NO PERSONAL EXPERIENCE with either of those kits, but from what I've heard you picked two of the worst brands. I just picked up the Zone Offroad 4.25" kit (3" SL 1.25" BL).
Dude whatever you decide stay away from rusty's. The people over there are complete assho3ls. Their customer service sucks and their shipping rates are even worse. I have done business with rusty twice and both times got into screaming matches with him on the phone. The guy is a complete idiot and there products are not that great this is why they are a bit cheaper than other company's. The heartache isn't worth the money you will save. Trust me on this one
I have a 4" rough country suspension lift w/ disco's and I'm not real pleased with it. It is a decent lift for the price but I have had issues with mine. (Might be a fluke, but I just want to tell you about my experiences). When I installed mine the front lower track bar wouldn't line up. The instructions showed a bracket to adjust to it. When I called them they told me to drill a new hole, which worked, but don't show a part that wasn't with the kit. The other problem I have had is two of the adjustable control arms have stripped their threads. (This is about 2 years later). When I called them with this problem they tried to sell me new control arms to replace their other ones. (Why would I buy them again!?) So instead I just welded them together. I want to upgrade mine asap. Sorry krashwoods not trying to rain on your parade, but spend some more money and get something a little nicer.
NO PERSONAL EXPERIENCE with either of those kits, but from what I've heard you picked two of the worst brands. I just picked up the Zone Offroad 4.25" kit (3" SL 1.25" BL).
I still sitting in my closet, won't be able to put it on until Christmas break. I don't have the tools or space to put it on at my dorm. But I got the kit for $440 with hydro shocks.
The zone combo kit would work nice with 33s and it is a good kit to build on. Meaning you can run the kit as is and add control arms and other things you wish later on. Zone products are made by bds the big difference between the two is that bds offers a warranty on theirs.
Yes, definitely do more research. Earlier I mentioned the RC 2.5" springs. There is a reason I only mentioned those specific springs. That reason is that they are probably the best for the money. They are dual rate, which means the upper coils will soak up the little bumps in the road while the lower coils won't compress until you hit a bigger bump. Plus most of the travel in these springs is down travel.
I would recommend Currie and Savvy, but these springs aren't as tall.
Yes, definitely do more research. Earlier I mentioned the RC 2.5" springs. There is a reason I only mentioned those specific springs. That reason is that they are probably the best for the money. They are dual rate, which means the upper coils will soak up the little bumps in the road while the lower coils won't compress until you hit a bigger bump. Plus most of the travel in these springs is down travel.
I would recommend Currie and Savvy, but these springs aren't as tall.
I still sitting in my closet, won't be able to put it on until Christmas break. I don't have the tools or space to put it on at my dorm. But I got the kit for $440 with hydro shocks.
Thats cool..where did u get it for 440 at thats a few hundred cheaper then i have seen it for! You planing to run 33s...iam gonna get the upgraded shocks n discos n might even order their adjustable trackbar n steering stabilizer...
Yea I'll be runnin 33s when I can afford em, currently have 31s. I went with standard shocks and just purchased JKS front adjustable trac bar and quicker disconnects. Buyin all 8 Savvy double adjustable arms in a bit. I already had a steering stabilizer, but would've gone with the black one from Zone if I didn't.
For the money most would agree that the best budget friendly lift "kit" would be the Zone 3" or Zone 4.25" combo. For the money and quality of parts it seems like it can be beat. Plus adding control arms, adj trackbars, etc is easy.
If you are looking for a kit comprised of the same components for a couple hundred dollars more the BDS and OME kits are up that alley.
Now if you want to do upgrades to most if not all your suspension the Currie kits with a 3" from Savvy or direct from Currie are where most people will direct you. Another option may be the Metalcloak 3.5" lifts. Granted either these will run you no less than about 2k the components that you get are top of the line and proven to perform well on an offroad. *with the exception of the metalcloak duroflex arms which are still relatively new.*
The Zone combo is pretty nice. I did mine in two weekends, one for the body and one for the suspension. Could do it easily in one, I just took my time. It works pretty good with 33s. Here's mine with 305/70 r16 mud grapplers.
After all the input,I am now looking at the BDS 3" Ultimate kit or the 3"Currie kit. My main concern is the johnny joints and how they will stand up to daily driving. I read that these types of joints wear out quickly and have to be rebuild frequently, not something I really want to do. Anyone running the Currie arms on a daily driver?
Where did you read that? If you do any research at all here you'll quickly find that to be 100% false. I as well as many others have DDs with Johnny Joints and they hold up just fine. The JJ is what you want.
I read that these types of joints wear out quickly and have to be rebuild frequently, not something I really want to do. Anyone running the Currie arms on a daily driver?
Johnny Joints have been proven to perform better as far as road manners and handling. The only area that they may be slightly beaten by the stock arms is in vibration dampening. I also agree with the comment about the BDS control arms. While the arms themselves aren't the issue the ends with the poly bushing and infirior flex joint compared to the JJ will be the downfall. Other than the arms and maybe BDS trackbars their kit is not a bad choice.
Johnny joints are the only joints you want on a jeep . Second best would be your stock arms. I have a set of rubicon express arm on mine that are in need of flex joint adjustment. You hear a popping noise coming from the joint as it wears and loosens in the hard plastic race. The only good part the bds kit contains is the springs . The bds arms use polyurethane bushings in a solid tube . This is the worst possible design due to it not allowing flex and putting all of the stress on the mounts. This stress can cause the mount to rip away from the frame at worst. Any arm with real johnny joints at both ends is the best due to the joints allowing rotation of the arm .
There are plenty of JJ clones out there that look very close, but none of those clones have proven to hold up like the JJ will. If you look closely, you'll see that most of the copy cats try to "improve" on the JJ design in some way, but all they end up doing is ruining the design.
The only heims I have are in my track bar and they have held up well over the last 5 years, but do squeak a bit. If i recall correctly it's illegal in some states to run heim joints on your suspension, or steering in a street driven vehicle. If you are talking about longevity the jj will win and have the added benefit of being rebuildable.
JJ's all the way. Had mine on two years, DD 30 miles a day 5 days a week. Just have to grease them every once in a while. For springs, BDS, OME, Currie/Savvy are all top notch choices.
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