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going from a RE 5.5'' to approx 3.5'' have a few questions

H

hxcjohnny

NAXJA Forum User
Location
North Carolina
ok, so i have a rubicon express 5.5'' kit now with drop brackets and 285/75r16's and I'm thinking about downsizing to 31's and a 3.5'' or so for gas reasons. My question is, what parts of my lift will work with a 3.5 kit. i have a slip yoke eliminator with a front shaft for the rear, and I think that'll work. What about the control arms? My ca's aren't adjustable, so if i remove the drop brackets, will the control arms I have work with a 3.5'' kit? Also, I assume my adjustable trackbar will be too long? I have JKS quicker disconnects that are for 4''+ or so if i remember correctly. Would they still work with a 3.5'' kit? what about my RE shocks? I know the RE kits usually sit a little higher than they're advertised as. I'm hoping I can just swap out springs and remove the drop brackets and be fine. Let me know what you guys think!
 
Well, it's hard to say without specifics... If possible, give details on the following:

- Track bar brand/model
- Shock models and lengths (compressed and extended)
- Control arm models

For 3.5" of lift, you're looking at the following (based on RE and other recommendations):

- 15" UCAs and 16.25" LCAs (eye to eye), no drop brackets
- Front shocks: 16" compressed, 26" extended
- Rear shocks: 15" compressed, 24" extended

Your quick disconnects should work - the important thing is to achieve geometry between the links and sway bar resemblant of the stock setup. The sway bar ends/eyes will need to be nearly parallel the frame rails if not slightly below. Your links should work for this - if anything, the links that came with my RE 3.5" SuperRide kit are too short. Note that if the links are too long, you may have interference issues - namely the driver side link-to-sway bar hardware scraping your track bar bracket on the chassis.

Give us some info on your track bar so we can get a better idea of what you're working with. For 3.5" of lift, the track bar will need to be roughly 3/4" longer than stock (axle-side bushing eye to chassis-side heim center). This is by no means exact, but it's a ballpark figure to work with.
 
I'd bet his kit came with a sway bar relocation kit like mine did. Removing the brackets will move the sway bar towards the springs by an inch and he should not have intererrence issues.

If you have no plans to return to the 5.5" lift, maybe you can sell/swap the entire ensemble for a 3.5" kit. I'm sure there are plenty of guys on the forum that would make the swap.
 
hxcjohnny said:
ok, so i have a rubicon express 5.5'' kit now with drop brackets and 285/75r16's and I'm thinking about downsizing to 31's and a 3.5'' or so for gas reasons.
Click to expand...

Dont see how the lift matters,are you running the proper gears?Ive run all sizes of lifts and tires,always get the same mileage as long as it was geared to the tire!
 
RCP Phx said:
Dont see how the lift matters,are you running the proper gears?Ive run all sizes of lifts and tires,always get the same mileage as long as it was geared to the tire!
Click to expand...

1) Larger tires are heavier, more energy will be needed to turn them
2) More wind resistance from more of the suspension being exposed
3) Steeper drive line angles create more parasitic lose.
 
anthrax323 said:
Well, it's hard to say without specifics... If possible, give details on the following:

- Track bar brand/model
- Shock models and lengths (compressed and extended)
- Control arm models

For 3.5" of lift, you're looking at the following (based on RE and other recommendations):

- 15" UCAs and 16.25" LCAs (eye to eye), no drop brackets
- Front shocks: 16" compressed, 26" extended
- Rear shocks: 15" compressed, 24" extended

Your quick disconnects should work - the important thing is to achieve geometry between the links and sway bar resemblant of the stock setup. The sway bar ends/eyes will need to be nearly parallel the frame rails if not slightly below. Your links should work for this - if anything, the links that came with my RE 3.5" SuperRide kit are too short. Note that if the links are too long, you may have interference issues - namely the driver side link-to-sway bar hardware scraping your track bar bracket on the chassis.

Give us some info on your track bar so we can get a better idea of what you're working with. For 3.5" of lift, the track bar will need to be roughly 3/4" longer than stock (axle-side bushing eye to chassis-side heim center). This is by no means exact, but it's a ballpark figure to work with.
Click to expand...

everything on the jeep is from a 5.5'' Rubicon express extreme duty lift, so its all rubicon express brand. the trackbar is the rubicon express re1660. I guess i'd probably have to swap it out for a shorter one. the shocks are the monotubes that came with the kit, and the control arms are non adjustable RE arms and came with the kit as well. beyond that, i dont really know to be honest. Also, it did come with the sway bar relocation brackets.

RCP Phx said:
Dont see how the lift matters,are you running the proper gears?Ive run all sizes of lifts and tires,always get the same mileage as long as it was geared to the tire!
Click to expand...

the reason I'd want less lift is because i'm going with a smaller tire. a more narrow, shorter tire will weigh less and be less rolling resistance, which will be easier for the jeep to push. I dont want that much lift with only 31's. It wouldnt be as safe, and it would look goofy. besides, with the jeep actually sitting that much taller, there's more wind resistance. a lower center of gravity is always nice.

And i've thought about finding someone who'd want to swap complete kits with me. I'd definitely do that, i'd just have to find someone. I have it advertised on jeepforum, but i can't post to classifieds on here. :/
 
Last edited:
You CAN post in your local chapter "for sale/wanted" section.
 
I think you'd be fine. You will be able to use those drop brackets.

I have the 3.5 inch coils, and they are very tall.
 
Mine sits at 4.25 inches.

And they work great. I have a rigid bumper, no loss in height, and they are stiff enough that I DD it with long arms and no sway bar.
 
just run 31s with the existing kit. I just went to actual 5" today with 31s. Looks way better than it did at 3
 
oblivion_twister said:
just run 31s with the existing kit. I just went to actual 5" today with 31s. Looks way better than it did at 3
Click to expand...

the RE kits lift more than they're advertised. My jeep is actually sitting at 6.5'' right now. With that much lift, I dont think it'll be as safe to downsize from a 12.5'' width tire to a 10.5. I want my center of gravity to be lower for driving it daily.
 
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