Bilstein shocks with a 3" lift

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OIFvet

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I just purchased a 3" Rough Country lift kit. It comes with the N2 shocks. However, I have read a lot of bad reviews about the shocks, and do not know if I should keep these shocks, or buy some Bilstein shocks. Also, if I do get Bilstein shocks, which ones would I get?
Comments? Should I even worry about switching shocks? Or should I just ride the RC shocks that come with the lift kit?
 

tommudd

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I just purchased a 3" Rough Country lift kit. It comes with the N2 shocks. However, I have read a lot of bad reviews about the shocks, and do not know if I should keep these shocks, or buy some Bilstein shocks. Also, if I do get Bilstein shocks, which ones would I get?
Comments? Should I even worry about switching shocks? Or should I just ride the RC shocks that come with the lift kit?

The shocks that come with the Rough Country lift are not that good BUT neither is the lift. Highly suggest you send it back
If you keep it and install it no matter what you have on there its going to destroy them
 

tommudd

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^^^SMH^^^ To ANSWER your question this is what you'll need

BILSTEIN - Heavy Duty 2.5" Lift Rear Shock

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Thats for 2.5 if going over 3 inches like he thinks he will then needs 4 inches
of course with sagged springs and worn out suspension he'll most likely get about 1.5-2 inches
Trying to save the guy some money and heartache
 
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Soloshot55

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The Rough Country kit comes with the rear springs so I don't know how that make sense

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KJ604

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The Rough Country kit comes with the rear springs so I don't know how that make sense

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Do you know why it doesn't make sense to you? Because you don't have the experience Tom does with these rigs.
 

jeeplib05

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The Rough Country kit comes with the rear springs so I don't know how that make sense

The RC utilizes rear springs, rear shocks, and a spacer that goes onto your stock front coilover
All you're doing with this kit is adding "3 inches" of spacer to stock sagged springs which is what he's saying
So basically, you take the 3" spacer and subtract the amount of sag and that's about how much lift you'll get in the end (e.g. say I add 3" spacer and I'm sitting at 17" wheel to fender, that means in the end I'll only sit at 20" once finished, netting me 1" of lift over new stock height)
You MAYBE could get 3" with brand new coilovers but not likely with sagged ones
Honestly if I was in this situation (well one, I wouldn't buy the RC lift to begin with) I'd just get some OME2927 front springs and Bilstein front/rear shocks and then just get the AirLift1000 for the rear and inflate them to the desired lift height you'd want
I have the larger kit for drag cars since I have OME springs, and they easily raise the rear an inch or so fully inflated
It'd also stiffen the ride and in the end (although this is not the ideal scenario) be cheaper
But of course, the best thing to do is get full OME for the best ride
 

Soloshot55

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He's talking about the rear shocks! The RC kit comes with new rear springs therefore you are incorrect. Really this isn't hard to understand.

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Soloshot55

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He was asking what rear shocks to use with his Rough Country lift. The Rough Country lift comes with new rear springs therefore the front struts have nothing to do with the equation. Now we all know a 3 inch suspension lift will not lift the rear of the vehicle 3 inches it will probably be more like 2. Therefore the Bilstein shocks that I posted are the correct ones

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jeeplib05

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He's talking about the rear shocks! The RC kit comes with new rear springs therefore you are incorrect. Really this isn't hard to understand.

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Right, but if he actually got to 3" of lift in the rear, he'd need the 4" extended Bilstein shocks
The ones you linked to him are for 2.5"- if he used those they would blow out from being over-extended constantly
Those rear springs are very weak and will sag faster than stock probably, which means once he got the 4" shocks, he'd have to then get the 2.5" shock because he'll sag back to stock height in no time
In the end you're spending more money than what it'd cost to just get the good quality lift in the first place

*Edit: same goes for what you just stated
If he only netted 2" of lift in the rear, then he'd need the 2.5" shock but once they sag he'll then need to find a shock slightly longer than stock because the 2.5" would now be bottoming out all of the time
Same concept
 

Soloshot55

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Yeah I wasn't referring to you with my reply. I get what you're saying. I'm simply saying that a rough country 3-inch lift will not lift the rear of the Liberty 3 inches

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mikejeepstarternoob

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He might have been under impression that you got spacer kit. I understand you got a kit with new springs all the way round, but you really want to look at spring rate on those coil springs. Its the spring rate that really matters. Compare it to oem, and OME. You want what will hold over time.

Most people who went with lift other than OME, and JBA were displeased with it because
1. Lift sagging so quick
2. Ride isn't great.
3. Spend more money trying to correct it.

...and they come to a conclusion that liberty *****. We're here to prevent that. What Tom said is probably the best choice, to return it but the link on second reply is the answer to you. Its for 2.5" but it will sag soon enough.

Rough country springs with bilstein rly isn't the best combination. Most people who have skyjacker, rc, etc tend to disappear in this forum lol. I don't have the experience like tom or any others but I do shitload of reading here and lostjeeps...and facebook group. I literally have no life.
 

tommudd

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And back to the beginning, why waste your time and money on something that simply does not work good at all.
Thats what I was trying to tell him in the very beginning
save up and do it right the first time
100s of people have came on the forums and stated " I'll show all of you " and installed spacer lifts, 3 months later they are back on asking which way to go since they have blown out shocks/ wasted UCAs, ride is crap etc
So in the end you really need experience and knowledge of what works and what doesn't as " most " of us here have ( and also on LOSTJEEPs )

The RC rear springs are just ok, the shocks they provide are like the one Rustys provide for their rears, as long as you don't drive it for six months, they;ll last 6 months
 

jeeplib05

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To mikejeepstarternoob,
You do not get full springs all the way around with the RC lift
You get a 3" spacer which needs to be taken to a shop to have the stock coilovers separated and the spacer added to it
The rear is the only thing that comes with new suspension
Junk springs and junk shocks
Refer to my lengthy post and you'll see what I was explaining to him
You take your 3" spacers and subtract the sag you have and that gives you your final lift height
So even IF he got 3" of lift in the rear (very unlikely) it would have more of a fork to it than it does now considering it'd be probably around 1"-1.75" of lift up front and 2"-2.5" (max) in the rear which would look awful IMO
And still ride like an old Buick
 

tommudd

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Just a question Soloshot , not picking on you , well in a way but....:gr_grin:
How much experience do you have with the Libertys , lifting them etc
or other IFS 4X4s , just curious.
When I first got on the forums back in 04 there wasn't much on , many believed that 4 inches would never be achieved in a lift and 2.5 inches was the most there ever would be. But I spent weeks just reading so that when I did post, it would be a reasonable question to ask. After that some others and I kept pushing, trying new things, new ways of lifting and with the help of JBA and ALLJs look at what we have now. Not as much as say a JK but we have obtained a great handing rig on and off road.
I had always done SFA's so this was new area. I didn't get on and argue with those that had already tried a few things, I read and tried to understand fully what they were talking about.
Just like the comments over on LOST regarding the JBA UCAs , just wondering what your experience has been with IFS ?
Just to keep a good discussion going , again not picking on you , just asking as a friend as I would any one walking into my garage wanting help on their Jeep.
 
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tommudd

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To mikejeepstarternoob,
You do not get full springs all the way around with the RC lift
You get a 3" spacer which needs to be taken to a shop to have the stock coilovers separated and the spacer added to it
ACTUALLY ON THE RC LIFT THE SPACER JUST ATTACHES TO THE BOTTOM OF THE FRONT SHOCK, VERY POOR DESIGN FROM THE GET GO, NO NEED TO COMPRESS SPRINGS ETC
The rear is the only thing that comes with new suspension
Junk springs and junk shocks
Refer to my lengthy post and you'll see what I was explaining to him
You take your 3" spacers and subtract the sag you have and that gives you your final lift height
So even IF he got 3" of lift in the rear (very unlikely) it would have more of a fork to it than it does now considering it'd be probably around 1"-1.75" of lift up front and 2"-2.5" (max) in the rear which would look awful IMO
And still ride like an old Buick

THERE fixed it for you
 

mikejeepstarternoob

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To mikejeepstarternoob,
You do not get full springs all the way around with the RC lift
You get a 3" spacer which needs to be taken to a shop to have the stock coilovers separated and the spacer added to it
The rear is the only thing that comes with new suspension
Junk springs and junk shocks
Refer to my lengthy post and you'll see what I was explaining to him
You take your 3" spacers and subtract the sag you have and that gives you your final lift height
So even IF he got 3" of lift in the rear (very unlikely) it would have more of a fork to it than it does now considering it'd be probably around 1"-1.75" of lift up front and 2"-2.5" (max) in the rear which would look awful IMO
And still ride like an old Buick



I Never bothered looking up rough country honestly. I really should've searched. Too many junk lifts, and i keep forgetting which is which.

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From the picture though, it looks like spacers on front and actual springs on rear. Which still means junk anyway lol. Hell, not any better than daystar.

I'm absolutely all for ome and jba. Hopefully OP bought it from where they take returns.
 

tommudd

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Yes the RC has that spacer that goes onto the bottom of the shock, held on by a small set screw that tries to tighten down on the shock. cheap cheap cheap
I have removed one setup like that and installed the full OME kit. Guy was so happy afterwards :happy175:
 

Soloshot55

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Just a question Soloshot , not picking on you , well in a way but....:gr_grin:
How much experience do you have with the Libertys , lifting them etc
or other IFS 4X4s , just curious.
When I first got on the forums back in 04 there wasn't much on , many believed that 4 inches would never be achieved in a lift and 2.5 inches was the most there ever would be. But I spent weeks just reading so that when I did post, it would be a reasonable question to ask. After that some others and I kept pushing, trying new things, new ways of lifting and with the help of JBA and ALLJs look at what we have now. Not as much as say a JK but we have obtained a great handing rig on and off road.
I had always done SFA's so this was new area. I didn't get on and argue with those that had already tried a few things, I read and tried to understand fully what they were talking about.
Just like the comments over on LOST regarding the JBA UCAs , just wondering what your experience has been with IFS ?
Just to keep a good discussion going , again not picking on you , just asking as a friend as I would any one walking into my garage wanting help on their Jeep.
First I never said I liked the RC lift. If you're going to go with a spacer lift at least make it an over-the-top spacer like Rusty's. And if you are going to go with a spacer lift at least change the front struts to new OEM ones first. Now to answer your question I have years of experience lifting vehicle's including those with IFS. I've lifted and owned quite a few Toyota Tacomas as well.

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