what 2" lift kit to choose

ddays v2

Member
Sorry for jumping into the thread but it seems like a good place to address this.

I'm going to be pulling the trigger on 35's in a few weeks for my JLUR and I'm also considering the Rancho 2" lift. I see that folks are running 37's with the 2" lifts and was wondering if the extra two inches on the Rubicon is a little too much for 35's. Should I just run the Jeep stock with the 35's? Just wondering what people think.

Thanks in advance for any input.

The Rancho lift will yield a bit more than 2" of lift but it'll still be a good fit for 35's. If you don't install a lift, you will have rubbing issues.

I'm running 35's on mine (JLUR) and when it's wheeled hard where it's flexing a lot I do get quite a bit of rubbing. So much that I would not want to do it all the time.

I am leaning towards the Dynatrac lift for the time being because I want to do what Benatc1 is doing - small first step and then one giant one. With my '14 I went through too many parts to get to where I am now with it. It was fun learning, but I could have saved a bunch of dough doing things once. This '19 is a daily driver so I want a smoother ride for now and not so high where customers and my wife bitch about getting in it. When it's not my daily anymore, then comes the high clearance LA kit & Coilovers.
 

Exodus Jeeps

Advertiser
Supporter
I'm running 35's on mine (JLUR) and when it's wheeled hard where it's flexing a lot I do get quite a bit of rubbing. So much that I would not want to do it all the time.

I am leaning towards the Dynatrac lift for the time being because I want to do what Benatc1 is doing - small first step and then one giant one. With my '14 I went through too many parts to get to where I am now with it. It was fun learning, but I could have saved a bunch of dough doing things once. This '19 is a daily driver so I want a smoother ride for now and not so high where customers and my wife bitch about getting in it. When it's not my daily anymore, then comes the high clearance LA kit & Coilovers.

Ultimately I was able to get into the computer yesterday and adjust everything, so I was then able to air it down to 28 psi. The customer called me this morning to report they absolutely love it. I would think on a 4 door the net lift is probably going to be about 1/2” less than the 2 door. Although I’m sure it would ride really well, this may not be enough lift for you.


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ddays v2

Member
Ultimately I was able to get into the computer yesterday and adjust everything, so I was then able to air it down to 28 psi. The customer called me this morning to report they absolutely love it. I would think on a 4 door the net lift is probably going to be about 1/2” less than the 2 door. Although I’m sure it would ride really well, this may not be enough lift for you.


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Hmmm. Maybe not then. Olram is running this kit with 37" Coopers. He said he gained an actual 2". Ultimately, I don't want to replace control arms yet and that's what I liked about the Dynatrac lift. Plus the tuned shocks are with it. Hell, back to the drawing board....
 

olram30

Not That Kind of Engineer
Hmmm. Maybe not then. Olram is running this kit with 37" Coopers. He said he gained an actual 2". Ultimately, I don't want to replace control arms yet and that's what I liked about the Dynatrac lift. Plus the tuned shocks are with it. Hell, back to the drawing board....
But I also have the fender mod that cleared up a lot of room.

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Just trying to inject a bit of balance in this thread. And don't take this the wrong way. There are many other lift kits besides Dynatrac and Rancho. Seems theres a bit of bias here.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Just trying to inject a bit of balance in this thread. And don't take this the wrong way. There are many other lift kits besides Dynatrac and Rancho. Seems theres a bit of bias here.

:cheesy: Oh come on, of course there are a LOT of other kits out there other than Dynatrac and Rancho and ones that are a LOT better. The people here are just going off of what they know and or have seen and are just sharing as much. To call their opinions "bias" without even making a suggestion as to what you would recommend instead and why is kinda lame. Not trying to take a shot at you and hope you don't take this the wrong way, just trying to inject a bit of perspective. :yup:
 

olram30

Not That Kind of Engineer
Just trying to inject a bit of balance in this thread. And don't take this the wrong way. There are many other lift kits besides Dynatrac and Rancho. Seems theres a bit of bias here.
Well, it's what most people run for a 2" lift and are happy with. There's also synergy, but I can't recall anybody that's running it or a review.

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NFRs2000NYC

Member
I was also looking at the Dynatrac and Rancho lifts when the time comes, and wanting to run 37s, I think I would need at least 2-2.5" of actual lift, but I tend to run heavier than the rigs above (steel bumpers, carrier, rotopax, winch, etc) so Im afraid of the sag that will net me too little lift. I really like the reviews on the EVO plushrides, because my Jeep is mainly a daily driver with one or two annual out west trips, so comfort on sh!tty east coast roads is important, but I know the plushrides are a bit soft, so I was thinking that going with the 3.5" plushrides with the added weight would net me around the 2-2.5" of lift that Im looking for. I guess when the time comes I'll ask plushride owners for their findings to see how much they lose in lift when they add a bit of weight at both ends.
 

olram30

Not That Kind of Engineer
I was also looking at the Dynatrac and Rancho lifts when the time comes, and wanting to run 37s, I think I would need at least 2-2.5" of actual lift, but I tend to run heavier than the rigs above (steel bumpers, carrier, rotopax, winch, etc) so Im afraid of the sag that will net me too little lift. I really like the reviews on the EVO plushrides, because my Jeep is mainly a daily driver with one or two annual out west trips, so comfort on sh!tty east coast roads is important, but I know the plushrides are a bit soft, so I was thinking that going with the 3.5" plushrides with the added weight would net me around the 2-2.5" of lift that Im looking for. I guess when the time comes I'll ask plushride owners for their findings to see how much they lose in lift when they add a bit of weight at both ends.
That was my original plan. Still have the evo lift sitting in the garage. But plans changed when I split the fenders.

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dixonk

Member
I was also looking at the Dynatrac and Rancho lifts when the time comes, and wanting to run 37s, I think I would need at least 2-2.5" of actual lift, but I tend to run heavier than the rigs above (steel bumpers, carrier, rotopax, winch, etc) so Im afraid of the sag that will net me too little lift. I really like the reviews on the EVO plushrides, because my Jeep is mainly a daily driver with one or two annual out west trips, so comfort on sh!tty east coast roads is important, but I know the plushrides are a bit soft, so I was thinking that going with the 3.5" plushrides with the added weight would net me around the 2-2.5" of lift that Im looking for. I guess when the time comes I'll ask plushride owners for their findings to see how much they lose in lift when they add a bit of weight at both ends.

Match the springs with King 2.5 bypass shocks from EVO and the ride is definitely not soft. It’s compliant but not wallowing. They valved them to feel more sporty than stock.


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Growlz

New member
The Rancho lift will yield a bit more than 2" of lift but it'll still be a good fit for 35's. If you don't install a lift, you will have rubbing issues.

I was away for the weekend and just saw all the responses to my post. Thanks to everyone for their input.

I think I'll go with the tires first and then move into the lift later in the summer.

Thanks again everyone.
 

:cheesy: Oh come on, of course there are a LOT of other kits out there other than Dynatrac and Rancho and ones that are a LOT better. The people here are just going off of what they know and or have seen and are just sharing as much. To call their opinions "bias" without even making a suggestion as to what you would recommend instead and why is kinda lame. Not trying to take a shot at you and hope you don't take this the wrong way, just trying to inject a bit of perspective. :yup:


All good, as was I. I mean this whole notion of “kits” has a dogmatic thought process in my opinion. We should first use all the heads here to see what springs for a given ride height are the softest and which are the sturdiest for heavy bumpers wince etc. (spring rate) then talk shock valving match and adjustable control arm strength construction quality. I have not seen any evidence that any one company has all sides figured out. Thats why coil-overs are the gold standard, because you can swap valving and spring rates/resting ride height pretty easy.
I like
Evo coils
JKS Coils
(Laugh if you want) Skyjacker silicon chrome springs
Old man emu (soft)
Icon
Stay away from rock crawler springs

Arms:
Evo
Metal cloak: if you dont mind proprietary bushings
Synergy easy adjustablity

Shocks are the hardest to decode. Ive not had enough data on shock valving over a lot of manufacturers. One thing i can say is that more often than not, valving is generally stiff. To combat excess float or body roll during highway driving on an increased roll center.
 

ddays v2

Member
All good, as was I. I mean this whole notion of “kits” has a dogmatic thought process in my opinion. We should first use all the heads here to see what springs for a given ride height are the softest and which are the sturdiest for heavy bumpers wince etc. (spring rate) then talk shock valving match and adjustable control arm strength construction quality. I have not seen any evidence that any one company has all sides figured out. Thats why coil-overs are the gold standard, because you can swap valving and spring rates/resting ride height pretty easy.
I like
Evo coils
JKS Coils
(Laugh if you want) Skyjacker silicon chrome springs
Old man emu (soft)
Icon
Stay away from rock crawler springs

Arms:
Evo
Metal cloak: if you dont mind proprietary bushings
Synergy easy adjustablity

Shocks are the hardest to decode. Ive not had enough data on shock valving over a lot of manufacturers. One thing i can say is that more often than not, valving is generally stiff. To combat excess float or body roll during highway driving on an increased roll center.

If anyone out there has a complete kit figured out better than others it would be EVO. Call me a fanboy or whatever you want, but besides Dynatrac, I don't know of anyone else that has JK/JL specific valving with both coilovers and shocks (both by King). Metalcloak has shocks but I wouldn't run those POS's if they were given to me. Teraflex has their Falcons but they're from Teraflex, so no other explanation necessary.

Edit: Dynatrac only has valving specific shocks from FOX, not coilovers. My wording above could be misconstrued
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
All good, as was I. I mean this whole notion of “kits” has a dogmatic thought process in my opinion. We should first use all the heads here to see what springs for a given ride height are the softest and which are the sturdiest for heavy bumpers wince etc. (spring rate) then talk shock valving match and adjustable control arm strength construction quality. I have not seen any evidence that any one company has all sides figured out. Thats why coil-overs are the gold standard, because you can swap valving and spring rates/resting ride height pretty easy.
I like
Evo coils
JKS Coils
(Laugh if you want) Skyjacker silicon chrome springs
Old man emu (soft)
Icon
Stay away from rock crawler springs

Arms:
Evo
Metal cloak: if you dont mind proprietary bushings
Synergy easy adjustablity

Shocks are the hardest to decode. Ive not had enough data on shock valving over a lot of manufacturers. One thing i can say is that more often than not, valving is generally stiff. To combat excess float or body roll during highway driving on an increased roll center.

As I always say, ride quality is 100% subjective. What one person likes, another may not. Me personally, I prefer a ride that's on the softer side but overlander types typically balk at that being that they want to carry a ton of crap and not have a saggy look. I would totally agree with you that coilovers are the gold standard being that you can set them to how you want.

What I will say about EVO is that unlike any other company that I know of, they spend a LOT of time testing and tuning their King shocks with King. This as opposed to what most companies do and that's to just offer a shock to go with their kit. Granted, the ride that the EVO spec king shocks provide with their coils are based off of what they prefer but I tend to like the ride as well.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
If anyone out there has a complete kit figured out better than others it would be EVO. Call me a fanboy or whatever you want, but besides Dynatrac, I don't know of anyone else that has JK/JL specific valving with both coilovers and shocks (both by King). Metalcloak has shocks but I wouldn't run those POS's if they were given to me. Teraflex has their Falcons but they're from Teraflex, so no other explanation necessary.

Edit: Dynatrac only has valving specific shocks from FOX, not coilovers. My wording above could be misconstrued

Correct. The Dyantrac lift comes with Fox 2.0's made specifically for their coils. You cannot buy them separately. EVO also has specific shocks made by King to go with their coils. Of course, you can buy Fox, King or otherwise out there but they wouldn't be specifically designed for any specific set of coils.
 

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