[mifunk]

I installed the Rancho Sport lift approx 2 months ago and now have almost 2000 miles on it. I got the lift with SR9000 shocks and installed Mickey Thompson classic II;s with Nitto Terra Grappler 305/70/17.

Install time took 8 hours with the help of my son. No issues with with fit of parts, directions were straightforward. After the lift the steering wheel was off by approx 10 degrees and the Trac Control was coming on during the test drive around the neighborhood. A couple more turns of the drag link adjustment, wheel is center and all is well.

After playing with adjustment of shocks and tire pressure, I found a comfortable ride. # 2 on front shocks #1 on rears and 30 psi in the tires. Only a run on a fire road so far so not much info off road.

Overall I really like the lift and tires. No indication of DW or any driveline isssues. Had it up to 80 mph and it was smooth.

 

[jvandy50]

I have this lift, it's done well for 22k on my DD. only thing I have changed on mine was adding an adj trackbar up front and ditched the bracket and drop pitman. I don't know if it was necessary but I got a smokin deal on a barely used one. Did you weld that trackbar bracket on? Or bolt it up and go? Looks good btw!


Vandy

 

[mifunk]

Just bolted for now. I was thinking about an adjustable too.

 

[jvandy50]

Gotcha, mine worked fine. But with the deal I got, and the death wobble issues surrounding the trackbar (not necessarily with this lift though) just made me paranoid enough to change it. Lot of people have enjoyed this lift for awhile now, problem free


Vandy

 

[RockMolester]

Awesome! What year is your Jeep?

I'm anxious to see some "real world" pics of it out on the trail or at least out of your garage. I think this lift is a real nice alternative to AEV's overpriced equivalent.

What's your opinion of ride quality compared to stock? And given your 2-door Jeep's short wheelbase, what's the brake dive like (since this is one of AEV's biggest claims regarding their bracket kit's geometry compared to Rancho's).

Like Vandy, I wouldn't bother with the drop pitman arm. I would use a heavy-duty trackbar bracket and do a drag link flip on Reid Racing steering knuckles to just get everything up and out of the rocks and get the absolute best steering geometry possible. I like how AEV's kit rides and drives, but they price it as if it's made from gold. Rancho's kit with a few tweaks could be the best daily driving and expedition-type setup available, for a lot less money than AEV asks.

 

[mifunk]

It's an 09 with 22,000 miles. The ride is similar to stock with the shocks set to 2 and 1. There is a small amount of "tire wander" on older roads that are rutted but I think that is more due to the width of the tires than the lift. Funny you should mention brake dive. Had to hit them pretty hard today for a red light and noticed the front end dive a little. Nothing too bad. The road was rutted in that area and had to "drive" a little to keep it straight.

The kit was reasonably priced, $1150.00 with a $500.00 reabte. Total was $650.00 with the RS9000 shocks. Not a bad deal for a JK that will see mostly street time.

I'll get some pictures of it outside.

 

[Rancho Suspension]

I am always impressed by the SPORT lift, here are a few pics of it from this past year in Moab. These are 35's.

Hell's Gate

Green Day at Area BFE

Steel Bender exit

Awesome! What year is your Jeep?

I'm anxious to see some "real world" pics of it out on the trail or at least out of your garage. I think this lift is a real nice alternative to AEV's overpriced equivalent.

What's your opinion of ride quality compared to stock? And given your 2-door Jeep's short wheelbase, what's the brake dive like (since this is one of AEV's biggest claims regarding their bracket kit's geometry compared to Rancho's).

Like Vandy, I wouldn't bother with the drop pitman arm. I would use a heavy-duty trackbar bracket and do a drag link flip on Reid Racing steering knuckles to just get everything up and out of the rocks and get the absolute best steering geometry possible. I like how AEV's kit rides and drives, but they price it as if it's made from gold. Rancho's kit with a few tweaks could be the best daily driving and expedition-type setup available, for a lot less money than AEV asks.

Thanks!

 

[jvandy50]

I may have some pics from last trip soon I can post...this is all I have for now, we suck at taking pictures

Vandy

 

[RockMolester]

The kit was reasonably priced, $1150.00 with a $500.00 reabte. Total was $650.00 with the RS9000 shocks. Not a bad deal.

Is the $500 rebate deal still going on? When's that supposed to expire?

 

[RockMolester]

I am always impressed by the SPORT lift, here are a few pics of it from this past year in Moab. These are 35's.

Is there any truth to AEV's claim to superior control arm bracket geometry compared to Rancho's?

As far as steering is concerned, I'd want to upgrade either kit to use an axle-side track bar bracket, a drag link flip with Reid Racing's steering knuckles, and the stock pitman arm for perfect geometry.

AEV's tuned Bilstein shocks are a great all-around compromise, but nothing beats Rancho's adjustable shocks for a smooth ride while commuting or traveling over washboards, medium damping for trailering or heavily-laden expeditioning, or very firm damping for body control while rockcrawling. It drives me nuts to see an underdamped rockcrawler pogo-ing over the rocks - especially when the Jeep is off-camber where poor motion control can easily lead to flopping.

 

[616fun]

And the shameless poser:

I ended up removing the frame side trackbar bracket in favor of an axle side bracket when I went with a flip drag link. I also replaced the stock track bar with a beefier one.

 

[Rancho Suspension]

Is the $500 rebate deal still going on? When's that supposed to expire?

It is over but will most likely start again Q1 2012.

Is there any truth to AEV's claim to superior control arm bracket geometry compared to Rancho's?

As far as steering is concerned, I'd want to upgrade either kit to use an axle-side track bar bracket, a drag link flip with Reid Racing's steering knuckles, and the stock pitman arm for perfect geometry.

AEV's tuned Bilstein shocks are a great all-around compromise, but nothing beats Rancho's adjustable shocks for a smooth ride while commuting or traveling over washboards, medium damping for trailering or heavily-laden expeditioning, or very firm damping for body control while rockcrawling. It drives me nuts to see an underdamped rockcrawler pogo-ing over the rocks - especially when the Jeep is off-camber where poor motion control can easily lead to flopping.

Not too sure about the claim, but I haven't heard of anyone complaining of how well ours does on both off and on road.

 

[Rancho Suspension]

I ended up removing the frame side trackbar bracket in favor of an axle side bracket when I went with a flip drag link. I also replaced the stock track bar with a beefier one.

That picture looks like fun!

 

[RockMolester]

Not too sure about the claim, but I haven't heard of anyone complaining of how well ours does on both off and on road.

Here's their claim in case you missed it.

If you look at the Rancho kit, its clear that they lowered all the control arms back to near stock geometry which will improve the ride quality and probably fixes the castor issue, but they didn't take full advantage of what was possible with drop brackets. The AEV kit has lowered the lower arms slightly and the upper arms drastically. What this does:

Improve front impact ride quality (expansion joints, ledges)
Increase Anti-Dive for improved braking performance
Decrease the operating angle range of the front driveshaft
Eliminate the need for adjustable control arms or cam bolts for caster correction

...
and
...

Frequency-Tuned™ Coil Springs provide impeccable handling and a composed ride. Progressive rates accommodate equipment/option and substantial cargo weight variations seen in overland use. Gone are concerns for performance under passenger/cargo/trailer load.

Tuned Shocks based on the Bilstein 5100-series monotube are matched to our unique springs and included with every system to provide superb on- and off-road ride and handling under real-world conditions.

I don't doubt that the Rancho Sport lift rides and drives better than most suspension kits that have angled control arms, and smaller details like track bar brackets drag link flip kits are easily added to further improve the ride and handling, but I'm curious what Rancho's thoughts are regarding their control arm brackets' geometry as well as spring tuning as compared to AEV's?

 

[jvandy50]

I think the difference is about 1k lol


Vandy

 

[616fun]

For what the kit costs (especially with the rebate) it can't be beat. I've upgraded to a drag link flip and added a JKS track bar. I'd put it up against most short arm type kits on the market at almost double what I have in it.

 

[Rancho Suspension]

Sorry I missed this, our engineers designed the brackets for both off and on road performance. We have taken all the thing mentioned into consideration as well and have found that the stock drive shaft is fine in most applications (hardcore trails are pushing the limits of the stock shaft). For shocks the shocks we make for this kit are tuned as well for the JK platform. And lastly a progressive spring is great, but we look at all aspects. We wanted to make a reasonable price system for the "everyday" Jeeper.

Here's their claim in case you missed it.



I don't doubt that the Rancho Sport lift rides and drives better than most suspension kits that have angled control arms, and smaller details like track bar brackets drag link flip kits are easily added to further improve the ride and handling, but I'm curious what Rancho's thoughts are regarding their control arm brackets' geometry as well as spring tuning as compared to AEV's?

I think the difference is about 1k lol


Vandy

 

[RockMolester]

If you look at the Rancho kit, its clear that they lowered all the control arms back to near stock geometry which will improve the ride quality and probably fixes the castor issue, but they didn't take full advantage of what was possible with drop brackets. The AEV kit has lowered the lower arms slightly and the upper arms drastically.

Sorry I missed this, our engineers designed the brackets for both off and on road performance. We have taken all the thing mentioned into consideration...

So is there a reason why AEV is criticizing the geometry of Rancho's control arm brackets, or are they simply spewing marketing "fluff"? How much has brake dive been addressed in Rancho's geometry versus OEM geometry? In what instances have you found the OEM front driveshaft to be inadequate? Why did Rancho choose to use linear springs as opposed to progressive springs - is it simply a matter of cost?

Basically, other than the price difference, I'd like to know why someone would choose Rancho's Sport kit over AEV's 3.5" kit? Are Rancho's brackets any heavier-duty, since they hang down right where rocks want to smack against them?

 

[JKNarcosis]

I've had mine on for about 4 months now. It was the first project of this magnitude I'd done, and I did it alone, so it took me well over the 8 hours quoted.
I've got my shocks set to 2-3, adn the ride is great. the Jeep does wander a very little on the road, but I also installed wider 35s, and I think it is completely attributable to the tires.
I had the trackbar bracket welded on, and no driveline issues up to 75 mph. No braking issues at all, either. Now i'm saving for a rear driveshaft sice the stock one is likely to puke sometime.
Overall, i love the lift.
wade

 

[earfixr]

I think this lift just saved me a $hit load of money over the AEV lift. Sounds like its exactly what i've been looking for. Add an EVO steering brace and i'm done. Until i grenade a driveshaft or 2 that is...