kj lift...confusion

[03libbysprt]

Hey. I'm looking to lift my kj but I don't wana go too high as to people say I'd have to do a lot more modding and more pricey so maybe 2.5-3"?. Just not sure what's good and what's junk. Can't afford the pricey stuff but don't want a price of shit either.

 

[Hedsic]

Hey. I'm looking to lift my kj but I don't wana go too high as to people say I'd have to do a lot more modding and more pricey so maybe 2.5-3"?. Just not sure what's good and what's junk. Can't afford the pricey stuff but don't want a price of shit either.

Ironman, Billstein, or OME


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[tommudd]

Hey. I'm looking to lift my kj but I don't wana go too high as to people say I'd have to do a lot more modding and more pricey so maybe 2.5-3"?. Just not sure what's good and what's junk. Can't afford the pricey stuff but don't want a price of shit either.

What people ?? :shrug:
OME gives you 2.5 inches and no issues, Ironman about 2.25 with no additions
Both in the same neighborhood as far as price goes
895 for full OME kit, 813 for the Ironman
can go a little cheaper by using Bilsteins from somewhere else but then you have to remember they need sleeves so the mounting bolts tighten correctly
No confusion really

 

[03libbysprt]

Was looking for.something.g a little.cheaper

 

[CzarKJ]

Was looking for.something.g a little.cheaper

Unfortunately you get what you pay for. Cheaper stuff will just get you into trouble.

 

[Hedsic]

Cheaper will equal a less to non functional lift. If doing it right is out of your price range it's best to just wait until the time that it is in your price range.


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[tommudd]

Was looking for.something.g a little.cheaper

There really isn't anything cheaper IF you want to lift it, do it right and be a good ride afterwards . Could do a spacer lift but you'll hate it

 

[03libbysprt]

So I buy these one front and rear springs can I ass a spacer? I just.don't see paying 900$ for a kits for 1.5 inches of lift. Of I just buy the xoikd will I have to then buy longer shocks too? I'm new to this jeep and don't want to drop a shit ton of cash

 

[Hedsic]

So I buy these one front and rear springs can I ass a spacer? I just.don't see paying 900$ for a kits for 1.5 inches of lift. Of I just buy the xoikd will I have to then buy longer shocks too? I'm new to this jeep and don't want to drop a shit ton of cash

I don't think anyone said anything about only getting 1.5" of lift :shrug:. You will get more like 2.25-2.5 as stated above. More if you add top plate and a clevis spacer(not spring spacer). Unfortunately, If you don't wanna pay than you can't play, It's that simple.. You clearly do not like the answers being given to you because they do not fit in your price budget. Unfortunately your options are limited with a Liberty. I was in your boat when I was looking for a lift on my Liberty as well and I wasn't thrilled with the answers either. Luckily I didn't find out the hard way.

Sounds like you are going to ask a question, Get the correct answers than ignore the answers and probably get a spacer lift despite all that trouble. That is okay becasue many have gone that same route. We will await your post back here in a few months asking for help when everything is creaking and knocking and sagged, bushing all jacked up etc.

That's the beauty about this forum. Even if you decide to ignore all the sound advice given, every single person here will be right there to answer and help when you come back. You might hear a few "I told you so" but nothing too bad. Most feel that the extra cost in money you now have to spend to fix everything wrong will be punishment enough for not listening to their advice.


Honestly though, if you are worried about cost I would listen to Tom and the others above. Going the cheaper route will only appear cheaper at first. It will seriously save you some major headaches and money.. Specially if this is your daily driver. Going cheap is just going to make you dislike your Jeep.

 

[tlrtucker]

don't want to drop a shit ton of cash

:happy175: You bought the wrong kind of Jeep then :happy175:



Seriously tho, what you probably dont know about KJ's (Liberty's) is that they come with weak front springs from the factory. Over time, it has been well documented that the front springs sag over time and lose what little ride quality they had from the factory. Adding a cheap spacer lift to the already sagged and weak factory springs puts a dramatic increase in the stress on these springs, causing them to rapidly sag, often an inch or two in just a year, leaving you with a much worse situation. Not to mention the ride quality has been terrible with spacer lifts. The only way to replace the wink link is to replace it. In comes a full spring/shock lift. Of all of the manufacturers that make a full lift kit for KJ's - only Ironman and OME have a positive reputation (both advertise 1.5" of lift for legal purposes, actually give you closer to 2.5"). Their springs hold up considerably better (some that installed the HD springs have over 100k miles with no complaints). The ride quality with these two lifts is 100x better than stock ever was. Everything else is terrible - no engineering was put into them, just untested parts thrown out on the shelves. Even big name companies, like Skyjacker, put out a inferior lift kit that just leaves KJ owners very unhappy, have a crappy ride and the springs again sag terribly over a short amount of time. That's been the experience with KJ owners with years and 100's of thousands of miles on their lifts.

So long story short - yes, you can lift your liberty for only a couple hundred bucks. But you'll hate the ride quality, even if you never take it off road. If you want a quality lift kit, that was engineered for a kj, that will stand the test of time AND will give you an excellent ride quality - then your options are extremely limited. Ironman or OME. If that is too much money then you're better off leaving the liberty as is. KJ's aren't like Cherokee's or Wrangler's where you can get away with a budget lift...

 

[tommudd]

So I buy these one front and rear springs can I ass a spacer? I just.don't see paying 900$ for a kits for 1.5 inches of lift. Of I just buy the xoikd will I have to then buy longer shocks too? I'm new to this jeep and don't want to drop a shit ton of cash

If you would read what we are telling you then you'd have answers to your questions. You don't get 1.5 inches of lift you get the 2.25 or 2.5 like I mentioned above
Buy the Iron man or OME kit and everything there, 4 springs/ 4 shocks very simple

Plus you didn't buy the wrong kind of Jeep, any of them cost money to lift them right

 

[Hedsic]

Yeah I can vouch for the "any jeep costs money" comment. I've already got almost double the cost on my JK for 2.5" of lift than what I paid for 4" of lift on my Liberty. If you want to measure cost by inches. Any market is going to have cheap options but they are just that. I could have gotten 3" plus on my JK for $200 if I wanted to go horrible spacers. Of course I'd have all kinds of bushing failures and driveline issues. Not to mention failed driveshafts plus probably new tires since there's no way I'd get close to accurate allignment plus probably some death wobble.

 

[TheBlueKJ]

Wranglers are different with spacers, you can actually use them since you don't have coilovers to put more stress on. That's why spacers are bad for the Liberty. Is it better to use full length springs than spacers? You bet but you can also get away with it. Liberty? Don't even think about it.


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[Hedsic]

**edit**
I misread that, I thought it said that the Wranger HAD coilovers lol I'm still half asleep

I have found that most everyone in the JK forums don't even consider spacers actual lifts and it's pretty frowned on when brought up. Many have newer vehicles with newer stock springs/shocks but eventually it still causes issues. Specially above the 2.5" range. Also limits your flex.

 

[TheBlueKJ]

This is true. I have seen with the TJ guys on jeepforum that they dont really frown on them but they dont really support them, especially if it's going to be used offroad. But anyways back on topic


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[03libbysprt]

Im not gonna ignore y'all what I wana know is can I just buy the ome coils and they will lift it? AnD do I need longer shocks? If so which ones arebest. I'd rather get it piece by piece then cram a Daystar in there. I've seen I can buy these one springs seperatly not to expensive. Im hoping for about 2.5 inches. Only wheel every now and then. Not gonna be a trail truck

 

[Hedsic]

Im not gonna ignore y'all what I wana know is can I just buy the ome coils and they will lift it? AnD do I need longer shocks? If so which ones arebest. I'd rather get it piece by piece then cram a Daystar in there. I've seen I can buy these one springs seperatly not to expensive. Im hoping for about 2.5 inches. Only wheel every now and then. Not gonna be a trail truck

Oh yeah, You can buy everything piece by piece and build it up until you have everything then install it on. That's what a lot of guys/gals on here do. That's what I did.

 

[tommudd]

Im not gonna ignore y'all what I wana know is can I just buy the ome coils and they will lift it? AnD do I need longer shocks? If so which ones arebest. I'd rather get it piece by piece then cram a Daystar in there. I've seen I can buy these one springs seperatly not to expensive. Im hoping for about 2.5 inches. Only wheel every now and then. Not gonna be a trail truck

Yes you need longer rear shocks when lifted and while you can run your old front shocks, they are worn out, so why would you want to reuse them again ?
By the way everyone of my lifts have been bought a piece at a time

 

[03libbysprt]

Thank you everyone will be ordering soon will post soon but now I see this recent post on here about a guy who got Rusty's coil lift and 70k miles later still good

 

[Hedsic]

Thank you everyone will be ordering soon will post soon but now I see this recent post on here about a guy who got Rusty's coil lift and 70k miles later still good

Good luck with Rusty's my friend. :shrug:

Rusty's isn't bad. I've heard good things from them on other platforms. It's my understanding that the issue on their Liberty kit is that the springs are rated for the same weight as the stock springs which are already under rated. So it's going to sag just like your stock springs have. Pretty much forget about adding any form of weight to the jeep.

There is a reason why when you don't see everyone this board running a $400 Rusty's kit or anything.. If they worked good almost everyone here would have them instead. I know myself personally I prefer to spend as wisely as possible and not throw money away. Had I been able to get a working good lift for $400 on my Liberty instead I'd have taken that option in a heartbeat.


There are 2 ways to build a Liberty. There is the right way and there is the "It's a KJ Thing" way... Trust me, you want to go the right way.