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RE 4.5 or 5.5

D

david.macke

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Kansas City, MO
I am interested in buying a lift and I pretty much have my eyes set on rubicon express. I am wondering whether to get the 4.5 or 5.5 lift. I have heard you end up getting a little more lift than advertised but im not sure if this is true. This is a daily driver. I am leaning towards the 5.5 because i really like the look of 35's and I only want to do this once and I dont want to end up wanting more lift. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
There are a lot of opinions about this... What kind of offroading do you do? The RE 5.5" is pretty tall if you do a lot of off-camber stuff. I'd prefer the 4.5" with some gently-trimmed fenders. You'll still get close to 5.5" of lift from it (RE springs usually give 1-1.5" higher than advertised to compensate for heavy skids,winch,bumpers,etc). If you do mostly mountain trails and mud, with nothing crazy offcamber, the 5.5" is fine. A buddy of mine has the RE 5.5" with 33s on his daily driver, it's a great setup. I've got the same height as the RE 5.5 (5.5" coils, 4.5" leaves with the 1.25" shackles, exactly what RE gives for the 5.5" lift) and I get scared on the tipsy stuff. Of course, I do have my rig set up for crazy shock-droop. 12" travel shocks with 3"/9" uptravel/downtravel. I've been meaning to adjust the mounting to 5/7" but haven't gotten around to it.

Just something to consider. Both kits flex very well as long as you do the Long-arm (I believe the 4.5" is available in short-arm and long-arm).
 
I would consider getting the RE SF 4.5" kit and install shakle relocation brackets. The brackets, I've read, give you an extra 1" of lift. I don't know if you've seen the thread so I copied the link below:

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=955999&highlight=relocation

I have the RE SF 4.5" now with drop brakets and a munch of other mods. It's a great setup except that my shakle angle is exactly verticle so I get little articulation in back and it rides real rough. My next mod is to install the relocation brackets and than raise the front with RE 5.5" springs and do a bunch of other stuff.

Just a thought if you were debating 4.5" vs 5.5". Good luck.
 
I have about 40,000 miles and 6+ yrs on my RE 5.5 lift. I got it from Dirk at DPG offroad.com. He did a hybred kit for me.

The only thing I can say is that I love the kit, the mount of lift (6+ when new) and 35's on a daily driver.

I am going to replace the large joints on the LCA's this year.

Go for the RE 5.5 you will love it.
 
A couple questions for you David. If you go 5.5" are planning on long arms or short arms? Because at that height, short arms might not be the way to go. But if you go with the 5.5" Long arm kit, your gonna get hit with a big bill. PLUS, that doesn't include shocks, not to mention an SYE and driveshaft. To me, 5.5" of lift for anything is really too tall. Also at that angle, you are gonna want to do something about steering, Im thinking your steering geometry is gonna be off quite a bit. You also said you like the look of 35's. You plan on running 35's with stock gears? What axles do you currently have? Just remember, anyone can throw a 5.5" lift under a jeep, but in order for it to work properly, there are alot more that needs to be done to achieve that. Since this is a daily driver, it will probably cost you more because you want everything to to smooth and done right on the road.
 
david.macke said:
I am interested in buying a lift and I pretty much have my eyes set on rubicon express. I am wondering whether to get the 4.5 or 5.5 lift. I have heard you end up getting a little more lift than advertised but im not sure if this is true. This is a daily driver. I am leaning towards the 5.5 because i really like the look of 35's and I only want to do this once and I dont want to end up wanting more lift. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...


Do you know everything else you are going to have to buy in addition to the lift and 35's??

-shocks
-steering
-SYE/driveshaft
-gears front and rear, at least 4.56's

Hope you do a lot of good wheeling and aren't just using this as a DD. Sounds like it's your first lift, so I'll guess the latter. If you do wheel it, better start looking into upgrading the axles, or at least axle shafts to run those 35s.
 
Cherokeekid88 said:
If you go 5.5" are planning on long arms or short arms? Because at that height, short arms might not be the way to go.
Click to expand...

I agree with most everything you said except this. If done right, short arms can be better than some long arm kits. I have short arms with drop brackets on an RE 5.5 kit with an extra inch coming from Acos and higher spring perches. Flexes and rides as good as a long arm setup... plus you don't lose the break over angle.

I do get tippy and lean like a mofo though... but so far the rubber has stayed down!

just my .02
 
jrowell said:
Flexes and rides as good as a long arm setup... plus you don't lose the break over angle.
Click to expand...
I don't want to get into a drop brackets vs longarm debate, since I've never run drop brackets... but, what are you talking about with the breakover angle? My TNT Y-Link belly pan is almost flat with the frame rails and I don't believe that the RE belly pan is much lower than the factory crossmember, but I could be wrong. :confused1

Edit, found a photo of the belly pan installed. oops. :) There's a reason to get the TNT Y-Link kit, then. ;)
 
Last edited:
Get the 5.5 ... Wish I would've... I have the 4.5 RE Superflex running 35's on spacers ,bump stops ,rear blocks and trim the hell out of the fenders..

Can't go wrong with Rubicon Express

Nick
 
RE 5.5 Long Arm bumped up to 7.0" here....Love the lift, other than I wish I would have done the 7.5 option. Running 35 13.5 Krawlers
 
We have a 4.5 Short Arm and 32s. Not much Flex!
We stuff the Rear Tires all the time. The Rear Fenders have not been cut out.
The Front Fenders have been cut out.
We went from BB Kit to a 3" kit. Now a 4.5
Go with what you can afford and go as High as you can for 33s or 35s.
 
35's for looks!
brakes upgrade
steering upgrade
gears upgrade
axles upgrade

mileage downgrade
center of gravity downgrade

A stiff price for being stylish.
 
Spend the extra money and get Deavers! I got the RE 4.5 leafs they are sitting at 6.25 loaded have them on for about a year now. I called up Rubicon Express and asked why are the springs sitting up so high still, he told me that the springs are for a much bigger lift???? They sell them as a 4.5in leaf... Now I am getting rid of the stock shackles and half to go up one more inch. The advice they gave me was to take them to a leaf spring shop and have them D-arched! What good service... At least the people at rough country will help you out, these guys at RE are usless pricks!
 
dont mean to get off topic but what is the measurement for a 4.5 " and 5.5 " lift from center of hub to bottom of stock fender flare ?? average ?? thanks
 
I'm at 5.5" (pieced together parts with RE springs - 4.5" coils 3.5" leafs, 1.5" spacers, 1" shackles) with 33s and they stuff really good. Some off-camber stuff is kinda scary, but then it was when I was stock, and it was when I was stock in a Geo Tracker. :dunno:
 
justin_502 said:
Spend the extra money and get Deavers! I got the RE 4.5 leafs they are sitting at 6.25 loaded have them on for about a year now. I called up Rubicon Express and asked why are the springs sitting up so high still, he told me that the springs are for a much bigger lift???? They sell them as a 4.5in leaf... Now I am getting rid of the stock shackles and half to go up one more inch. The advice they gave me was to take them to a leaf spring shop and have them D-arched! What good service... At least the people at rough country will help you out, these guys at RE are usless pricks!
Click to expand...
Everybody knows that RE springs ride taller than advertised. Yours are a little taller than mine, but with 4.5" packs, and 1.25" boomerangs (what RE combines for their 5.5" lift), I'm just a hair over 7" and I've flexed them out (10" travel rear shocks with a 1" shock mount), so I know they're broken in.

What did you want them to do, send you 3.5" packs? Those usually run at 4.5" but because they have a flatter arch, they'll settle down to 3.75-4" after a year or two of hard wheeling. I'd say to enjoy it. If you've got a gangsta lean going on, just throw in some coil spacers up front (stacking stock spacers works nicely)
 
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