Vega

[Vega]

Hi everyone. I’ve got a Commander and I’m trying to do a 4 inch lift on it but I’m struggling to find the components. Does anyone have any suggestions? I’ve done a 2 inch lift with spacers but I found it wobbly and also it causes a lot of wear and tear on my suspension. It has to be done right. Please help. 
Vega

[V]

What are your plans and what is your budget? Would you be fitting bigger diameter tyres and changing axle gearing to match?

 

I am not that familiar with Commander or WK lift kits. The only 4" kit that I remember being produced by a top manufacturer was by BDS but they don't make it any more. I read today that some Commander enthusiasts believe that the 4" BDS kit design was sold to Superlift but they no longer make it now either.

 

4 hours ago, Vega said:

I’ve done a 2 inch lift with spacers but I found it wobbly and also it causes a lot of wear and tear on my suspension. It has to be done right.

Spacers lifts on IFS and IRS suspensions may reposition the struts to work with the OEM suspension arms. Lifting IRS and IFS properly is neither cheap or easy because the original system is designed to work only with one static suspension height unless it originally came with air-lift. Independent suspension usually has a smaller dynamic range of movement compared to a solid axle setup. Going beyond the original design parameters of either type of suspension will often compromise ride quality, handling, component reliability and lifetime. If the premium kit manufacturers have already pulled *support for the Commander then you may only have the custom build option left.

 

*JBA still sell their upper control arms, but no complete kit for front and rear with steering

 

Jeeperf in Egypt make suspension lift and steering parts for the Commander but you should do a cost comparison with doing a JKU instead.

[TimC]

I do not have a Commander myself but have a mate who does and is in a very similar situation to you - has done a 2" lift on spacers with JBA UCAs and wants to go a bit further for bigger tyres ( we have run 285 70 MTs on it in a pinch but only on the rear doesn't have the clearance in the front on turns). Apparently you can't chop the wheel arches because of the way the air con or cooling pipes are routed. He has been looking at dropping the sub frame or building a new subframe to give more clearance, I am not sure what this involves as I haven't spoken to him in a while but apparently it may not be as big a job as it sounds ( to me ). I really like the Commander, especially in V8. Given the prices of JKUs these days I'm not sure that ditching it and getting a Wrangler would work out any cheaper....but it might be easier as parts are more readily available.  

Edited March 30, 2023 by TimC

[V]

7 minutes ago, TimC said:

Given the prices of JKUs these days I'm not sure that ditching it and getting a Wrangler would work out any cheaper....but it might be easier as parts are more readily available.

Yes, prices on JK's are very high. The comparison would be more on the investment in mods and the value of the vehicle in a few years.

 

A WG/WJ is another good alternative that still has after-market support.

[Vega]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I tried Superlift but the 4inch kit is no longer available. I was hoping that I can find a leftover kit somewhere but even though I called like 7 or 8 different suppliers no one has anything. I don’t have a huge budget, I was hoping to do the whole thing for around 2-3K but now that seems optimistic if you have to buy all components separately. I really like my Commander, the 5.7 Hemi has a wonderful grunt, it’s a seven seater and we take it all over Europe, the kids love it too but I need to fix it up properly. The big tires I put do rub against the arches which is a bit annoying but hey-ho. I just need to find a proper mechanic who has experience with these sort of vehicles. I contacted PB customs and they seemed great but they can only do 2 inches , the installation date got pushed back 3 times by 6 months and the budget went from 2K to over 4. I’m based in London. Does anyone know someone reliable around here?