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So, you're finally ready to spend your hard earned money on that new lift kit for your Jeep Wrangler JK and what you want to know is "what is the best Jeep lift kit"? Well, you've come to the right place. Here at Viper Motorsports, in the heart of Weatherford, Texas, we expertly perform lift kit installation on Jeeps, trucks and SUVs every day. We carry a huge variety of lift kits for the Jeep Wrangler in heights ranging from 2 to 5.5 inches and also offer kits from almost every manufacturer of lift kits for Jeep including: Rough Country, Pro Comp, BDS Suspension, Zone Offroad, Rubicon Express, Teraflex, Rock Krawler, Fabtech and more. When it comes to Jeep lift kits, parts and accessories - If we don't have it - or can't get it, you probably don't need it.

Now that you've decided to lift your Jeep, your next step is deciding which lift kit to buy.. BEFORE this purchase is the best time to understand a very important fact: ALL JEEP LIFT KITS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL. BEFORE is also the time to understand that lifting your solid axle Jeep Wrangler JK is very different from lifting a vehicle with an independent front suspension. Adding a suspension lift to any vehicle alters the geometry with regard to how the suspension was originally designed to function. This is especially true on a solid axle vehicle like a Jeep. Control arm lengths, alignment specs, track bar lengths, pinion angles, caster angles, shock length, drive shaft angles and steering geometry as well as roll center will all need to be addressed at some point after you lift your Jeep. These are things that many less reputable and inexperienced off-road shops neglect to mention when marketing and selling their trademark "CHEAPEST" lift kits available. They are often "cheap" because they are incomplete and/or inferior, not because they are on sale at some awesome price just for you.

For most people, their Jeep is a mixture of daily driver, weekend off-road, hunting/fishing vehicle and even the vehicle they choose to tow behind their RV. Most Jeep owners will reluctantly admit the vast majority of their driving is done on the road, so when choosing a Jeep lift kit and accessories, it is necessary to strike that perfect balance between adding more off-road capability without losing the on-road ability. Determining how your Jeep will be used day to day is the key first step in deciding what lift kit will fit your needs.

If your Jeep is NOT your primary mode of transportation, and your vision is to create some sort of off-road, rock crawling beast, you likely need to sacrifice some of the higher speed handling qualities in order to obtain the most suspension articulation possible. If you are considering the cheapest lift kit available (which is what many shops advertise), you may just discover, at the most inopportune time and place, that you got exactly what you paid for. It's always best to do your homework and be sure you understand everything lifting a vehicle entails. The best Jeep lift kit is the one that is complete and addresses all of the steering geometry, ride and handling changes that lifting your Jeep creates.

At Viper Motorsports, we feel that it is our responsibility as an off-road parts retailer, to educate consumers and help them purchase the right lift kit to serve their purpose while also providing a safe, comfortable ride. Unfortunately, many Jeep owners and off-road shops are only focused on looks and what size lift will clear a larger tire. It is imperative that drive train, steering geometry and ride quality all get equal attention. The internet is polluted with "lift kit, tire and wheel package deals" pushing cheap, incomplete lift kits, with inferior, China built tires and unknown wheel brands. If your steering fails or your wheels come off going 70 miles per hour down the freeway, all that money you saved won't be much consolation. Checking online reviews is always a good starting point but, consider the source and take reviews with a grain of salt. Just because Bob down the street got a cheap lift kit and says "it's great" doesn't mean it actually is. The value of Bob's review is directly proportionate to Bob's actual knowledge of Jeep suspensions and lift kit installation. Everyone, including Bob, would  like to think that we made the right choice when spending our money. Go ahead and Google "post purchase rationalization" prior to basing you lift kit choice on Bob's review.

While saving money is a huge concern for people these days, it should not be the only concern if you want to raise your Jeep safely and avoid headaches with extra cost down the road. The general consensus among experienced Jeep builders and enthusiasts is that a small lift of 2.5" is a "safe" lift height. That being said, even a small lift can create unwanted results when not done correctly. The Pros and Cons of a SMALL LIFT are as follows:

PROS:

• You will typically be able to maintain the factory ride
• These lift kits are relatively inexpensive
• Installation is very straightforward with very few complications
• Future complications are minimal
• With some fender trimming or new flat fenders you could run a tire up to 35"

CONS:

• Adding heavier bumpers, winches, etc. will reduce the lift height
• Even a small lift with inferior parts can result in poor handling and ride quality
• Buyer's remorse; often the customer wishes they had saved money and waited to get that bigger lift

That being said, there is a big demand for Jeep lift kits 3 inches or even higher when owners want to run 35 inch or larger tires. This article is certainly not an attempt to talk you out of lifting your Jeep - lifted Jeeps are badass. At Viper Motorsports, We own Jeeps, we love building Jeeps and we enjoy driving them but, we would be remiss in our duties as a reputable off-road parts retailer if we didn't at least attempt to educate our customers on the consequences of lifting a Jeep without addressing the inherent changes made to the Jeep's roll center, steering geometry, drive train etc. The following are items that need to be considered when installing a lift kit and running larger tires on a Jeep Wrangler JK:

Axles off center: Adding suspension height will cause the front axle to shift to the driver side and the rear axle will shift to the passenger side. An adjustable track bar can be used to re-center the axle. Unfortunately most budget priced lift kits don't include adjustable track bars. A 2.5' lift will shift the axles about 3/8" which is not a major deal, but now the Jeep is not tracking down the road as it was engineered when it came from the factory. This can also affect the Jeep's roll center, driveshaft wear etc. Axle shift gets proportionately worse with more lift. Adjustable track bars are the most effective way to correct axle shift, and many cheaper lift kits don't include them.

Steering Geometry - Bump Steer & Roll Steer - Most experienced Off-road shops understand that on a lifted, solid axle vehicle like a Jeep, the track-bar and steering drag-link must remain parallel in order to avoid bump-steer and roll steer.

• Roll-steer is caused when the steering linkage doesn’t pass through the roll-center of the suspension geometry – meaning that every time the vehicle leans during a turn or the axles articulate, the Jeep tries to steer itself. This happens when there is a small lateral shift of the axle relative to the pitman arm on the steering box. This shift effectively steers the vehicle without driver input. To eliminate roll steer, the front and rear track-bars must be significantly repositioned in order to place the vehicle's roll-centers in the best possible locations for lifts that are 3.5 inches or taller.
• Bump steer is exactly what it sounds like. You're driving down the road, you hit a bump or pot hole and your Jeep tries to change direction. Obviously this is not good and while bump steer is nothing like death wobble, it is an indication that something is wrong and it needs to be addressed before it becomes a death wobble. Bump steer is either a steering geometry issue or is a result of loose, broken or bent steering components. More often than not, it is caused by installing a lift kit that doesn't address steering geometry changes effectively or at all. Some budget lift kits will include a drop pitman arm to correct steering geometry. This is a bad idea on a Jeep and is actually an out dated, clunky way to correct steering geometry. It applies extra leverage on the sector shaft and will typically wear out the sector shaft and steering box prematurely, resulting in more steering issues.

The best approach to avoid body roll, roll steer and bump steer (especially on lift kits above 2.5") is with installation of a high steer kit which provides considerable improvements to steering precision and handling by correcting the roll center height of the front suspension. Restoring the steering geometry back to factory specs.

Shock lengths and Shock Extensions: Shock length is what limits your axles downward travel. If you're running stock shocks, adding a lift kit will reduce your axle's downward travel and will likely tear up the stock shocks as they don't have enough travel for the added articulation provided by the lift. Many cheap lift kits include shock extensions and longer bump stops instead of including new longer shocks. Shock extensions are an inexpensive way to add downward travel but, unfortunately, shock extensions limit upward travel. Shock extensions are fine when used with any lift kit that just adds spacers under the stock springs because you are simply repositioning the stock coils, so repositioning the stock shocks to match makes sense. If you install a full coil spring lift, you really need to install new, longer travel shocks to match the extended travel of the new coil springs.

Drive Shafts: Any added lift height steepens driveshaft angles. Adding longer shocks or extensions will allow the axles to drop even further putting even more angle on the drive shafts. Disconnect that sway bar links for off-road use and the axles drop even farther. This will typically cause the stock drive shaft to contact the exhaust/crossover pipe and even if it doesn't, this steeper angle will eventually cause the CV to fail. There are several ways to avoid this problem, and most low budget lift kits don't address it at all.

Flighty/loose steering: Adding lift height to a Jeep creates negative caster angle. Caster angle refers to the tilting of the highest point of the steering axis either forward or backward when viewed from the side of the vehicle. A backward tilt is positive (+) and a forward tilt is negative (-). Caster influences directional control of the steering and without adjustable control arms, there is no effective way to adjust caster angle. If you don't have enough positive caster, steering may be touchy at high speeds and wheel return-to-center may be diminished when coming out of a turn. Positive caster helps the steering wheels return to center after a turn.. and you guessed it, most cheaper lift kits don't address caster angle correction effectively and many don't address it at all.

Pinion Angles , Caster Angles & Wheelbase: Adding height also causes both axles to rotate up and in towards the center of the Jeep shortening the wheel base. To return the pinion, caster angles and wheel base back to stock requires adjustable control arms. Let's say you have a 3.5" lift with stock, non-adjustable control arms and you are driving on uneven terrain. When the axle drops on one side, the axle will pull in toward the center on that side... It has no choice. The result is the vehicle will try to steer itself in that direction. Some budget kits do supply cam bolts to adjust the caster angles. This is more a jerry rigging than a correction. A quick Google search for "Jeep JK cam bolts" will turn up several results for "how to remove cam bolts and replace them with adjustable control arms".

Bigger Tires = Less Power: When you bump up the tire size on any vehicle without re-gearing, you will lose a certain amount of power. Compared to a stock size tire, a taller tire will go farther down the road for each time it makes one complete revolution. Therefore, when the tire size is increased without changing the gears, it will cause the driveshaft to turn slower. With the driveshaft turning slower, the engine is also turning slower. If your engine is turning too slow, it robs you of power, performance and even fuel economy. To compensate, you need to change the axle gears. Bigger tires means higher numbers for axle gears. If you want factory like performance, you need to match your increase in tire size to the proper gear ratio to bring the engine speed back closer to what it was from the factory.

Ball Joints & Wheel bearings: If you run a 35" or 37" tire, it stands to reason, you will shorten the life of the factory ball joints, wheel bearings and other stock steering components. Exactly how much shorter there is no way to know, but what we do know is that the factory suspension and drive train parts on a Jeep were not designed with 35'" or 37" tires in mind. If you are paying attention, your ball joints and wheel bearings will likely give you plenty of warning when they are wearing out. Typically, they don't suddenly fail catastrophically, though it can happen. You may notice some minor clunks going over bumps and a general looseness in the front end. There are several manufacturers of heavy duty ball joints for Jeep including Dynatrac, Synergy, Alloy USA, etc. There is a good chance that you will need to replace the factory ball joints at some point after your upgrade to 35" or larger tires

There are some great lift kit manufacturers out there and therefore, some great lift kit options to choose from.  Some of these kits handle just great on the road but, not so great off-road.  Others perform amazingly well off-road but fall short on the highway. For those who use their Jeep as a multi-purpose vehicle the trick is to find a lift kit that will perform equally as well on and off road. If you stay below 2.5 inches of lift, most of the lifts on the market will suffice. Once you exceed 3 inches of lift, the quality and dependability of your lift kit options decreases while the cost increases. When it comes to taller lifts for the Jeep Wrangler JK, we typically steer our customers toward lift kits manufactured by companies that ONLY make suspension products for Jeep. They will usually be a little more expensive, but will typically be better engineered and likely address all of the issues mentioned in this article.

At Viper Motorsports in Weatherford, Texas, we field way too many phone calls from people who have lifted their Jeeps and now have a laundry list of unwanted side effects as a result of incomplete or inferior lifts purchased on Amazon or that tire/off-road shop that opened last week. If you live in the Weatherford, TX or Dallas/Fort Worth area and you are ready to lift your Jeep Wrangler JK, call the suspension experts at Viper Motorsports in Weatherford, TX. Whether you want a lift just for looks or you intend to push your Jeep beyond its original capability, we'll work with you to choose the right lift kit that will serve your actual needs while keeping you and your passengers safe on or off-road. Give us a call at (817) 609-8001 or stop by 902 Fort Worth Hwy, Weatherford Texas. www.vipermotorsports.com