Lifts and tires - Reliable research information

[Frank]

Thats exactly why this thread is so long. Not having to do it twice . Wheeling on 35s and a D-30 is not the end of the world. Most of the JKs have installed a kit to help them stay straight at the axle ends , (inner "Cs") One of the biggest issues you will have is the gear ratio. I know we spoke of it , but its not going to go away. Yes it will still drive and yes you can wheel. As a newer to wheeling person , you might not feel the difference right away , in low range. On the road you will notice it. Still , if you lift it and go with 35s , and a year later you can afford the gear change. Id like to be there on the drive home and watch you expression . Its a money pit we all love , with no end in sight ! FjR68

[RalphTomaccio]

The research continues. I had a long chat with Chris at Elias and gathered some additional info and discussed running 35's with the Dana 30 which several folks at events have said isn't the best idea. He recommended a 2" lift if I wasn't doing the 35's at the same time as it would look disproportional with 32 MTs and a 3" or 3.5" lift. I wouldn't want to do a 2" then have to do it again when I do 35's that just doesn't make sense. It would seem this can't or shouldn't be done in phases unless I want to pay for a 2nd lift down the road. Rough estimate for the 3.5, 35's and wheels is around 7k. I have no idea if that is good, bad or average. I'll be chatting with some other shops on thoughts and pricing. If I had known then what I know now I would have bought it lifted..

Have you decided yet on just how far you want to go with your Jeep? As far as esthetics, yes, 35's would look better with a 3.5" lift but, as Frank said, that suggests a gear change. A 2 1/2" lift should be able to handle 35's, but the Dana's are another issue. I have 33's with my 4" lift and, is it ideal esthetically? Some would argue "no". But, I don't think it's off by much at all, and I have a pretty good time with the way it is now. I'd love to have different gearing and stronger axels, but that isn't going to happen in my world. So, I'll have fun with what I have. I'll live vicariously through Kurt, Mark, Frank and a few others. As I said in the beginning, you need to determine what you want as an end result. Do it piece meal if you have to.

[RandyCarol]

I went with a 2.5 lift because I swore I would stick with 34-35's. Well, it only took a season of wheeling to realize I wanted more. I at least went with a full lift kit originally so I only needed the 3.5" springs, but that's $350 I could have saved if I just went a little bigger to begin with. What exactly are you getting for $7000? It would be easier to let you know if that's a decent deal if we know all that you are getting.

[ImNotCassie]

For that much it should be everything including labor.

[BlackNBlue-ISH]

Don't worry about the tires looking disproportionate to the lift you have installed. Get the lift done, square away any thing else related to that, and hold off on wheels and tires for now. You've got the mud terrain tires already so you still have decent traction. I ran 31" tires on my TJ when I could've fit 34's or 35's and yeah, it looked a little funny, but I could wheel the piss out of the "little tires" so it didn't much matter.

For 7k, I hope that includes a sleeve and gusset kit for the d30, gears for the differentials, wheels/tires and a lift. I think labor for gears is about 1k per axle, wheel and tire package is probably 2k, and the lift and install would be the remainder of the 3k.

It adds up fast, but you get to make the decision with what parts you have installed, and if you bought it already lifted, it may not have been done correctly, or with what you actually wanted in the end.

[DaThug]

My end result would be 3.5-4" lift and 35's. That is the most I would want to do on this jeep, if I wanted to get into more extreme crawling, I'd buy a older lifted jeep with bigger everything that was only for offroading.

The 7k was the lift, tires and wheels, no mention of the changes to the Dana 30 or gearing. I didn't get a written estimate, he gave me a ball park of what another customer with the same jeep just paid for the same work. What I don't want to do is to drop 7-8K and find I need something else done for another 5k to make if usable on the road. This guy was pretty adamant on not lifting more than a 2" with the 32's.

I'll call a few more shops and see if I get the same info and recommendations.

[Mikmaq]

My end result would be 3.5-4" lift and 35's. That is the most I would want to do on this jeep, if I wanted to get into more extreme crawling, I'd buy a older lifted jeep with bigger everything that was only for offroading.

The 7k was the lift, tires and wheels, no mention of the changes to the Dana 30 or gearing. I didn't get a written estimate, he gave me a ball park of what another customer with the same jeep just paid for the same work. What I don't want to do is to drop 7-8K and find I need something else done for another 5k to make if usable on the road. This guy was pretty adamant on not lifting more than a 2" with the 32's.

I'll call a few more shops and see if I get the same info and recommendations.

Hi there I am new to the forum. I see the date on this thread so I am interested in what you ultimately ended up doing?