TJ Lift

[JCTex]

I have the Unicorn, a 2006 LJ Rubicon. It has 33” x 11.5” tires already and Gen Rite flat fenders. I’m deciding between a Rock Krawler 2” Flex lift kit and a 3.5” one. My worry is just doing 2” will get the fenders off the tires but accomplish little else on trails. OTOH, the 3.5”, while capable won’t be needed but 25% of the time, at most. I worry the 3.5 will make the LJ less stable in DTF driving. Many of the Jeep’s miles will be towed all 4 down. Your thoughts will be appreciated.

Jerry

 

[PhulesAU]

Get over it. A 3.5 inch lift will not hurt the stability, unless it's an improper install. I run a 4" on a 04 LJ Dodging Houston traffic and plenty of off road mile to boot.

 

[Viatorem]

With proper installation, a 3.5” lift won’t be any more noticeable than the 2.5”. And 33in tires will look and function nicely as well.

 

[Bullseye240]

3.5" will work fine. My 06 LJ Rubicon drives just fine with an OME 2.5" and 2" spacers above the coils. My GR*Tops Safari Top and Garvin rack make the LJ a little more top heavy and with the stock anti-sway-bars connected it drives and handles just fine. Even with two kayaks on the roof it still handles as well as a straight axle vehicle could ever hope for.

 

[NOMADIC_LJ]

Here's my "unicorn". It's got a 3.5" Nth Degree lift. I can do 70 comfortably and it doesn't feel squirrely

 

[LJRubiReal]

Here's my "unicorn". It's got a 3.5" Nth Degree lift. I can do 70 comfortably and it doesn't feel squirrely

View attachment 450860

How much weight are those Nth Progressive springs rated for? Cheers on the LJ!

 

[1stDeuce]

I went a different route and couldn't be happier. I only have about 2" of suspension lift. I put a 3/4" body lift on and a belly-up skidplate to get more clearance under the middle, where it seems to be most critical. I'm running 255/85R16's, which are 33x10.50's more or less... I have a little more than 16.5" clearance under the belly, and it's all smooth instead of the "one way check valve" skidplate that Jeep used... With a little less lift and an extra 5" of tail over a standard unlimited, I do drag the tail on occasion, but aside from all out rock crawling, it really isn't an issue. And it's really stable off camber, which is nice.



The Unlimited wheelbase works great with a belly-up skidplate, since the rear driveshaft is longer, and a CV at the forward end makes the angles work out. Harder to do on a SWB TJ. Mine is from Nth Degree, but I think there are others still making them...



The one downside that I've noticed is that when I go to Moab and run trails with 4" lifted TJ's, they all pick up tires everywhere, while my TJ seems to just spyder up and over with very little drama. Makes for boring pictures.

<Edit>
Just thinking about my setup... I also went with a 1" motor mount lift. In combination with the belly up and 3/4" body lift, my fan is right in the middle of the shroud, and the 1" extra clearance under the oil pan is also nice.
I also put a ~3/4" spacer under the front jounce bumpers to keep the tires out of the fenders, and so it bottoms on the bumpers before the shocks are fully compressed.
Nth adjustable rear upper control arms let me set pinion angle higher to work with the CV driveshaft too...
And don't mind the airbags, they haven't been hooked up in years, I'm just too busy to take them out.

For shocks, OME TJ shocks for a 2" lift are the perfect length. Or Bilstein 5100's for a 2" lifted XJ, which are what I'm now running. I couln't tell the difference in valving...
Fox and Bilstein's TJ shocks are either too short to get much droop, or too long for a 2" lift... If you want slightly cheaper shocks, I also ran some Skyjacker hydros for a while, hoping they were valved fairly soft... Unfortunately, they're all valved a bit too stiff for my taste, but those options are the right length. If your TJ is heavier, you'll probably think the ride is great... Mine is kinda stripped, so it rides a bit stiff till I load it.

Good Luck!

 

[Motobilt]

3.5" for sure.