2.5” and 1” body lift or coil spacer for 37's?

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Maximus

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Wilmington, De
I’m aware 2.5 +1 will give you 3.5” of lift....lol. My question is will the components of a 2.5” lift with the addition of a 1” body lift and Smittybilt fenders allow me to run 37’s like a 3.5” lift kit would? My Jeep won’t see any substantial off-roading unfortunately

Thanks!
 
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Yes and no.

You will be able to run 37s no doubt with 3.5" of lift. However, by doing it with a 2.5" suspension lift and a 1" body lift (as oppose to just 3.5" of suspension lift), you'll be running a shorter shock, thus losing an inch of potential up-travel.

If you plan on keeping it mostly on-road, you'll be just fine with that setup.

However, if you were really into off-roading, every inch of up-travel matters, so it wouldn't be ideal.
 
Chris said:
Yes and no.

You will be able to run 37s no doubt with 3.5" of lift. However, by doing it with a 2.5" suspension lift and a 1" body lift (as oppose to just 3.5" of suspension lift), you'll be running a shorter shock, thus losing an inch of potential up-travel.

If you plan on keeping it mostly on-road, you'll be just fine with that setup.

However, if you were really into off-roading, every inch of up-travel matters, so it wouldn't be ideal.
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Ok reason I’m asking is because I can spend the same amount for a higher quality 2.5” lift and a 1.25” body lift (or 1” coil spacer) as I would for a lesser quality 3.5” lift. But since I’m REALLY not going to be doing any hardcore off-roading (maybe a little light trail ride offroad with mud bogs but no rock climbing or anything) do I need the higher quality 2.5” lift?

From what I understand, Teraflex makes high quality stuff. I can buy a Teraflex 2.5” lift with a 1.25” Teraflex body lift (or 1” coil spacer kit) that would run me the same amount as a 3.5” Rubicon Express. I’m in no way putting down Rubicon Express as being a bad quality lift. I’ve read a lot of good reviews on them and had one on my 2000 TJ 2-door that seemed to give it more than 3.5” of lift. Since it’ll be mostly street driven do I really need to get a higher quality lift for the occasional off-roading I might do here or there?
 
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Emailed Teraflex last night and just saw this: 2.5” lift on 37’s and he’s rock crawling (not that I would be doing that)

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Also as far as body lifts vs cool spacers....which are better? The body lift can leave gaps I understand. Are there any drawbacks to use a 1” coil spacer with the 2.5” lift kit? I wouldn’t need any adapters or anything would I? Seems like it should be a straight shot as far as installation goes...
 
If it was my Jeep I wouldn't do a 1" body lift, that's alot of work for just doing a 1" lift.
 
Maximus said:
Ok reason I’m asking is because I can spend the same amount for a higher quality 2.5” lift and a 1.25” body lift (or 1” coil spacer) as I would for a lesser quality 3.5” lift. But since I’m REALLY not going to be doing any hardcore off-roading (maybe a little light trail ride offroad with mud bogs but no rock climbing or anything) do I need the higher quality 2.5” lift?

From what I understand, Teraflex makes high quality stuff. I can buy a Teraflex 2.5” lift with a 1.25” Teraflex body lift (or 1” coil spacer kit) that would run me the same amount as a 3.5” Rubicon Express. I’m in no way putting down Rubicon Express as being a bad quality lift. I’ve read a lot of good reviews on them and had one on my 2000 TJ 2-door that seemed to give it more than 3.5” of lift. Since it’ll be mostly street driven do I really need to get a higher quality lift for the occasional off-roading I might do here or there?
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Teraflex makes good quality stuff, yes.

I'd hands down choose Teraflex over Rubicon Express. I consider Rubicon Express down there with Rough Country and Skyjacker. They use cheap bushings in their control arms.

If I were you, I'd go with the Teraflex lift. You're not going to be doing any rock crawling, so that would be the better option IMHO.

The way I always tell an "okay" quality lift versus a "high quality" lift is looking at the control arms and seeing what kind of bushings / joints they use.

If they use Johnny Joints, it's a high quality lift. If they use poly bushings (i.e. Rubicon Express), it's a low quality lift.

That doesn't mean low quality can't work for some however.
 
Chris said:
Teraflex makes good quality stuff, yes.

I'd hands down choose Teraflex over Rubicon Express. I consider Rubicon Express down there with Rough Country and Skyjacker. They use cheap bushings in their control arms.

If I were you, I'd go with the Teraflex lift. You're not going to be doing any rock crawling, so that would be the better option IMHO.

The way I always tell an "okay" quality lift versus a "high quality" lift is looking at the control arms and seeing what kind of bushings / joints they use.

If they use Johnny Joints, it's a high quality lift. If they use poly bushings (i.e. Rubicon Express), it's a low quality lift.

That doesn't mean low quality can't work for some however.
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Ok so Teraflex 👍🏼

While I’m in there might as well add the 1” Teraflex coil spacers for that extra 1” of lift
 
Maximus said:
Now I can run the shocks that come with the kit with the added 1” coil spacers right?
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Actually, if you add coil spring spacers, that's the same thing as having a 3.5" suspension lift, so you'd need longer shocks ideally, though you could adjust the bump stop for it. Still, you'd ideally want a shock meant for a 3.5" lift with the coil spring spacer.

A body lift is different because it isn't adding any height to the suspension. Just lifting the body up off the frame further.
 
Chris said:
Actually, if you add coil spring spacers, that's the same thing as having a 3.5" suspension lift, so you'd need longer shocks ideally, though you could adjust the bump stop for it. Still, you'd ideally want a shock meant for a 3.5" lift with the coil spring spacer.

A body lift is different because it isn't adding any height to the suspension. Just lifting the body up off the frame further.
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So the bump stop would have to be cut down 1”....

Sorry about all the questions
 
Maximus said:
So the bump stop would have to be cut down 1”....

Sorry about all the questions
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No, the bump stops would have to be increased by an undetermined amount.

That amount has to be determined by cycling your suspension and then setting the bump stop accordingly.

First you set it so that the axles (with the shocks and springs removed) don't crash into anything (i.e. track bar hitting diff cover), then you put in the shocks and add more bump stop to make sure the shocks don't bottom out, then finally you put the wheels on (without the springs) and set the bump stop so the tires don't hit the fenders under full stuff.

It sounds complicated, but it's not. It's just a bit time consuming if you want to do it right.

However, if you ever plan on taking it off-road, it is absolutely imperative that your bump stop is set correctly, otherwise you risk doing some serious damage.
 
Wellllll....suspension is all ordered 👍🏼 Teraflex 2.5” lift kit with their front and rear 1” coil spacers and their 9550 VSS Twin Tube Shocks for a 3”-4” lift with a set of AEV geometry correction brackets
 
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