JBA 2.5" Lift Kit Installed (& Stock Comparison)

MtnLuvr · **Posted:** Sun May 17, 2009 10:10 am

Ok, so yesterday my dad and I installed the rear of the JBA 2.5" lift kit on my KK after installing the front last Saturday. The rear was dramatically easier and only took about 2.5 hours which included one trip to the auto parts store and one to the hardware store. The front, including UCAs, took us about 10 hours or so last weekend, which included 2 trips to auto parts stores (for some sockets we thought we had but didn't).

Since I'm still undecided on aftermarket wheels and tire sizing, I'm going to go ahead and get my KK realigned this week before taking a short road trip next weekend. Even while it needs to have the camber adjusted, I agree with others who have a JBA Lift for the KK and that it rides great. The ride feels very appropriate -- just a little bit firmer than OEM without feeling rough, sloppy, cobbled together or dangerous. So far, I'm very impressed with the JBA 2.5" Lift Kit.

Before JBA 2.5" Lift Kit Install:

After JBA 2.5" Lift Kit Install (still with OEM wheels/tires):

I made notes to further refine/clarify/correct the installation instructions JBA provides (as well drafted by Scar0 during his install). I'm going to contact Marlin to coordinate the best way to provide him this feedback to benefit future JBA 2.5" Lift installers.

So, of course after installing the Lift Kit, I wanted to go do a side by side comparison to a stock KK. I went to my local Jeep dealer and took the following photos (both KKs are '09 4x4s):

Definitely a noticeable difference, especially in the front half (but more on that in a follow-up posting I'm gonna make).

Anyway, hope this helps anyone considering lifting their KK.

MtnLuvr · **Posted:** Sun May 17, 2009 10:48 am

Since I took my before and after photos in the original post both with stock rims and wheels, below is some quick info on the body lifting:

In the below dimensional info, "Ps"=Passenger's Side and "Ds"=Driver's Side:
1. Front Wheelwell (FWW) increased + 3-1/4" (Ps from 31-3/8" to 34-3/4", Ds from 31-1/8" to 34-1/4")
2. Rear Wheelwell (RWW) increased + 1-1/2" (Ps from 32-1/2" to 34", Ds from 31-7/8" to 33-1/2")
3. Front Roof Rail (FRR) increased + 1-1/2" (Ps from 70-5/8" to 72-1/8", Ds from 69-3/4" to 71-1/4")
4. Rear Roof Rail (RRR) increased + 3/4" (Ps from 71-1/4" to 72", Ds from 70-1/2" to 71-1/4")

I verified the tires had the same air pressure in both the before and after measurements. Tires are the stock Goodyear Wranglers 235/65R17. During these measurements, my KK is 2.5 months old and has 1,880 miles on it.

As you can see, it appears the current JBA 2.5" Lift Kit lifts notably more in the front, which per others with the JBA lift say it should settle some, versus the back. Have others with a JBA lift seen this much lift variance front to back? I would say my lifted KK now sits closer to level and no longer has the "rake" (e.g. nose lower) that it did at stock. Personally, I think I'd like to see the rear lifted a little bit more.

Hope this helps.

P.S. If anyone can explain to me why my driver's side still is lower than the passenger side after replacing so much of the suspension as part of the lift kit upgrade, I'd sure like to hear it. It doesn't make sense to me -- especially since the roof rail measurements vary too. If it were just the wheel well openings, then maybe they weren't installed at consistent elevations from side to side versus the rest of the body but since the roof rail measurements vary too, I'm perplexed. FYI, to take the roof rail measurements, I laid a straight 2x4 across the roof rail and butted it up against the end of the rail and then measured below the 2x4 down to the floor as close to the body as possible.

hrogi · **Posted:** Sun May 17, 2009 11:34 am

My tacoma truck is lower on the drivers side, my old MX-5 was lower as well and so is Saturn as well. i thought it was because they only saw 1 person in the vehical 95% of the time.
So he spring just sagged more.

but in a Jeep with 1,880 miles on it seem a bit soon to sag.

So i have no idea. but THANK YOU so much for the pics and sie by side.
these are the best shots ever...

Also all your great notes, really make things clearer..

Sorry I do not have a good answer

MtnLuvr · **Posted:** Sun May 17, 2009 12:16 pm

hrogi wrote:

.... i thought it was because they only saw 1 person in the vehical 95% of the time.
So the spring just sagged more...

Yeah, I wonder if in hindsight Jeep realizes they should've put the gas tank and battery on the passenger side to help more evenly distribute weight within the vehicle that will always have a driver....

Thanks for the feedback hrogi.

Still hoping someone can explain why the driver's side would still be lower after changing out the suspension components......

Mr Nick · **Posted:** Sun May 17, 2009 12:47 pm

Get rear coil spring rubber isolators from Jeep, after you trim them a bit, they can be stacked to add a slight bit of lift in the back.

My Revtek kit put the front slightly higher then the rear, I have 4 additional isolators ready to go... might only need 1 more per side though. I think they were around $5 each at my dealer.

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Sun May 17, 2009 1:37 pm

It all has to do with the battery and gas tank like you said... with a fill tank you are looking at 120 lbs in if fuel weight, plus 60 or so for the battery.... then you can add stuff like the brake booster, steering assembly and come up with maybe 20 more pounds....

MtnLuvr · **Posted:** Sun May 17, 2009 11:49 pm

Mr Nick wrote:

Get rear coil spring rubber isolators from Jeep, after you trim them a bit, they can be stacked to add a slight bit of lift in the back.

My Revtek kit put the front slightly higher then the rear, I have 4 additional isolators ready to go... might only need 1 more per side though. I think they were around $5 each at my dealer.

Thanks for the idea.

MtnLuvr · **Posted:** Sun May 17, 2009 11:52 pm

Diggerfreek wrote:

It all has to do with the battery and gas tank like you said... with a fill tank you are looking at 120 lbs in if fuel weight, plus 60 or so for the battery.... then you can add stuff like the brake booster, steering assembly and come up with maybe 20 more pounds....

Digger, but why would the driver's side be lower after I just replaced the springs, shocks/struts? I understand why the driver's side would be low, but I would've thought after replacing these items as part of the JBA lift install that they would "reset" back to being even on both sides (and then the driver's side would become lower than the passenger's side in short order due to all the weight of major components on that side).

Any thoughts?

nightdrv · **Posted:** Mon May 18, 2009 12:11 am

Very good job sir!

This tells me for sure that I must go with the 4" lift. If it wasn't for the price though....... >ouch<

You're soo lucky for having one in green though., <sigh>

zarinKK · **Posted:** Mon May 18, 2009 12:18 am

MtnLuvr wrote:

Diggerfreek wrote:

It all has to do with the battery and gas tank like you said... with a fill tank you are looking at 120 lbs in if fuel weight, plus 60 or so for the battery.... then you can add stuff like the brake booster, steering assembly and come up with maybe 20 more pounds....

Digger, but why would the driver's side be lower after I just replaced the springs, shocks/struts? I understand why the driver's side would be low, but I would've thought after replacing these items as part of the JBA lift install that they would "reset" back to being even on both sides (and then the driver's side would become lower than the passenger's side in short order due to all the weight of major components on that side).

Any thoughts?

The weight of all that stuff is compressing the driver's side a bit more, it hasn't "sagged" yet. Its just the weight of that side making it a bit lower.

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Mon May 18, 2009 12:19 am

MtnLuvr wrote:

Diggerfreek wrote:

It all has to do with the battery and gas tank like you said... with a fill tank you are looking at 120 lbs in if fuel weight, plus 60 or so for the battery.... then you can add stuff like the brake booster, steering assembly and come up with maybe 20 more pounds....

Digger, but why would the driver's side be lower after I just replaced the springs, shocks/struts? I understand why the driver's side would be low, but I would've thought after replacing these items as part of the JBA lift install that they would "reset" back to being even on both sides (and then the driver's side would become lower than the passenger's side in short order due to all the weight of major components on that side).

Any thoughts?

If you had 200 lbs of counterbalance on the passenger side, the KK would sit even. Because of where every thing is mounted, it is going to be a permanent weight on the driver side. Even thought you did new springs/shocks/struts, the new components are not going to be able to absorb the weight so the KK can sit even. They are going to be loaded just like before

zarinKK · **Posted:** Mon May 18, 2009 12:33 am

Diggerfreek wrote:

MtnLuvr wrote:

Diggerfreek wrote:

It all has to do with the battery and gas tank like you said... with a fill tank you are looking at 120 lbs in if fuel weight, plus 60 or so for the battery.... then you can add stuff like the brake booster, steering assembly and come up with maybe 20 more pounds....

Digger, but why would the driver's side be lower after I just replaced the springs, shocks/struts? I understand why the driver's side would be low, but I would've thought after replacing these items as part of the JBA lift install that they would "reset" back to being even on both sides (and then the driver's side would become lower than the passenger's side in short order due to all the weight of major components on that side).

Any thoughts?

If you had 200 lbs of counterbalance on the passenger side, the KK would sit even. Because of where every thing is mounted, it is going to be a permanent weight on the driver side. Even thought you did new springs/shocks/struts, the new components are not going to be able to absorb the weight so the KK can sit even. They are going to be loaded just like before

^^^^ What he said

Scar0 · **Posted:** Mon May 18, 2009 12:53 am

Looks great MtnLuvr. I love the side by side Pics.
Also, If you don't mind, could you post an update in the "How-To" thread of any refinements/clarifications/corrections you made, to benefit the installation instructions. Then we will have them here as well. Much appreciated.

Boblemoche · **Posted:** Mon May 18, 2009 1:09 am

MtnLuvr

You could do a small clevis lift just on the passenger side to level your jeep. very easy to do

timmyb457 · **Posted:** Mon May 18, 2009 4:01 am

Boblemoche wrote:

MtnLuvr

You could do a small clevis lift just on the passenger side to level your jeep. very easy to do

his KK is already higher on the passenger side so it would have to be on the drivers side to level it out

E2 · **Posted:** Tue May 19, 2009 3:09 am

Your shots look GREAT! Makes me want to get a lift be it a 2.5" or the 4" as the 2.5" looks really good. The 4" is just so much more clearance and cost! Great job what's next tires? what size?

MtnLuvr · **Posted:** Sat May 30, 2009 12:06 pm

I did get my KK (still with OEM wheels & tires) realigned last week at my dealer. He had no problem fully aligning it and bringing it back into full spec.

I don't know if it makes any difference or not, but reportedly they do a fair amount of alignments on lifted Jeeps -- although this was the first lifted KK they'd seen.

MtnLuvr · **Posted:** Sat May 30, 2009 12:10 pm

P.S. With the KK realigned after the lift, it drives great. The front end and steering feels as tight and predictable as OEM.

Now being a couple weeks into my lift, I still love the ride. It feels very tight and professional. A little firmer ride than OEM, but nothing harsh in my opinion -- of couse I've still got stock rubber on (for now). I am very pleased with my JBA 2.5" lift and UCAs.

MtnLuvr · **Posted:** Sat May 30, 2009 12:30 pm

Diggerfreek wrote:

MtnLuvr wrote:

Diggerfreek wrote:

It all has to do with the battery and gas tank like you said... with a fill tank you are looking at 120 lbs in if fuel weight, plus 60 or so for the battery.... then you can add stuff like the brake booster, steering assembly and come up with maybe 20 more pounds....

Digger, but why would the driver's side be lower after I just replaced the springs, shocks/struts? I understand why the driver's side would be low, but I would've thought after replacing these items as part of the JBA lift install that they would "reset" back to being even on both sides (and then the driver's side would become lower than the passenger's side in short order due to all the weight of major components on that side).

Any thoughts?

If you had 200 lbs of counterbalance on the passenger side, the KK would sit even. Because of where every thing is mounted, it is going to be a permanent weight on the driver side. Even thought you did new springs/shocks/struts, the new components are not going to be able to absorb the weight so the KK can sit even. They are going to be loaded just like before

Gotcha. Thanks. Not sure why that didn't register in my brain originally, other than I've been working waaaay too much in May.

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Sat May 30, 2009 3:08 pm

MtnLuvr wrote:

Diggerfreek wrote:

MtnLuvr wrote:

Diggerfreek wrote:

It all has to do with the battery and gas tank like you said... with a fill tank you are looking at 120 lbs in if fuel weight, plus 60 or so for the battery.... then you can add stuff like the brake booster, steering assembly and come up with maybe 20 more pounds....

Digger, but why would the driver's side be lower after I just replaced the springs, shocks/struts? I understand why the driver's side would be low, but I would've thought after replacing these items as part of the JBA lift install that they would "reset" back to being even on both sides (and then the driver's side would become lower than the passenger's side in short order due to all the weight of major components on that side).

Any thoughts?

If you had 200 lbs of counterbalance on the passenger side, the KK would sit even. Because of where every thing is mounted, it is going to be a permanent weight on the driver side. Even thought you did new springs/shocks/struts, the new components are not going to be able to absorb the weight so the KK can sit even. They are going to be loaded just like before

Gotcha. Thanks. Not sure why that didn't register in my brain originally, other than I've been working waaaay too much in May.

yeah that can happen when you work to much.. Sound like you need to go fishing

JBA 2.5" Lift Kit Installed (& Stock Comparison)

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