kaz2000xjsport

So I wanna do a 3" lift with new springs in the rear. Rusty's is a little more expensive than RC but is it for a good reason? and Then I looked into BDS, 1200.......why?

98XJ40K

I went with the rusty's with the full packs and have no complaints. They weren't the easiest to get in there, but a little pry bar goes a long way!

xjmarc

Search Rough Country springs too short on here. Rusty's track bar isn't the greatest but I like their springs.
BDS is a much more complete kit and higher quality but at 3" it's really not necessary. 6" is another story.

crbnfibr

give it 3 yrs....

GeneralPatton

Without trying to actually jack the thread here....

What about these brands in relation to life span?
I have heard of Old Man Emu lifts or even Rough Country Lifts easily lasting 3 or 4 years. Some crazies even claim 12 years.
Most of my research has suggested a Rough Country Lift. Consider this a bump to get people who own the aforementioned lifts to chime in. Thanks for the post OP.

crbnfibr

no jackin allowed... this a family site...ur ome suggestion is pretty sweet as far as i can read... however no one wants to pay for quality... you want quality...

or whatever just plan on spending a G minimum for quality...

OnlyInMyXJ22

I bought a Rusty's 3" lift in 2005. Sold it to a guy I know a couple years later, and to this day it still sits where it sat the day he put it on. Can't really complain about that.

alnielsen

I just installed Rusty's 3" w/ full leafs on mine. I'll have to admit, I was most likely swayed by TV. I wasn't reading much about it on here.

scottd16

I have a rough country lift I've never bought anything from rusty and that's just because I've heard bad things about quality I'm not sure if it's changed but I love my rc lift its good quality and the guys from rc have shown me great customer service.

ADK_XJ

I recently bought a Rusty's 3" add-a-leaf lift kit (still had the factory 17" from hub to fender on my Jeep, so figure that means no sag) and it's almost done being installed after a full-week at a friend's garage. Here's my feedback...

• I thought Rusty's customer service was spot-on, spoke to no less than 4 reps before purchasing and they were all awesome.
• Delivery was FAST, but I also live in the South and they're in Alabama I believe.
• However, the mechanic I'm working with expressed some frustration with the build quality and ended up replacing all of my u-bolts after a mix up with the axle sizing. That was more my mistake than Rusty's but still was an issue.
• Beyond u-bolts, I ended up purchasing sway-bar brackets and an adjustable trac arm to compensate for tilt in the axle after he got the Rusty's kit on. His opinion was that the kit should have included new control arms, but I "got what I paid for" he said.

In the end, I ended up paying far more than I would have for a higher-end kit that included drops, new control arms and other "extras"...part of that was individual shipping costs but I also feel like Rusty's could have stressed the possible need for a trac bar or other changes up front. Their only provision is for a steering stabilizer.


I spent quite a bit of time in buyer's remorse looking at other 3" kits while my Jeep has been on the lift and I settled on the fact that I would probably have spent the extra money up front (but still less than I ended up paying) to get this kit from Rough Country:


http://www.roughcountry.com/jeep_xj_3x.html


It includes the control arms, has upgraded shocks and the drop brackets. Rough Country also does a better job of hinting at the upgrades you might want to package with it and letting you do so in one order. That's really more of a "idiot consumer" fix but the reality is it would have helped me out.


Anyway, I think Rusty's is a great company and quality product if you have the experience / mechanical know how to make everything fit but I think Rough Country is the more "plug and play" option.


Good luck!

TheJerm

You get what you pay for in suspension lifts. I dont have any opinion on the quality of any of those lift since I pieced my own together but do have some advice. The only thing you NEED for a lift is the springs and shocks. Different control arms and adj track bar is not 'needed' but does help the ride and drivability of the vehicle. What kit you want really depends on what you expect from the vehicle after a lift. You want it to ride like stock or better? your lift will cost $800+ easy. You just want something to fit bigger tires on so you can play in the woods? your lift can cost as little as $150. Ive gone both ways and it all depends on what you want from it.

Nickell586

Rustys= good springs. decent lift id say. shipping prices are insane
RC= awesome customer service. cheap. leaves are short. control arm joints suck
BDS= top notch

You get what you pay for. So many lift companies out there. The cheaper ones are going to have their flaws. BDS, Clayton, TnT, Rockkrawler, Full Traction. I'd look into those if you want a decent lift.

Moparboy01

I'm a fan of either rough country, rubicon express or iron rock Offroad. Just my 2 cents.

jkw

i have rc 3" springs. very flexy. also have rustys control arms and steering. solid product but thier customer service sucked imo and the wanted $20 to ship 4 jam nuts. my advice is to buy springs for the front, and depending what tires u want to run, then figure ur shock lengths. a lift can be pieced together cheaper and u will be happier if u reseach the components and get stuff like the shocks seperately. springs and shackles for the rear can be found reasonably priced. between the junkyard and craigslist i have 300 in my lift n that includes the adj. upper n lower arms, aal for the rear, shocks all around, hd stering conversion, 2 different sets of lift springs, 3 sets of coil spacers, and an adj. track bar. just take your time and try and hunt down a deal

Outlaw Star

I have the Pro Comp 3 inch (now the same company as Rubicon Express) withal RE 1 inch shackle and coil spacer up front.