Damn that's a shame it's taken so long to put in. Here's hoping for no more issues and you get to enjoy it! :beerchug:

 

I'm going to agree with you on the install, in the rear is was an absolute pain in the ass.

I had everything aligned right to spec after the lift was installed, and never had any wobble at constant speed, only a wobble on initial brisk accereration.

As I outlined in THIS thread i'm having issues, however i'm not sure if I can pin it on the lift as I've severely offroaded my compass, and may have damaged it otherwise. One contributing factor may have been offroading with my swaybar disconnected.

My other issue is that somehow the alignment is out bad on the rear and the tires are cambering inwards quite badly, not sure what the issue is, but when money comes back I will be fixing the rear up.

Would I lift an MK with this kit in the future, no, not without different CV axles as they do get put at some pretty decent angles once lifted.

Now if someone lifted their MK and didn't offroad to the extend I did, i'm willing to bet they probably will never run into the issues I've had.

I do really like the increased clearance though, looks better and there is real tangible benefits offroad.

 

Not to bash on RRO or their products but it seems all these recent issues prove once again that the coil lift is the right way to go. I've been told that several times by owners and managers of several shops including one professional Baja racers who was in the shop getting new tires for his Ford truck. I believe Heckler was the first person to point out the issues with RRO lift as he was among the first Patriot owners who got one installed. If I remember correctly he ended up removing the spacers in the front as his axles were shot.

 

Since this will likely be a thread that others look at when considering the lift, I'll add my experience as well.

My experience with this lift has been very similar. I believe that part of the problem is that the instructions are not as thorough as they could be. Much more of the suspension needs to be taken apart in the rear than what is stated in the instructions. I unbolted the lower swingarm, installed the strut, and then compressed it with my floor jack to get it back into position.
The front was not smooth either, and it was a complete pain to get the strut back into position on both sides.
This is the second time I have installed this lift on the same vehicle and it was not smooth either time. On this particular instance I noticed that the inner, passenger side CV boot was shot and the joint was getting bad, so I ended up doing a CV axle at the same time. I also did new struts with this lift because the old ones were completely shot.
I think it's great that RRO makes a lift for our Patriots, however I just don't see it as worth the $$$ for what you get. Spring spacers on my Wrangler were dirt cheap. A similar lift, that was actually taller, was well under $200. I realize a Wrangler is more built to be lifted than the Pat, I was just a little shocked at what you get for the money with the RRO kit.

Knowing what I know now, I would likely either do the Stu coils, or probably leave it stock. Of course this is coming from someone with a JK as well, so any serious wheeling will still take place in that.

 

I'm going to go ahead and sticky this thread, as well as change the topic's name to "Honest reviews of the RRO Lift Kit - Personal Experience" and just allow people to really express their opinions on the lift kit via experience.

I plan on sending a link to RRO just to allow them a chance to better their product, and possibly help the community fix these issues.

Edit: Title has been changed, and I've sent an email out to them.

If you read this, please express your HONEST reviews if you have OWNED the lift kit.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyLYrm-PJes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv5GtRRkfw4

I've posted those many times, but if people come here, hopefully they will help.

The instructions for the front were detailed and clear, instructions for the rear were not very clear or detailed. Funny thing, I just installed a lift on my XJ, and the instructions for the front... Detailed and clear, 15 of 18 pages. instructions for the rear? very unclear and only 2 of 18 pages. (one page listed the parts included in the kit). So I have to say, its pretty par for the course.

It took me 7 hours total to install the RRO lift, but I stopped for dinner and to put the kids to bed, and to read several write ups on how to do the install to make sure I was doing the rear correctly. would have taken me at least two hours less IF I had not messed around with the rear so much. Same problem as everybody else, Couldn't drop the rear strut enough. So I just took everything apart. I mean it has to come out to be changed right? so I just started dismantling everything.

I too had the vibration from 15-20mph and when accelerating from a dead stop on a sharp turn. (like pulling out of a neighborhood). I originally had my alignment done at a tire shop (big O), but after a few months of taking it to them trying to get them to do it right, somebody suggested I take it to the dealer who works on lifted vehicles frequently. they did the alignment and dialed it in and the vibrations were 95% gone. ( really had to work at getting them to show up, and usually when I had the wheel cranked and accelerated hard.


IF i bought another patriot, and IF I wanted to lift it again. I probably would not go with either the RRO or Stu coil lift... The whole point of the lift is to fit bigger tires, and I don't think that either really gives you enough difference to fit properly bigger tires, and both have issues (some peeps have had major rusting with the stu and others have issues with vibrations with the rro).
I would probably look at doing a custom suspension set up that was smaller in diameter, and allowed for larger tires. I probably would not go more than 1" over stock ride height with the suspension. I would then look into fender cutting/custom fenders to fit a 31x10.5r15 tire and call it good. that way you have as large of tire that I think a patriot could turn with its power/gearing setup, and you are not compromising the integrity of the suspension.

That of course would be significantly more expensive than the Sub $500 for either coils or the RRO kit.

But that's from my experience with the lift and taking my patriot off road a lot.

 

I found these installation guides that can help complementing the installation guide provided by the manufacturer of the kit.You are able to read and tell us if you did something different.


http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f98/...ft-kit-installation-rro-2-1-8-kit-516202/#/forumsite/20623/topics/516202?page=1

Regards.

 

I will chime in and agree with AIC, about the larger tire issue.

In my opinion the lift actually causes more issues than it solves tire wise.

My example being, I ran 235/65/17 without the lift for nearly a year. I had rub at full lock both ways on the front, no issues with the rear.

Once I lifted it, we had to camber out the back tires to the point it looked stupid just to clear the rear springs so I could drive to the alignment shop. So in my case lifting the vehicle resulted in me requiring wheel spacers in the rear.

If I would have put 1.25" spacers on prior to my lift, I would not have gained anything by lifting it from a tire perspective.

No one will argue the tangible befits offroad with more ground clearance, but that's what it is, ground clearance and looks.

People can debate about spacers all the want but they to me seems like the only way to get larger tires, because as I mentioned above the problem got worse after the lift (rear only).

As for my problems, they are unique to others.

AIC - RRO Lift 245/65/17 tires swaybars connected = No axle problems
Sandstone - Stu's Coils - Disconnected Sway Bars = no axle problems

As for the wobble, even my old non lifted 08 Patriot had some wobble during initial acceleration, my 2012 FDII, had no wobble prior to the lift, it does wobble a bit now, not much of an issue as i'm not accelerating that quick from a stop very often.

I have the lift and (at one time disconnected the front sway bar) and I have the problems I've mentioned before, so while I can't blame the RRO kit directly, I often wonder how much stuff I would have wrecked if I did not have the lift on.

Sandstone has measured CV axle joints and shown they are within spec even with the swaybars off, I agree that its safe to a point. I believe some of my problem came from the higher speed offroading I did, and the downright abuse I subjected my Compass too.

Most people don't goto the lengths AIC, Sandstone, Myself and a few others go to modify MK's and push their limits offroad, most either don't buy one to offroad to begin with, or do some modifications, realize they aren't the best to offroad and move on to more capable vehicles (AIC that comment isn't directed towards you, I support your new XJ project and reasons for getting rid of the patriot).

I"ve realized that I've really found the limits of MK's after owning them for over 6 years, and tried to let everyone know what they can and can't do. The aftermarket available for MK's isn't going to get any better, it's basically at the point where what we have is probably all we are every going to get modification wise.

As we all know the suspension is a weak point in these vehicles, and I think if there was a way to get some better axles made up, things might be a bit more sturdy after being lifted.

I'm at the point where I want to take the lift off, and see if my axle problems go away, but if I take my lift off i'm likely to sell my Compass and get something else.

The other option is replace the front axles with aftermarket (not custom) and see if that solves the problem, and if so see how long they last.

My issues is that at 46000kms my axles are trashed, but i'm going to say about 75% of that is my fault.

I never did lift my old 2008 Patriot FDII, but had huge heavy tires on it and offroaded it almost the same way, never had a single suspension issue, and I owned it until 110000kms, so i'm really struggling to understand how the lift and sway bars disconnected could have made that much difference in damaging parts. I've only had my lift on for 15000kms.

 

Most people don't goto the lengths AIC, Sandstone, Myself and a few others go to modify MK's and push their limits offroad, most either don't buy one to offroad to begin with, or do some modifications, realize they aren't the best to offroad and move on to more capable vehicles (AIC that comment isn't directed towards you, I support your new XJ project and reasons for getting rid of the patriot).

To be honest. One of the things I loved about my patriot was its good on road manners, and off road ability. Obviously no wrangler, but the fact that I could take it off road, have fun, then drive home and be comfortable and get 16mpg for the whole trip (which if you are not new to off roading you know 16mpg is amazing). I've thought about picking up a used one... But I really need to get my XJ up and running. My XJ with its new lift isn't that much fun to drive as a daily driver. Its way better than the old saggy suspension but its still meant for off road..

guys,not sure if this is the right place,but as we are discussing lift options,has anyone thought of lifting by getting spacers in with the oem coils?
i mean a spacer fitted at the lower end of the coil on the sitting plate of the strut?
a friend of mine lifted a 2000 grand cherokee like this.
made of billet aluminium,like the wheel spacers many of us use.
i'm asking because i couldn't find any info on this,and because i have an issue with my stucoils (all four rusty like hell and front left broken at the lower end due to rust-very bad quality imo,as i live in a moderate climate with very little snow) and was thinking of going the rro way.
but reading all this really makes me wonder.
so i am thinking,later this autumn when i plan to change my shocks,to have a set of custom made spacers to fit the strut plate,front and rear,and to use the oem coils i have in my garage.
what do you guys think?

I don't think that would work...

a grand Cherokee has separate coils/springs, so a spacer on a spring allows for where the top of the spring meets the chassis to just be further down, and a longer shock could be installed. and because one rarely compresses a spring fully before tires rub or a bumpstop is hit, a spacer is a good option for a mild/cheap lift. I had spacers on my XJ when I bought it, and longer than stock shocks. It allows for bigger tire fitment without losing flex or ride comfort.

On a patriot that uses a strut that has a coil and shock integrated into one, a spacer will only do two things, put a pre load on the spring and force the shock to ride at the top of its travel.

This meas that if you go over a dip or the road falls away suddenly from a tire, while the other tires stay on the same plane, then the tire cannot drop into the dip or find traction, You would be doing a lot more 3 wheeling. It would also ruin the ride comfort with that pre load on there. and it would have the same negative overall effects as the rro lift, as you would have to compensate for the change in overall geometry.

This is an email from Glenn, their engineer on hand.

"Not sure why they're not coming to us with these issues. The only problems we hear about are pretty much alignment related. And that is normally solved by us telling the customer to make sure and let the alignment shop knows the control arms are adjustable... since the factory ones are not and if the shop doesn't know this, they'll assume nothing can be done.

CV joints, we have no records of this being an issue.

Something about our lifts... MOPAR used them on their own fleet of demo and display Jeeps. They actually contacted us to offer the kit as a dealer installed option, with the possibility of it being a factory installed option. We could not meet their production demands though and so it didn't work out. But the point is... Jeep engineers did a very thorough review and approval of the kits, dissected them basically. Ran them on their own fleet. Installed properly, there were no issues or problems detected by their engineers.

We're always happy to try and help troubleshoot issues with our customers, which is the cornerstone of customer service. Not sure why people would go online to an anonymous forum group looking for answers over coming to us though. We're confused by that.

But no CV issues have come up. And shimmies or anything else alignment related are pretty easy once the alignment shop has been notified of the adjustable control arms which replaced the stock ones.

We appreciate your inquiry though and if anyone ever has any questions on our kits, please refer them directly to us (email is best since I'm the chief engineer here and only available by email, I don't even keep a phone in my office) to help out.
Thanks!
Glenn Wakefield"

I hope that RRO doesn't think we are bashing on them. They make a good product, and I agree that just about every issue with the lift comes down to proper alignment.

I'm mostly thinking that if i had the $ to do it all over again I would find a custom coilover kit that would give it only about an 1" of lift but allow for much larger tires. at a 245/65-17 I was literally 3-5MM away from rubbing on the spring guard when the tires were new.

Speaking of which, Creation, you put coilovers on right? did this improve the clearance between wheel and suspension? or in lowering it, did it bring the wheel closer/further away from the suspension?

 

guys,not sure if this is the right place,but as we are discussing lift options,has anyone thought of lifting by getting spacers in with the oem coils?
i mean a spacer fitted at the lower end of the coil on the sitting plate of the strut?
a friend of mine lifted a 2000 grand cherokee like this.
made of billet aluminium,like the wheel spacers many of us use.
i'm asking because i couldn't find any info on this,and because i have an issue with my stucoils (all four rusty like hell and front left broken at the lower end due to rust-very bad quality imo,as i live in a moderate climate with very little snow) and was thinking of going the rro way.
but reading all this really makes me wonder.
so i am thinking,later this autumn when i plan to change my shocks,to have a set of custom made spacers to fit the strut plate,front and rear,and to use the oem coils i have in my garage.
what do you guys think?

 

This thread is invaluable - thank you mods for sticking it. I am now convinced that my decision to forgo completely any plans I had for lifting my 2014 FDII Patriot are sound, as I simply cannot rationalize the detriments, potential or real, that an altered/lifted suspension has on the Patriot and I have no need for tires wider than 215. This thread has made me feel quite content with my decision.

 

Folks get the RRO lift for 1 or both of these 2 reasons. To make the pat look better... and for a the better offroadability the clearance gives them.
In my case I needed the clearance and wanted to increase the ascent/decent angles of front and back bumpers while offroading. These factors are huge in my book... whereas I could have been stuck in the middle of nowhere. This factor alone has made the RRO worth it to me.

Does it ride rougher than stock? yes
Does it need to be re aligned twice a year at $80 a pop after I beat on it off-road? yes
Do I experience any shaking or wobling after initial take off? no I don't

I paid $250 to have it professionally installed at a local 4x4 shop because they're familiar with these lifts. Perhaps they installed it in such a way whereas I dont experience any wobling/shaking... who knows? or perhaps my zero offset aftermarket rims prevent the shaking/wobling... who knows?

So my positives outweighed my nagatives on this lift.

 

This is an email from Glenn, their engineer on hand.

"Not sure why they're not coming to us with these issues. The only problems we hear about are pretty much alignment related. And that is normally solved by us telling the customer to make sure and let the alignment shop knows the control arms are adjustable... since the factory ones are not and if the shop doesn't know this, they'll assume nothing can be done.

CV joints, we have no records of this being an issue.

Something about our lifts... MOPAR used them on their own fleet of demo and display Jeeps. They actually contacted us to offer the kit as a dealer installed option, with the possibility of it being a factory installed option. We could not meet their production demands though and so it didn't work out. But the point is... Jeep engineers did a very thorough review and approval of the kits, dissected them basically. Ran them on their own fleet. Installed properly, there were no issues or problems detected by their engineers.

We're always happy to try and help troubleshoot issues with our customers, which is the cornerstone of customer service. Not sure why people would go online to an anonymous forum group looking for answers over coming to us though. We're confused by that.

But no CV issues have come up. And shimmies or anything else alignment related are pretty easy once the alignment shop has been notified of the adjustable control arms which replaced the stock ones.

We appreciate your inquiry though and if anyone ever has any questions on our kits, please refer them directly to us (email is best since I'm the chief engineer here and only available by email, I don't even keep a phone in my office) to help out.
Thanks!
Glenn Wakefield"

 

I did call you guys. My wife called you guys because I had to throw in the towel and get back to my job. You were very very rude to her. You would not talk to the service manager at my dealership. This form is not to get help it is to provide information.

 

Perhaps the key is rro made a less high kit
, eg 1 3/16 in = 3 cm

This may minimize potential problems.

we could propose them.

 

Good info, people. I think the pros and cons of various lift methods have been pretty well discussed.

With what I'm seeing, I'm thinking that combining a small spacer lift of no more than 3/4" or 1" with 1" taller coil spring would give you the lift of the 1 3/4 spacer from RRO, but with less exposure to increased angles over stock on full extension.

Fabrication for the spacers wouldn't be that hard or expensive.

Buy a new set of strut mounts, press out the studs and add longer bolts. Buy some polyurethane sheet of the thickness and durometer you need (90A?), and machine it into a spacer. Polyurethane is what Daystar uses for their spacer lifts. A steel or aluminum spacer could be made as well if you have the tooling to do it.

For adjustable rear control arms, there is Moog, SPC, and I think RRO sells theirs separately.

 

Polyurethane 90A Spacers



Well Sanstone that's exactly what I did... I made my own custom lift out of 90A Urethane 1 1/2" thick front and back. Made my own sway bar extensions out of 1" angle iron and purchased adjustable rear camber kit bushings K329 from Whiteline. The 1.5" spacers gave me about 1.75" overall lift. Yes I get a little vibration and wobble if I really get on it from dead start but other than that I'm very happy with the end results. If anyone is interested in pics. let me know or visit my photo gallery on this forum.

 

So I had my Compass at the shop today that did my alignment initially after my lift was installed. They inspected everything, and confirmed my front axles are binding on the control arm.........whatever not a big deal, looked all over the back end, and other than needing a rear lower control arm bushing, the only thing wrong with the back end is its way out of alignment and my rear tires are cupping.

Honestly if all I need is an alignment to get things back in spec again I have no issue with that. Does that makes sense to anyone, is it possible I bashed the crap out of my compass and knocked the alignment out.

Going through my memory bank with my old Patriot, I remember having 2-3 alignments on it during the course of its life. I know it one alignment done when I moved to a different province. It only had 24000kms on it and needed one to pass the provincial safety. It was 100% stock at that time.

I wish I would have got an alignment done sooner if that was the issue of my tire wear on the back, now the back tires are kinda trashed, oh well live and learn.

 

It sounds be be very reasonable to me. With my experience our Patriots don't hold an alignment under extreme conditions. I get an alignment every 3 months or so because mine always seems to have slipped out of whack

 

We just don't have a platform able to handle the conditions. Hell, I've blown 3 struts now on my coilovers because of the extremity. The suspension geometry of our suspension is just very poor. I had a master mechanic under the car with me yesterday and he was just blown away at how retarded our suspension setup is. My camber arms were previously binded, and the adjustable arms are starting to aswell.

 

That's interesting considering our front suspension is extremely similar to a mitsu evo x in design. Our rear suspension is very similar to a normal lancer. The evo x has a unique rear suspension.

 

Out of curiosity, I took a couple of measurements of the distance between the passengers side axle and the sub-frame control arm mount with the wheel on the ground, then raised off the ground while disconnected.

Wheel on the ground, I have not quite 1 3/4 of an inch clearance



Wheel off the ground and disconnected, I have barely an inch, if that.



This would be the same for stock springs, since the strut is what limits travel.

Some time ago, before I added the disconnects, I measured the difference in droop between connected and disconnected and got about an inch, so having the sway bar connected will help limit travel some, but not all of the time as there can certainly be times that both wheels would drop to full extension at the same time (train tracks, etc.)

What this tells me is that there really isn't room for more than 3/4" of spacer lift (considering margin for motor mount flex, etc.) before contact with the sub-frame control arm mount becomes an issue.

If anyone else is game, I'd like to see how close other MK's measure whether stock, lifted, disco'd or connected.

 

This is a very in formed thread. I still want to lift my Patriot one day and am still deciding on which lift to get. I did have the money but I got a custom trailer instead. I know the patriot is just a light 4x4 but it was never intended to do the stuff we push it to. I personally stopped off roading like I use two. I dont like spending more money on fixing things that breaks. I still love the patriot and want to lift it but when its payed off. I have stock setup and do see were a lift is necessary for offroad. I go camping about every 2 mouths. With pulling a trailer the shaking would be a killer for me. But as time goes on Im still not shore what lift but with this thread and other threads like this it does help me make a better decision on which one to get. Need I lift so that the trailer tongue dont ding off roading.

 

I have a 2007 Jeep Patriot and put the RRO spacer kit on. I did not have any problems with wobble or shaking or anything people have mentioned on this website. No problems whatsoever, however I took it off and put Stus Coils on as they came out after the RRO kit and the ride vastly improved vs factory coils and the RRO kit. The reason I did the change is I can't leave stuff alone and I'm super happy with the way my 2007 Patriot rides. The Newer models OEM springs changed for the better from what I've seen and heard. Why I had no problems with mine and others have problems with theirs with the RRO kit, maybe has something to do with the newer models I'm not sure. For me and my 2007 Jeep Patriot I'll take Stus Coils any day over the RRO Kit as it was a major major improvement in ride and handling. Like I said the newer Patriots have a major improvement in coil springs over my 2007 Patriot. Anyhow that's my 2 cent opinion as I've had both the RRO and Stus Coils.

 

Earthworm51 The last time I went camping I did notice that my back end was saggin because of the trailer. I had most of the wight in the front do to 10 gal of water and 10 gal of gas. Lighter stuff was all in the back. My folt though. But do you think the stus coils would be better for less sag if pulling a trailer. The rro wouldn't change that in a lift vs stus coils.

 

Yes they would. I believe They had a heavy duty coil for carrying loads and towing and it indeed did stop the back of the Patriot from sagging when loaded.

 

has anyone done both the coils and the lift? is that even possible?

 

AFAIK, no one has had both lifts installed on the same vehicle at the same time.

I'm sure you could do it, but I doubt it would work well. Too much angle for the stock CV joints, and the passenger side axle will probably hit the control arm mount on full extension.

 

We need someone to make stuff like this. Custom made chromoly tubular k frame and control arms. It uses spherical bearings instead of bushings and a spherical bearing with a kingpin instead of a balljoint.

 

what is that for?

 

no idea

 

Ive had my RRO kit installed for 30,000km now. Overall I'm happy with my kit. I have the wobble under accel on turns and such but I had that before although not as much. The bigger heavier tires I have on don't help much 235/70/16 BFG AT's. I got my kit so I could gain more clearance to battle the harsh Saskatchewan winters we have here, also I really like the look of it now. I installed my own kit too, I had help from someone for about an hour or 2. Overall I finished the kit in 4-5hrs. Had a hard time at first finding a shop to do an alignment so I did my own which took another 2 hrs but was still out and burnt a set of front tires in under 10,000km. Got my first real alignment at same shop Tyler did and haven't had any issues.