on what I should go for.

I currently have the Evo 6.5 inch stage 4 kit. And seriously considering to change it with a recon from rebel.

 

[darkhorse13]

- Coils in general make noise but dang these make tons of noise on all 4 sides.

Bumping this to you @Pizziola29

Did you find that the Rebel Recon coil over kit in front made any less/more noise than the EVO? I know it's the coil over and not the actual kit that would make the noise but just curious if there was an NVH difference for some reason? The Rebel Recon kit offers the AGM sliders in the build... if those help?

Thanks.

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