roconnor2012

Hey guys, I've got some questions for you.

I'm looking into lifting my 2012 2WD with a Rough Country 4 inch kit. I'm not looking to get a large lift, like a 6 inch kit, but looking to get slightly more height the right way with a full suspension kit. From some early research, it looks like the lift will cost around $1000 and labor to install it will be about the same, so $2000 in total. My questions are about the wheels needed after the lift. I currently have the 20" FX4 wheels (8.5 inches wide) that I would like to keep if at all possible. Will wheel spaces give me the clearance needed to avoid rubbing the steering knuckle? I figured it could be possible since this is a 2WD and the stock height starts smaller than a 4WD. Also, the 4 inch kit seems to be just above the largest leveling kit you can buy, which reinforces my thought. Regardless, I will buy new tires to handle the new height.

To sum up my questions:

• Do I have to buy new wheels with a 4 inch lift?
• Will wheel spacers give me the offset I need? Are there additional concerns with using spacers?
• Will the 3.73 gears be enough to not need re-gearing?
• Will I ruin my 3.7L by lifting it? (as in too much strain on the power train)

*Pictures for the current set up with 2 inch level*

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TJPlatinumEB

So you want 4" of additional lift? You can get 4" of lift with just coilovers if you are looking for that. Then buy bigger tires and you get even more. 4WD shocks are 2" longer than 2WD shocks but otherwise identical. So just buying those gives you 2" then you buy coilovers meant for 4WD that raise a 4WD by 2" actually gets you 4" of lift. That's what I have with the BOSS Coilovers. Then with the added 34" tires, I've effectively raised the truck almost a total of 6" over factory.

However, if you are set on a suspension lift, I'd call Rough Country or the reseller to find out what offset is required to fit the new kit. They all publish that data and tell you what is required so they can inform you of that. I'm sure the 3.73 gearing will be enough but with your 3.7L, the added weight of the tires and height of the lift will kill the mileage and make it work quite a bit harder. Just something to think about.

roconnor2012

TJPlatinumEB- Thanks for the response. I'm not dead-set on the suspension lift, I just thought it was the best way to achieve the height. And yes, I am looking for 4 inches overall (4in up front and 1.5-2 in the back).

So you bought 4WD coilovers that extended your front suspension a total of 4 inches? My concern with that much extension would be stress on the joints. Also, does the upper control arm hit the coilover when going over speed bumps or when the suspension is fully extended?

M0RRIS

Wait for @RNLCOMP, he has a 4” on a 2wd truck. I’m confident he’ll have your answers

TJPlatinumEB

I've had the coilovers on the truck for 40k miles. No signs of extra wear or issues with them. Naturally yes there is more stress being put on them and I do plan on some good UCA's later this year just for extra piece of mind. However, these coilovers have a smaller diameter than the factory coils. This especially comes in handy for the UCA at full drop. Mine do not hit the coils at all. They have a gap there. It isn't much, but there is a gap for sure.

And as already said RNLCOMP will be here soon I'm sure. He has a ton of knowledge about it and has that exact lift on his truck. Also, anyone with basic mechanical ability can install that lift kit. It doesn't require cutting or any real special tools. If a shop charges $1000 to install it, I'd look somewhere else. I looked into doing this kit myself and it isn't a hard install on a 2WD at all.

RLXXI

I do indeed have the RC 4" lift kit on my 2wd, love it. From what I remember the only requirement for rims with that lift kit is they must be over 17" so your covered there, imo your definitely going to need taller tires to fill the wheel wells. The lift kit itself won't kill any power and only slightly affect fuel economy, the larger tires will. I've got 3.31 gear but have a 5.0 and 35x12.50 18 on -12 offset wheels and there was a significant loss of get up and go that I cured with a custom tune from MPT. That particular kit will give you exactly 4" up front and 2" in back for the perfect level while lifting, it retains stock suspension geometry, oem ride quality and comes with camber/caster cams for the alignment.

I did the job under my carport in about 5hrs using air tools, floor jack, bottle jack and some jack stands, everything else was basic hand tools. I also aligned the front end in that time frame. Suspension/alignment is one of my specialties. Some pics.....









If you have any other questions feel free to ask.
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M0RRIS

SnoWhitePT2

If you have the necessary tools, I recommend just grabbing a buddy and some cold ones and install it your self. Save that $1000 bucks and put it towards other mods. Just make sure you have a back up ride or vehicle to run to home depot if needed. I say this because my lift kit was missing 1 Bolt, no it did not hold me up but i was motivated to get the lift on and get it alligned the next day with new tires getting installed. I also went the same route that RNlCOMP went, I Installed a 8.5'' Mcgaughys Lift ALL by myself with the same tools plus other tools. You just have to have a Can do attitude AND DO IT SAFELY. Honestly its not hard to install a lift just time consuming.

roconnor2012

@Rnlcomp - Thanks for the reply! Your set up looks perfect and exactly the height I'm looking for. Is there any cutting involved in the process or is that just for the 4WD version? Did you have to do any drilling? I would like to save $1000 and install it myself.

For the tires, I was thinking 275/60R20's (33's) and I'm not sure if that's wide enough for this. At the same time I would like to upgrade the front shocks. Any recommendations on ones that work well with lifts?

RLXXI

No cutting, that is 4wd only, follow the instructions that come with the kit, you may have to drill the two holes for the brake caliper mounting bracket on the steering knuckle to accommodate the larger bolt size, I had to I think because I also have the tow package. You may not need to but if you do it's simple with a 5/8" stepped drill bit. Other than that the only deviation I made from the instructions was to not relocate the parking brake cable. Didn't feel like going through the hassle as I never off road so my suspension never articulates enough to concern me.

33's would be the tire height not the width, how it looks is subjective. I had 32's originally and it just didn't look right to me so I went up to 35's, again it's subjective. Get the lift on and stand back and see what you think, go from there. As for the front shocks, I'm still using my oem, the kit comes with longer rear shocks.

P.S. What ever shocks you decide to use on the front just buy what fits a 2wd, the rear you will want to buy what's listed for a 4wd as it's exactly 2" longer and will work perfectly for the new height I put Monroe air shocks on the back of mine to accommodate light loading because with the truck now leveled, any weight you put back there will make the rear sag. If you plan to do more than light loads best bet to skip the air shocks and put an airlift bag system on, would have saved me $60 bux if I had done that in the first place.

Also follow your owners manual after you lift for aiming the headlights so you don't blind people at night.
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