Lift confusion

I agree completely with that. I want a quality product, but at some point the cost of R&D should probably be figured into higher volume sales rather than higher price of a single unit. I'm not a business major so I don't know where that line is, or how the determine what to charge for a product. And if I understand you correctly, your point is that at some point a company is "over-engineering" the product and simply adding cost by putting extra time into it. Having been on the engineering side of things in the past I have a much better understanding of that side of it, and you are absolutely correct. You can engineer a product, pretty much indefinitely trying to make it better. Hence the iphone 2, 3, 4, etc. You keep working on a product to make changes/improvements and roll out updated versions. Mechanical parts are no different, so development could go on forever. Where do the lift companies draw the line and say this is a good product rather than pouring more money/time into it? Hard to say, it's obviously up to them, but I'd hope they don't overdo it and make a product super expensive.

Like you, I don't necessarily want the Rolex or the Timex. I'd rather something in the middle like a Citizen. Quality, probably a bit more expensive than the cheapest option, but not gratuitously expensive like the "high end" option either. I just want to know that I've bought a quality product, so I take my time to investigate the claims. Talk to people who have the product, compare the materials of similar products, etc. Do I put more into it than a lot of people? Maybe.... probably. It's just the way I'm wired.

Seems like I’m in the same boat as JeepGA and Shots.

The market determines the fair price. Dynatrac has a jump on the competition so they can charge what they want. Their price may also end up being the going market rate. At this point, nobody can deal argue with their price being fair or not; there just isn’t enough other competition to compare it against. I think what throws people like us off is that their cost is in the R&D for the springs and shocks, so there are other components missing in their kit that we’ve come to expect at this price point, based on other early offerings.

I may just shell out the cash for Dynatrac - despite the early issues (hoping rev2 is better).

Then again, given the backorder timeline, I am thinking it might be worth waiting for SEMA to see what else hits the market.

My guess is that I’ll end up with Dynatrac (and I bet I’ll be very happy with it), but will try to be patient for another week to see what SEMA brings, it anything.


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aug0211 said:

I may just shell out the cash for Dynatrac - despite the early issues (hoping rev2 is better).

Then again, given the backorder timeline, I am thinking it might be worth waiting for SEMA to see what else hits the market.


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This early issue is nothing to constantly complain about. It’s fixed so move on.

I didn’t have a problem with any backorder. I ordered my Dynatrac lift on Monday and it shipped 2 days later. It should be at my house this Tuesday.



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JeepGA said:

I'd like to know when one of these products is overserving through unnecessary engineering. That just adds cost. On the other hand, knowing where that line is drawn is critical in this decision for me..... I just wanna protect my investment and have some fun

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Shots said:

I agree completely with that......... Do I put more into it than a lot of people? Maybe.... probably. It's just the way I'm wired.

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aug0211 said:

Seems like I’m in the same boat as JeepGA and Shots.......

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It all comes down to YOUR pocketpook guys. It's your money, you don't need to justify to anyone how you spend it. But don't forget about the customer service aspect as well. Does the company you're buying from have a good reputation or no? I have personally dealt with Dynatrac several times and can say that they are top notch. Even when the product was out of warranty they still sent me replacement parts at no charge. This means an awful lot. Face it, Jeep spent a little coin engineering the JL's. The parts have a factory warranty and have been through extremely rigorous durability testing. I'm no engineer and I don't know what the time frame these parts are tested to last is but I know it's significant. So then we take a perfectly engineered vehicle and fuck it up by taking all of those parts off of the vehicle and placing aftermarket parts on it that we HOPE have been engineered to the same standards. THAT'S why companies like Dynatrac, EVO, ATX wheels, Warn winches, etc, etc are constantly recommended over Metalcloak, RUbicon Express, etc etc. Do they cost more? Yep. Quality and peace of mind that your parts are gonna hold up are worth the extra to a lot of folks. Up to you if you want to spend the extra. :idontknow:

ddays v2 said:

It all comes down to YOUR pocketpook guys. It's your money, you don't need to justify to anyone how you spend it. But don't forget about the customer service aspect as well. Does the company you're buying from have a good reputation or no? I have personally dealt with Dynatrac several times and can say that they are top notch. Even when the product was out of warranty they still sent me replacement parts at no charge. This means an awful lot. Face it, Jeep spent a little coin engineering the JL's. The parts have a factory warranty and have been through extremely rigorous durability testing. I'm no engineer and I don't know what the time frame these parts are tested to last is but I know it's significant. So then we take a perfectly engineered vehicle and fuck it up by taking all of those parts off of the vehicle and placing aftermarket parts on it that we HOPE have been engineered to the same standards. THAT'S why companies like Dynatrac, EVO, ATX wheels, Warn winches, etc, etc are constantly recommended over Metalcloak, RUbicon Express, etc etc. Do they cost more? Yep. Quality and peace of mind that your parts are gonna hold up are worth the extra to a lot of folks. Up to you if you want to spend the extra. :idontknow:

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End of the day I trust experience and want quality. Just means I may do less with better stuff...or take..more time to do everything

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JP223/3USA said:

This early issue is nothing to constantly complain about. It’s fixed so move on.
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^^^yes, thank you!


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ddays v2 said:

.... But don't forget about the customer service aspect as well. Does the company you're buying from have a good reputation or no?....

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Great point, customer care does matter. I bought an optic for my rifle, which was more expensive than a lot of the competition, but they offer an unconditional lifetime warranty on it (Votrex Optics VIP Warranty). Yes I paid more for it than I would have for similar optics offered by other manufacturers, but the customer services was worth the extra expense for my use. Your post about their customer care is something I can certainly understand. This adds to their quality, and subsequent price. Thank you for not only giving an opinion, but for also including personal experience relating to how you formed that opinion. :thumb:

Don’t forget about the cool duffel bag you get, that gotta be worth something.

Hey everyone I’m late to this party, have an ‘18 OB JLUR, added ICI Magnum stubby bumper, Smitty X20 winch, 35” tires (-12 offset). Also new to the lift scene. From what y’all have said and I have read elsewhere, this Daystar enduro kit is a nice option. But I must add I’ve heard very good things about RK and MetalCloak. How does it compare to those brands? I’ve typically heard RK is the best without getting into the crazy expensive kits.


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Schmeegz said:

Hey everyone I’m late to this party, have an ‘18 OB JLUR, added ICI Magnum stubby bumper, Smitty X20 winch, 35” tires (-12 offset). Also new to the lift scene. From what y’all have said and I have read elsewhere, this Daystar enduro kit is a nice option. But I must add I’ve heard very good things about RK and MetalCloak. How does it compare to those brands? I’ve typically heard RK is the best without getting into the crazy expensive kits.


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This almost sounds like a troll attempt. If it isn't, you haven't done any reading on recent threads. Please read around this forum to find Metal Cloak and Rock Crawler aren't the best. This community prefers Evo, Dynatrac, or Rancho.... somewhat in that order. Wide price ranges for different builds.

2018 JLUR. V6. Auto.

Schmeegz said:

From what y’all have said and I have read elsewhere, this Daystar enduro kit is a nice option. But I must add I’ve heard very good things about RK and MetalCloak. How does it compare to those brands? I’ve typically heard RK is the best without getting into the crazy expensive kits.


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Not sure. I've never heard any of that stuff.

Schmeegz said:

Hey everyone I’m late to this party, have an ‘18 OB JLUR, added ICI Magnum stubby bumper, Smitty X20 winch, 35” tires (-12 offset). Also new to the lift scene. From what y’all have said and I have read elsewhere, this Daystar enduro kit is a nice option. But I must add I’ve heard very good things about RK and MetalCloak. How does it compare to those brands? I’ve typically heard RK is the best without getting into the crazy expensive kits.

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Lift kit popularity tends to be regional. I see that you're from NY and it'd make sense that you've heard RK is the best especially if you've heard it from a shop or vendor. Typically, both will recommend what they carry, have in stock or can make the most profit on.

As far as Daystar goes, their kit is a coil spacer lift or what most refer to as a budget boost. Essentially, you get lift from putting spacers on top of your coils and really, they're all the same thing.

I’m looking get a solid full suspension lift (meaning coils and shocks) most shops around here won’t even put spacer lifts in.


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Don't think that you HAVE to have your lift installed by a 4x4 shop - this shit ain't rocket science. Any good mechanic or shop you trust can install one of thee lifts if you can;t do the work yourself. These Jeep suspensions are about the simplest and basic setups out there. Pickup trucks have more sophisticated chassis than Wranglers do.

As far as Rock Krawler goes, Their stuff isn't what I'd call 'bad', but there are better choices out there IMHO. I ran a RK kit in my JKU but switched to an EVO kit. When you're comparing the kits look at the joints on the arms. That's where you'll find the biggest difference in these kits, along with the springs. EVO, Clayton, Currie to name a few use Johnnie Joints and these are the beefiest joints going. I don't have the pic on this particular computer or I could post a pic I took comparing them to the RK ends. There really isn't a comparison. :twocents:

ddays v2 said:

Don't think that you HAVE to have your lift installed by a 4x4 shop - this shit ain't rocket science. Any good mechanic or shop you trust can install one of thee lifts if you can;t do the work yourself. These Jeep suspensions are about the simplest and basic setups out there. Pickup trucks have more sophisticated chassis than Wranglers do.

As far as Rock Krawler goes, Their stuff isn't what I'd call 'bad', but there are better choices out there IMHO. I ran a RK kit in my JKU but switched to an EVO kit. When you're comparing the kits look at the joints on the arms. That's where you'll find the biggest difference in these kits, along with the springs. EVO, Clayton, Currie to name a few use Johnnie Joints and these are the beefiest joints going. I don't have the pic on this particular computer or I could post a pic I took comparing them to the RK ends. There really isn't a comparison. :twocents:

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Only rocket science aspect is torquing shock bolts

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benatc1 said:

Only rocket science aspect is torquing shock bolts

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:cheesy:..........