3" Lift Kit

tugoo

tugoo

New member
Hey guys,

Noobie here; I am looking for some advice/guidance on a lift kit for my JK. I own a 2013 Rubi 2 door that is currently bone stock. It has the 4:10 from the factory. My plan for the first few years is to run trails with a difficulty between 0 and 5 until I get some good driving experience. I don't imagine that I will ever get into some of the extreme off road trails that I see the very experienced guy's doing until I get a lot of time behind the wheel. I will have the family with me 99% of the time. I would like up start with a setup that supports 35's knowing that I will be on 37's in the next few years. I am not constrained by an extremely tight budget but am very cost conscious. It will be a DD and I want to maintain as good of an on road drive as possible considering that I will be driving to all of our adventures. The last consideration is that I would like a kit that I could install as I want to know my rig inside and out when all is said and done. I am mechanically inclined and feel comfortable doing basic items as long as they are not extremely difficult and require welding. This isn't a must but would be preferred.

Thank you in advance for any input!!!
 
I would tell you that from my experience of both installing the kit and having it on my rig, the EVO Enforcer lift is the way to go. You can get it with 3" Plush Ride coils and your choice of shocks, depending on your budget/liking. Chris@OffRoadEvolution will be able to answer any/all technical questions that you might have. There are a number of guys on here that are running this kit in different variations and am about 115% sure they are all very happy with it!

If you are looking at a lot of highway driving, the DoubleD long arm kit might be something to look at as well... just not 100% sure that it can be done with the 3" coils, but Chris can answer that as well.
 
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I put my Enforcer lift on just a couple months ago and I just drove from TX to Baily, CO. It is a very comfortable driving lift. I have driven a few vehicles with lifts and they were always bouncy or rough riding. This is not true of the Enforcer. It is a great ride. I brought my kids and wife with me and there were no complaints.

I don't have much experience with other brands on Jeeps but I am very satisfied with the Enforcer!
 
How does the ride quality of this lift compare to the Rock Krawler 2.5? The King shocks are out of my budget so it will either be Bilstein 5100's or the stock Rubicon shocks with spacers.

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I've only been doing this a year so take it for what it's worth.

Since you plan on only running trails from 0 to 5 and plan on running 35s just go with a 2" budget boost. You'll retain your factory ride quality and clear 35s easy.

I've also run 0 to 5 with my friends and brother. My brother is in a Jeep Commander and has a 2" budget boost and my old 32" tires. He's able to run the trails with ease. My other friend has run trails up to 4 in his stock 4Runner.

Keep in mind that the rating system is for stock SUVs and that theoretically a stock Rubicon is supposed to be able to run 10s (with experienced driving skills). So your stock rig is plenty capable already.

From there, you can decide what you want to do when you go for 37s.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Project-JK.com has a wealth of information on installs on different lifts. From all the inputs from various threads EVO suspension lifts wins out. If you watch any of the WAYALIFE videos you will see the EVO suspensions in action. Also watch the JKX video series for different terrain which EVO suspensions are run on and how well they work. When I upgrade my suspension it will be the EVO DoubleD 4 inch.
 
Lifts and shocks

Here is my 2 cents for what it's worth. I have a 3 inch teraflex lift that I would not personally recommend to anyone. I have not been happy with it since it was installed. The problem may have just been the installer, not sure but something isn't right. I did learn a few things along the way about the shocks. I started with the Teraflex shocks, they are extremely harsh. I replaced them with Bilstein 5100's (I still have them, need to get rid of them along with some wheels and lots of stuff). They were a great ride but when compared with my son's Jeep in which he installed Elka remote reservoirs, the Bilsteins plush on the road and trail but less controlled and more harsh when hitting bumps. The remote reservoir Elka shocks (Fox seems to be about the same) are well worth the money and I'm glad I spent the money for the upgrade, the Bilsteins though are a great alternative and if I'd had better springs I may not needed the shock upgrade.

The one thing I've learned that everyone will tell you is that no matter what you start with you'll want to upgrade as you get deeper into the addiction. One more thought about trails. I've found through trial and error (and several sets of wheels, tires, shocks) that a 3 inch lift with 35 inch tires gives me clearance to do everything in Moab that I ever feel I'll want to do. I have no problem on Poison Spider/Golden Spike/Gold Bar or Steel Bender but not interested in Pritchet canyon. It is a nice compromise between daily drive-ability and rock crawling competence. I see all the Jeeps lined up at the Teraflex headquarters down the street from my office and get Jeep envy but one day they let me drive one of them and I realized it wasn't right for my kind of driving. For an all-around Jeep that will do 80% of anything you could ever throw at it, 3 inches and 35's are a perfect match.

The 2 inch budget boost is a great option and if you replace fenders or cut out anything that rubs, you'll probably never need more clearance but I do appreciate the articulation that I can achieve with my 3 inch that I don't think I could have achieved with anything less.
 
JKNuts said:
Here is my 2 cents for what it's worth. I have a 3 inch teraflex lift that I would not personally recommend to anyone. I have not been happy with it since it was installed. The problem may have just been the installer, not sure but something isn't right. I did learn a few things along the way about the shocks. I started with the Teraflex shocks, they are extremely harsh. I replaced them with Bilstein 5100's (I still have them, need to get rid of them along with some wheels and lots of stuff). They were a great ride but when compared with my son's Jeep in which he installed Elka remote reservoirs, the Bilsteins plush on the road and trail but less controlled and more harsh when hitting bumps. The remote reservoir Elka shocks (Fox seems to be about the same) are well worth the money and I'm glad I spent the money for the upgrade, the Bilsteins though are a great alternative and if I'd had better springs I may not needed the shock upgrade.

The one thing I've learned that everyone will tell you is that no matter what you start with you'll want to upgrade as you get deeper into the addiction. One more thought about trails. I've found through trial and error (and several sets of wheels, tires, shocks) that a 3 inch lift with 35 inch tires gives me clearance to do everything in Moab that I ever feel I'll want to do. I have no problem on Poison Spider/Golden Spike/Gold Bar or Steel Bender but not interested in Pritchet canyon. It is a nice compromise between daily drive-ability and rock crawling competence. I see all the Jeeps lined up at the Teraflex headquarters down the street from my office and get Jeep envy but one day they let me drive one of them and I realized it wasn't right for my kind of driving. For an all-around Jeep that will do 80% of anything you could ever throw at it, 3 inches and 35's are a perfect match.

The 2 inch budget boost is a great option and if you replace fenders or cut out anything that rubs, you'll probably never need more clearance but I do appreciate the articulation that I can achieve with my 3 inch that I don't think I could have achieved with anything less.
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Why would you not recommend the lift? You talked about the shocks but not about the lift.

And you can't compare remote reservoir shocks to standard shocks. It's like comparing hummer to jeep. :doh:
 
JKNuts said:
Here is my 2 cents for what it's worth. I have a 3 inch teraflex lift that I would not personally recommend to anyone. I have not been happy with it since it was installed. The problem may have just been the installer, not sure but something isn't right. I did learn a few things along the way about the shocks. I started with the Teraflex shocks, they are extremely harsh. I replaced them with Bilstein 5100's (I still have them, need to get rid of them along with some wheels and lots of stuff). They were a great ride but when compared with my son's Jeep in which he installed Elka remote reservoirs, the Bilsteins plush on the road and trail but less controlled and more harsh when hitting bumps. The remote reservoir Elka shocks (Fox seems to be about the same) are well worth the money and I'm glad I spent the money for the upgrade, the Bilsteins though are a great alternative and if I'd had better springs I may not needed the shock upgrade.

The one thing I've learned that everyone will tell you is that no matter what you start with you'll want to upgrade as you get deeper into the addiction. One more thought about trails. I've found through trial and error (and several sets of wheels, tires, shocks) that a 3 inch lift with 35 inch tires gives me clearance to do everything in Moab that I ever feel I'll want to do. I have no problem on Poison Spider/Golden Spike/Gold Bar or Steel Bender but not interested in Pritchet canyon. It is a nice compromise between daily drive-ability and rock crawling competence. I see all the Jeeps lined up at the Teraflex headquarters down the street from my office and get Jeep envy but one day they let me drive one of them and I realized it wasn't right for my kind of driving. For an all-around Jeep that will do 80% of anything you could ever throw at it, 3 inches and 35's are a perfect match.

The 2 inch budget boost is a great option and if you replace fenders or cut out anything that rubs, you'll probably never need more clearance but I do appreciate the articulation that I can achieve with my 3 inch that I don't think I could have achieved with anything less.
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I agree with all of this. If you don't go with the budget boost, the 3" is perfect for 35s. I also agree with the take in Teraflex. I have a 3" Teraflex long arm with Fox shox and also am not happy with the onroad ride quality. It's a little too harsh, but offroad, I'm able to keep up with my friends Tundra running King Coilovers, and don't feel banged up.

I'm told it's the springs. Since my Jeep is 95% daily driving, I'd prefer a much softer ride and the TF springs don't give me that.
 
I want to like my Teraflex lift. The guys at Teraflex are great. I didn't meet them until after I installed my lift at a local shop that seemed to struggle with the adjustments and it has had a vibration ever since. I have spent thousands trying to get rid of it. (I realize the vibration is not the fault of Teraflex). When my son bought his 2011 he went straight to Teraflex and had them do the lift. Here are my experiences with 2 jeeps with Teraflex lifts.
1. After a couple of years the bump stops look pretty much destroyed. They have all peeled exposing the foam and seem now to be disintegrating.
2. Teraflex replaced the stock sway bar links (It's a rubicon) with their quick disconnects and 4000 miles and 1 off road trip later the links are destroyed. Rubber bushings are completely destroyed, they flop off and will need to be replaced. Mine were stock and I had no problem at all with them. I replaced mine with JKS links and they seem to be so much better than the Teraflex.
3. I have a huge "bang" sound in the front left side of my suspension when I do any offroading. I first thought it was the springs as I extended the lift but last trip out I watched the suspension as I hit obstacles and the sound happened as I hit the rock, before flexing. I was going about 1/8 of a mile an hour when I bumped up against the obstacle and it appeared that the problem was in the joint of the lower left adjustable control arm. There appears to be a problem with it but it could be nothing more than improper adjustment.

On the positive side, the control arms are beefy and appear well made but most lifts today can say that so there isn't much about it that stands out above other lifts and I feel other companies have innovated more than Teraflex has. I should also say that I only replaced 4 control arms with both lifts. I don't think I am having problems with the stock arms but that could be something I need to look at.

I am impressed with the EVO and the new Rubicon Express lift seems to be an improvement on what it was. I do feel the springs on the Teraflex are more harsh than others though I don't have any experience to justify that.

One more note on the shocks. I compared the two side by side (my son running the elkas and me running the Bilsteins) over identical trails, railroad tracks, turns, etc and found the following (note that I agree with the comparison that a remote reservoir is significantly better but the difference is very subtle in average driving). Here is what I noted:
1. The Bilsteins gave a little more plush ride on regular roads. It was at least softer.
2. The Elka's lifted the vehicle 1 additional inch.
3. The Elkas offered more control when hitting things like railroad tracks, the bump wasn't as harsh and the truck recovered a little faster and felt more in control.
Where you start to notice the difference is in control at higher speeds, both in bumps and in turning. The more you push them the more the Elka stands out.
 
Do you have a part number for the elkas... they don't list any actual vehicle applications in their site.

Sent while watching chicks get naked.
 
VWright14 said:
Do you have a part number for the elkas... they don't list any actual vehicle applications in their site.

Sent while watching chicks get naked.
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How bout a trade. Send me the pics of the chicks and I'll send you the part number :) Actually, they are sold via TeraFlex. I bought mine through 4wd parts and my son bought his from TeraFlex. The Teraflex part number is TER1460000. TeraFlex claims to have partnered with Elks Suspensions to "bring you the first ever Elka JK - Specific Performance Shocks! Personally I love mine. The set lists for $1253.99 on 4WD.com but I thought they were well worth it.

I should say also that the problems I thought I had with my Teraflex suspension may end up being stock steering components (tie rod/idler arms). I will have to take back what I said about the control arms and just say that they are great. The bump stops and sway bar links still leave a little to be desired. But otherwise they are great.
 
JKNuts said:
Teraflex part number is TER1460000. TeraFlex claims to have partnered with Elks Suspensions to "bring you the first ever Elka JK - Specific Performance Shocks! Personally I love mine. The set lists for $1253.99 on 4WD.com
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You could have Kings for $1300. They are THE King of performance shocks! Just sayin.




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