Lowered Jeep Wrangler: How-to Guide With Pros And Cons
Jeep wrangler always offers maximum ground clearance to off-road riders. But when you are not in vacation mode in a muddy or hilly area, you may need to lower your jeep. Lowered jeep wrangler can give less ground clearance, more cornering facilities, awesome looks, and overall highest maximum driving experience.
But, sometimes, lowered jeep wrangler also can reduce off-road driving taste by cutting your pocket. So, finally, if you are ready to drive your wrangler on the highway, stay with me to get some ideas to lower the jeep wrangler.
If still your concern is not removed, take a long time and keep your eye below to know the advantages and disadvantages of lowering jeep wrangler.
How To Lower Jeep Wrangler
jeep wranglers are made of the same engineering with sightly changes of engine and looks. So, it doesn’t matter to lower your jeep when you have jeep JK or JL, Jeep Rubicon, or Willys. Follow the basics, and maybe you will understand what to do.
Make Wheels Springs Shorter
may find two types of springs (leaf springs and coil springs) under your vehicle. You can use a shorter version of that springs that lower the vehicle.
Coil Springs
coil springs are round, and there are a lot of online or offline retailers who sell smaller springs for jeep; first, you need to clarify how much lower jeep you need and then buy a smaller set for each of the wheels.
Remove older coils with enough caution and put the new. If you don’t want to spend extra money on your older jeep, just cut your vehicle springs with a saw according to size.
Leaf Springs
leaf springs are quite different than coil springs so, you should not think of cutting wheels springs. Leaf springs are heavy, and their shape and mechanism are totally different so that you need to buy a smaller set to lower your jeep wrangler.
Then open the previous version of springs and adjust the newer one with all essential tools. Remember, it is a heavy kit, and you may need an expert or a healthy one to get support.
Use Lowering Kits
Using lowering kits is much better than cutting springs or coils. Some automotive experts make these types of products to lower your jeep safely. You can apply some of them by yourself and some need experts. You just need your free will to spend some extra money to remove much distance from the ground.
Riding Shocks
riding shocks or shock absorbers can provide adequate ground clearance for a wrangler. This is not much pricy, and the installation process is not too complicated if you are brave enough to work under a vehicle.
First, examine the previous shocks you use, and buy a smaller or essential set that is too easy when you are in the USA. Then, take your jeep in your home garage, remove the older version, and put the classic one.
Block Kit
generally, u shaped lock kits are used in jeep front wheels. Like before, you will ensure which sized bolts you need to have a lowered vehicle. Then swap it with the older and tighten enough. These kits are the less priced of all.
Steering Stabilizer
some jeep owners don’t distinguish between riding shocks and steering stabilizers for lowing vehicles. You will get the exact benefits of a steering stabilizer when you also try the perfect track bar and control arm. So, a minimum-sized steering stabilizer will decrease height from the ground and provide a smooth riding taste.
Input Smaller Torsion Or Track Bar
These things can definitely lower any four-wheeler vehicle when you have an accurate size. If your jeep consists of a complex torsion bar, then try a smaller version for the wrangler.
There is no way of cutting when you are talking jeep torsion bar. From amazon to carid, online to offline, there are a lot of available products in different price ranges to try.
The track bar works like a torsion bar, but the look is different. You can cut it to narrow and even buy the smaller version as a lowering kit. Just use a minimum-sized torsion bar that is really tasted and change the position slightly lower. I think you will get a better result than your older wrangler.
Use Hydraulic Cylinder And Air Suspension System
sometimes changing the hydraulic cylinder and air suspension system really works when anyone thinks about slamming his jeep wrangler. But I think this method is slightly noisy and costly than using the others lowering kits.
So, if you are much older in lowering vehicles and want to make it more professional, obviously, you should try it.
Use Smaller Wheels And Tires
your jeep wheels and tires are extra long if you have just finished an offroad trip. So only lowering kits are not enough for a smooth drive on the highway; you also need four accurate size wheels according to your targeted height.
If your wrangler wheels are 35 inches, you should try a slighter wheelset unless it touches fender flares. Every time I see drivers don’t care about resizing wheels to have less ground clearance. You can try it, and maybe you will get the best result than paying extra money for lowering kits.
Lowered Jeep Suspension Advantages And Disadvantages
The most common advantages and disadvantages are given below:
Advantages:
Road Driving Feel
jeep wranglers are commonly being used for driving in rough terrains like hills, jungles, or muddy areas. So road driving taste is almost missing in a wrangler unless you remove extra ground clearance.
So lowering your jeep can turn the previous riding into usual driving, and it will also fit the vehicle totally suitable for highway driving. Are you thinking of driving your wrangler on a long highway? You should definitely try it.
More Cornering Facilities
how will you feel when you are at the top of a tree and the wind is blowing? I think you will not feel safer until you are ground. The feeling is almost the same when you are in a wrangler with high suspension.
Things will be worse if you drive it at high speed with fast cornering. But the situation would be different when you minimize vehicle height from the ground. If the wrangler is enough lower from the ground, you will feel more relaxed in cornering time.
Better Handling Capacity
Wrangler is a big beautiful vehicle, including high ground clearance. But, being large, Sometimes drivers feel uncomfortable controlling this one. Especially when you are in a traffic area, you need much control over your vehicle to minimize the chance of an accident.
So, when your jeep is slightly down, it looks smaller, which increases more controlling power of the driver. So, if you don’t feel a hundred percent excited in the driver seat, you may try something different.
Changes Looks
there is a dispute about the jeep looks when a driver changes ground clearance. Some of us say it increases the beauty and the others say it decreases. But I am clearly stating that it is totally up to you.
It indeed changes the original looking, but it makes the vehicle look adjustable to the highway. You are tired of the old vehicle looking, try something different.
Improve Traction And Minimize Rollover Risk
a lower jeep finds much connection to the ground than a regular wrangler so that it improves traction and minimizes rollover risks when you turn it right or left.
Disadvantages
Minimize Offroad Taste
Basically, the jeep wrangler is made for rough terrain travel from the factory though it is compatible with highway riding. As a result, its ground clearance is much high, so that vehicle’s body doesn’t rub with solid stones.
But when you minimize factory ground clearance, it will definitely create extra hassle on your off-road riding. If you are a regular offroad traveler, I think you should avoid thinking of lowering suspension.
Changes Factory Riding Taste
from design to riding taste, every vehicle has some uniqueness from the factory. Jeep is a vehicle that has some significant factors that anyone can distinguish. So, a lowered jeep is also easy to make some difference from riding experience to exterior looks.
If you are riding in your jeep for a long time, you may not find it attractive all of a sudden. If modification is your top-notch priority, it is totally okay.
Extra Cost
there is no chance of avoiding cost when you are modifying your jeep. Lowering suspension can really narrow your pocket when you are thinking of doing it with perfection.
Though you can minimize it the highest, it will obviously cost too much, from lowering kits to mechanic bills. But you should not look for minimizing cost when the jeep is an updated wrangler or Rubicon.
Rubbing Fender Flares
if you don’t change wheels or tires with changing vehicle height, sometimes wheels can touch fender flares and other parts that are really annoying. Lowering suspension is not noisy, but you have to be more careful.
Warranty Restrictions
jeep wrangler owners get a warranty from 2 to 5 years, including some conditions. In these conditions, you may get something too much challenging where the manufacturer’s company doesn’t allow you to modify your vehicle drastically. As a result, lowering suspension can create some complexity with your company warranties.
Precautions
You must take some steps to avoid the risk and be careful until it totally happens.
- If you are a newbie in jeep suspension modification, try to have someone who has much expertise in the automotive upgrade.
- Don’t forget to park your vehicle and use the most capable jacks for your wrangler. There are a lot of jacks for a wrangler, but each of them will not work in an exact way when you are thinking about modification.
- If you are not older enough for upgrading your jeep, please avoid every cutting from suspension springs to the coil.
- Do these lowering kits fit in my wrangler? Always prioritize this question, and don’t forget to check the warranty.
Conclusion
Though wrangler is a recreational vehicle, owners are also using It on the road in the same way with or without lowering. A lowered jeep wrangler can give a different riding experience on the highway if you accept all its cons and make a proper fitment. Are you a rapid offroad traveler? If the answer is yes, lowering the jeep wrangler is not for you.
