Which budget lift?

thebluebus · **Posted:** Sun Mar 04, 2007 3:46 pm

I'm looking at three different cheapo ways to lift my jeep:

Rocky Road budget lift, Rusty's spacer lift, or Daystar spacers.

I'll take all and any advice from folks that have any of these lifts - good or bad. I only want to spend my money once! :wink:

Which way should I go?

SnowgodCCR · **Posted:** Sun Mar 04, 2007 4:30 pm

They're all pretty much the same. All you're doing with a budget lift like that is sticking rubber pucks into the springs, giving the "Illusion" of longer springs. They work to stuff bigger tires, or just to get the look, but you won't see any articulation gains-actually in many cases it will be an articulation loss (but not always). The good news is that they're pretty cheap. All three do the exactly the same thing (unless they come with shocks-I don't think they do), so pick the one from your favorite manufacturer or the one with the best price.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Sun Mar 04, 2007 4:35 pm

Daystar. Its simple and cheap.

My .02.

EOD-KJ · **Posted:** Sun Mar 04, 2007 7:01 pm

i would skip it, save, and go for suspension lift

its much better for the durability of the vehicle

Dje Ryu · **Posted:** Sun Mar 04, 2007 9:46 pm

EOD-KJ wrote:

i would skip it, save, and go for suspension lift

its much better for the durability of the vehicle

Ditto, and I speak from experience. Installed RRO's budget lift, now, less than a year later, I'm going to be pulling that off, installing Rusty's spring/strut lift (only about $150 more) and replacing all the front ball joints (several hundred $$$ more). Spend the extra $$$ to do it right and save the hassle of doing it twice.

Troysterr · **Posted:** Sun Mar 04, 2007 11:34 pm

I would never buy a straight spacer kit, but I have RRO's Combo lift kit, and I swear by it for prelowered KJs. I've had mine for a couple of years through some pretty serious offroading, and it's always been great.

If I had a lowered KJ, though, I would hold out for a coil lift. It sounds like you really don't want to pony up for a Frankenlift, but Rusty's coil lift really isn't that much more expensive than the spacer lifts, if you take the struts and shocks into account.

And the fact that the struts come preassembled is a huge plus, IMO.

BDK · **Joined:** Sat Dec 30, 2006 3:45 am **Posts:** 31

Spend the money only once and get a full suspension lift! I am in the process of replacing a budget lift. Good luck with your decisison. :twisted:

Skipperb · **Posted:** Mon Mar 05, 2007 9:53 am

Daystar , I had mine for 4 years and its been fine. click on pix

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

Stay away from RRO's budget lift and Rusty's Spacer Lift. They are what use to be called OTT lifts and will cause problem with upper ball joints and struts, if you do not that the proper precautions.

http://www.jeepkj.com/forums/viewtopic. ... 2339#52339
http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/vie ... highlight=
http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/vie ... ght=rustys

The RRO Combo lift is a good kit along with Daystar.

Universeman · **Posted:** Mon Mar 05, 2007 11:17 am

I spent aprox $150 for my OME rear springs from, $20 for the front poly spacers from rustys and a few bucks for the 2" conduit nuts for the clevis lift. It works great and cost less then $200

thebluebus · **Posted:** Mon Mar 05, 2007 11:45 am

Thanks for all your replies and advice.

Now I'm wondering, would I see more real-world lift on my pre-lowered jeep with spacers than I would with a spring lift?
And Skipperb, can you really get away with 265 75s with only 2 1/2" of lift? I see your pics, but that's a way bigger than most people seem to run.

Skipperb · **Posted:** Mon Mar 05, 2007 12:06 pm

Yes ,BUT I did some fender work.no liners took off the front fog lite area.
If i hold the stering all the way over it will hit the back of the inside fender .but with the spacers it stop that,than I had it to rub at full stuff on the back.I took off the spacers and dont crank it down when I turn.

Maximum Carnage · **Posted:** Mon Mar 05, 2007 12:11 pm

If you decide to go for a suspension lift, check this links for Rusty’s Suspension lift group buy that will hopefully happen.

http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=18091&highlight=

http://jeepkj.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=64269#64269

Troysterr · **Posted:** Mon Mar 05, 2007 12:17 pm

thebluebus wrote:

Now I'm wondering, would I see more real-world lift on my pre-lowered jeep with spacers than I would with a spring lift?

Yes. With a spacer lift, you get to keep the benefit of pre-lowered springs. That's why I feel the RRO Combo lift is the best bang-for-the-buck lift for pre-lowered KJs.

On the other hand...if you're pre-lowered, then your KJ is about 5 years old and you may have sagging springs anyway. And maybe your front struts are due for replacement. If so, then Rusty's coil kit may be the best option for you.

Which budget lift?

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