Suspension lift experiences

BadMagoo

New Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2006
Location
Wilmington, NC
Howdy,
I've been doing a lot of research on various 4-5" lift kits (TJ) and I find a lot of conflicting information. Some people love certain kits, others hate them just as much. Overall, It sounds like trailmaster and rough country lifts are crappy. Rubicon Express is the best. The rest are kinda in the middle. I keep getting a bad feeling about installing a used trailmaster kit, which I have intended to do thus far. First, does anyone else know much about the trailmaster kits in comparison. Also, who stands by a particular brand and what are they?

Appreciate it!
Brandon
 
Alot depends on how you're going to use the jeep. Are you going to run mainly on the beach, or are you planning on running up to tellico and paragon on a monthly basis? No need to spend thousands on a long arm super flexy kit, if it will never see a rock. I don't have any experience with the trailmaster kit so I can't help you there. But maybe with a little more info, someone will chime in.
 
I would stay away from a couple brands on a TJ:

Rough Country
Tuff Country
Trailmaster
Black Diamond


There are some other middle-of-the-road brands that are just "ok":

Skyjacker
ProComp
Superlift
Rancho


Then there are the brands that I'd actually recommend, and would run on my own stuff:

Rubicon Express
BDS
OME
Clayton


there are several others out there, too...plus some "generic" reboxed kits from places like 4WheelersSupply, 4WheelDriveHardware, etc...


Greg
 
I personally and one of my buddies have the Pro-comp 4" lift on our jeeps and like it so far. One of my buddies had the trailmaster kit on his jeep before and it was ok (I personally wouldn't run it)...his was also used. If you really know what you are doing with the suspension then you can maintain it. It really does come down to what exactly you are going to use this jeep for.
 
If you are going long arm look at

Full Tractions
Nth Degree
Clayton's
Rubicon Express
 
And then there is Teraflex, Skyjacker, Rockcrawler, and Fabtech.

I personally run a Teraflex longarm setup that is modified extensively to be more like a RE/Rockkrawler/Clayton/FullTraction/Nth Degree style. It is probably better to just buy one of those, but the Tera was what I could get cheap, so its what I had.

Short arms are mostly all the same, since they all use relatively stock geometry and don't require any modifications.

Ive run BDS springs and they are ok, but they are cheap (good cheap). Tallest coil is 3", but a set of 4 could be had from Tarheel 4wd for $150 about 2 years ago.

I currently run 4.5" RE coils and they are pretty good. Definitely not too soft, but the rear is a little stiff if there is not a good load in the back. Rides ok with just tools/20lb CO2/gear/seat/spare, rides really good with 2 passengers and all that stuff, and rides like a board when mostly unloaded. Front seems to be about right, maybe rides a little better when unloaded, but I don't take the winch off often.

Shocks are crucial. I run the OME LT, and they made a HUGE improvement over Rancho 9000's. Im generally pretty pleased with the OME.

Sway bar disconnects are a personal preference thing, but I really like and also run the Teraflex ones. I find them easy and quick to use.

Thats about all I can think of from personal experience. Hope it helps.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Ive run BDS springs and they are ok, but they are cheap (good cheap). Tallest coil is 3", but a set of 4 could be had from Tarheel 4wd for $150 about 2 years ago.
Click to expand...

actually...they do offer 4.5" coils now...

Greg
 
To clarify, I'll be taking trips to uwharrie and tellico every couple months. Being in Wilmington sucks because I'm too busy and too far away from any good wheeling locations to go often. Man was it different in Colorado, 30mins from my place and I was in paradise banging the crap out of my stock jeep.
 
Ive had the rough country x-series lift on my jeep for about 8 months now and Ive loved it. Everything aside from the discos are built very solid. The only thing i plan to do soon is upgrade to some OME shocks.
 
rbo1577186 said:
For the $ Teraflex sells a 4" for around 1000 thats OK.
Click to expand...



If its the Teraflex with the long lower arms and the short upper arms stay away. There is way to much pinion change through the range of the suspension.
 
I called "Rocky Mountain Suspension" in Ocean Isle Beach, NC ...of all places. They told me that Rough Country/Trailmaster is a better ride for the road and doesn't do the best on trails. Rubicon Express and other high dollar brands are more suited for trail use and have more of an unprecise handle on the road. Interesting.

Its hard deciding what I want to blow my savings on. All your information helps!
 
they're clueless if that's what they told you...

they also told me BDS was reboxed blemish lift parts from other brands...because they don't sell it...BDS is top notch quality and has the best warranty in the business...

RE rides fabulous on the street...nothing "unprecise" about it...

Greg
 
My take on this

I have a 6" super lift on the wifes TJ with 35's. Does very well on the road and did very well at Uwharrie last weekend. It is the short arm with drop brackets. It needs sway bars disonnects and it would be perfect. It is a little stiff but I like.
On my last TJ I had the RC 4" and it was alright. But I never had it in the rocks. Only the mud. I like it for the mud.
On my brothers XJ he has Trailmaster with the drop brackets for the short arms. It has been on his Jeep since 89 and the front has not sagged at all. The rear leafs sucked and were replaced. His Jeep has sepnt most of it's life in the mud. It still runs strong. The front isn't reallt that bad but a little stiff.
My Xj is a frankenstein lift utilizing stuff from various companies and I love the flex and the ride. I know your not asking about the XJ stuff but I thought I would throw it in. Good luck

Doug
 
I know theres good things about claytons my best friend from home took her tj over 1k on high angle rti ramp and had room to go... on a stock tj wheelbase... there kits are amazing and only the best quality comes out of there with his name on it
 
What do yall know about doing a 2.5" OME lift, 1.75" body lift, 1" motor mount lift, jks track bars.....and putting in 33"s? I was told this would be better in keeping the center of gravity lower, handling better overall. Also, no need for a SYE to eliminate the driveline vibrations.

What say you?
 
The happiest I ever was with my jeep was as follows:
2" budget boost
OME LT shocks
Teraflex disconnects
Adjustable front trackbar
2" bodylift
2" motormount lift
SYE
Completely flat skid
Lockrite in the rearend
32" off brand MT's

With this setup, I could do practically anything I could do now.
 
Lots and lots of options...

I'm having trouble deciding to throw down the $ on a nice riding short arm lift (go 33) or an even more expensive long arm and larger tires than I initially intended. Wonder if its almost worth going straight to long arm beacuse it seems like a lot of us end up going there and replacing what we did with the short arms to begin with. Not to mention ya gotta change the gearing and it just blows my mind how much that costs in itself. Then you see gas prices out there and you're like eek! do I really want to go 35"?
 
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