JK shorty lift advice

[Dru]

The question of whether or not we needed to lift a Rubicon was well and truly answered in the Wattagans bog holes. I don't think I want to go mild, but I'm not building a comp truck either.

So, with a move to 35"s and 3.5" lift, I would normally do this in one hit, but cost and practicality tell me otherwise. Is there a method that can be done in stages? I don't have a garage so generally will need things done by a mechanic. How have you guys gone about it? What would you do differently?

Ideally I still want to go wheelin at each stage. Tire and wheels would be last. How does this effect geometries etc when the lift is designed for 35's but sitting on 32's for a while?

I've been doing a lot of reading, just it's a bit daunting when you are about to hit the "start" button.

[Steve F]

There will be no issues running 32's on a lift for 35's other than the look My XJ is running around on 31's at the moment but it's normal tyres are 35's.

My JK Rubicon (also a shorty) has just been lifted about 2.5", the main reason for me was to get the belly up, it still runs the stock tyres while the bank balance builds up and I wear them out. In all honesty a rubi with a small lift and muddies is pretty unstoppable, my ultimate plan is to keep the lift on this one lower, run a 33 or maybe 34 and limit flex to help keep it stable off camber. With the twin lockers, good ramp over (after a lift) and the short overhangs at either end I find it doesn't need the same amount of mods as the XJ did to go the same places and it will happily crawl through while cocking one tyre (or more) in the air. On a travel ramp my XJ will give it a kicking but in the real world I think they will be hard to seperate.

The advantage with this, we'll legality, street-ability, easy for my wife to drive it and keeps the costs right down

Cheers
Steve

[Dru]

Cheers Steve.

My thoughts were that with 2.5" and 33's I really want a bit of width in the tires to make up for reduced road contact with MUDs compared to ATs. From recollection the widest that will fit stock rims is 11.5". More than this means new wheels as well as tires.

New wheels and tires for 33's is going to be roughly the same cost as for 35's. I suspect it's the biggest cost here and if committed to it why not do 35's? I'd hate to work a 2.5 inch lift and get hung on my next trail. Pretty much means starting again doesn't it?

The street legal thing is confusing and hard to get clear answers. In reality how often are Jeepers hassled? While 35's will be a higher risk I hear of 33's getting pulled up too. I wonder how much this is about drawing attention to yourself?

I know common sense and street ability dictates 33". Tough decision!

[Steve F]

The hassling is getting more common, is it a daily driver? If you think you need the lift to run the trails you want to run then do it, I found with the XJ most of the challenge had gone out of the trails as it would drive most everything quite easily In saying that, with suspension and tyres the sills have gone up 8"

As an aside a good mud tyre will not be noticeably different on the road to an AT, at least grip wise. The KM2's I run on the XJ are great on the road

Cheers
Steve

[Paul-JK]

You can easily fit 35's under a JK with a 2.5" lift.
Keeps the lift lower to limit the extra parts you need for the lift and keeps the centre of gravity lower.
You'll need new wheels for 35's as the stock wheels are only supposed to be used for tyres up to about 33". If you did try to run 35's on them then you'd need wheel spacers.
You will then need to add something to cover the tyres as they'll be sticking out a fair bit. Getting aftermarket replacement guards will then free up fair bit of space to allow the 35's to come much further up under flex.

[DLE068]

If u get the right wheels with back space close to stock u won't need aftermarket guards. Just takes a bit of research

[Paul-JK]

True, but keeping the stock guards with 35's and a minimal (2.5") lift will likely mean reducing the up travel to stop the tyres hitting the guards.
Getting new guards will open up the options on new wheels as you can go a bit wider (which will also help stability which can only be a good thing on a shorty) and will give you maximum flex rather than having to limit the axle movement to keep the tyres off the guards.
Either will work, just depends on budget and intended use.

[Dru]

Has someone here been through the legals properly?

I was running over what seemed to be the relevant ADRs. Up to 50mm increase in ride height is exempt. So a 2" lift with 33" tyres is not legal without relevant certification. Unless I am missing something.

Certification (my term for the purpose of the discussion) then makes it legal up to 150mm. That way a 3.5" lift with 35's, by my thumb print, is OK. With certification.

By certification what I mean is there is a design cert under the ADR that is required. Surely the decent kits have this available? And then the installer certifies under the ADR. All good.

Then to NSW administration of the ADR, and it needs inspection and sign off. I presume this is what is meant when Jeepers say "engineering".

The other thing, is that looking through the ADR it is all commonsense stuff. Geometries, brake lines, suspension travel, no DWs etc. which surely we want anyway?

What am I missing?

We have checked with our insurers who are cool as long as it is legal. Everything seems fine so far.

[AV8]

Hi Dru,

I think you have it right. Mind you, you may not be legal QLD after being certified here in NSW.A trip to the Cape might be a worry then.

I don't think that there is a kit as such that will fit the ADR requirement and it is your choice to fit the appropriate one to meet the requirement of your state.

Having said that, how would you know what the new lift is if you change axles, mounting brackets, flares, sliders, etc. Where is the new datum where lift height is measured from?


Steve F, if you don't mind me asking,

Which engineer did you use for your XJ?
Is it certified for the 35s?
Whats your overall lift? <150mm?
Did you have to do a lane change test?
How much did it cost?

[Steve F]

Mine isn't certified, wolfe got his done but not with 35s. No chance of getting an xj done on 35s when 28 is stock