Which Lift Kit to Pick From

[Kornfan777]

So I've been looking for a lift kit and i'm not sure which to choose. All I hear about is Rough Country being trash. I just want to buy one that wont break on me the first second i drive it. Can someone please assist me in my search?? I'm looking for a 3" Kit.

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[beefcake]

How much are you looking to spend? You can quite literally go from hundreds to thousands quite quickly.

Are you looking for a spacer lift or an actual spring lift?

As you can begin to see, there are lots of questions to answer first before narrowing down a lift for you.

 

[Moe_Fugga]

Yeah. What BeefCake said ^^.

I went with the JKS lift with added LCAs. It just arrived and will be going on Wednesday. It was one of the more complete and recommended kits in its price range. I would have loved to have the full on balls out Clayton kit, but at more than double the price I just couldn’t swing it right now. JKS has a good reputation for quality from what I can find too.

Keep in mind that 3 inches of lift brings you out of that, “you probably don’t need the adjustable track bar, control arms, etc.” zone and brings you into that “yeah I’d go ahead and add that stuff if I were you” zone. Bottom line, you need to spend more $$ on more parts to keep the ride and geometry kosher.

But FWIW, that’s all from my research. No experience.

 

[Alabama Mud Machine]

EVO Manufacturing is a good one to look at, if you can swing the cash.

 

[bastage]

Are you going to do it yourself? If so then there are lots of good brands to look at (several mentioned above). If your going to have it installed then go to the local shops & ask for quotes with your options. Then research the specific lift & see.

Also budget is a big part of it of course. JKS & EVO both have relitively inexpensive starter lifts (ie they are missing the control arms & rear trackbar & what not). If you dont plan to push it off road then those are probably as complete as you need. If you plan to push it though JKS doesnt currently sell anything but the lower front control arms & EVO's get really expensive. I made a spreadsheet with all the different options I wanted & I also wanted it complete right from the get go. Most likely I am going with a MetalCloak Gamechanger with Fox 2.0 Shocks, but havent eliminated the possibility for a Clayton Overland Plus kit either. Cost wise everything else complete was much more expensive or questionable quality except for RockKrawler & the shop who I decided I liked push's MC over RK (they are dealers for both, but convinced me by telling me the MC bushings stayed much quieter long term then the RK ones).

When I initially started looking for a lift I wanted to be in the 1500 range & do it myself. Thats how both the JKS & EVO ended up on my list. When I decided to just do it all & be done with it though they both got eliminated, JKS for not being complete & EVO for being WAY more (about 900 bucks more then MetalCloak both with no shocks included). I am looking at spending about 4k to have my lift installed (also the Synergy Sector Shaft Brace). And with a bigger budget there are lots of other options that could be better & better value for what you get.

 

[Clayton Off Road]

Are you going to do it yourself? If so then there are lots of good brands to look at (several mentioned above). If your going to have it installed then go to the local shops & ask for quotes with your options. Then research the specific lift & see.

Also budget is a big part of it of course. JKS & EVO both have relitively inexpensive starter lifts (ie they are missing the control arms & rear trackbar & what not). If you dont plan to push it off road then those are probably as complete as you need. If you plan to push it though JKS doesnt currently sell anything but the lower front control arms & EVO's get really expensive. I made a spreadsheet with all the different options I wanted & I also wanted it complete right from the get go. Most likely I am going with a MetalCloak Gamechanger with Fox 2.0 Shocks, but havent eliminated the possibility for a Clayton Overland Plus kit either. Cost wise everything else complete was much more expensive or questionable quality except for RockKrawler & the shop who I decided I liked push's MC over RK (they are dealers for both, but convinced me by telling me the MC bushings stayed much quieter long term then the RK ones).

When I initially started looking for a lift I wanted to be in the 1500 range & do it myself. Thats how both the JKS & EVO ended up on my list. When I decided to just do it all & be done with it though they both got eliminated, JKS for not being complete & EVO for being WAY more (about 900 bucks more then MetalCloak both with no shocks included). I am looking at spending about 4k to have my lift installed (also the Synergy Sector Shaft Brace). And with a bigger budget there are lots of other options that could be better & better value for what you get.

A wise man once said, "never eliminate the possibility for a Clayton Overland Plus Kit". We're always available to talk if anybody ever has any questions! Shop number is (203) 691 8593 or shoot us a PM!

 

[PyrPatriot]

Metal cloak is the only company that responded to my question regarding maintaining payload

I believe I emailed EVO and one other major name. Did not know about Claytons

 

[bastage]

A wise man once said, "never eliminate the possibility for a Clayton Overland Plus Kit". We're always available to talk if anybody ever has any questions! Shop number is (203) 691 8593 or shoot us a PM!

Funny.. I talked to you guys a couple hours ago. Got the answers I needed about the actual height on my sport.

 

[Clayton Off Road]

Funny.. I talked to you guys a couple hours ago. Got the answers I needed about the actual height on my sport.

Awesome! Hopefully we were of help

 

[bastage]

Awesome! Hopefully we were of help

I’ve called several lift manufactures and gotten some pretty damn dumb answers to the same basic questions. Your guy I talked to however answered perfectly and unlike most that I’ve talked to actually knows how a lift works, and knows your products. Couldn’t of answered it better.

 

[PyrPatriot]

Metal cloak is the only company that responded to my question regarding maintaining payload

I believe I emailed EVO and one other major name. Did not know about Claytons

I'm just now seeing they tested their lifts with 1600lbs in the BED, not total GVWR being 6250lbs. That's impressive. But is there harm in riding on the bump stops?

 

[Clayton Off Road]

I’ve called several lift manufactures and gotten some pretty damn dumb answers to the same basic questions. Your guy I talked to however answered perfectly and unlike most that I’ve talked to actually knows how a lift works, and knows your products. Couldn’t of answered it better.

Awesome happy to hear!

 

[Geekjeep]

I would call each one of these companies and see which one you vibe with the best. At the end of the day they all have a reputable name and will be appropriate for majority of people see uses. Keep in mind who you want on the other line if and when you have an issue or if you need additional parts or help. That’s what I did. I’m familiar with lifts but all the details, new non grease joins, spring rates, exact lift height etc. in my case all the companies spent good time with me but i learned of some subtle differences that helped me choose. I was happy the way I went as I did have an issue(ended up being install related) but guess what their team was on the phone with me problem solving not just blowing it off as we have to see it to fix it. It’s no secret I ended up going with Clayton. And they make an incredible product. To be clear I never came across anything bad or negative on the other companies. Just price, parts, install, expectations, personality.....for me Clayton was the best fit. I am also happy with it. Best of luck choosing

 

[cgflyer]

Metal Cloak hands down. I had the 2.5" Dual Rate on my JKR and plan on installing the 3.5" Game Changer on my JT next year after I wear down my current set of 35's...I don't like 37's on the stock Rubicon suspension and with the manual transmission, I want to regear for 37's, so I have some saving to do before I lift my truck, but I will DEFINITELY go Metal Cloak.

 

[arosen1997]

So I've been looking for a lift kit and i'm not sure which to choose. All I hear about is Rough Country being trash. I just want to buy one that wont break on me the first second i drive it. Can someone please assist me in my search?? I'm looking for a 3" Kit.

I threw a JKS 3.5 inch lift on my Sport S back in February and I've loved it. Would recommend

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