I have a 2011 jeep wrangler 2 door. Basically needs all new suspension. How high can I lift it without having to do a bunch of other things. Wana fit 35 inch tires. And what will I have to change exactly and will it all come in a convient kit?
Lifting jeeps for dummies
- Thread starter WickedWinch
- Start date
About a 2.5" lift is the highest you can go without having to spend alot more money. You can put on flatop fenders or do the stock fender cut mod like 1 Member has done.
Also depending on what gears you have you might have to put new gears in to use 35's. You'll have to also recalibrate your speedometer when changing tire sizes.
Also depending on what gears you have you might have to put new gears in to use 35's. You'll have to also recalibrate your speedometer when changing tire sizes.
It depends on your intended usage. A mall crawler can have more lift with less suspension mods. Because it doesn't need to flex when you're winching over those dangerous curb stops in the lot.
Lift kits are sold as anything from "here's a couple pucks" to complete kits with springs, shocks, bump stops, steering components... you will need to read. Obviously, the cheaper the kit, the less it will include, and the less capable your end result will be.
If your Jeep is a Rubicon, you can generally count on a 3" lift, in conjunction with the high clearance fenders on the Rubi, allowing you to run 35" tires. But you will have some rubbing if you flex it off road. If it's not, you will likely need more than 3", especially if you don't want rubbing. My wife has an '11 Rubi with a 3.25" Rough Country lift and 35" Toyo Open Country M/T on RockStar wheels with 4.5" of backspacing. She rubs on trails. Mine has a 5" RC lift. No rubbing.
If it's a Rubicon with an automatic transmission, you probably have 4.10 gears, which are borderline. Since the '11 engine isn't a powerhouse at 200HP, you will probably want to go to a 4.56 gear. Especially if you want to be able to drive on the interstate. Indiana doesn't have much in the way of inclines, but still... My wife still has the 4.10 gears, and it's ok on the interstate, but just barely. I have 4.10s and the M6 in mine, but it's a 2013 with a few mods, so it makes about 50% more power.
If it's not a Rubi, running 35's on the highway will make you cry.
You will also need new wheels. Some people use wheel spacers because they're cheap, but I am not a fan for various reasons. The stock wheels have about 6" backspacing. You want to drop that to about 4.5".
You will need to get something like JScan and a compatible OBDII dongle to recalibrate your speedometer.
Lift kits are sold as anything from "here's a couple pucks" to complete kits with springs, shocks, bump stops, steering components... you will need to read. Obviously, the cheaper the kit, the less it will include, and the less capable your end result will be.
If your Jeep is a Rubicon, you can generally count on a 3" lift, in conjunction with the high clearance fenders on the Rubi, allowing you to run 35" tires. But you will have some rubbing if you flex it off road. If it's not, you will likely need more than 3", especially if you don't want rubbing. My wife has an '11 Rubi with a 3.25" Rough Country lift and 35" Toyo Open Country M/T on RockStar wheels with 4.5" of backspacing. She rubs on trails. Mine has a 5" RC lift. No rubbing.
If it's a Rubicon with an automatic transmission, you probably have 4.10 gears, which are borderline. Since the '11 engine isn't a powerhouse at 200HP, you will probably want to go to a 4.56 gear. Especially if you want to be able to drive on the interstate. Indiana doesn't have much in the way of inclines, but still... My wife still has the 4.10 gears, and it's ok on the interstate, but just barely. I have 4.10s and the M6 in mine, but it's a 2013 with a few mods, so it makes about 50% more power.
If it's not a Rubi, running 35's on the highway will make you cry.
You will also need new wheels. Some people use wheel spacers because they're cheap, but I am not a fan for various reasons. The stock wheels have about 6" backspacing. You want to drop that to about 4.5".
You will need to get something like JScan and a compatible OBDII dongle to recalibrate your speedometer.
I don't totally agree with this. From my personal experience, a 2dr can run 35's with trimming bur will do much better with a 2.5" lift and be very capable on the trail. A 4dr has slightly different geometry and is a little less forgiving.
I have a 2dr Sport with an AEV 2.5" lift with correction brackets, proper wheel backspacing, and other than manually disconnecting the sway bar, I haven't had t0o many issues. Granted, I don't do the gnarliest of rock gardens, but I do go in the dirt.
I highly recommend the AEV 2.5" for 35's. On road is great and off road is very good for what I do.
Also, I never regeared from 3.73's, and on the highway at 75 it was fine. I was running 35" Nitto Ridge Grapplers (I think) but went to 285 Duratracs since they were in stock and the Nittos were like 4 weeks out.
We have the AEV 2.5” lift on two JK’s and love it. We do not have the geometry corrections brackets and haven’t had an issue. It is a good lift. If you do a search I did a complete write up on it with my thoughts on it.
I went with Skyjacker’s 3.5 inch suspension lift. With the Monotube shocks. 35s clear just fine and still gives me the flex I wanted off road. And the install was fairly straightforward.