A little advice

KJKen · **Joined:** Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:13 pm **Posts:** 48

Hello everyone!! My name is Ken from the eastern shore of maryland. I purchased my '02 Limited about six months ago and now I am comletely addicted to the KJ. I have been looking at lift kits for it ever since I bought it. The first one I found was rock krawler that used no blocks or spacers. Now that lift is no longer available. After more research I found Rocky-Road and am considering purchasing the Rockfather II set next month. I was wondering what experiences you all have had with this lift. The second choice is the Frankenlift that I have learned about here. I do plan on hitting some trails with the local jeep club, and traveling to some other trails in near by states. I use my Liberty for work and put quite a few miles on it, the company I work even lettered it up. So the importance of a nice smooth ride and durability are key.

The second bit of advice I need is tire size, I have chosen the tires Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor, 50,000 mile warranty and fairly aggressive tread not to mention kevlar side walls. Rocky-Road claims you can fit 265/75r16 tires under the KJ with wheel spacers on the stock rims, after a 2 1/2" lift. Anyone try this? It seems like I would loose the travel in the suspension due to completely full wheel wells. I am looking for a nice tire to wheel well ratio but do not want to sacrifice the newly added travel on the suspension. I am not opposed to the spacers, the wider stance looks nice.

Any input on either the lift and/or tire size would be greatly appreciated.

I will be posting pics before, during, and after the lift

Thanks in advance,
Ken

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Wed Apr 30, 2008 9:28 pm

Welcome to lost!

Search around a little bit and you will soon find out that the Franken lift from boulderbars.com is one of the best and most widely used lifts around.

jason thompson · **Posted:** Wed Apr 30, 2008 9:33 pm

Go with the Franki and dont waste your time with Rocky-Road
also as to tire size IMO go with 245/75 on the OE wheels and no spacers
You will need about 1" of rear bump stop spacing but that will be about it
and if you plan to wheel then get a rear locker IMO

oh yeah and welcome to LOST

tommudd · **Posted:** Wed Apr 30, 2008 9:33 pm

Frankenlift
OME Heavy Duty springs and either Rancho shocks / struts or OME
Rustys full coil lift

stay away from Rocky Road and Rock Krawler if you ever want any customer service after the sale. Most run 245 75 X16s which is a good overall size

and of course we are always her to give free advice unlike most Doctors/Lawyers or Indian Cheifs

Now have I missed stepping on anyones toes!

Tom

Pablo · **Joined:** Thu Feb 02, 2006 10:06 pm **Posts:** 1201

Be glad you cannot get the Rock Krawler spacer lift. Many did not have much luck with it, especially off-road. You maybe able to fit 265/75/16's on with spacers- but you will need to pound the pinch welds and probably trim the inner fender by the fog lights. It still may rub on the swaybar.

With a lift and that set up you will eat your Upper Ball Joint/control arm sooner or later. Jeepin By Al makes upper control arms for lifted KJ's.

I don't have any experience with that lift, and I have a CRD Frankenlift which is different than the gasser Frankenlift, so I cannot comment on the lift.

Jeep Dawg · **Posted:** Wed Apr 30, 2008 10:00 pm

Welcome to L.O.S.T KJ man.
I my self had that same problem. I was ALWAYS A JEEP PERSON. But when I bought my 03 KJ Sport, I fell in love with it. Then I found this place and all hell broke loose.

Here is a picture before my Frankenlift II. Only small amount of mod here. Nothing special:

After Frankenlifted II With HD OME springs and still using stock rims with 225/75/16 BFG tires

Here is a picture with Rubicon Moab Rims with 245/75/16x8 tires

I did alot of work to my KJ. And I give most of my thank you's HERE to the great people at L.O.S.T KJ's. The other thanks I give to my self for doing it!

I love the Frankenlift II. I my seld drive alot every day. I do about 200 plus miles a day. My KJ rides so nice. At times it is softer than other times. Depends on the road your are driving on.
If you are going to lift the KJ, DO IT RITE!

I spent almost 2 years researching the rite lift for me. Money wise too. At the end, I decided that Frankenlift was better. If I went with the budget lift, I would have done it probally 2 times and then said the hell with it and install the Frankenlift.
Why spend more in the long run? Other guys on here will probally tell you the same thing.
I know I was a pain in the stupid about doing my lift. I had question after question. I am glad I DID IT! My only regreat was not doing it sooner.

ohv_kj · **Posted:** Wed Apr 30, 2008 10:20 pm

depending on how much wheeling your going to do you might want to spend the money on tires on better at's i.e. bfg or genneral grabbers...so you will not spend more money down the road...or in my case...a cheap set of road tires and a nice set of mud terrian tires

just alittle fyi

daspes · **Posted:** Wed Apr 30, 2008 11:30 pm

The Frankenlift is the best lift on the market in my and many, many others opinion, do enough reading and searching here and you will see the amount of time and effort by All J's (boulderbars.com) to get a us a good quality lift, and the level of customer service is one of the best you'll find.

Which brings us to RRO's Rockfather lifts... There have been mixed reviews of their lifts, and the customer service is severely lacking. At least one member here is still owed a large sum of money by them. So you don't see a lot of love for the company or the products here.

The new lifts on the market from Jeepin by Al (4" and 6") are fairly expensive in my opinion, and are so new to the scene they are still being watched by everyone for the pro's and con's.

Rusty's Offroad also make a popular lift. It's biggest disadvantage is that it tends to sag over time.

Spacer lifts may be an option, I believe that the daystar is the best out there. But a spacer isn't as good as a good spring offroad. Definitely stay away from the OTT style lifts (like RRO's non rockfather lifts), they'll kill your KJ's suspension. Hoped this helped.

WV Jay · **Posted:** Thu May 01, 2008 12:02 am

I went with OME HDs and Ranchos front and rear and have nothing but good things to say about this setup. Shop around and you can build this lift for a reasonable amount of $.

WoodysKJ · **Posted:** Thu May 01, 2008 8:20 am

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!

Somebody doing it right.

Keep doing your research. Then, Get the Old Man Emu lift. Frankie if you can swing it. I got the same components (OME HD coils and shocks) but just assembled and installed myself all for under 750.00. What ever lift you do, check your bump stops and rear brake lines. you MIGHT need to extend them. A lift is great, until you go wheeling and go over a small ditch and here a "POP" and suddenly the brake peddle goes to the floor.

Either way, you will not believe the ride and handeling.

IF you plan to wheel it, make sure you are covered on the underside. Skids are a MUST. Rock Sliders are another big plus. Mine are on their way, I hope. Marty, are you out there????????

A bunch of mods you can do to make the KJ more versatile and drop the gas mileage. But not too bad.

Here is my 07, STILL under some of the factory warrantee.....

KW AV8R · **Posted:** Thu May 01, 2008 9:08 am

I have a spacer lift I have been running for 4+ years now (been deployed for almost 2 years of that) and wish I had gone with the Frankenlift. I will be purchasing the Frankie when I get back from this deployment. The spacer will eventually wear out your springs and sag to the point that the coils of your springs are just about resting on each other. :shock:

The Frankenlift is probably THE most trail-tested KJ lift on the market and was designed by All J's and KJ owners, tested thoroughly by KJ owners, redesigned, tested, etc until it worked right every time under every condition. The ride (ridden in several) is better than stock. Also, reliablilty is not a question with this lift.

If (when) you lift your KJ, I strongly suggest you get jeepinbyal.com's upper control arms. This will get your alignment back into factory specs and will lessen any contact between the arms and the springs or between the tires and the arms.

The Moab rims from a TJ Rubicon fit perfectly on the KJ and can regularly be found on various Jeep forums/eBay for relatively little money. The offset and backspacing are ideal for the lifted KJ and will also lessen contact between tires and control arms.

Pounding down the pinch weld at the back of the front wheel wells is a standard modification to any lifted KJ. I was a little concerned about taking a 5lb hand sledge to my KJ but afterwards realized it's not that big of a deal.

As far as tire size, I would go/have gone with 245/75R16s. They fit nicely after a lift without hampering articulation. 265/75R16s have been known to fit but not every KJ is the same nor will they get the same amount of lift (too many reasons for this to name here). Go with the safe bet and get 245/75R16s.

Just my $.02 and like others have stated, KEEP DOING THE RESEARCH

Dje Ryu · **Posted:** Thu May 01, 2008 9:43 am

daspes wrote:

Which brings us to RRO's Rockfather lifts... There have been mixed reviews of their lifts, and the customer service is severely lacking. At least one member here is still owed a large sum of money by them. So you don't see a lot of love for the company or the products here.

14 months, now. I've given up trying to get it out of them. Maybe I'll just take a drive over there after I move down to Colorado and see what I can get, in person.

KJKen · **Joined:** Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:13 pm **Posts:** 48

Wow thanks alot everyone. You have really shined some light on my situation. After reading RRO's site they, like all other retailers, made their setup sound so great. Really glad I asked. I'll keep you all posted, and provide pics, when I lift mine probably in June.

Just a quick clarification on the tires, two reasons for the Goodyears: number one my father in-law works as a service manager at one of their shops, and two 50,000 mile warranty for driving to construction sites yet a fairly decent tread pattern for some local trails. But I may consider some Wrangler MT/Rs

thanks again

KJ4ME · **Posted:** Thu May 01, 2008 6:06 pm

Hi KJKen, where in maryland are you? im from the inner harbor baltimore city

KJKen · **Joined:** Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:13 pm **Posts:** 48

I've been looking at the Frankie lifts, are the OME shocks and struts that much better then the Rancho? Just trying to settle the debate in my head between the different kits they offer.

Thanks again

tommudd · **Posted:** Thu May 01, 2008 7:35 pm

ARB/OME makes the shocks and struts as a matched set. With that said many like the ride of the Ranchos and they do a great job as well. I have over 60,000 on my set up and it still rides like new, well not a new KJ but rides great and much better than a stocker

KY Liberty · **Joined:** Sat Jul 09, 2005 1:46 pm **Posts:** 1195

I'd recommend the Frankenlift II Premium with Al's arms and OME HD's all around. It rides extremely well for a lifted Jeep, and is incredible in the snow, ice, and rain. It's about as high as you can go with modifying your CV's. I really like the 245/75R16 Load C Silent Armors on Moabs. Only drawback in my opinion is less mpg. Lots of us are running similar setups.

KJKen · **Joined:** Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:13 pm **Posts:** 48

KJ4ME wrote:

Hi KJKen, where in maryland are you? im from the inner harbor baltimore city

the little town of ridgely, deep in the heart of the eastern shore

KJKen · **Joined:** Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:13 pm **Posts:** 48

I am getting ready to order my Frankenlift 2 Premium and had a few more questions for you all. First of all I am considering a little more lift so maybe a small clevis lift along with the frankie II. I see a few of you all running this setup, is it beneficial will the combination cause anymore stress on the front end or will I still be within the "safe" lift distance. Second question is the OME trim packers what are they, I realize this is probably a complete newb question but I am new to jeepin. The last question is rear isolators, again what are the advantages of them and what brands are there. I only want to tear my jeep apart once so I will be getting the Jeepin by Al's Upper A-arms Gen 4.5, and new brakes at the same time. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

tommudd · **Posted:** Wed May 14, 2008 10:30 am

with the Frankenlift you will be almost maxed out with out doing a clevis, most do the clevis with just the OME or Rustys set up. Also the front will be higher than the rear for a while until it settles some as they all do. rear isolaters are from jeep, you have one on the top and bottom now with the stock setup, you can add more but again you may not have to once the front settles

A little advice

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