Up to 3.5 inches of lift on a TJ, stay with a short arm kit and adjustable arms — it's cheaper, bolts in, and rides fine. At 4 inches and beyond, the stock control arm angles get steep enough that a long arm upgrade is worth the welding and the money.
The TJ runs a coil-sprung suspension at all four corners, which makes lift kits cleaner than the leaf-sprung XJ. The catch is the short factory control arms: when you lift the body, the axle pivots forward through an arc, caster drops, and the driveshaft angles steepen. Coil spacers ignore all of that and push the body up. New taller coils with matched shocks address ride height correctly. Adjustable control arms fix axle position and caster. Long arms fix the geometry by moving the control arm pivot rearward, which flattens the arm angle and brings the suspension closer to factory geometry at full lift height.
Tiers worth knowing about: a budget coil spacer kit from Rough Country runs about $250 and gives 2 to 2.5 inches — fine for a daily driver clearing 31s, terrible if you want to actually flex on a trail. A mid-range new-coil kit (Old Man Emu Heavy 2.5", Rubicon Express Super-Flex 3.5", Metalcloak Game-Changer 3.5") sits in the $1,200 to $1,800 range with shocks and adjustable arms — this is the sweet spot for the vast majority of TJ builds. A long arm upgrade from Clayton, Savvy, or Currie runs $2,500 to $3,500 plus install, requires welding new frame brackets onto the unibody, and only makes sense if you're building for 35-inch tires, 4.5+ inches of lift, or daily rock crawling. Rough Country's long arm kits are cheaper but cut corners on bushings and brackets — many TJ owners report squeaks and premature wear.
The single most important add-on at any lift height is the slip yoke eliminator (SYE) plus a CV rear driveshaft. At 3 inches and up, the stock NP231 transfer case output is at an angle the slip yoke can't handle, and you get vibration that no amount of u-joint cycling will fix. Budget another $700 to $1,000 for the SYE and driveshaft on top of the lift itself. A 3.5-inch short arm kit, slip yoke eliminator, adjustable track bars, and an alignment is the most common "complete" mid-range TJ build.
Don't lift higher than you need. Each inch of lift pushes the center of gravity up, hurts on-road manners, and forces another bracket of compromises (adjustable track bar, longer brake lines, longer sway bar end links, possibly re-gearing). A 3-inch TJ on 33s is a more capable trail rig than a 6-inch TJ on 35s for most people.
| Part | Vendor | Est. price |
|---|---|---|
| Rough Country 2.5" budget boost coil spacer kit | Rough Country | ~$250 |
| Old Man Emu 2.5" coil and shock kit | ARB / OME | ~$1200 |
| Rubicon Express 3.5" Super-Flex short arm kit | Rubicon Express | ~$1400 |
| Clayton Off Road long arm upgrade kit (4.5") | Clayton Off Road | ~$2800 |
| Metalcloak 3.5" Game-Changer short arm kit | Metalcloak | ~$1800 |
Written and maintained by an AZ wheeler and driveway wrencher. Always cross-reference your factory service manual — modifications affect vehicle safety and warranty. Work at your own risk.