Noobie lift + tire questions (Already read FAQ)

CohenCaptureCrawler · **Posted:** Mon Jan 10, 2011 12:05 pm

Hey, noobie here, i dont know much about jeeps except that they're awesome and i'm happy to join the forum.

Question: I want to lift my 2005 Renegade
i want to lift it about 2'' for looks, and so i can put some badass tires and black wheels on it.
My reasons for lifting is mostly cosmetic, but i am a serious boater, and i plan to tow a boston whaler
do i need all new everything? or do i need just spacers? i really dont understand

now heres question 1: what is the optimal way for me to lift jeep? Where do i buy the parts? spacers, shocks, all this even after reading i dont quite understand. please help?

question #2:Whats the relation between lifting and size of rims/tires? (i know it sounds dumb)
cash is a concern. i want to put big black rims on my jeep, and beefy tires. but i'm not sure how much i have to lift, or space to put on what size rims and tires?
i believe i have 16 or 17'' rims...

Could you please help me with info and link and price this out? thank you!

sincerely, JDC

Megalos · **Posted:** Mon Jan 10, 2011 12:44 pm

I"m no expert but I think that you'd be better off replacing all the springs and shocks for the lift. Most people here don't really support the spacer lifts. As for wheels & tires...you can go up to 247/75/16 with the lift without having to do too much work on the wheel wells though some have gone larger. 16" or 17" rims should be ok but it appears that 15"s will be tight around the brake calliper.

I just lifted my 05 Renny in December and the improvement to ride quality along with the asthetics of sitting a couple inches over stock (4 inches over where I had sagged to) is awsome. I don't do any towing so some others might help you out more there.

AllJs and Jeeping by Al are a couple of the main sites to get parts for our liberties.

Hope this helps.

Slitch · **Posted:** Mon Jan 10, 2011 1:02 pm

Ok so as you can see I'm also still considered a newbie so I recommend second opinion on this but here goes

Q1: the best 2 or 1.5" lift kit would be the old man EMU or OME where u will have to buy front coils part number 926 and struts PN NS131 and for the rear also matching coils and long travel shocks I don't remember the part numbers but if you go to http://www.jeepimbyal.com ull find them easy. Ull probably need a. 3/8" top plate or strut spacer (shim plate) to level it out which is sold here on Lost by a member named Boiler
This is the best lift kit without 1% sacrifice of onroad drive ability
It should cost you about 700 to 900 bucks depending on where and when u order it

My advice regarding spacer lift is don't go for it. It will make ur springs sag and give u a really rough ride but that's just me

As for Q2: with the OME set up ull probably be able to put tires up to 245/75/R16 and your stock rims should be 16" as far as I know. Now if u want bigger rims ur gonna have to give up the 75 part meaning that the bigger the rim the shortest the height of the tire wall the relation of which could be found on any tire/rim website. Keep in mind though that with bigger rims (less height) u won't be able to handle hard offroad trails and would probably break a rim if u try to

That's all I have man. Hope I helped

tonycrd · **Posted:** Mon Jan 10, 2011 1:12 pm

Hi, welcome to LOST!

If you are on a tight budget and do not want to do any offroad driving (as you stated you want looks and bigger tires, nothing more) I'd say go for the 2,5" Daystar lift.

Prices as low as $150 something. Check www.boulderbars.com or www.jeepinbyal.com

When you want to you can always upgrade later.

Towing a boat has little to do with how much pressure you put on the springs because there is a max downward LBS limit on the tow hook in the US too I guess? (over here it's 165Lbs).

CohenCaptureCrawler · **Posted:** Mon Jan 10, 2011 11:05 pm

Alright i dont exactly plan to do alot of off roading, but i would like to know that i can handle a little! nothing serious but def, a little bit of fun!!

now i dont quite understand the 247/75/16, or necessary mods to the wheel well are?
are 18'' Rims a good size?
what do the different springs do?
different shocks?
struts?
i read everything on this guys site
http://www.jeepinbyal.com/Jeep-Liberty-Lift-Kit-KJ.aspx
and he explains why he's the best in layman's terms. but $1500 for some springs and shocks to raise it 2'' seems INSANE to me, and not counting labor! because i def, cannot do this myself.

here are my concerns in order:
1.Durability/Sustainability I DONT WANT SOMETHING THAT WILL break
(i dont plan to ride trails often at all, my main usage will be a snowboarding vehicle and then for launching boats and messing around with my friends!)
2a. aesthetics
2b. ride quality
3. price

i've heard of franken lift being good, and this daystar seems low quality, i dont want something that is going to BREAK! and i dont want something that is going to make my car drive like a broken wagon, so, what about suspension?

so, i think that i want the springs and the shocks, so that i can have an increased ride quality... but i cannot spend more than 1.5k on the lifting and new wheels and tires. and i think that labor will cost me like about $500 bucks or so?

sorry if i'm being obnoxious but i am really new to this.
(i promise to reward you with some SICK pictures

i am a photographer )
i plan to add:
Lift 2''
black rims and beefy snow tires
All weather mats
Renegade Decals
Trailer Hitch
Side Stepping rails
the RENEGADE LIGHTS! =D yesss (unless a quality non factory-aftermarket option exists?)
slight tint?
new amp. and used sub. (how can i install this without sacrificing my precious trunk space??)

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Jan 10, 2011 11:27 pm

Ah
I have to say something here ( yes I always do :wink:

)
some confusing info I am sure for you
I see you want mainly for cosmetics but also tow a Boston Whaler, nice boats by the way
so
Stock springs with spacers will never work
neither will the 926s fronts mentioned above too weak
You'll want heavy duty springs front and rear
OME 927s front, OME 948 rear
Now this will give you a good ride no matter if you are towing the boat or driving every day to work. Handling will be much improved as well
Use either the OME shocks or Bilstein F4-BE5-6458-H7 rear , F4-BE5-916-H0 front
Now what is the hitch weight on the boat? You may want to go with some air bags as well not know what size it is

Now on to tires you can run a 245-75-16 on the stock wheels if you want or if you want say Soft 8s then a 16 X 7 with 4 inch backspacing will work great

you can do a full spring lift with shocks and everything for 750-800 for parts

There are several places to buy springs and shocks from, you may want to check ones closer to you since shipping will be cheaper
AllJs and JeepinByAl are great supporters of LOST so check them first
but if you want alternatives let me know

Slitch · **Posted:** Tue Jan 11, 2011 7:39 am

tommudd wrote:

Stock springs with spacers will never work
neither will the 926s fronts mentioned above too weak

Hi Tom, i thought that the 926s should be fine with stock bumper and no winch but i did notice that my front end is sitting a bit lower than the rear after like 2000Km with the ome lift (no spacers or clevis yet)

well anyways just wanted to make sure that i can still run the 926s for while, im really not planning on a new lift kit anytime soon

thanks

CohenCaptureCrawler · **Posted:** Tue Jan 11, 2011 2:26 pm

tommudd wrote:

Ah
I have to say something here ( yes I always do :wink:

)
some confusing info I am sure for you
I see you want mainly for cosmetics but also tow a Boston Whaler, nice boats by the way
so
Stock springs with spacers will never work
neither will the 926s fronts mentioned above too weak
You'll want heavy duty springs front and rear
OME 927s front, OME 948 rear
Now this will give you a good ride no matter if you are towing the boat or driving every day to work. Handling will be much improved as well
Use either the OME shocks or Bilstein F4-BE5-6458-H7 rear , F4-BE5-916-H0 front
Now what is the hitch weight on the boat? You may want to go with some air bags as well not know what size it is

Now on to tires you can run a 245-75-16 on the stock wheels if you want or if you want say Soft 8s then a 16 X 7 with 4 inch backspacing will work great

you can do a full spring lift with shocks and everything for 750-800 for parts

There are several places to buy springs and shocks from, you may want to check ones closer to you since shipping will be cheaper
AllJs and JeepinByAl are great supporters of LOST so check them first
but if you want alternatives let me know

Thank you everybody! you're really helping me learn!
my father is picking up my baby Renny today after work! i'll get some pictures and a name up asap!

so heres whats in my head right now:
i'll buy the OME 927s front, OME 948 rear let me get this straight these will make my rear HIGHer then my front correct??? that is dynamically better?
Heavy duty shocks? can be bought from where?

245-75-16 means what?
excuse my ignorance... ask me anything about any model boston whaler or boat question! i'll tell you exactly what you need to know! but i'm going to be honest this is my first car.
this is the look that im going for...

(minus the bull guard)

the one on the right: its a member's who's name eludes me atm:

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue Jan 11, 2011 2:43 pm

Last pic, you don't like the one on the left?? :shock:

well no more answers from me then :furious:

Thats a picture I took of 03CDKJs and .........tommudds
both from Ohio

245-75-16 is the tire size that works best with the lift
Depends on how high you want to go, if you want it to sit level or not etc. as far as what you need to use / etc

Oh but wait you don't like mine so .................................. :goink:

KTM87 · **Posted:** Tue Jan 11, 2011 3:51 pm

My two cents is go with the 2 or 2.5 Daystar lift that tonycrd suggested, i have installed the 2.5 daystar lift on mine this past fall and i have no complaints. I also tow boats and other trailers as i do work at a Marine Dealer, and the daystar has done what i have needed it to do. I Have also been on a budget and that is why i ended up going with the daystar otherwise i would have gone a different route. hope it helps and i know im a little late and can see that alot of good informed people have already told there 2 cents.

audiboy86 · **Posted:** Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:03 pm

Believe me go through Toms post like a lift bible and OME (old man Emu) is your best bet period. I have a full OME lift on mine and tow weekly and everything from a set of Jetskis to a fully enclosed car trailer. And believe me the OMEs are a vast improvement over stock. So go with the spacers if you want to be sagging and unsatisfied in a years time after towing. Also tires i would run a 245/70/16 on craiger soft 8's. I would look at treaddepot.com for my tires and Summit racing for the rims. The rims you need as Tom has already said are 16x7 with 4 inches of back spacing and a 4.5 by 5 bolt pattern. Also you might want to look at an E load rated tire don't know much about Boston Whalers or thier wieght but by what i can se they look heavy. And E-load rated tire would be your best bet in this case. And welcome to LOST as you can tell already we are a wealth of knowledge here read through the Forums. Also there is a Tryes,Meats so on section in the Tech Sections and a 4x4 discussion section also in KJ/KK liberty discussion area.

tonycrd · **Posted:** Tue Jan 11, 2011 6:48 pm

tommudd wrote:

Last pic, you don't like the one on the left?? :shock:

Yeah...still no Renegade lightbar so.... :goink:

thesilverdog · **Posted:** Wed Jan 12, 2011 11:59 am

I have my OME as described above on order. I currently run BFG AT's 245/70/R16 on my stock set up, can I go bigger with the OME lift & use the spidertrax 1.25" spacers? (assuming I do the trimming, hammering of pinch wleds, etc?)

tommudd · **Posted:** Wed Jan 12, 2011 1:09 pm

First why do you want to use spacers?
Second if you really think you need spacers then you can with the current size tires and have no problems

thesilverdog · **Posted:** Wed Jan 12, 2011 1:43 pm

only because on the other posts that I've read (under the tyres, tires, etc . ..), people have used those spacers when they went with larger tires. I would like to go larger than what I am running right now on my stock suspension. But I am confused on how large I can get with the OME 1.5" lift???

tommudd · **Posted:** Wed Jan 12, 2011 2:15 pm

thesilverdog wrote:

only because on the other posts that I've read (under the tyres, tires, etc . ..), people have used those spacers when they went with larger tires. I would like to go larger than what I am running right now on my stock suspension. But I am confused on how large I can get with the OME 1.5" lift???

First you'll get more than 1.5 inches of lift from the OMEs
second you can run a 245-75-16 on the stock wheels no problem
depending on the type of tire tread it may rub some

tommudd · **Posted:** Wed Jan 12, 2011 2:17 pm

tonycrd wrote:

tommudd wrote:

Last pic, you don't like the one on the left?? :shock:

Yeah...still no Renegade lightbar so.... :goink:

I find them and then sell them as fast as I can...........
The $$$$ in my pocket looks better than they do on my KJ
plus you and Chris have them so I have to be different ! :goink:

thesilverdog · **Posted:** Wed Jan 12, 2011 3:29 pm

Good to know.

And thanks for the info on the larger tires! I'm going to order them shortly.

thesilverdog · **Posted:** Wed Jan 12, 2011 3:46 pm

I may go ahead & splurge for those cragar soft 8's too. . .nice

tonycrd · **Posted:** Thu Jan 13, 2011 11:26 am

tommudd wrote:

tonycrd wrote:

tommudd wrote:

Last pic, you don't like the one on the left?? :shock:

Yeah...still no Renegade lightbar so.... :goink:

I find them and then sell them as fast as I can...........
The $$$$ in my pocket looks better than they do on my KJ
plus you and Chris have them so I have to be different ! :goink:

Hmm...

Noobie lift + tire questions (Already read FAQ)

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