Which Lift Kit to Pick From

[kelkolb]

Just because it's a 2.0 IFP shock vs. a 2.5 IFP shock doesn't mean that it's really all that inferior, especially if the valving is wrong for the JT's. I have read of MANY people complaining about the Mopar kit 2.5" IFP's having the same part number as the JL Mopar 2.5 IFP's... That means the valving should be the same. The payload and towing (and overall GVWR) of the JT vs. the JL is different, therefore if they are using the same JL shocks in the JT kit, they will be incorrectly valved for the JT.

Do some research, that's what I did, and I found several people pointing that out.

They’re not the same part numbers though

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[Alabama Mud Machine]

Well, the disproves that they're the same part numbers, but it still doesn't disprove they're valved correctly for a JT. Seems a lot of folks unhappy with them being too soft and bouncy.

I love Fox Racing products and have for 25 years, so I'm definitely not hating on Fox.

 

[Manofsteal]

Does anyone know the lbs/inch of the factory springs for sport S, max tow, and rubi? RC told me that their springs are rated for 275lbs/inch and that their springs are progressive. How is this in comparison to offered kits with coil springs? I'm trying to determine between pucks and shocks or springs and shocks for lift.

 

[beefcake]

Finally got everything installed.

Mopar 2" lift with 3/4" spacer for the front with 35s.

Ride is great and I love the look. I can't wait to get her off road again to see how she does now!

 

[edster1]

Actually man you got me all wrong. I don't particularly like the mopar lift (its incomplete & Mopar doesn't manufacturer the beefed up parts to make it complete) & I do like the Evo lift. As for you I have absolutely no issue with you at all.

I also didn't cherry pick anything. Outside of the Mopar lift being cheaper on Amazon/eBay (which has become pretty common knowledge) I only used prices from Northridge4x4 which is where you originally linked. I agree that with some hard shopping those shocks should be available elsewhere cheaper, but 680 is the most common price for them (169 each). Buying the EVO arms & adding them to the stage 1 plus kit is more expensive then buying the stage 4 plus. And searching google for EVO-3061S4P (the stage 4 plus part number per EVO) Its only cheaper on one place that I can find & its some website I have never heard of that doesn't even have a picture, and its only like 60 bucks less so that wouldn't overcome the price defisit).


And you said "Here's a better quality, beefier, and stronger lift at the same cost."

From that statement I agree, agree, agree & very highly disagree.

My only point was that the EVO lift while it may be an absolutely amazing lift is more expensive then just about anything else comparable.

Before I bought the lift I did (Clayton Overland 2.5) I made a spreadsheet to compare lift's that all had good reputations or had something particularly good going for them & the Evo 2.5" was definitely on that list. Comparing apples to apples for all the major components (ie if the lift did not include all 8 control arms, both track bars, shocks, sway bar disconnects then they were added from the matching brand/product line if possible or using a quality substitute like JKS quicker disconnects or synergy track bars And Fox 2.0 shocks used for all). I didn't include the Mopar lift on this list as it was too incomplete. Ultimately the EVO 2.5' was about 600 more expensive then anything else on the list. The cheapest on the list was the Rusty's Offload Advanced kit in either 2" or 4" which even after including Rusty's crazy high shipping prices is still cheaper then anything else. If you want I can post my comparison to google docs & DM you a link.

Just came across this post. Would love that comparison spreed sheet if you don’t mind sharing.

 

[bastage]

Just came across this post. Would love that comparison spreed sheet if you don’t mind sharing.

Its on the previous page.
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...ift-kit-to-pick-from.31442/page-7#post-521436

 

[hjdca]

Does anybody know if the Synergy kit is available yet ? It seems that the Synergy arms are similar to Metalcloak arms, but, have the grey powder coating on the arms that I want ---- since I have a Sting gray JT...

 

[bastage]

Does anybody know if the Synergy kit is available yet ? It seems that the Synergy arms are similar to Metalcloak arms, but, have the grey powder coating on the arms that I want ---- since I have a Sting gray JT...

Synergy wild of been at the top of my list if it was. I just know of the prototype that’s out there on YouTube that a forum member here has

 

[Tufelhundin]

Well I was going to keep my suspension much more mild, but then plans changed. I already have 315/70r17 ko2's. Going to keep these till I find a hell of a deal on 37's or they wear out then go 37's. These things have such huge wheel wells to begin with not much lift is needed for 37's. Most folks also say you dont need to regear for it if you have a Rubicon or Max Tow as well since were already on 4.10's. So I dont have that planned until eLockers become available after market since I have a Max Tow. Then I will probably go to 5.13's as I would rather be geared a little too low then high as I do end up on some rather steep long roads here in the rockies.

There are several lifts that are good all around lifts I think on that list. The final 3 I had it narrowed down to were the MetalCloak Gamechanger 3.5 (and as bad as it sounds I eliminated it simply off of being a Raders fan & not wanting my truck to sport Chiefs colors with those gold arms on my Red truck), The Rusty's kit which was eliminated because the guys who answered the phone couldnt answer basic questions when I called about it, though Rusty himself discussed this with me on the Gladiator Facebook group & then the Clayton with a tossup between the 2 sizes, but ultimately picking the shorter one for highway driving & less extra stress on the front driveshaft.

I have been keeping up with your suspensions threads from the beginning, you have saved me some $$ because our thoughts from the beginning were one in the same except I’ve been holding off to see where you ended up.

I see you went with Clayton. You mention that JKS states they basically level the JT. You said that Clayton didn’t hesitate with their answer. Can I ask what they said?

Also, I’m actually looking at the JKS due to adjustability and price, why didn’t you go that route?

I’m kind of torn with either a JKS or just going with a Mopar plus a small level in front “im
Currently running Daystar 1.5 in front” and getting a JKS geometry bracket and adjustable track bar.


I’m planning on going with 35’s, winch and bumper. I don’t do ricks from in Louisiana and it’s pretty much mud and ruts.

just curious to why you chose Clayton over others sans Raider deal. LOL.

enjoy watching your build.

 

[bastage]

I have been keeping up with your suspensions threads from the beginning, you have saved me some $$ because our thoughts from the beginning were one in the same except I’ve been holding off to see where you ended up.

I see you went with Clayton. You mention that JKS states they basically level the JT. You said that Clayton didn’t hesitate with their answer. Can I ask what they said?

Also, I’m actually looking at the JKS due to adjustability and price, why didn’t you go that route?

I’m kind of torn with either a JKS or just going with a Mopar plus a small level in front “im
Currently running Daystar 1.5 in front” and getting a JKS geometry bracket and adjustable track bar.


I’m planning on going with 35’s, winch and bumper. I don’t do ricks from in Louisiana and it’s pretty much mud and ruts.

just curious to why you chose Clayton over others sans Raider deal. LOL.

enjoy watching your build.

My Initial Conversation with Clayton went basically like this

Me: I had a question about your lift for the JT's
Clayton: Yeah whats up.
Me: The 2.5" overland lift. Whats the 2.5" based on.
Clayton: You got a Rubicon or Sport
Me: Sport w/ Max Tow
Clayton: You should get between 3 & 3.5" from the 2.5" lift.
Me: Right on, How much rake is left afterwards
Clayton: Enough that it doesn't look stupid every time you get a little weight back there, but its way more level then stock.
Me: Good enough.

It was after this very short brief conversation that I knew I was ordering the Clayton. At the end of the day the customer service won it for me. They are a little more expensive then Metal Cloak (300 bucks on the 3.5" lift's from both brands with quick disconnects & the same fox shocks). But the customer service being straight forward & having answers without having to dick around for 20 minutes to get them or feeding me a line of bullshit sealed the deal. It was well after that when I realized the material difference as well. I knew Clayton used square instead of round, but the thicker size & the thicker wall material tells me where that extra few hundred bucks in cost is located at.

And the JKS Lift inst really adjustable compared to just about any other lift. You end up with 10 points on the clayton or metalcloak or just about any other complete lift (one on each trackbar & one on each of the 8x control arms). On the JKS its reusing most of the factory stuff & only replacing 2 total control arms & 1 track bar. Not saying that is a bad thing as the simplicity is always good as well, just saying its really not that adjustable compared to others. Price however the JKS is good. Really good in fact. I opted to go with a buy once, cry once route. You do the JKS now & then later your going to end up spending more when you add the rest of the missing components. In that spreadsheet I did I looked at this specifically & the JKS with Clayton arms & a rear trackbar (ie everything to complete the bare bones JKS kit) the cost was 6 dollars less then the metalcloak 3.5 gamechanger. If your doing everything yourself & dont mind doing the work over & over each time you add another part & then the alignments over again I think you would end up with a fantastic kit. Me however I want it done right the first time & then not have to screw with it again (hence buy once, cry once).

And Clayton over the other brands that arent ugly gold... Rep.. Nobody had anything negative to say & I cant say the same about anyone else. The other big dog on the forum is RockKrawler & everyone local to me said they were great, but loud. Lots of complaints of squeaking bushings. Rusty's was almost all positive, very very little negative, but when I called them the answers I got were complete bull shit (not getting into details on this again, someone there knows that they are talking about, but its not either of the morons I got on the phone). EVO looks really good, but bloody hell expensive (600 more then Clayton, 900 more then MC). The only other one that I can remember heavily researching was the Mopar & it was like the JKS, but another step in the wrong direction.

 

[Tufelhundin]

@bastage

thank you Very much for that response and yeah... you may have just sold me on Clayton, LOL

I didn’t mention I wanted at least 3” of lift but I do hence the reason I was looking at JKS, and possible Mopar with level and adjustable items needed.

Thank you for that info, good luck on your build and can’t wait to see it complete.

SEMPER FI

 

[Alabama Mud Machine]

@bastage

thank you Very much for that response and yeah... you may have just sold me on Clayton, LOL

I didn’t mention I wanted at least 3” of lift but I do hence the reason I was looking at JKS, and possible Mopar with level and adjustable items needed.

Thank you for that info, good luck on your build and can’t wait to see it complete.

SEMPER FI

Another option that has been shown to give more lift than it's listed height is the Evo Enforcer kits. They say it gives between 3.5-4.5" of lift up front and a true 2.5" lift in the rear.

I have this kit that will be going on my JTR soon...And I will be removing the spacer lift.

https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/...acturing-2-5in-enforcer-lift-kit-stage-2-plus

 

[hjdca]

I'm not 100% on that, but I have their 2.5" front springs, their adj. front track bar, and their Enforcer LCA's sitting in the boxes waiting to be installed... That box with just the 2 lower control arms and hardware weighs in around 25-28 lbs... So, that's very likely an accurate assessment. Hollow tubing wouldn't weight that much.

Not sure about the springs, but I will find out when I get them installed, especially since I have a steel Fab Fours front bumper, and a steel cable Warn 9.5XP on the front.

I read about a "spring bow" issue with EVO Springs on the JL forum. Some discussion on the flat ground spring vs. non flat ground.... , and tons of discussion which "spring idolater" to use with EVO to avoid any "spring bow" on the install... Synergy has flat ground Springs and EVO does not..., etc.... Is this "old discussions" or is there something to this spring bow issue ?

 

[Alabama Mud Machine]

I read about a "spring bow" issue with EVO Springs on the JL forum. Some discussion on the flat ground spring vs. non flat ground.... , and tons of discussion which "spring idolater" to use with EVO to avoid any "spring bow" on the install... Synergy has flat ground Springs and EVO does not..., etc.... Is this "old discussions" or is there something to this spring bow issue ?

I have not heard of this issue with EVO. But that's not saying it's not still, or was an issue in the past. I have no idea.

 

[hjdca]

I have not heard of this issue with EVO. But that's not saying it's not still, or was an issue in the past. I have no idea.

Here is a thread about it..

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/noise-from-suspension-help.24848/page-2#post-458034

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