Wk2 lift kit

[Jon W]

Hi guys , im looking for a 2 to 3 inch lift kit for my 2011 wk2 , any recommendations or advice , pros and cons would be much appreciated

[Mike WK2]

Hi, 

 

im in the process of doing the same thing, with my 2013. 
 

for me it’s also a air to coil conversion as well, not sure if your in the same boat.  
 

My research ended up with two options, Old Man Emu which I could order the kit from within the UK at circa £1300 although should have been in stock turned out wasn’t but they are sourcing in from AUS for me at no additional cost just a bit of a wait. 
 

The option was Rocky Road Outfitters in tHe US which does give a greater lift circa 20mm more but after tax and shipping was coming in around the £2500 for parts, but that does include the air suspension delete components. 
 

However through searching on web I have founded out that the air suspension delete is basically components that already exist with the OE from struts and therefore I am going that way. 
 

Let me know if you want the links and or the detail on the air suspension delete and I’ll dig them out and post them. 
 

Nice to see another WK2 being played with

[Gerald F]

Just out of curiosity, what are the benefits of a coil bring lift vs adjustable air suspension? Is there a greater range of articulation? So far I have not run out of height on my WK2, though I am perhaps less adventurous than most. The traction control is so good that progress on three wheels is quite practicable if you run out of movement.

[V]

Adjustable air suspension requires air to be compressed into cylinders within the suspension system so that the vehicle body is raised higher off the ground. To do this, the compressed air has to be sufficient to lift the weight of the vehicle by the required amount whatever the ambient air temperature is and for the vehicle's maximum load capacity. Consequently, the air-sprung part of the suspension is often of a higher spring rate than the coil spring part of the suspension. This will feel like the suspension has gone hard as when the air-spring part is fully inflated and then compressed by mechanical movement, the air-pressure inside it increases, maxing the spring rate stiffer.

 

A full coil spring lift depending on the spring rate will feel the same on and off-road giving a smoother ride and more articulation off-road. It sacrifices the key benefit of the air-adjustable suspension that can lower the vehicle's centre of gravity and roll centres when deflated for better on tarmac handling.

 

Neither is perfect. The spring lift sacrifices some road manners for off-road performance, the air suspension sacrifices comfort and articulation for optimal tarmac road handling.

[digger]

I know little about the technicals of air suspension. V has nailed that.

What I do know is that if your air suspension fails it can be very expensive to repair especially if you have to resort to a main dealer! I guess Jeep is the same.  For example, a friend with a Landy Discovery had a bill for over £10k when his failed and that was 7/8 years ago. He realised after that he would have saved a packet had he just converted to coils!

If you do consider going to coils, everyone seems to go straight to OME  . That's fine , I have OME on my YJ and its been very good but it does have some issues. For relatively few miles since I fitted it, I have just had to buy new springs, the old ones have sagged. The shocks are ok but the paint is poor. It rapidly rusts and looks grim (my theory is ''its dry in OZ). I have tried to seal them every year without real success. If I did it again there are other options, which may apply to a GC.

I have used 'Bilstein' shocks since the 70s for road and racing (dirt and tarmac). I would recommend them to anyone . They offer lots of choices, are very helpful and good quality. When I  replace the YJ shocks I will go back to them without hesitation.

Springwise for me , OME seemed the best option for road comfort as choice for the YJ is limited. However, I have used 'HnR' coils  in the past which have also been excellent. Good ride , good articulation and very good quality. If they made leaf springs I would be interested! It might be worth researching whether they offer kits for GCs. Their matched kits include Bilsteins too. Enquire with either company I suspect.

Hope this is helpful.

[Gerald F]

8 hours ago, V said:

Neither is perfect. The spring lift sacrifices some road manners for off-road performance, the air suspension sacrifices comfort and articulation for optimal tarmac road handling.

 

Thanks for the explanation. Next week we'll be setting off on a 3,000 km road journey, of which about 20 - 30 km will be off tarmac (or a bit more if we can hack into Stinger108's amazing Pyrenéan route), so I'll stay with the air springs, which also suit a caravan better than coils. We find that the air suspension handles well even when we carry a large payload, especially since it doesn't sag at the rear. Almost all of our travel is done like that!

Replacing ruptured air springs is not impossible as a DIY job, or so I have read, but I'm thinking to change this WK2 in a couple of years, or at 100,000 miles, so hopefully I shan't have to find out the hard way!

 

Gerald

Edited September 28 by Gerald F

[Mike WK2]

Hi, if your towing I would definitely stay with the air. 
 

Im going to coil as it’s purely my toy now, I find the air very harsh off road, but there is a couple of things that I’ve done which does help. 
 

1- air links, do a little kit I only went with the front, which means you can swap the links out ( easy job a little fiddly ) to raise the front by 1” on normal ride which brings it level, doesn’t effect the operation of the air suspension at all. 
 

2 - go to small wheels 18” instead of 20” so you can de air a bit off road made a big difference. 
 

you can change the rear air bags is an easy one DIY no problem at all. Fronts are much more involved. In my experience the dampers will go on the front before the air bags do. But I do have 150k on the clock. 
 

Hope that’s useful.