Lift options for 2dr JK Overland build

[cgnjeep]

Hi all,

After considerable thought my wife and I, against all good reason and based purely on emotion, have decided to sell our 2013 Tacoma and keep our 2011 2 door JK as our only vehicle. We are trying to start a family, have a large dog, do a lot of overlanding/roadtripping, have no A/C in the Jeep and can list a lot of reasons why keeping the Tacoma would be "smarter"... but this time the heart wins out as we absolutely love our Jeep.

We will be moving our CVT tent from the Tacoma to the Jeep as soon as I make a decision on which rack to go with, so after the weight of a new rack and tent the Jeep will sag even more than it already does from us overloading it and towing over the years. So as reason dictates Roof Rack + CVT tent = 2.5" lift kit required.

I have narrowed down my choices to three kits;

1.AEV 2.5" Dualsport XT ($1340 CDN)

2.Teraflex 2.5" with Bilstein shocks ($965 CDN)

3.ROCK KRAWLER 2.5" Stock mod lift package, W/ Bilstein Shocks ($1240 CDN)

We use the Jeep on long road trips as well as backroads and abandoned forestry roads to explore and get us to hikes. The stock height has always been enough for us to make it anywhere we wanted so the lift is mostly to counter the weight and improve the ride quality. Although the extra height will be nice.

Here are some of my concerns:

- Which kit will have the most appropriate springs for the extra weight as well a some towing of a 4'x6' cargo trailer?

- Do I absolutely need an adjustable track bar? The Teraflex does not include one and is $300-$400 cheaper than the other two.

- Which kit is the most complete if I end up buying a track bar separately for the Teraflex lift?

- Improved road manner would be nice but my bigger concern is offroad ride, our Tacoma is a lot smoother on backroads and going over obstacles, so which lift would make our Jeep smoother on trails?

Any input from anyone who has any of these lifts or any other suggestions would be a great help!

 

[BCobe]

I am not 100 percent on spring sag when weighed down, but I have heard that the majority of the springs will sag.

I went with the AEV and will rate it as an "OK" lift. Ride quality is good but I dislike some of the way things are done. If you go with a 2.5 inch, go with some sort of front adjustable lower control arm, or brackets if you are on a budget. I did the AEV for a couple of months without adjustable control arms and it felt super flighty/twitchy to me, steering wise. Went with some Currie LCA's and it feels awesome now.

Also, do not forget some sort of exhaust bracket so your driveshaft does not contact the exhaust in anyway. I installed mine right after my lift so I never experienced any problems in that area.

I would say that the AEV is more "complete". It gives you the parts to adjust your rear track bar (Not adjustable) to center your axle, you get front sway bar brackets, and also get brake line extension brackets. Kinda looks like the TerraFlex has those components to minus the track bar.

The one thing I do not like about the lift are the sway bar brackets and brake extension brackets. Really wish that they would just give you longer versions of both rather than brackets but thats just me.

Could always look at frankenlifting it. Might be more in the long run but you are able to pick and choose what parts you want to run.