Lift Ride Quality

12KK SFD · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 10:05 am

Yes, another topic on lifts. And I did search in an effort to find an answer to my question.

I know to stay away from Daystar, etc., and have been looking at Jeepin By Al for a lift. Everyone who has installed a lift from JBA has said the ride quality is better. But what I want to know is, what is so much better about the ride quality? Everyone says it's stiffer which actually concerns me a bit. Let me explain...

Any time I hit some sort of bump at any sort of angle (like turning from one road onto another and the pitch of the road changes), my KK tosses around back and forth, all but tossing me out the window. Is this an indication of the suspension being too stiff? Or are the springs too soft to appropriately absorb the impact and instead they just flop about?

My Jeep is a 2012 with 13,4xx miles on it. It spends 99% of its time on the road and I have a 40 mile highway round trip commute daily. I understand the lifts help with nose drop with braking but I don't feel like I suffer from that too much. That may be because it's still relatively new and I may suffer from it in the future.

Will one of the lifts help with the above-mentioned "condition"? I essentially want to make the ride more comfortable overall. And if so, which lift?

Thanks in advance for any help and I apologize for another lift topic

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 12:04 pm

The stock suspension definitely has a bouncy feel to it. I know exactly what you mean. Every time I hit a bump I felt like it was going to bounce me out the roof. After lifting ( with a crappy RK lift) my suspension got a lot stiffer, and by stiff I mean almost zero give. Basically, every time I hit a pothole now the whole car jolts so hard it changes the radio station. Stiffness with regard to JBAs lift refers to the suspension won't have that bouncy feel while being stiff enough to not sag while being strong enough to support extra weight including armor and/or a winch.

IMHO, I hated the stock suspension. Honestly, as awful as it is to have a really stiff suspension like the kind you get with a cheap lift, I'd rather have a rattleyourbrain good ol' Jeep suspension than the bounce house one that comes stock.

Sent from my iPhone

lfhoward · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 12:16 pm

I have one of JBA's adjust a strut lifts and I love it. The difference it makes on the highway is amazing. Highway bumps that would bottom out my KK before the lift now feel like cracks in the pavement that I pretty much glide over. Adding larger tires (245/75/R16), which you can only do after you lift it, improved the highway ride further. Offroad capability with the lift is awesome. I wheeled for 8 weeks on primitive forest roads in the mountains last summer and never hit bottom or got stuck. After the summer I recycled my stock suspension parts which were collecting dust in my hallway, as I decided I would never be going back to stock.

The side to side tossing as you turn into a driveway that crosses a raised sidewalk doesn't go away with the lift, but I think it is a bit better. I just try to do most of my turning so I hit the bump as close to straight on as I can, and take it slow. One other small issue (which doesn't affect performance at all), is that the rear track bar for the 4 inch lift has Heim joints instead of bushings, so it can be a bit noisy (click-clank) on these side to side bumps. JBA has new track bar ends in development, which should eventually solve the noise. The 2 inch JBA lift uses the stock KK track bar, so noise wouldn't be an issue there.

Overall opinion: JBA's lifts rock! :rockon:

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 12:22 pm

First until you have ridden in a well prepared full spring lift you have no idea on how much better the ride and handling is.
For example , since front suspensions are basically identical on the KJs/KKs , when I would go across railroad tracks in mine with less than 20,000 miles I had to slow down and go across easy. After doing a full spring lift with shocks it would basically soak up going over the tracks at over double the speed. It is not a rougher ride, its a more controlled/ better handling ride. You won't be thrown out of your seat, you'll enjoy driving it more.
The springs are of a stronger weight rating/ the shocks are built to handle rough roads/potholes etc better than stock every did

12KK SFD · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 12:45 pm

Thanks everyone. It sounds like it would be worth it then to at least improve in some areas. I don't even plan on having any additional weight up front or anything and really would only look at doing a very minimal lift (height-wise) as I can't justify anything too high. I can't seem to find the link to the ~$750 lift with JBA. I'd consider spending about $1,000 if necessary.

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 1:05 pm

Check the full OME lift OR the OME springs and Bilstein shocks on the JBA site

lfhoward · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 1:11 pm

The ~$750 lift is Old Man Emu springs & shocks. See this page: http://jeepinbyal.com/jeep-liberty-2008-2012-kk/econo-lift-kits-for-the-kk.html
The OME lift uses your stock upper control arms and gets you 2-2.5 inches of lift (even though it says 1.5).
The TomMudd econo lift builds on the OME components using a few tricks to get you to 3-3.5 inches of lift. JBA's upper control arms are needed when lifting that high, hence the additional cost.
Of course, JBA's adjust a strut lifts are the best, but then you're getting into more $$.

PM Gageraid. I think he's running the Old Man Emu setup and can give you some first hand feedback about it. My sense from his posts is that he thinks it's a huge improvement over stock.

12KK SFD · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 1:47 pm

Perfect. That was the link I was looking for (for the 1.5" kit). I've only been able to find it one other time. I think that would be my best bet for my intended use and application. I know I can add the A-arms at a later date, if necessary.

Is there much of a difference between the full OME lift or OME springs with Bilsteins?

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 2:07 pm

I have installed them both ways full on OME and also OME and Bilstein
To me they are pretty much equal in ride quality

12KK SFD · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 2:16 pm

Good to know. Thank you!

Gageraid · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 4:57 pm

lfhoward wrote:

The ~$750 lift is Old Man Emu springs & shocks. See this page: http://jeepinbyal.com/jeep-liberty-2008-2012-kk/econo-lift-kits-for-the-kk.html
The OME lift uses your stock upper control arms and gets you 2-2.5 inches of lift (even though it says 1.5).
The TomMudd econo lift builds on the OME components using a few tricks to get you to 3-3.5 inches of lift. JBA's upper control arms are needed when lifting that high, hence the additional cost.
Of course, JBA's adjust a strut lifts are the best, but then you're getting into more $$.

PM Gageraid. I think he's running the Old Man Emu setup and can give you some first hand feedback about it. My sense from his posts is that he thinks it's a huge improvement over stock.

The OME setup really has to be the best bang for your buck.
Very comfortable ride to me. Really hard to describe the way it rides. It's stiff, but in a way that makes you feel secure. Also looks sweet.

12KK SFD · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 4:59 pm

I think it's worth a shot.

Being in VT, there are limited places that are able to install lifts. I've reached out to one place and I'll be curious to see what they try to sell me :lol:

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 7:26 pm

While others on this list have stated the Ironman springs / Bilstein shock setup provides a better ride quality than the OME springs? I certainly cannot compare without having had both setups available for comparison. :2cents:

I chose the Ironman springs / Bilstein shock setup based on some of the posts on this list!

What I can tell you is the Ironman springs / Bilstein shocks setup that I went with does provide a much better and smother ride than the factory OEM springs and shocks while giving me almost 2 inches of additional lift in the process along with a lower price than the OME setup... :BANANA:

I installed all the lift/springs/shocks myself in one afternoon! :JEEPIN:

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 7:30 pm

12KK SFD wrote:

I think it's worth a shot.

Being in VT, there are limited places that are able to install lifts. I've reached out to one place and I'll be curious to see what they try to sell me :lol:

Be very careful with 4 wheel drive shops etc, they will try and sell you whatever they can make the most off of, plus 98% of no knowledge of what works on a KJ or KK. Its sad that I've done more lifts here on KJs/KKs than any 4 wheel drive shop in at least a 150 mile radius or more

Gageraid · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 7:31 pm

WWDiesel wrote:

While others on this list have stated the Ironman springs / Bilstein shock setup provides a better ride quality than the OME springs? I certainly cannot compare without having had both setups available for comparison. :2cents:

I chose the Ironman springs / Bilstein shock setup based on some of the posts on this list!

What I can tell you is the Ironman springs / Bilstein shocks setup that I went with does provide a much better and smother ride than the factory OEM springs and shocks while giving me almost 2 inches of additional lift in the process along with a lower price than the OME setup... :BANANA:

I installed all the lift/springs/shocks myself in one afternoon! :JEEPIN:

That's great news!
For me, I paired the OME springs with OME shocks because it was in the kit and I like the look. No complaints and I'd buy these shocks again.

12KK SFD · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 10:17 pm

tommudd wrote:

12KK SFD wrote:

I think it's worth a shot.

Being in VT, there are limited places that are able to install lifts. I've reached out to one place and I'll be curious to see what they try to sell me :lol:

Be very careful with 4 wheel drive shops etc, they will try and sell you whatever they can make the most off of, plus 98% of no knowledge of what works on a KJ or KK. Its sad that I've done more lifts here on KJs/KKs than any 4 wheel drive shop in at least a 150 mile radius or more

I will be. This isn't actually a 4 wheel drive shop but rather an "accessory" store that also does some installs. I'm only reaching out to them to see what kind of BS they may or may not try to tell me. I'm pretty confident they've never lifted a KK before. And if they start to try to sell me crap or give me misinformation, I'll look elsewhere. This is their test to see if I trust them with my Jeep. Thanks to this forum and replies from you and others, I'll know if they're full of it or not.

Bmxer524 · **Posted:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 11:55 pm

I love the ride of my OME/Bilstein setup. Like everyone says, it's a stiffer ride, but not jarring. If you have too soft of a suspension you feel the bump slightly less, but you get the continued bounce from it. If you're too stiff you get thrown around from every little bump. The OME lift makes you feel the bump once and be done with it, but not in a rough way. Don't get me wrong if you're hitting a huge pothole at some speed you will feel every bit of it, but most normal bumps aren't bad. It's also better off road since the suspension seems to soak up the ruts and bumps before upsetting the balance of the truck.

You'll also get 2.5-2.75" of lift with heavy duty springs. At that height you won't "need" a-arms, but if you want higher(adding in a top plate, and/or a clevis lift) you'll need the a-arms. Adding the clevis and top plate gives the possibility of about 3.5" of lift.

I like how it rides though. I need to hunt down John for a ride with the JBA coil-over now lol

12KK SFD · **Posted:** Tue Dec 31, 2013 8:50 am

I don't think I want the heavy duty springs as I don't intend on adding any weight to the front. I would like it to sit level, however.

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue Dec 31, 2013 8:55 am

97.3% that run 927s (OME HDs) in front never have an aftermarket bumper or anything else up front and love the ride
I find it amazing that people ask for advice and yet second guess that advice when 1000's of people have used that exact setup :ROTFL:

12KK SFD · **Posted:** Tue Dec 31, 2013 9:14 am

I certainly wasn't second guessing, I just wasn't aware that many people ran the HDs up front. If that's the recommended route then I'm not going to second guess the tried and true method. I'd rather do this process once and be done with it and be happy with the whole setup.

Lift Ride Quality

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