The track bar is a critical piece of a Wrangler’s suspension that keeps the axle laterally centered underneath the car. If you’ve damaged your suspension or are adding a lift kit, you must make sure you buy the right track bar. When adding a lift kit, the length of the track bar is vital—too short or too long and you’ll push your axle off-center. That’s easy to address though, as any lift kit will tell you what length you need the track bar to be.
These are our recommendations for the 4 best track bars for JK on the market:
Teraflex Track Bar for JK
This bar will adjust to fit any JK with 0-6 inches of lift. It’s also the strongest bar on the market—230% stronger than the stock track bar your Wrangler came with. It’ll fit on two door and four door models, and provides incredible responsiveness and control, especially off-road. In addition to providing adjustable lift, it also allows for lateral adjustments of the axle.
Rough Country Adjustable Track Bar for JK
Like the Teraflex, this bar can adjust to a range of lift heights. While the Teraflex starts at 0 inches, the Rough Country starts at 2.5 inches. At sixteen pounds, it’s almost twice as heavy as the factory track bar your jeep came with, providing more strength and durability for long off-road adventures.
One nice feature of this track bar is that it’s adjustable on the vehicle- you don’t have to remove it to adjust the axle alignment, and there’s no trial-and-error process with multiple removals and reattachments to go through. Just attach it to the suspension, adjust and you’re good to go, making this one of the best track bars for JK around.
JKS Adjustable Track Bar for JK Wranglers
This bar works with 1 to 6 inches of lift. It’s only compatible with 2007-2017 models, so if you have a 2018 it won’t fit your Jeep. Weighing at 8 pounds, it’s unlikely to be any stronger than the factory track bar, so this isn’t a product for improving the strength of your suspension. This is the bar you buy when you just need a bar because you installed a lift kit, not when you need added strength for rough terrain.
Skyjacker Track Bar for JK
This is basic, bare bones track bar. It’ll adjust for up to 4 inches in lift. Other than that, it’s relatively featureless. It’s a good choice if you’re looking for something affordable, as it’s the cheapest bar on this list (though price fluctuations do happen). It won’t provide the strength or the adjustable range of the other bars, but it also won’t cost you nearly as much. Still, if you’re aware of these limitations, it’s likely among the best track bars for JK for the money.
Track Bar for JK Conclusion
Beyond length, it can be difficult to understand the differences between all the track bars on the market. They all look similar, they’re all made of similar materials, and they all do the same job. This guide is will look at the top track bars on the market and help you understand the differences between them so you can make an informed choice.
The biggest differences between these bars come down how much strength they add to your suspension and the range of lift they can work with. It’s no surprise that the most expensive bar on the list is the strongest, with the broadest adjustable range, and the cheapest bar is the most basic.
That basic, cheap bar from skyjacker will still get the job done though, so it’s worth considering. The reviews are all positive and it’s well made. If you put a lift on your JK Wrangler and need a new bar but you don’t want to break the bank, it’s definitely an option.
The Teraflex Bar (see full specs) is for those of you who do serious off roading. It’s also the only bar listed that doesn’t require lift at all—you can replace the stock track bar without bothering with a lift kit. It weighs in at 18 pounds and provides 230% the strength of the stock bar. If you spend your weekends driving your Wrangler up and down mountainsides in Colorado, this is the track bar for you.
The other two bars are somewhere in the middle. The Rough Country Bar (see full specs) is only slightly lighter (16 pounds) and weaker than the Teraflex. It still provides an enormous strength upgrade from the stock bar. It’s only real disadvantage vs the Teraflex is that it requires at least a 2.5 inch lift to install, while the Teraflex doesn’t need a lift at all. Still, the Rough Country is significantly cheaper, so if you’re going to be putting in a lift kit, it’s hard to recommend the Teraflex over the Rough Country bar.
The JKS won’t give you any added strength, but you’ll need a track bar of some kind if you put in a lift and the JKS is affordable and adjustable.
Not everyone who installs a lift is going to take their Jeep off-road. The JKS and Skyjacker are for those people. If you’re putting in a lift and going off-road, either the Rough Country or the Teraflex will work. If you going off-road with no lift, the Teraflex is your new bar. There just aren’t many aftermarket track bars that don’t require a lift at all, so if you don’t want a lift but you do want a track bar, you’re sort of stuck with the Teraflex. Given how strong it is, that isn’t a bad thing.
All the bars listed here are front bars; they won’t fit your rear axle. You need a separate bar to attach to the rear axle and yes, you need both front and rear track bars. These manufacturers all make rear track bars that correspond to the front bars listed here, with similar prices. Just be sure to buy both, and you’ll have a set of the best track bars for JK Wranglers around. Good luck!
