Long term reviews on Eibach Stage 1 and Stage 2 lift kits and my recommendations

[BachBuiltOffRoad]

Thanks for the info. Glad to hear the UCAs compensate for the lift geometry and protect the stock tie rods. I plan to order a couple spare sets of tie rods to have on the trail. Replacement is pretty easy.

Question about the stage 2 coilovers on a Bronco. Does adjusting them require that the wheels are removed? I've only ever adjusted coilovers on my Miata which requires removing the wheels. The Miata coilovers are fairly easy to install, too. Of course it's a much smaller and lighter car. I'm pretty sure I don't have enough height in my garage to jackup the Bronco! Nor do I have a jack big enough... so many things on the list.

My 4dr non-SAS Badlands is scheduled to be built next week! (Assuming it doesn't get re-scheduled.) But I'm getting ahead of myself...

The coilovers can be adjusted on vehicle but it is easier to remove front wheels to access even better. They come out of the box ready to install but we did adjust our fronts 1/4” higher ti compensate for weight of motor and to level a bit more.

we also have a couple badlands on order and non-SAS scheduled for 4/21 build week. Been waiting on them since 7/9/21 and had to remove options per dealer request.

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[BachBuiltOffRoad]

You’re welcome, always glad to help and answer questions. We also bought a spare tie Rod kit that we take with us off-roading just to have bit so far we have been lucky!

The coilovers can be adjusted on vehicle but it is easier to remove front wheels to access even better. They come out of the box ready to install but we did adjust our fronts 1/4” higher ti compensate for weight of motor and to level a bit more.

we also have a couple badlands on order and non-SAS scheduled for 4/21 build week. Been waiting on them since 7/9/21 and had to remove options per dealer request.

 

[AZBronco73]

Nice. We're set up fairly close then. I'm running an LOD carrier with 2 cans, hi-lift, basket, and a few other tidbits on the rear. Front is an RC bumper with hidden winch and JCR sliders on the sides. The rear squats so bad with full fuel cans that I had to adjust the headlights down. I'm not necessarily looking for a lift out of them, they're going to be more of an in-between shock until I can get a legitimate long travel suspension for it. Would be great to have the option of adjusting the rear coils for empty or full cans depending on what I'm doing. Do they provide the same wheel travel as the SAS coilovers?

They actually seem to provide slightly more travel than stock

 

[refade1]

installed these, unfortunately one of my CV axels popped out after installation so now i got to get a new part.

 

[Bigguyry2000]

Thanks for the info. Glad to hear the UCAs compensate for the lift geometry and protect the stock tie rods. I plan to order a couple spare sets of tie rods to have on the trail. Replacement is pretty easy.

Question about the stage 2 coilovers on a Bronco. Does adjusting them require that the wheels are removed? I've only ever adjusted coilovers on my Miata which requires removing the wheels. The Miata coilovers are fairly easy to install, too. Of course it's a much smaller and lighter car. I'm pretty sure I don't have enough height in my garage to jackup the Bronco! Nor do I have a jack big enough... so many things on the list.

My 4dr non-SAS Badlands is scheduled to be built next week! (Assuming it doesn't get re-scheduled.) But I'm getting ahead of myself...

I'm sure you could adjust it with the wheel on. Might take some finagling though.

Front:

Rear:

Both of those pics are from the front of each axle looking to the rear. The front tire is turned a little bit. It is much easier if you jack it up a bit and unweight things a smidgen first.

I'm not sure how the upper arm corrects tie rod geometry. The rear benefit is allowing more range of motion from the uniball, and having a tougher joint there vs a grease bath balljoint. Also, depending on the arm, it will allow more sidewall to arm clearance at full lock and full articulation.

 

[Bigguyry2000]

installed these, unfortunately one of my CV axels popped out after installation so now i got to get a new part.

That's usually because the spindle was allowed to fall when it was disconnected with the upper arm.

 

[Bigguyry2000]

So with the stage 2 I could adjust it to have only 1 inch of lift over the stock hitachis rather than a full 2 inches like other sets? I want 285/70s but they look a little small with a 2” lift

That's the tie size I'm running. It's setup pretty tall, could go higher on both axles, but it'll also clear 35s if I wanted.

My main goal is to be able to fully tuck at full lock while offroading without any chance of rubbing.

 

[refade1]

That's usually because the spindle was allowed to fall when it was disconnected with the upper arm.

Yeah sounds about right. Bummer... I have an appointment with at a ford dealership. I am going to see the full damage report tomorrow .. But anyways heres my install.

 

[Bigguyry2000]

Yeah sounds about right. Bummer... I have an appointment with at a ford dealership. I am going to see the full damage report tomorrow .. But anyways heres my install.

Yea if the spindle is unsecured it will fall and do the boot and/or break the cv.

Hopefully you enjoy the suspension other that the initial cv/axle thing.

 

[fiatlux]

I was fortunate to have a connection with Eibach through a friend/shop owner locally here in Southern California. I got the Stage 1 prototype system in March. 2022. I have a MY2021 Black Diamond, 2 Door Manual non sasquatch. I had the Stage 1 system for approximately 10k miles.

Stage1

Pros:
Very cost effective solution
Excellent Valving and Spring rate
Springs are swappable down the line if you find yourself loading up heavy for overlanding.
Not overly stressing on suspension joints/bushings.

Cons:
Clip adjusting not as easy as the Stage 2 threaded body
Not a fully adjustable system (I.E. Fox, King, Radflow, Etc).

The Stage 1 system on my bronco was a fantastic upgrade. I live in Southern California and drove it to Flagstaff and Redmond for Overland Expo West & PNW. Drove basically from Mexico to Canada last summer, and back. It's seen about 1k offroading here in Southern California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona.

If you're main goal is to have a better (slightly stiffer) ride, that is height adjustable, that won't break the bank, this is your lift. You can retain factory arms with no adverse wear. The lack of compression and rebound adjustment isn't a big deal. Most people don't know how to properly adjust these settings anyway. So for a full system (both axles) that is half the price of one axle setup of a fully adjustable set, it's a very reasonable tradeoff. I have the most time on the stage 1 and have thoroughly abused it, with no failures at all. It's been in the air in Johnson Valley, slow crawled up rocks, been daily driven, and on long road trips.

Stage2

Pros:
Threaded body adjustment with spanner.
Even better feel with spring/shock tuning
True coilover
Still very well priced
Retain factory components

Cons:
Not a fully adjustable system

I got the stage 2 system about 4k miles ago. I daily drive the Bronco, I've taken this system on a road trip to Peoria, up crown king, to Prescott anf back home. Since I had a prototype system on the stage 1, this was a real nice upgrade. The stage 1 system has been revised and is even better than when I was testing originally. The stage 2 system I now have is very well done. It has a nice soft ride zone and is not jarring when driving on the road at all. I've got tons of miles on pogo stick lifts that are horrific, this is like riding on a cloud. Offroad wise, I only have a couple hundred miles on this setup, but its very good. Crawling over rocks, higher speed stuff, fire roads, it's easy to maintain control while not being harsh at all even when trying to abuse it by getting air at high speed over things on fire roads.

Recommendations:
Stage 2 if you have the budget for it. The ease of height adjustment is nice. Especially if you're going to be loading up for a a trip offroading for a few days or if you, like me, have a ton of gear/tools you bring. Being able to raise the rest height back to normal is nice.

Stage 1 if you're wanting to keep price more easy to swallow. If you're mostly doing shorter trips, have less gear, or aren't as heavily loaded. Clip height is more a set it and forget it deal.

Both systems are excellent. And I would not hesitate to run either one. I did get these systems for free, but I'll say what u want because it's not like Eibach can come take them back now haha.

If you have any Austin's let me know, if I can't answer it directly, I'll get the answer.

Stage 1 pics:

Stage 2 pics:

Unrelated but those are some cool looking wheels. What are they?

 

[Bigguyry2000]

Unrelated but those are some cool looking wheels. What are they?

Fifteen52 Patrol HD Bronze. They are a 17x8.5 +0

 

[Willhunt4food]

I have a Rock Hard 4x4 Rear Swing Gate Bumper with 2 Jerry Can mounts. The Rear Bumper is about 300lb more than stock weight on the back end with the 2 added fuel cans. I lost about 2.0 inches in ride height compared to factory SAS on my Badland 4dr. I ended up going with the Eibach coilovers which are adjustable 0.0 to 2.7 inch lift over factory SAS. With the rear Eibach's close to max lift (still have about 0.25 inch left in the shocks), I am now sitting at about 0.5 inches higher than stock SAS. Up front I have a BAMF bumper with winch (about 100 lbs over stock with bumper and winch). I have the front Eibach's set at about half way up on the lift range (0.0 to 2.2 inch advertised range) which brought me close to the factory rake (about 0.5 inches lower in front than rear). I also have the Rockslide Engineering power steps which add about another 100lbs to my Bronco.

I am really happy with the ride with the Eibach's. Small bumps seem a little softer with the Eibach's but the firm up nicely on larger hits and obstacles. And I never seem to bottom out like I was with the factor SAS shock with all my extra weight.

Eibach has heavier rate springs they are working on for their Coilovers. They are estimating that they should be out in 3-6 months. I plan on swapping the spring to the HD ones when they are available which should allow me to get about 2.5 to 2.75 in of lift even with all my added weight which will hopefully let me go with 37 inch tires when my factory SAS tires wears out (already have 10k miles in the 6 mo I have owned my Bronco). I will likely also go with an after market UCA when I go with 37s also.

Got my pro 2.0 back in November ‘22 and Panda motorworks swapped to heavier front springs to account for bumper/winch.

 

[Willhunt4food]

The new UCA's are stronger and allow for more articulation with the increase shock height and ability to run 37" tires, which is what we have on our shop Bronco. Really makes this kit top notch and worry free when off-roading.
I made some other posts about this lift and the benefits of using our UCA's. For instance, the tie rods stay at a factory angle which is important, especially when rock crawling.


Just so you know, we are offering a 15% Discount on this Eibach kit with our UCA's and 30% Off all of our billet parts until Easter Sunday EiBach Kit Here
Plus, we have a UCA giveaway going on right now also, see thread for details **GIVEAWAY TIME** BACH BUILT OFF-ROAD Billet UCA's

-Dustin

Eibach says this on website “

• Designed to work with factory control arms for an increase in height without accelerated wear to ball joints and bushings
• 
  this was part of the reason I got it. But your saying need UCA?

 

[BachBuiltOffRoad]

Eibach says this on website “

• Designed to work with factory control arms for an increase in height without accelerated wear to ball joints and bushings
• 
  this was part of the reason I got it. But your saying need UCA?

In our opinion, due to our testing, we do recommend upper control arms. If your going to do any off-roading and/or pushing the limits, then upgrading your UCA's is a must. It provides strength and makes this kit bulletproof, let alone having a piece of mind. Our billet UCA's are 2nd to none with strength and you can see from the photos how much beefier they are than the factory. The FK uniball and hardened pin provide way more strength and won't wear out like the rubber ball joint in the cast aluminum factory units. I know I might sound repetitive but once you have one of our control arms in hand and the factory one in the other, you will see what I'm referring to.

Another example are FOX Elite shocks. Right on their website, they require UCA's when upgrading to their shocks, whether you have a SAS or Non SAS package. It's because they know the increased shock height will require more articulation and put added stress on the factory unit.

Hope this helps.


-Dustin

 

[CrytpX]

I didn't use any relocation for my track bar.

The rear tires were still centered to the body/fenders? On my Gladiator, even on a 1.5" lift I had to readjust the track bar in the rear. Measured from the fender, it was off by a tiny bit, but still bugs knowing it's not centered.

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