Personally I think there is a difference in the 2" lift.

2" can make a big difference especially in some dodgy off-roading situations.

 

My reasoning is more for height than off-road. Had a Hyundai Sonata and got the jeep because I like height. Because I sitting so low in the Sonata when I got in the Patriot I thought it was the perfect height until I started seeing the Tucson (I used to own that as well) and other small SuV's and realized I wasn't at the height I like. Otherwise, I love the Patriot and would like to keep for a long while.

Second question: Keep the 16" wheels and tires (I was getting off-market black wheels anyways) or go up in size?

 

I would either keep the 16" wheels or get 15" wheels, but that's personal preference.

I would first get new tires, Go up to a 29" tire, gives you nearly 1/2" of lift with no modifications at all.

my patriot had the lever that raised the seat up, does yours? once I gave that a crank or two up, I sure felt a lot taller.

 

Maybe throw some spacers in under your seat too with some thick washers.

 

I personally would not lift any patriot (4x4 or 2x4) just for the looks... It was never meant to be lifted, and so you run into compromises. that's just part of modifications. (heck, even my Cherokee has compromises when I lifted it, and cost me $100's to repair stuff I broke after lifting it and not taking care of those things first) Now if you're taking it off road and a lift will help you and worth the compromise then go for it, but if you just want it for looks, you'll probably be annoyed by what you have to deal with. (constant alignment adjustments were needed with my patriot after lifting it)

 

My opinion is no, it's not worth it for you. I tend to agree with what aroundincircles says. If it's just looks you want get some slightly bigger tires. The RRO kit seems to be headaches in the 2011+ models, and some people have trouble with warranty work afterwards which I'm assuming you still have.

Never heard of issues with STU lift on the newer models but that will only lift you 1".

Either way my opinion is for you to at least wait till your off warranty.

If you do lift it, get some moog rear adjustable toe links to help your alignment along.

 

It is just for looks and I have heard about alignment issues after the lifts

My Jeep does not have the lift action so I had washers put in to lift the seats (driver and passenger). I liked the height for a bit, but now i want more.

I heard about tires doing the trick as well. So get bigger tires instead?

Thank every one for their feedback. Look forward to hearing more. My goal is to get whatever I decide done Christmas week.

 

Larger tires are an easy and if you go appropriate sized, hassle free way to get anywhere from 1/2" - a full " of height on your patriot. You have the stock tires and wheels, which means you are running what, a 205/65r16? you can easily go up to a 225/75r16 without issue. Gets you a ~29.3" tire (vs the 26.5" tire you have now) giving you over 1.25" of increased height. any bigger would require new wheels or spacers and lift, which all require compromises. You will want to get your speedo adjusted to the largest factory tire size (215/65r17) which will not have it be exact, but close enough.

 

This is excellent advise. Thank you so much aroundincircles, which should be my name with me going back and forth on lifting or not lifting the jeep.

I was going to Big-O who said that bigger tires wouldn't make a difference, but the initial satanic mechanic there said that big WOULD make a difference. So, not sure if the owner of the shop is trying to get more money out of me or doesn't want to do the work.

 

When you look at tire sizes, the first number is how wide it is in MM. (so a 215 tire is ~ 8.5" wide, a 225 wide tire is 8.85" wide and a 235 is ~9.25" wide.) the next number is a % of sidewall to tread, and it factors in the wheel size. so a 225/65r16 is 8.85" wide and and 27.5" tall, a 225/65r17 is the same 8.85" wide, but it is 28.5" tall, so a full 1" taller despite the other numbers being the same.


You can read more about it at tire rack:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/tiretech.jsp

and you can plug a bunch of different tire/wheel size options into a tire conversion calculator that will give you more details on overall dimensions:
http://tire-size-conversion.com/tire-size-calculator/


I PERSONALLY would not go up to a 18" wheel for a few reasons. 1) it will not help you get a bigger tire anyways, you max out at a 28.5" tire overall diameter without modifications and up to 9" wide depending on wheel. 2) Tires are harder to find in that size that will fit the patriot. 3) tires are A LOT more expensive the lower profile you go. 4) it totally ruins the ride. When you get a shorter sidewall that means your suspension has to work a lot harder at keeping the ride smooth, where your taller sidewall tire used to take up a lot more of that work. A low profile tire has a very stiff sidewall on it.

If you want to ditch the 16" wheels, maybe got to a 15" wheel, A LOT more tire options (especially a "light truck" tire which I think fits the patriot a lot better and will last longer) Cheaper tires, improve ride quality, and, of course my personal preference, it looks better.

if you go after market and get something with less back spacing (so like a 4" back space) you could possibly fit a slightly wider tire on there without modification. Tires, even if they are the same size, are not all actually the same size (kinda like shopping for pants. I wear a 38/32, but only sometimes, Sometimes I'm a 36/30 and sometimes I'm a 40/32, all depending on the cut of the clothes and the overall design.

Guys have fit 235/75r15's with just a hammer to flatten the stupid pinch weld in the back of the wheel well, and even 30x9.5r15's without too much rubbing (not saying none, just minimal) and if you squeeze one of those puppies in, then you have your 2" of lift over stock without any real modification.


of course that is all personal preference, and if you dig through the suspension and tires section, you might find a setup that you really like:
http://www.jeeppatriot.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=16

 

Holly flippin molly, this is a lot of information for a tire rookie, but I'll widdle through it. I need to really read and re-read what you wrote, look up pictures and I'll be expert by Sunday.

Thank you for the time you took to answer my question, educate me and clue me in to things. I will definitely be back for more questions. But right now here's a quick one: won't getting 15" lower the Jeep and not raise it?

 

15" is the diameter of the wheel - the metal part, NOT the whole tire.

My XJ (cherokee) runs 31x10.5r15 tires, so a 31" tall tire with a 15" wheel.
my infiniti runs 225/55r17 tires which is a 25.3" tire on a 17" wheel.

The tires for the infiniti are MUCH smaller than the tires on my XJ despite the wheel size. The sidewall on my cherokee is much bigger which means the tire flexes more going over bumps and stuff, meaning a smoother ride, my infiniti gives a much more "sporty" ride which means i feel every bump and rock in the road.

 

I'm changing my name to ImNotRightInTheHead because it dawned on me that wheels meant rims (I'm old school). In my day (great I'm showing age here), tires were called wheels as well and what is called Wheels now were called rims back in the day. Anyhoo. Nothing wrong with a little more education.

Thank you again, aroundincircles.

 

This is my XJ:

You can see that the over all diameter of the tire has an effect, as the axle is half way through the tire, so a 31" tire is 15.5" from the ground to the axle (or there abouts)


here is a picture of an infiniti:

its not mine, but I have the same wheels, It has a a 26.3" over all diameter or 13.15" between the ground and the middle of the wheel, BUT the body is also much lower.

Lets take two patriots, Here is mine when I had it:

Now mind you, I had a 2" lift and this is on uneven ground I am using it ONLY to show the sidewall size. I had 245/65r17 tires. To fit these tires A lift and spacers were REQUIRED! but you can see how much sidewall there is. a 245/65r17 is a 29.5" tire. or 14.75" between ground and axle.

here is a stock FDII patriot of the same where with stock tires:

You can see how much less sidewall there is, which means it is closer to the ground. stock tire for a FDII patriot is 215/65r17 or a 28" tire, or 14" between ground and center of the axle.

 

@aroundincircles, I'm going with the 225/75r16 and sticking with the 16" wheel, Helo all black.

I really appreciate the time you took to give good advice and learn me something about tires size.

How do you feel about running boards? I was thinking of getting those as well. I want to toughen up the Jeep but not make it masculine (female but a tomboy as well)

 

http://www.rocky-road.com/patriot-rock-sliders.html

Not a fan of running boards personally, but I like a set of rock/super sliders.

 

Let's say I do want to get 2-4" of suspension lift on my 2014 Patriot 2WD (FWD) - what kit would you guys recommend? The rough country kits say they are only compatible with the 4X4 but i've also read that the suspension is the same and it should work anyways, anyone have any insights or suggestions?

 

Let's say I do want to get 2-4" of suspension lift on my 2014 Patriot 2WD (FWD) - what kit would you guys recommend?

None.

Don't lift it....

 

Then start with slightly larger more aggressive tires, and instead of a lift, buy a set of skid plates.