Minimal/No Lift Suspension Upgrade

[KJowner]

Curiosity got the better of me, I've just been looking at suspension pictures to see what's going on. This one grabbed from on here shows it perfectly.

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If you move the shock relative to the pivot points on the wishbones then you change its position relative to the bump stop as they are both fixed points on the car body. So a boiler plate lift would allow the shock to reach maximum travel before the bump stop hits the top of the upper wishbone.
However a clevis lift will not change the upper limit but will affect the lower end of the stroke, a spring lift should be the same.
At least that's the way I'm seeing it unless someone else has any ideas?

 

[u2slow]

Longer front bumpstop needed... to compensate for the top spacer. Otherwise the problem is the same as no factory bumpstop; the stock shock would bottom out within itself before the arms/knuckle stops moving.

Edit: doesnt matter if its a top plate or a longer fork. More is more, and the coilover assembly gets longer overall (compressed state) either way.

 

[YukimeS]

is there a difference in the rear in the before and after?
If so how much, looks to me if I replace my front springs I should be level

Oh for sure. My old suspension, not being changed for over 120k miles, was sagging bad and bottoming out on even the tiniest bumps. My old bump stops were worn basically flat. So it already had about an inch a half sag from factory. Driving on the new suspension, it definitely feels more level. I haven't done any measurements since, and right now there's snow out the door and I don't feel like freezing my toes off.

Funny enough, I always pull my dashcam footage when I have someone service my Jeep, and the shop guys were saying to each other "is it alright to pull the rake out of the suspension like that?" "You definitely don't want to do it on a truck, but on a vehicle like this it's fine."

 

[u2slow]

"Level" is an opinion on the KJ. The wheel wells are different heights and the body lines are not parallel.

Edit: its also a bit of a teeter-totter game. When you lift the front, the rear typically squats a little.