A BETTER BUDGET BOOST : Rancho 2" Sport JL Wrangler Rubicon Lift

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
For about 4 months now, Cindy and I have been running a 2.5" coil spacer lift on JET Li, our 2018 Jeep JL Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited and while we were happy that it got us running a set of 37" tires, I can't say that we've been overly thrilled with the quality of its ride. To be clear, the ride wasn't exactly terrible but compared to stock, something we thought was awesome, it just felt "okay" to us at best.

From what we could tell, most of what we were feeling was coming from the factory shocking having a hard time keeping up with the added unsprung weight of our bigger tires and heavy beadlock wheels. In an effort to smooth things out, we did installed a brand new set of Rancho RS5000X JL shocks which now come with DRS (dynamic rebound spring) technology and they did help out quite a bit - but we still felt that our ride could be better. I should also note that thanks to the added weight of an aftermarket, heavy duty steel bumper and a winch, the front end of our JL sagged a lot and enough so that we were left with maybe 1.5" of lift. Also, with the weight of all our gear loaded in the back, our rear end sagged a whole 2" - as in, we were left with only .5" of lift on our longer trail runs and that had us bottoming out on just about ever rut, bump and rock we hit. In other words, there's only so much a factory coil can do.

While we've been more than happy testing out a budget boost on our JL Wrangler and for as long as we had, it was time for us to move on to the next stage of JET Li's build. Being that we had EVO adjustable control arms installed and were already running a set of longer Rancho shocks, all we were really needing was a set of replacement lift coils to make that happen. As luck would have it, the all new Rancho 2" Sport Lift for a Rubicon came with what we were needing and after making a couple of calls, JET was ready to get a new spring or should I say, "springs" in his step.

Here's a shot of everything that comes with the Rancho 2" Sport Lift. As you can see, it comes complete with new, progressive rate corner specific coils, longer RS5000X shock absorbers, 2" front and rear bump stop extensions, rear sway bar links, front sway bar link relocation brackets and an emergency brake cables relocation bracket.
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Here's a shot of what the front springs look like. I should note that these are made out of a thicker wire, are about .5" wider in diameter and have 5 more winds than the factory coils.
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As mentioned, the progressive rate springs that Rancho provides with this kit is corner specific and each one is labeled accordingly. After each part number, there is an "LF" or "RF" as in, left front or right front.
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Just like factory, the passenger side front spring is measurably taller than the driver side spring.
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This is what the rear springs look like. Just like the front set, these are made out of a thicker wire, are about .5" wider in diameter and have 1 additional wind than factory.
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Again, the rear coils are labeled with part numbers that end with an "LR" or "RR" to help identify where they go.
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The difference in height between the 2 sides is even greater on the rear coils.
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On the rack and ready for a well needed upgrade!
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Being that we spent most of our time filming this install for a future JL JOURNAL, we didn't take a whole lot of pics but here are a few of what JET Li looks like with his new springs installed.
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If you see a slight lean to the driver side, it's not your imagination. I should note that we could see it from the day we brought JET Li home and as we would later come to find, it was because of the passenger side factory coils were physically taller than the driver side. Well, the same is true with the Rancho coils and our best guess for why they've done this is to help eliminate the passenger side lean that all JK's had.
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Overall, JET Li's stance didn't change much at all and if anything, his rear end was now sitting about .5" higher up.
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Here are a few shots of what the new Rancho springs and shocks look like installed.
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wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Okay, so we know this new Rancho 2" Sport lift makes our JL Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited looks great sitting in our driveway but how does it perform? Well, here are a few shots that we took from the testing we did, out on the trail. :cool:

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What's the verdict you might ask?
HUGE IMPROVEMENT!

Just to put things into perspective, the Rancho 2" Sport Lift is a $640 kit running entry level RS5000X shocks and yet, the ride quality of our Jeep JL Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited has improved significantly!

On pavement, our ride is much smoother, bumps and imperfections in the road are dampened much better and what I was really surprised by was that our cornering was significantly improved. I can only assume that the factory coils never liked having the center of gravity on our JL sitting higher than stock and so with our coil spacers installed, we felt a LOT more sloshing around. Getting up to the trail we ran, we took one of the windiest mountain highways in our area and was super happy to have JET feel like a sports car now or at least by comparison. Also, loaded up with all our gear, we only saw a .5" drop which means, we still had about 1.5" of solid lift.

Off road is where we really felt a difference, if only because we weren't sagging as much in the rear. I have no doubt that the progressive rate springs were helping out a lot as well but hard as I tried, I couldn't get our JL to bottom out or at least, not in the bone jarring way that our coil spacer lift did. The additional .5" of stuff helped make flexing feel more stable and the shocks seemed to do a much better job of working with the springs to dampen the bumps while jamming across rougher terrain. Again, I need to point out that this is in comparison to what we were running before.

PROS
The biggest pro of the Rancho 2" Sport Lift is that for it's SUPER LOW COST of $640, you get a complete kit with new springs and shocks, one that provides a fair amount of lift and most importantly, one that provides a really nice ride, especially for the money. To me, this kit makes it really hard to recommend a budget boost when a mere $150 more can get you this instead. Another pro is that the kit is easy to install and comes with an emergency brake cables relocation bracket.

CONS
I have to say that I'm not a big fan of progressive, dual or even triple rate coils. While they may do a good job of making your Jeep "look" more level when loaded up and keep you from bottoming out on the trail, they often use up the softer side of the coil and leave you on the firm side - thus leaving you with a firmer ride. Also, coils like these will work against stuff when trying to flex and this is something I saw in our test. I suppose it's a small price to pay for what they do for you but it I think it's worth noting. Last but not least, I can't say that I'm too happy with taller passenger side coils that come with this kit. I know a lot of manufacturers are doing this but they've left our JL with a visible lean to the drive side. I literally have to load up all our heaviest gear on the passenger side just to make it look more level. But then, we did have this problem with the factory springs as well.

ADDITIONAL NOTES
It's nice that this kit comes with an emergency brake cables relocation bracket but it really isn't necessary to install, especially for just 2" of lift. Installing it will allow your rear axle to droop more and that will make it easier to install your new springs but this will also leave your emergency brake cables with a lot more slack. In other words, your emergency brake lever will need to be pulled up a LOT higher for it to feel like it's working at all.

Also, I'm not sure why Rancho chose to use relocation brackets so that you can still use your factory front sway bar links especially when installing the factory rear links up front is probably the easier and better way to go.

Finally, it is my understanding that the 2" Sport Lift for Rubicons is the exact same kit as the 3.5" lift for Sport and Saharas. Not sure why there's such a height difference but, there you have it.

IS IT A BUY?
YES. Based on my experience, this Rancho Sport Lift Kit is worth every penny and it's a MUCH BETTER BUY than a basic budget boost with shock extensions. Sure, it does costs a bit more but - just a bit.

:thumb:

Please let me know if you have any questions. :cool:
 

NFRs2000NYC

Member
Would swapping the springs drivers/passengers side cure the lean? I dont understand the logic of making them unequal, if they are going to be unequal meant to compensate, seems like they just keep the problem in place. Weird.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Good to know it’s a quality, affordable kit!

Yup, quality is all there and for the cost, a better buy than a basic budget boost. Or, at least in my opinion anyway.

Great review! Was really impressed with how it performed yesterday.

Thanks and thanks for inviting Cindy and I to go wheeling. Timing was perfect and it was nice to have support just in case things didn't go as planned. :cool:

Would swapping the springs drivers/passengers side cure the lean? I dont understand the logic of making them unequal, if they are going to be unequal meant to compensate, seems like they just keep the problem in place. Weird.

If I could guess, Jeep made the springs different to help compensate for the lean JK's had due to their gas tanks being on the passenger side. A lot of aftermarket companies are doing this as well but for me personally, I kinda wish they didn't. As it is, the weight of the driver can cause a bit of lean and more so than a full tank of gas. Oh well, I'm sure they all mean well.
 

Onlyone

Member
Thanks for the review. I’m still looking for some springs too. The bottoming out was violent with the factory shocks but now that the foxes are on, it’s not as bad but I would like to eliminate it. I was looking at EVO’s but I’m not sure how much lift I will get. The rear is pretty light but the front is heavy. I was contemplating the 3.5 in the front but not sure about the rear. Kinda up in the air now. I was hoping for a bit more spring out of the Rancho’s. The last springs I had in my JK were the 2.0” synergy springs that settled at about 2.25” with a heavy bumper and winch that had a terrific ride.
 

doubletapdaddy

Caught the Bug
Thanks for the thoughtful review. I certainly appreciate the pros, cons and final purchase recommendation. It is a shame though that aftermarket is retaining the factory lean via asymmetrical spring lengths.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Thanks for the review. I’m still looking for some springs too. The bottoming out was violent with the factory shocks but now that the foxes are on, it’s not as bad but I would like to eliminate it. I was looking at EVO’s but I’m not sure how much lift I will get. The rear is pretty light but the front is heavy. I was contemplating the 3.5 in the front but not sure about the rear. Kinda up in the air now. I was hoping for a bit more spring out of the Rancho’s. The last springs I had in my JK were the 2.0” synergy springs that settled at about 2.25” with a heavy bumper and winch that had a terrific ride.

I'll have to check again but right out of the box, I got 3.25" of lift in the rear with the Rancho coils. Loaded up, I lost .5" bringing me to 2.75". I suspect that they may settle more but if they don't, I'll be pretty happy with that. Up front, the weight of the bumper and winch brought the front down about an inch, just like the factory coils but expected as much. A 1" coil spacer would fix that.

How is the clearance with the Rancho 2" lift and your 37" tires.

About the same as what I had with factory coils and spacers. The bump stops are .5" shorter so I do have a bit of rubbing at a full stuff but just a bit.

Thanks for the thoughtful review. I certainly appreciate the pros, cons and final purchase recommendation. It is a shame though that aftermarket is retaining the factory lean via asymmetrical spring lengths.

Yeah, I can't say that I've been too happy with it. So weird that so many manufacturers are doing this.
 

doubletapdaddy

Caught the Bug
Yeah, I can't say that I've been too happy with it. So weird that so many manufacturers are doing this.

I wonder if it's just a matter of CYA, in the event that the lean and/or asymmetrical coil lengths are due to a manufacturing consideration that has yet to be realized.
 

WiscoHR

Member
Great review! I was wondering if there is any travel left in the lighter portion of the coil when loaded down. On my Jk I found once I loaded the Jeep the lighter portion of the coil was always compressed to the point that the the coils touched only leaving the stiffer portion for travel.


Sent from my iPhone using JL Wrangler Jeep Forum mobile app
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Great review! I was wondering if there is any travel left in the lighter portion of the coil when loaded down. On my Jk I found once I loaded the Jeep the lighter portion of the coil was always compressed to the point that the the coils touched only leaving the stiffer portion for travel.

Being that these are progressive rate coils, there is travel in the soft portion of the coils but there still is more resistance when flexing than I would prefer. Still, for the cost, this kit really is a better option over a budget boost.

Great review. Looks like an all around good kit.

It really is hard for me to believe that this is just a $640 kit. Great value for the money and something I would totally recommend.
 

Lyman

New member
So in my old CJ7 I had several pair of Leaf Springs under it and after awhile they would all start to lean to the right(passenger side). The reason for this was due to the V8 power I had in it. When you rev your engine the torque of the motor will twist the Jeep to the Passenger side. It will be interesting to see if the aftermarket springs level out after awhile. Somebody put a 392 Hemi in their Jeep to speed this process up. :)
 

Four Flusher

New member
Confused?

I'm not sure what I'm missing. If the Rancho kit has different coils for each corner, why doesn't that help correct the lean? Seems like the different length coils would be to level it out.

On another note, you mention several times how much you liked the stock ride, me too. I want to go to slightly bigger tires, 315/70/17, add a winch/bumper, sliders and some skids. The kits that are available are either 2"/2.5"/3.5" which seems like more than you need to run this combo. Any kit's on the horizon to run that combo? Seems like folks are mostly going to 37" which look way cool but just don't ride like stock. Probably just adding winch/bumper and sliders will impact the stock ride, correct?
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
I'm not sure what I'm missing. If the Rancho kit has different coils for each corner, why doesn't that help correct the lean? Seems like the different length coils would be to level it out.

The Rancho coils have the same difference in height as factory coils. In other words, the passenger side factory coils sit taller than the driver side too. To correct the lean, the passenger side coils would need to be the same height as the driver side coils or at the very least, not be as tall as they are.

On another note, you mention several times how much you liked the stock ride, me too. I want to go to slightly bigger tires, 315/70/17, add a winch/bumper, sliders and some skids. The kits that are available are either 2"/2.5"/3.5" which seems like more than you need to run this combo. Any kit's on the horizon to run that combo? Seems like folks are mostly going to 37" which look way cool but just don't ride like stock.

This Rancho kit was designed for 35" tires. If that's all you're wanting to run, this kit will do the trick for you, way better than coil spacers and shock extensions and without putting too much hurt on your wallet. We are running it with 37's but we are getting a good amount of rubbing at a full stuff. Nothing that I'm too concerned with but it is there.

Probably just adding winch/bumper and sliders will impact the stock ride, correct?

Yes and no. Your general ride quality around town should feel about the same but you'll notice the change off road.
 

Four Flusher

New member
So, the built in lean is to compensate for a full gas tank which is why lifts kits will have different length coils?

Thanks for your input
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
So, the built in lean is to compensate for a full gas tank which is why lifts kits will have different length coils?

Thanks for your input

That's my best guess. Although, even with a full tank, my JL on stock coils leaned to the driver side. I think aftermarket manufacturers like Rancho just did what Jeep did only with taller coils.
 

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