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The much asked question of which lift kit to go with, Please help

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I know this question has been asked over and over again by many people on many forums and I have spent hours and hours searching every thread I could find on the topic and I think I realized why people keep asking it. After looking at many posts some helpful and some not so much, I have come to the conclusion that generally when people respond and give their opinion on one of the companies such as calmini or RRO they are repeating what they have "heard" about them. I have not found many replies that gave a clear definitive answer as to exactly what kit someone used, what their likes and dislikes were about it, and if they have personally had any customer support issues with the company they dealt with. I just want to hear facts about the major offerings out there such as calminis 2 and 3in suspension lifts, the RRO rock ready 4.5 in lift and if all the hype about the OME components being superior to the calmini components is true. This is not my daily driver, however I do drive it to anywhere I go wheeling, therefore I would like it to still be able to handle a 100 mi commute on the highway but be more capable offroad.  I am currently running 235/75R16s and may move up to 31s if I can find a good used set for cheap, and I do plan to ultimately install a winch, bumper, and full skids so I will be adding some weight. I currently am running the green and blue trails at Raush Creek in south central PA and don't really ever plan to do full blown rock crawling, and I love hill climbs so I don't want to make my center of gravity so high im rolling over on the real steep stuff. Any advice or experience anyone could offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

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Offline utahskibum

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Re: The much asked question of which lift kit to go with, Please help
« Reply #1 on: November 12, 2010, 11:32:10 PM »
I ran a 2 inch spacer lift on my 2 door for a while and recently put on a Calmini 3 inch. I didn't have a winch or aftermarket bumpers but I didn't think the ride was overly harsh like some have said. I didn't mind it on the road at all and I drove it quite a bit. It was pretty tough off road in some serious rock crawling- I don't think you would have any problems with it for what you are doing. It fits 31's just fine, though I had already trimmed back my fenders just a bit. Whatever you do, I would really recommend a heavy duty idler arm as I bent mine which lead to a broken tie rod in Pritchett Canyon, Moab- not fun.

I am currently doing a solid axle swap with a kit that Low Range Offroad is developing. It runs a Samurai axle and springs. Excited to see how it turns out. There was nothing wrong with the Calmini kit, I just needed a lot more travel for rock crawling. You are welcome to contact me if you want to know anything else about the lifts I've ran.       

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Offline Drone637

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Re: The much asked question of which lift kit to go with, Please help
« Reply #2 on: November 15, 2010, 12:35:46 PM »
The Calmini kit is solid and will serve you well, I have never heard of anyone complaining about the build quality.  The biggest complaint is usually that the springs are a little stiff before they are broke in and if you don't have a bumper and everything else to weight them down.

One issue with jumping up tire sizes with a DD is the gearing.  With a 5 speed you have the 5.12 gears and there are only a few sets you can go to, the 5.38 from a 4 door 8 valve and the 5.62 gears from an 89 w/1.3l engine.  With 30" tires you will start seeing a performance hit, even more with the 31" rubber on the wheels.

To start out with you might want to just pick up a simple spacer lift to get 2 more inches of height, but you will see a bit rougher ride.  Some aggressive tires and a locker in the rear and you can probably make your way around most any trail.  Especially with some body armor. 
96 Geo Tracker, x-SJ-410,  x-White Rabbit, x-Project Trouble
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x-Trouble Racing

Re: The much asked question of which lift kit to go with, Please help
« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2011, 01:37:18 PM »
i have the calmini 3" lift, its alright. i blew out both front struts after my 5th time out and replaced them with ome. the back springs seem a little to soft as well. either than that im fairly happy with it

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Offline HburgPA

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Re: The much asked question of which lift kit to go with, Please help
« Reply #4 on: March 20, 2011, 09:06:28 AM »
i have the 2 inch spacer lift from low range and skys manufacturing 2 inch body lift on 31x10.50s and ten inch wide old jeep cj wheels and i cant complain about the ride one bit, i dailly drive it becuase it turns so many heads in town here, but it has yet to be stopped on any trail in central pennsylvania. steep hill climbs, slate rock trails, loose rocks and mud. no worries.