Before & After pics of my KJ

[deserthorizons]

before:
http://gpn.rockcrawler.com/images/summer2001.jpg

===============
===============
after:
http://gpn.rockcrawler.com/images/KJCactusMed.jpg

[Tiffster]

Very nice!!!!! I have a friend who has a Liberty and is thinkinng about lifting it...yours looks good...might really sway him to do it soon.

Congrats!!!! How hard was it to install....think you might want to do a write-up on your install for the main site???

[MutantNinjaJeepinator]

Apparently, there's another lift kit on the market for the KJ. I received this e-mail:

Mr Schwabenland
If you know of anyone that needs a 2.5 inch lift for the liberty let me
know. $355.00



Thank you
Seth Jacobsen
Ironman USA
928-714-0088
928-600-6768
www.ironmansuspension.com

I had heard from one of the Aussie members at JU that these folks were working on a lift using springs and shocks. I don't have any details but replied back indicating I would be willing to be a test vehicle. Of course, I haven't heard back.

[deserthorizons]

Originally posted by Tiffster

Congrats!!!! How hard was it to install....think you might want to do a write-up on your install for the main site???

I would do a write-up, but how hard would it be to have pics posted with it..??..


(sorry Tiffster, I had to..)

Actually , I had planned on doing most of the install myself, but
when I took it up there to have the guy look at, to make sure his spring compressor could handle the install, he convinced me to let him do it for only 75 bucks a side..
To install the pucs, it would have cost 75.00
plus another 150.00 for the rest of the work..
and it was going to be 105 degrees that day.. I let him do it..
It only took him 4 hours to do it, would have taken me much longer..

[ChozenRoze]

I like it! Looks good. Have you tested it yet???? If so let me know how it handles. If not, why not??? Any way let us know> :D

[deserthorizons]

Originally posted by ChozenRoze
[COLOR=crimson]I like it! Looks good. Have you tested it yet???? If so let me know how it handles.

Thank you . :)
When I first drove it with just the lift on my way to the tire store, I noticed it felt a little firmer..
definitly higher, and it also seemed to transfer road noises into the cabin a little more.. I am not sure if
that is because I was driving on roads I rarely travel on, or the lift..

After the 32” BFG Mud Terrain T/A’s were added, it felt like I was going to ‘skate’ off the road..
I pulled over and checked the air pressure, and it was at 48psi.. Immediately I
lowered it to 36psi and I felt like I had control again..
Now with the addition of the tires, it still feels firmer, but now it is smoother..
They handle and feel very nice on the highway, even at 70mph.. They do have a softer sidewall than the
A-T’s
So, once you get used to that feeling, and the firmness of the suspension, it is great..
Off-Road is where the M-T’s shine.. I took a canyon trail that I know of, and it was amazingly
“easier” than it was with the A-T’s I had on my Wrangler.. tires never ‘slipped’ at all..
The flex of the sidewalls ate up all the rocks.. and that was at 36psi..
I have learned a valuable secret.. how much the Mud Terrains assist the driver..
I have always been an All Terrain driver, but these Muds are soooooooo much sweeter..

The Lift:.. a custom 2.5” lift setup from Rocky Road Outfitters..
It is working GREAT.. I think that (for me.) this will be the perfect setup for my Liberty..
I never heard a bang or thud or anything that told me one part was hitting on another part..
I drove down a washboardy road, and it feels just like stock.. Which is the one advantage to IFS vs SFA..
You can drive to the trailhead, which is often down a washboard road, without feeling like your kidneys
are being beaten and bounced around.. Usually at a pretty good speed too..
I got it all flexed and twisted and went over some pretty good sized rocks..
It just did what it was supposed to do, keeping all 4 tires on the ground,except I
was NOT SCRAPING bottom the entire way.. What is scraping now are the tires on the wheelwells..
I was expecting that.. I have already cut some plastic out of the way, I don’t know for sure yet what can be
done about the back tires rubbing.. But the front I can cut out anything that is in the way..
I do know that All Terrains would be rubbing in spots MUCH WORSE than the M-T’s do..
The A-T’s are “square shouldered” where the M-T’s have a little notch out of the shoulder that
allows it to clear the sway bar and some plastic in the front wheelwell..

It has lost a little of it's power.. not much, not enough to be a problem to me..
I drove a Samurai for 4 years. 64 HP
I drove a Wrangler for 7 1/2 ...150 HP
My Liberty has/had...................210 HP

All in all I am very pleased with the result.. I wish it were more of a lift and bigger tires..
But it achieves what I was trying to do, without some of the drawbacks others have suffered..

[ChozenRoze]

Thank you for all the information. Hopefully sometime I willl be able to see it, in action. I have been getting increasingly interestedin how the Libby handles on and off road and would love to see how one looks in person. I have gone on a ride with a Libby once and was very impressed by it's performance. :D

I am loooking forward to seeing the more Libbies raised and out on the trail. 8O Best of luck! :toocool:

[RipRip]

You could probly go a little lower on the air pressure Its the volume of the air that suports the weight not the pressure, bigger tires more volume less presure better ride. Will hurt gas milage though. Easies way to check for proper air pressure is to run a line of chalk across the face of the tire then drive a little ways and see if it is coming off evenly.