1.25-1.5" Lift - Any Suggestions?

AdirondacKJ · **Posted:** Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:25 pm

I'm looking to lift my '05 Renegade NO MORE than 1.5" all around.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can only get 1.5" front spacers and 2" rear spacers... 2" may be too much for me (although, I will be installing a heavy-duty DrawTite hitch soon as well).

At first, I was going to order pre-lowered springs and set them up with ranchos all around. Then, I decided I wanted to go higher than the 3/4" the pre-lowered springs give you.

I figured out a combination that would give me 1.25" all around. On the front, the combination of Rusty's strut plates (.5") and front spacer (.75")... we get 1.25". In the rear, a pre-lowered spring will give me .75" with the addition of another upper sping isolator at .5"... again, a total of 1.25".

Am I thinking way too much here? Should I just go with the 1.5" front and 2" rear spacer lift (does anyone have pictures of this installed... is the .5" difference very noticeable?)? Would the OME HD lift keep me UNDER 2" (I've heard it adds almost 3" in some cases).

A lot of information, I know. What's the best solution because I'm ready to buy... any help would be great... thank you.

Eddo · **Joined:** Thu Jul 07, 2005 7:01 pm **Posts:** 1214

If you stick with the OME medium or light duty springs you should have about 1.5-2". Most people just use the HD springs to give as much lift as possible and to help with any sagging or loss of lift from heavy duty bumps and winches. If you want a high quality lift that only raises it up about 1.5" then the OME is a good choice.

The 3" is usually the Frankenlift, which use OME HD springs plus spacers.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Mon Sep 04, 2006 9:20 pm

I have the OME lift with medium duty front springs and HD rear springs. I got right at 1.5in on the front and 2" rear. This is the best way to go IMHO. I was looking at getting some HD front springs and may have my front up for sale in the next couple months.

AdirondacKJ · **Posted:** Mon Sep 04, 2006 10:32 pm

And what would the Daystar 1.5" front / 2" rear spacer lift NET on KJ? Is it exactly as it says or different? I'm not a hardcore off-roader but I do take her off the beaten path occasionally.

Jeepjeepster, do you have any pictures of your setup?

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Tue Sep 05, 2006 11:14 am

The daystar lift is also a great cheap way to lift. The ride will always be better with a new suspension though.

Pics:

The last pic makes the lift look alittle taller than it is b/c of the slope of the driveway and it being unlevel in that spot. :wink:

AdirondacKJ · **Posted:** Tue Sep 05, 2006 11:33 am

Thanks for the pics, Jeepster... nice rig you have there.

Maybe you or someone else could tell me... in the quest to get 1.25" of lift all the way around, are there any potential problems with the following idea...

Pre-lowered coils all the way around providing 7/8" lift in the front and 3/4" lift in rear. Add rusty's front strut plates for approximately 3/8" more in the front and add a .5" spacer from AllJ's in the back. This amounts to 1.25" lift for both the front and back. I would add new rancho shocks/struts.

To me, it looks good on paper. I realize, for 1.25" of lift, this would be an expensive route, but I'm willing to pay to get it just right. I figure my nose would still droop a little, but I'm adding a heavy-duty hitch soon as well.

Any thoughts on this idea?

Eddo · **Joined:** Thu Jul 07, 2005 7:01 pm **Posts:** 1214

AdirondacKJ wrote:

Thanks for the pics, Jeepster... nice rig you have there.

Maybe you or someone else could tell me... in the quest to get 1.25" of lift all the way around, are there any potential problems with the following idea...

Pre-lowered coils all the way around providing 7/8" lift in the front and 3/4" lift in rear. Add rusty's front strut plates for approximately 3/8" more in the front and add a .5" spacer from AllJ's in the back. This amounts to 1.25" lift for both the front and back. I would add new rancho shocks/struts.

To me, it looks good on paper. I realize, for 1.25" of lift, this would be an expensive route, but I'm willing to pay to get it just right. I figure my nose would still droop a little, but I'm adding a heavy-duty hitch soon as well.

Any thoughts on this idea?

Just go with the OME medium duty setup. Too much of a hassle and probably would get quite pricey buying factory springs, new shocks and struts, plus all the additional hardware, not to mention separate shipping on it all.

I know you want 1.5" but an extra 1/4" is not going to change a thing. You can't even notice a 1/4" without measuring.

Also, you are putting way to much faith in the exact nature of numbers for each spacer/spring you are looking at. The added height for the new springs or spacers is just a rough approximation.

Plus if you go the OME route you get better springs and not stuck with the factory ones. Finally, any reason why you want to stick with such a precisely defined number as 1.25"?

AdirondacKJ · **Posted:** Tue Sep 05, 2006 1:36 pm

Yeah, I know it seems odd that I'm stuck on such a specific number. My largest worry is fitting it in my garage since I have a roof basket that clears by only a few inches. I fear that if I go over 1.5" I may not be able to fit. Not only that, but I use this vehicle for daily commuting and don't want to go too high and punish my tires and gas mileage more than I have to.

The OME suggestion is a good one. I will take that into serious consideration. That said, does anyone see any potential mechanical issues with the setup I described in my previous post?

Se7enLC · **Posted:** Tue Sep 05, 2006 2:16 pm

AdirondacKJ wrote:

Yeah, I know it seems odd that I'm stuck on such a specific number. My largest worry is fitting it in my garage since I have a roof basket that clears by only a few inches. I fear that if I go over 1.5" I may not be able to fit. Not only that, but I use this vehicle for daily commuting and don't want to go too high and punish my tires and gas mileage more than I have to.

The OME suggestion is a good one. I will take that into serious consideration. That said, does anyone see any potential mechanical issues with the setup I described in my previous post?

Don't forget to add an inch on for the new tires (assuming you'll end up with new tires)

I don't think you'll be happy cutting it that close to the ceiling of the garage. Is it that much work to take the basket on/off when you need it? Another option is a low-height basket like the yakima basketcase. I have that and it mounts BELOW the crossbars, thus not taking up any of my valuable clearance. I'm pretty sure I can fit in a 7 foot garage, but I have a tall antenna, so I stick to 9-foot clearance bridges or higher.

1.25-1.5" Lift - Any Suggestions?

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