07 jk suspension recomendations

[SFROMAN]

Hello,
One of my buddies at work wants to raise his new jeep a few inches. Honestly, he is not planning on doing anyhting other than making his jeep look a little nicer with a slightly larger tire and alittle bit of lift. Eventually I am sure he will start joining me on some very mild dirt road exploration trips.

I know that his Jeep is perfectly capable in stock form but he is dead set on lifting it, so that is why I need advise. He defintitly wants the look though. For better or wose I think the jeep just like my FJ40 look better with a slight height adjustment and slightly larger tires.

His budget is $4K to $5K. He was planning on buying a lift kit, rims and tires. I convinced him to keep his stock rims which in my opinion dont look bad at all ( we are going to paint them black though).

For tires I told him to stick with 285/75/16 BFG All terrains. I am a little bias because it is my tire of choice.

So that leaves most of his budget for a good quality lift. The objective is to improve on the stock suspension and add 3 inches of lift.

I dont want him to go with a cheap lift that gives him a horrible ride.

All comments, suggestions, advise are very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance
DEL

[Metcalf]

Keep it as low as possible for the tires. I think 2" would be more than enough for 285s. Personally I would spend the money on shocks and 'bumps. A great set of properly tuned shocks can take a vehicle into an entirely different performance realm.

If all he wants is the 'look'....
-2" budget boost
-Adjustable front track-bar
-swaybar extensions
-short rear trackbar bracket
-new average shocks, or shock extenders.

[Scott Brady]

OME with the new Sport shocks - Done

[SFROMAN]

Thanks for the quick response,

Any dealer recomended on this site for the OME suspension?

Thanks
DEL

[thetanningman]

Wil @ www.sierraexpeditions.com should be able to help ya out. I also have an Old Man Emu kit as well and love it. I added a set of adjustible JKS Trackbars and a have yet to put on my AEV front control arm drop brackets but love the way it drives compared to stock...

[MuleShoer]

I have the OME suspension on my 07 with 33's and the ride is great, I drive it 100 miles a day, 80 miles of which are interstate. IMO they are they best value. Be aware there are 3 spring configurations to select from, you will need to really know how your jeep will be setup, ie bumpers winch racks hardtop etc. before you pick the springs

[SFROMAN]

After doing a little bit of reading I saw that. I will have to ask my buddy to see if he plans to add bumpers in the future.

I am a bad influence on him.

Thanks for the info fellas

have a good one
Del

[Bennyhana]

I went with the Teraflex performance leveling kit with new Teraflex vss 9550 shocks. Rides great and only lifts it 2" in the front and 1.5" in the rear. All together comes in pretty close pricewise to the OME setup and it was atoss up for me until I got a screaming deal on the Teraflex kit..I'm happy with it and the change in handling with the new shocks is amazing.

[njjeepthing]

I ran the Tera Flex leveling kit with all stock Rubicon components on my 07 2 door and ran 285's on stock rims with no issues. Still averaged 21 mpg with the 6 speed!

[stankfoot]

i myself have narrowed it down between OME or AEV. not sure what i will install on my jk i have heard nothing but good about both. good luck to your friend since there are way to many choices.

[njjeepthing]

i myself have narrowed it down between OME or AEV. not sure what i will install on my jk i have heard nothing but good about both. good luck to your friend since there are way to many choices.

I've driven both, to me the AEV was a nicer ride quality onroad, I didn't drive the AEV offroad yet, maybe Saturday.

[SFROMAN]

I want to thank every one very much for the great suggestions.
I am pretty sure I have him convinced on getting the OME lift and shocks.

I will pay it forward and give an update once he chooses his lift, we install it and he drives it for a few miles.


Have a good one :beer:
Del

[Vizoo]

I will probably overload my JK for a 25,000 miles expedition begining next June.
My doubts are:
1- Just put harder springs and an Air Lift on the back;
2- OME lift with Rancho RS9000XL;
3- AEV 9th Degree (complete with shock absorbers).

The route (and other details) can be seen here (http://www.joa150.com.br/americas2011).

Any help will be appreciated.

[Hilldweller]

I convinced him to keep his stock rims which in my opinion dont look bad at all ( we are going to paint them black though).

For tires I told him to stick with 285/75/16 BFG All terrains. I am a little bias because it is my tire of choice. Those tires will rub hard parts on that wheel; the backspacing is wrong.
You can get some Spidertrax spacers ---- but they're illegal in many states, considered unsafe by all the top tire chains (they will refuse to service a vehicle with them), and considered a poor choice by me.
Get new wheels with 4.5" backspacing. 4WheelParts runs specials often and you can get some good alloys for $85-$100 or so. JEGS has Cragar Soft 8s (steelies) for $60 usually but they're heavier.



So that leaves most of his budget for a good quality lift. The objective is to improve on the stock suspension and add 3 inches of lift.

I dont want him to go with a cheap lift that gives him a horrible ride. Then you want something complete.
Is it a 2-door or Unlimited?
A 2-door can be lifted 2.5"-3" without needing the driveshaft or other driveline components modified. The Unlimited can go to 3.5"-4" or so.
That rules out a bunch of lifts for the 2-door unless you want to mod other things and blow more money.

The OME springs/shocks work well. But their kits are pricey and don't address other issues like caster angle, trackbars, swaybar links, etc.
You'd have to supplement an OME kit with JKS, Poly Performance, or other builder parts to make it work well.

Take a look at Rock Krawler; they have a 2.5" lift (http://www.rockkrawler.com/index.php?r_intro=no) that's pretty sweet. Add the Bilstein shocks and you really can't go wrong.
No harsh ride, no wandering between lanes when the wind blows, best warranty out there.

[njjeepthing]

Those tires will rub hard parts on that wheel; the backspacing is wrong.


I ran 285's on stock Rubi rims and had no issues with rubbing anything, no spacers involved as they are illegal in NJ.

[Hilldweller]

I ran 285's on stock Rubi rims and had no issues with rubbing anything, no spacers involved as they are illegal in NJ.
Even turning full lock?
What brand?
I know people who've rubbed with just 275s...

[njjeepthing]

Yup full lock, Goodyear Duratracs.

[Voodoo11]

......no spacers involved as they are illegal in NJ.


They are?!? :elkgrin:

[SFROMAN]

Bill,
His jeep is a 2 door.
You say that the tires will rub? The front ones? when turning? On the control arms?

DEL

[Hilldweller]

Bill,
His jeep is a 2 door.
You say that the tires will rub? The front ones? when turning? On the control arms?

DELThat's been my experience.
When I got mine, I mounted 265s right away; there was a bit more room and I guessed that 275s would fit. As it turns out, it depends on the tire and you can't always tell from a tire's website. Some people rub with 275s and need to adjust the steering stops, some people don't.
njjeepthing is the first person to tell me that they've fitted 285s without any rubbing; I can only assume that they're the skinniest 285s on the market.

I have 285/75-16 Cooper Discoverer STTs on 16x8 Procomp 1059 alloys. It's a pretty big tire overall.
Have you ever been on Wrangler Forum (http://www.wranglerforum.com/f33/) or Jeep Forum (http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f96/)? They're the two best; they don't edit/sensor/delete the members' posts if they disagree with the opinions of vendors... ...some of the other Jeep sites do that. Aggressively.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/billpearlman/014_crop-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/billpearlman/040.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/billpearlman/013.jpg

[JPK]

I will probably overload my JK for a 25,000 miles expedition begining next June.
My doubts are:
1- Just put harder springs and an Air Lift on the back;
2- OME lift with Rancho RS9000XL;
3- AEV 9th Degree (complete with shock absorbers).

The route (and other details) can be seen here (http://www.joa150.com.br/americas2011).

Any help will be appreciated.

I have a four door JKU with the AEV 4.5" suspension on it. Hard top (which weighs more than the soft top) AEV front bumper with a Warn 9000ti winch, rear bumper/tire carrier carrying a 37"x12.5" tire. The Jeep has a front and a rear reciever and I have used a hitch hauler to carry 450lbs of bagged corn at the front and at the rear (not at the same time.) The suspension handles it and the Jeep drives well with the weight in either location.

Much more weight than the ~475lbs of hitch hauler and corn carried in the rear receiver plus maybe 75lbs of hunting gear in the rear of the Jeep, 350lbs of passengers in the fronts seats and 140lbs of dogs in the rear seats and you would want some more weight up front to balance it out.

JPK

[JPK]

i myself have narrowed it down between OME or AEV. not sure what i will install on my jk i have heard nothing but good about both. good luck to your friend since there are way to many choices.

Not apples to apples but I have an OME suspension on my LJ and an AEV susopension on my JKU. The OME is ok but it sagged some (maybe due to Jeep weight gain and not poor springs) and squeeked alot until I put some thin 3/4" spacers over the springs. The AEV is incomparable. The JKU rides and handles much better than stock, the suspension is absolutely quiet as well. A tremendous improvement over stock.

I'd go AEV again in aheart beat, but not OME.

JPK

[njjeepthing]

Not the best image, but all I could grab real fast!
285''s with Tera Level kit.

[Hilldweller]

Del,

My aftermarket wheels are 6 pounds lighter than my stock wheels ----- the Cooper tires are something like 12 pounds heavier than my stock tires.
Besides the better offset, unsprung weight was another consideration when choosing the new wheels.
You have to get the mass in motion and you have to stop it. Fuel economy and safety. Brake longevity. Do a search; the rear brake pads wear out pretty fast. I'm on my 3rd set of rear pads, second set of rotors, & second set of front pads; my Jeep turns 3 years old at the end of April.

My OE wheels were the 18s; useless with that offset.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/billpearlman/100_4199.jpg