JBA 4 Inch Lift Help

mredmond · **Posted:** Tue Nov 05, 2013 12:33 pm

Hi all. I am looking into the JBA 4 inch lift kit, but due to the expensive nature of this upgrade, I was hoping to get some help and feedback from those on here who have had experience with it before I lay down a big chunk of change. I've tried to find this info by searching through the forum, but haven't seem to come up with much, and definitely nothing that is neatly aggregated together in a single thread. So I'm hoping this might be a good place to help myself and any future JBA 4" lift kit potential buyers in getting the information they need to make the right decision.

So for those of you who have had or currently have the JBA four incher on your KK (or KJ):

1) Can you provide a straight-on front and a side photo of your rig on flat ground that might give us an idea of how it sits with the lift?

2) What size tires are you running, and what are your wheel to fender measurements in the front and rear?

3) How would you rate the ride quality of your Liberty on a scale of 1-10 before and after the lift?

4) How many miles have you had the lift, and what (if any) problems have you experienced with it?

5) If you had to do it over, would you have chosen this lift again, or would you have applied the money elsewhere?

6) And finally, would you recommend the lift to others, or would you advise they use that money in other ways?

Thank you so much for your help! I have learned a great deal from this forum so far, and I hope that this thread yields some more valuable information.

JeepNCrowd · **Posted:** Tue Nov 05, 2013 2:25 pm

(1)
stock

Slight driveway incline

Daystar 2"
Immediately after installation

After some time

With 245/75/16 Duratracs

JBA 4"
Immediately after

After some time

(2) I'm running 245/75/16 Duratracs that are great. But when these wear out I plan on upgrading to 235/85/16 Wrangler MTR or the stock JK Rubicon tires. I don't have the measurements.

(3) Scale 1= 1980 car with blown shocks 10= WK2 with Air ride suspension
Before lift = 7
Daystar = 7 (but more noise)
JBA = 8.5 (might be lower because I have the HD springs up front without extra weight of steel bumper)

(4) 10-15K on Daystar about 20K on JBA

(5) & (6) I probably would have done it the same way. The Daystar served its purpose as a temporary lift and got me places that I couldn't go stock. The JBA is better hands down, but it is way more expensive. If I could start over though I probably would have gotten a dedicated trail rig (XJ or TJ) and save my KK some damage and warranty.

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue Nov 05, 2013 2:46 pm

Mines a KJ of course but same front suspension except for UCAs
Background, mine was first lift with OME 927s in front at about 20,000 miles, great ride and handling way better than stock . Next was the OME 790s up front due to the heavier bumper/skids etc. Ride was really good, but much stiffer when flexing etc. I also ran the Ironman which was a great ride . Of course have driven and ridden in several we lifted here so have a good idea of what each combo ( springs /shocks) rides like.
Then went to the JBA adjustable coilovers. Night and day over any of them. Over speedbumps on city streets and then on back roads with holes etc. and trails you can actually feel the suspension soaking up the bumps instead of the whole Jeep feeling them. The suspension is more active. I enjoy hitting hitting bumps etc and it just floats over them. Railroad crossing stock you had to slow down before, now I actually speed up and just let the suspension soak it all up while sitting in the seat feeling like I'm on a brand new paved highway. I have it adjusted a little over 4 inches, and whats great if I add anything ( weight wise) just crank it up some.
Looking back on a scale of one -ten the way mine has handled over new stock
OME927s 5
OME 790s 6
Ironman 6
JBA Coilovers 9
Yes more expensive for sure,
but in the long run very much worth it if you enjoy driving and using your KK
Of course no comparison to a KK but mine on 265-75-16s sitting with one we lifted here with 3.5 inches of lift and 245-75-16s . Your KKs sit lower ( middle of the wheel to bottom of the flare stock )

mredmond · **Posted:** Wed Nov 06, 2013 6:36 pm

Thanks so much for the reply guys, that is very helpful!

So if I go with the JBA 4", I'm not going to have to do custom CVs, or any other major mods that I've seen others say are necessary to lift the Liberty over 3"? The JBA kit will have everything I need? And its not going to just cause tons of costly repairs down the road?

Tom - I used to deride the KJs, but every time I see yours, I fervently repent and almost wish I had gone with a KJ instead of a KK. Especially considering that I don't think I can run those beautifully large tires like you do with my KK... :cry:

JeepNCrowd - Why 235/85 instead of 265/75? Also, does the lift significantly change the geometry of the vehicle? It seems like the back wheels no longer sit center in the wheel wells in that side pic...

Hopefully some others can weigh in their opinions as well!

tommudd · **Posted:** Wed Nov 06, 2013 6:59 pm

The rear tires do not sit centered in the wheelwell in the rear when lifted. IF they did you would not be able to stuff the rear tires. If you look at where the tire sits lifted then think of an imaginary arc from where it is to where it would stuff , it works just fine . When fully stuffed the tire will be in the center of the wheelwell.

235-85-16s are 32s same as 265-75-16s but mouch more narrow tread. Either will require a re-gear

mredmond · **Posted:** Wed Nov 06, 2013 7:11 pm

tommudd wrote:

The rear tires do not sit centered in the wheelwell in the rear when lifted. IF they did you would not be able to stuff the rear tires. If you look at where the tire sits lifted then think of an imaginary arc from where it is to where it would stuff , it works just fine . When fully stuffed the tire will be in the center of the wheelwell.

235-85-16s are 32s same as 265-75-16s but mouch more narrow tread. Either will require a re-gear

Gotchya, thanks for explaining that, that makes a lot of sense now. I guess I'm still used to my old Dodge's MASSIVE wheel wells in which everything looked just about perfectly centered, not matter how big the lift or tire.

Also, know they're both 32s, just always thought a wider tire was generally better for most offroading applications (though I have heard the argument for pizza cutters). But maybe that inch and a quarter doesn't make too big of a difference...

JeepNCrowd · **Posted:** Wed Nov 06, 2013 8:47 pm

There is a lot of debate of which is better for off roading, wider vs narrow. This article explains the pros/cons of each.
http://www.expeditionswest.com/research/white_papers/tire_selection_rev1.html
I'm more on the narrow side of the line. The way I see it, it really depends on what type of off roading you do. Wider is generally better for the sand as it offers greater floatation, and narrow is better for the rocks as it better wraps around a rock when aired down. I personally think wider looks much better and may offer a very slight increase in lateral stability, but 3/4 of my off roading is on rock and the rest is sand. I feel that for me the narrower tire would be more beneficial. The 235/85 is also slightly taller the the 265/75, and I need all the ground clearance I can get. The 235's also weigh a couple of pounds less than the 265 and offer less rolling resistance, so in theory I should get better gas mileage with them. But again both are good tires for a 4 inch Liberty. It really boils down to whats best for you. As far as completeness of the package goes the JBA gives you everything you'll need to do the lift aside from some basic tools. I do warn you to look check your rear brake lines for rub after you install them and extend your rear diff. breather tube. The 4 inch will also void most of your front ends warrant, to include your steering components.

tommudd · **Posted:** Wed Nov 06, 2013 9:18 pm

mredmond wrote:

tommudd wrote:

The rear tires do not sit centered in the wheelwell in the rear when lifted. IF they did you would not be able to stuff the rear tires. If you look at where the tire sits lifted then think of an imaginary arc from where it is to where it would stuff , it works just fine . When fully stuffed the tire will be in the center of the wheelwell.

235-85-16s are 32s same as 265-75-16s but mouch more narrow tread. Either will require a re-gear

Gotchya, thanks for explaining that, that makes a lot of sense now. I guess I'm still used to my old Dodge's MASSIVE wheel wells in which everything looked just about perfectly centered, not matter how big the lift or tire.

Also, know they're both 32s, just always thought a wider tire was generally better for most offroading applications (though I have heard the argument for pizza cutters). But maybe that inch and a quarter doesn't make too big of a difference...

Well a vehicle with leaf springs the wheel/tire basically goes more straight up into the wheelwell where as the coil spring with a control arm goes up and down on an arc

Wider for me, :wink:

don't like the pizza cutters unless they are on an old 5 or 7

DREDnot · **Posted:** Mon Nov 11, 2013 11:43 pm

I got a full three inches out of my 2.5" JBA adjust-a-strut lift. It seems to max out the CV joints at full droop. Looks taller with narrow tires if you can resist the "wider is better" club's gravitational pull. Most can't.

E2 · **Posted:** Sat Jan 11, 2014 8:22 pm

Go with the 4" JBA lift. I recommended this lift over and over. It rides and handles so much better. The quality is over high and the company stands behind their product. I am the third lift on a KK by JBA and there was done revisions, but no have no issues. Follow the link below to buy your lift. It is a great investment and you will be happy with it. I have 32" tires. I off road and a 4" is what this needs. The lift in the front is adjustable I set my at 21.5" from center of wheel to edge of wheel well. Take a look at my photos.

arnoni · **Joined:** Sat Oct 06, 2012 10:07 am **Posts:** 3

Looking for a new lift I plan on going to Rausch creek this year,right now I'm running a 2.5" daystar lift with 255/60/16 any ideas?

lfhoward · **Posted:** Sat Feb 01, 2014 11:34 am

arnoni wrote:

Looking for a new lift I plan on going to Rausch creek this year,right now I'm running a 2.5" daystar lift with 255/60/16 any ideas?

Welcome to LOST! :JEEPIN:

You'll want to read lots of posts-- the info is on here and it gets repeated often! You are right to want to replace the Daystar lift with something better. The best lifts out there for the KK are JeepinByAl (JBA), Old Man Emu (OME), and Ironman. These are real spring lifts, not spacer lifts like the Daystar.

tommudd · **Posted:** Sat Feb 01, 2014 11:39 am

arnoni wrote:

Looking for a new lift I plan on going to Rausch creek this year,right now I'm running a 2.5" daystar lift with 255/60/16 any ideas?

Any number of ways you can go
Since the front is the same for KJs/KKs except for the Upper Control Arms then you have the choice of
Ironman
OME
Tommudd Econo kit
JBA adjustables
Remember when you get up in the 3inch range figure in new JBA UCAs as well
Rear if you get into the 3 inch plus I would really recommend going with extended sway bar links as well
All of the above depends on how high you want, and how deep your pockets
Staying with a 30 inch tire also helps since you don't have to regear
Anything though will be a HUGE improvement in ride and handling over the Daystar

JBA 4 Inch Lift Help

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