Advice for a JK noob

[wackamole]

The point is, you try and keep things as simple as possible. You don't want complex sh!t on the trail..if we wanted complex, we'd be driving Land Rovers (bazzzzzing ) and the OEM stuff is tried and true. So, if you want 35" tires, get your 35" tires and then do what you need to do to let them cycle, which thankfully on a JK requires nothing but flat fenders, and as luck would have it, the best flat fenders are also free, since your jeep came with 4 of them....just need to give them a trim. Get a set of EVO skids to protect your bowels, and go enjoy the outdoors, and use the money you saved from the suspension on a nice ARB fridge and fuel for your journey. After you put a bunch of miles on trails on your rig, you'll know exactly what you need, what you want, and what you don't want. You'll also be very happy that you'll have excellent geometry (since you didn't mess with your steering), no driveshaft issues, no EVAP being too close to the DS and need to move it, no exhaust crossover problems, etc. Since you're in cali, swing by ORE and have them weld on some C gussets for a little insurance, a nice set of their sliders, and a slap on the ass and you'll be more trail ready than you would be with a 3.5" lift, and happier.

Thanks for the info.. I've been out of the country most of the year so it's been hard to get any progress going, but I was able to get some 17x9s and 33" toyo's installed while I was home. With that set up, I already either rubbed my front wheel wells, or hit my bump stops.. don't really remember. So I'm thinking about an EVO leveling kit and Fox 2.0 Perf Series shocks to go along.. I should be alright with everything else as far as geometry, etc (other than some possible brake line extensions and maybe some stop extensions) yeah? Eventually, I want to get bumpers and winch.. but I can always swap that rear EVO spacer for a stiffer coil if need be to support the weight.

 

[RageKage]

Personally I like having my 6.5 inch lift with 37's. Yes it may be excessive and unnecessary but it really comes down to each their own. But the biggest thing you need to worry about with center of gravity when doing lifts is height to width ratio. If your height if larger than your width you're going to have a top heavy vehicle that leans like an S.O.B. when you turn (trust me my CJ-5 turns like a ski boat but it's fun as hell). I am also in the military and from NorCal so I feel your pain about having to make huge purchases all at one time. Which is prolly why I'll get chastised on here for having a 6.5 inch lift with 37's on a completely stock drive train. But hey, nothing's broke..... Yet lol. Just remember to always build what makes YOU happy, not what the masses want you to be happy with. I'll take the ridicule all day long because I love my jeep and how it is coming along. I really like the Poison Spyder and EVO items that are on the market, to me they're aesthetically pleasing and have the functionality you'll need. But to concur with everyone else a huge lift is not needed to run bigger tires or to run on 90% of the trails.

 

[NFRs2000NYC]

Personally I like having my 6.5 inch lift with 37's. Yes it may be excessive and unnecessary but it really comes down to each their own. But the biggest thing you need to worry about with center of gravity when doing lifts is height to width ratio. If your height if larger than your width you're going to have a top heavy vehicle that leans like an S.O.B. when you turn (trust me my CJ-5 turns like a ski boat but it's fun as hell). I am also in the military and from NorCal so I feel your pain about having to make huge purchases all at one time. Which is prolly why I'll get chastised on here for having a 6.5 inch lift with 37's on a completely stock drive train. But hey, nothing's broke..... Yet lol. Just remember to always build what makes YOU happy, not what the masses want you to be happy with. I'll take the ridicule all day long because I love my jeep and how it is coming along. I really like the Poison Spyder and EVO items that are on the market, to me they're aesthetically pleasing and have the functionality you'll need. But to concur with everyone else a huge lift is not needed to run bigger tires or to run on 90% of the trails.

The point is, people don't know what will make them happy. OP doesn't want to spend his own money to find out if he will or wont be happy. Your suspension/tire setup only has X amount of travel. The max amount of lift you need is to allow the suspension/tire combo to fully cycle....anything beyond that, and it's a waste. If for instance, a 2.5" lift with 35" tires has 8" of uptravel, and a 6.5" with 35" tires also has 8" of up travel, then you basically added 4" to the COG for no real reason. To put things in perspective, I believe Moby is running a 4.5" lift, and he's got all the travel he needs with 40" tires. Im happy that your 6.5" lift suits your needs, but the fact is, it's just not necessary on a JK.

 

[07streetbobrider]

If his lift is all suspension he does have a better approach and departure angle and the belly of the jeep (and rocker panels) are a little higher off the rocks.