Which "budget boost" or ~2" lift?

el_chupo_

Member
At this point (no thanks to all of the stuff on this forum) I am considering 37s, in the future. For that to happen and me to be happy, I know I will want a regear (or new axle), probably a 3 to 4" lift, new drive shaft. I also know that I dont want to waste a bunch of money on stuff that will be replaced when I go that route, so I am looking at a "temporary" setup to get a little more clearance and capability for a little while, while I save to do it right.

Due to the above I have decided that staying around 2", chopped fenders, and 35's to be the intro. I know locally that used 35" tires will sell pretty well, so I am good knowing I can sell those if I decide to go bigger before they are worn out. I also know that I will need new tires in the not too distant future to replace the stock 32" tires. By sticking at 2" and 35s I wont need to worry about the regear with the 4.10s it already has, and from my understanding the drive shaft will be OK. Please correct me if I am wrong. Will probably go with new shocks as well.


Right now I am debating between the Evo 1.5" leveling kit, a Rancho 2" kit, and a generic coil spacer kit.

All of these would have the 9000 series shocks, unless I am better off with stock shocks for some reason that someone can point out. Would it be reasonable to buy the shocks for a 3-4" lift and run them on a shorter lift until later upgrades, or should I just plan on new shocks with an upgrade to a bigger lift?

I anticipate going to a new bumper and winch in the future (before 37s), so the "lift" would need to be able to handle that. Exhaust spacer kit could be added if needed, would prefer not to. The Dynomax exhaust kit may be in the future as well.



So am I missing anything, need to consider anything, or does anyone want to push me toward one of these options to clear 35s and have a bit more fun offroad? Would I see any benefits from using Rancho drop brackets with any of these kits, or going with a set of adjustable LCA's on a lift this small?

Thanks
 
Last edited:
Here is mine with 2.5" RC budet boost and 35s. 1422068624653.jpg I havent been able to fully flex it out yet so Im not sure if it will rub. Im using this set up untill I van afford 37s and all the necessary parts to run them.
 
I thought long and hard about what leveling kit I want to run on my jkur. Decided with the evo kit because it replaces the springs in the front and is made to prevent sag with metal bumpers/winch. Also going to upgrade to their HD tie rod ends. I plan on running 33's probably.
 
am I going to run into a drive shaft issue with any of these?

The Rancho kit is pretty appealing, except I dont want to run into too much lift of front and cause any issues. It seems weird to worry about a 1/2" difference, but I dont know how much clearance is there...
 
am I going to run into a drive shaft issue with any of these?

The Rancho kit is pretty appealing, except I dont want to run into too much lift of front and cause any issues. It seems weird to worry about a 1/2" difference, but I dont know how much clearance is there...

Here's mine with a 2" aev spacer system. $270. If you want to buy shocks, go for it. The front aev relocation brackets arent that great. Metal cloak has some front shock post extentions for cheap. Sounds like we are doing the same thing. Get it off road, then go big. Good luck, have fun.
View attachment 120724
 
If you use your stock springs with spacers in the front and you add metal bumper and winch it will sag. Cause the stock springs are not rated for so much weight. Moreover, if you want to add a real lift later i wouldnt spend money on new shocks. Run what you have with spacers until you buy the new lift.
 
+1 for Rancho 2in. I'm still running stock wheels but upgrading to 35's soon. No sag from winch or bumper where my friend running spacers is. The shocks aren't long enough to cause drive line issues either.
 
am I going to run into a drive shaft issue with any of these?

The Rancho kit is pretty appealing, except I dont want to run into too much lift of front and cause any issues. It seems weird to worry about a 1/2" difference, but I dont know how much clearance is there...

You will be fine with any 2" lift so long as you run it with shock extensions or new shocks that aren't too long. No new front drive shaft is needed with these setups.
 
Nope! I have the EVO level kit and that's all. Works great.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using WAYALIFE mobile app

+1 on the evo leveling kit. tire to fender gap in the front went from 4.75" to 8" front and rear are now within .5" of each other.
 
Thanks to all the suggestions and information!

I would have thought with 2" longer springs that extensions or new shocks would be needed to avoid any issues with the Evo kit. No worry about over-extension of the shocks?
 
Thanks to all the suggestions and information!

I would have thought with 2" longer springs that extensions or new shocks would be needed to avoid any issues with the Evo kit. No worry about over-extension of the shocks?

New longer shocks aren't needed and really, anytime you flex out your Jeep, your shocks are the limiting factor as to how much droop you have. In other words, you don't "nee" to extend them but doing so will give you more droop.
 
New longer shocks aren't needed and really, anytime you flex out your Jeep, your shocks are the limiting factor as to how much droop you have. In other words, you don't "nee" to extend them but doing so will give you more droop.

Thanks for the clarification :rock:
 
Top Bottom