Is this a better choice? http://www.rustysoffroad.com/jeep-su...anced-kit.html

 

Nope Rustys stuff is garbage everything I've had from them failed with in months and they always tend to pass the blame so they don't have to warranty their garbage

Go Bds, Rubicon Express , OME, Rock Krawler , Zone, TNT, Clayton, Serious Offroad, Iron Rock Off-road

 

After spending thousands on lift components and other stuff I advise newbs to just get some MT tires, trim the fenders and go wheeling, save money for skid plates or gears/traction aids. I've been working on my **** way too much and wheeling too little. Get some good tires and upgrade as you go.

 

So why not an rc lift they are cheep compared to the other kits i found in the 1000$ range with just add a leaf. I don't see any problems with them?

 

I would like to know why so many people bash on Rough Country lifts. I plan on getting a RC long arm kit for my ZJ next month. I have looked at every other company's lifts and found I would have to spend more money for less. So I would like to hear from people that have had parts failures with an RC lift. I want first hand accounts, not a story of a cousin of a buddy that had an issue. Pictures of the failure would be nice too. Sorry for jacking the OP's thread, but it may be helpful for him too.

 

Specifically to their long arm kits, no failures yet, however I'd advise against it based on installing it. Having to drop that cross member to get to the tcase again would be a *****. I'd recommend anything besides that that has a removable center section, even better if it's weld on IMO.

 

The cross member looks like a stronger design than others that I have seen from IRO or Rusty's.

 

Oh, I'm not necessarily singling out RC. I'm against anything that doesn't have a remove able center section now lol.

 

Why not just be smart and do a budget boost like 2" with a spacer and shackle? Trim the fenders up front, cut n fold the rear fender and viola! You now can run 31" tires no problem.
Then use the extra money to get skids for the Tcase and gas tank, and buy some tow points Up front and rear. It's where I'm at, then again I built a shackle relocator for the rear, did a bastard pack by adding another xj main leaf into my upcountry pack lol

 

Yeah, I'm wondering the same thing. The only brand of lifts that don't seem to get ragged on by the masses are Rubicon Express, OME, and BDS. And that's great and all, but I don't have that kind of budget. If RC and Rusty's were as bad as everyone claims, I'm not sure how they'd still be in business after all these years. I had a chat recently with a forum member (FTHESHACK - currently shown on COTM banner) that has had a 6" RC lift on his for a couple of years and says it's fine. The only thing he recommended was better shocks, but that seems to be the standard MO for nearly all lifts; the "standard" included shocks generally not being all that great.

I just received my RC 4.5" X-Series lift. I got it for $829 shipped. I also bought a dropped pitman arm, I have a SYE waiting to go in with it, and I'll probably snag some Doetsch shocks. 5100's would be great, but again, I don't have an unlimited budget. And while the lift comes with upper and lower adjustable arms, I bought control arm drop brackets to improve ride quality. Granted, maybe for the hardcore guys that put several hundred miles of hard trail and large rocks on their rigs every year, you need something heavier. But for guys like me that live in largely flat areas (Texas), take a wheeling excursion or three a year, and don't plan on tackling Moab, I would think the more affordable lifts would be sufficient.

I suspect that, much like just about any other product you can buy, there's a bit of "brand whoring" that can be observed in the 4WD community, and some people automatically assume that anything other than the top tier must just be garbage.

If I google "Rough Country Reviews" I get the following jeepforum link, with 127 recommending RC, and 13 not recommending it.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f239/...on-lift-771541

I'd also like to hear from some people that have first hand experience with some details of what worked and what didn't. DETAILS. No completely unhelpful and ambiguous "I bought it and it sucked dude!" responses, please.

 

I have the 4.5" x-series kit that I installed almost a year ago. No control arm drop brackets or shackle relocators in the rear. It will out-flex our TJ with a teraflex (I believe) 4" kit.

The kit actually netted about 5" of lift and has been great. I wheel the rubicon and other rocky trails with it, and it does great. The on-road ride is decent, but I have never driven a long-arm or other lifted xj so I don't know what to compare it to.

As far as quality goes, one of my sway bar disconnects' threads was out of spec, so I called and RC shipped me two new completely ones for free. The sway bar disconnects are kind of a ***** to install as far as placement goes, and I bring a rubber mallet with me to disconnect on the trail.

Also, both of the lower control arm x-flex joints blew out while on the rubicon a few weeks ago. The thin "spanners" both bent and caused a lot of play in the joint and thus with the axle. Not a huge issue but it was annoying. I called and they shipped out two complete joint kits free, and it looks like the new spanners are much thicker than the ones that bent.

In my opinion, great kit for the money, customer service is unbeatable.

 

The only complaints i see when searching are the shipping and costumer serves

 

I run a rubicon express 3.5 on 31's and I didn't do a SYE but did get a TC drop kit. And also a steering stabilizer. Rides very nice and is good for anything I'll need it for.

 

I expected to see a ton of people with complaints with their RC lift...not so much. Come on haters, let's see some proof of their poor quality.

 

Ok ill chime in when I did my lift I went with rustys front coils, ome medium duty leafs and rough country shocks. Guess which one I'm replacing soon.