Looking for advice on a lift kit, and tires for a jk jeep. I'm sure it's been discussed many times but me actually posting gets me involved in the community. My plans are to buy a 14 or 15 white jk unlimited. Gonna go with the sahara package as it's more of a dd the a weekend warrior.

I do plan on taking it off road time to time. It a gonna be more of a trail/ light mud rig. I don't plan on running anything more than 35 inch tires as it'll be my dd.

I go by the motto buy something once and never have to worry about it again So what's your guys in put on lift kits and tires for my style


http://www.4wheelparts.com/Wheels/XD...PXD80829050318

These will be the wheels I'm going with

http://www.4wheelparts.com/Wheels/LR...LRG10429073900


Wrong link. These are the wheels I'm going with

You already have wheels picked out so I will suggest Rock Krawler for the lift. And Nitto for the tires.

I was Kinda leaning towards the terra flex kit based on reviews but I'm open to opinions. Like I said I'd rather buy it once, spend the money and be done with it. Why do.You suggest the rock krawler kit?

What size lift will you be interested in? Teraflex and RK are two of the best names in the business. As for the buy it and never have to worry about it again, you shouldnt have bought a Jeep that you are going to modify if you dont want any problems! If you take it offroad, something will almost always break if you use it the right way

I'm thinking 3 to 3 1/2 inch lift. With the wheels I posted above 20x9, I think I'm gonna run a bfg ko2 275/55/20. Anyone have any idea what that will look like? Any input good or bad is appreciated.

Can someone explain the difference between the mid arm and long arm system on the Rock Krawler website?

Mid arm-like a short arm uses the factory mounts. RK actually moves the rear axle back 1"
RK's LA is a independent 3 link front and rear. Frame mounts removed/pushed back. The front 3rd upper link mounts to a build-a-ball joint on the diff. Rear 3rd arm mounts to a bridge over the diff. I believe the reg LA kits still move the axle back 1" unless you choose the 3" stretch system.

Sounds like the installation will be a bitch. Might lean towards the terra flex 3inch pre runner kit. Anyone used that before?

Any weld on LA system is not for the novice

What's a kit like that typically cost to instal

Expect to pay $800-1200 for install depending on where you are at.
For the tires your are going to run I would stay at 2"-2.5" of lift to keep things simple. No reason for you to go out and put a full suspension lift on your jeep for what you are talking about doing. A simple budget boost will give you the clearance you need for the offloading you are describing.

You can throw "Do once and done" out the window on jeeps as your off road experience increases so will what you do to the jeep to make it more capable.

BTW the wheels you have picked out are a pretty poor choice for a jeep. You will want a backspacing of 4.5" or less for a 35"x12.5" tire and stick to a 17" wheel for more sidewall flex for off road and more choice and cheaper rubber.

Mid arm is a marketing term made up by RK to make you think you are getting something you are not.

Good luck with the new jeep.

Well you can argue the fact RK's "short" arms are longer then most.
The front also min at .5 over stock. Most other short arm kits adjust from stock.

Thanks for the reply!

I'm not really looking for a huge side wall as it will be on the highway 95% of the.time. That's why I was leaning towards the 20 inch rim.

What will the difference be in looks between the 4.5 backpacking vs the 5 backspacing

From doing a little research going from a 4.5 b.s. to a 5 b.s. and the wheel being 9 inches wide it'll push the wheels out 2 inches correct ?

What's the offset ?

Offset for the wheels I want is 0

I think you'll be fine with a 12.5 wide tire and 5" Bs. The concern is rubbing turning.

Even with a lift and flat fenders? I plan on going with the poison spyder aluminum flat fenders.

Turning not upwards travel. If you do rub slightly, add a washer to two to the steering stops ... Easy fix.

Thanks for the info man

http://www.rockkrawler.com/ProductDe...ode=JK25FS%2D4

Rock this ^

That's a whole lot better price than some of these 3k dollar kits I'm looking at. I don't wanna cheap out on a kit but I don't wanna spend 3k on something that a 1k kit will do fine for what I'm trying to do.(95%highway, the rest trails and light mud)

Would you suggest the RRD Racing Shocks with that kit?

That is because they use a 1" shank on the joint and have very little thread for adjustment. Any other arm using 1.25" johnny joint can easily adjust longer then RK's even if they start with a stock length arm.
http://www.jkfreaks.com/forums/showt...son-and-review

Rock Krawler refers to all of their short arm lifts as "Mid Arm" lifts even the "Stock Mod" kits that retain the factory control arms.

The "X Factor" lifts are the only kits that move the rear axle back 1". The "Stock Mod", "Flex", and "Max Travel" do NOT move the rear axle back 1".

Rock Krawler has 2 different lower rear control arms. One for use with factory length uppers, and one for use with adjustable rear uppers. (most likely because of the smaller/ shorter shank).


Synergy and Metalcloak control arms are adjustable from stock length to over 1"-1 1/2" longer than factory and there is no need for 2 different control arms to achieve it. Metalcloaks recommended control arm lengths for 2.5"-3.5" for the rear are Lower 20 7/16" and Upper 18 7/16" (stock are Lower 19 3/4" and Upper 17 7/16") so Rock Krawler moving the rear axle back 1" really isn't anything special or unique to their kits.