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What lift to get??

XJiggy

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Cleveland
Alright first off this is my first post on these forums and comes after about two hours of searching and not finding the answers that I need. So anyone who is feeling a little hostility towards another what lift to get thread, take a few deep breaths and relax.

ok I have a 1998 jeep cherokee xj 4.0L L6. I have owned the car for 3 years and have put a fair amount of money into replacing stock worn out parts and have also made some performance upgrades (TBS and intake and some gauges).

what I need is advice on what Lift kit to purchase. I think I want a 4.5" kit, but 3" may do. I defiently need a kit with new rear leaf springs because mine are shot. other then that I am open to anything else.

This car is my DD and i drive it to school every morning and occasionaly it will make a road trip to cincinnati (4hrs). mostly I am sick of looking at a saggy jeep that looks like its taking a dump on my driveway every morning, but I also want to get into off roading. The extent of my off roading now had been driving around new developments which have huge dirt mounds and some steep hills. But I want a kit that will be able to handle some moderate off road situations. I dont need the best of the best but I also do not want a shitty kit.

The kits that I was looking at before I found this forum were Rustys 4.5", Tough Country, and Rough Country, but the general oppinion seems to be that the price pf these kits is great...if your trying to buy half a kit. I checked out RE and they look nice as hell, but a little pricy, because in addition to the lift i will need to get bigger tires and possibly new rims.

Basically Im looking for some guidence. any advice is appreciated.
(sry this was kinda long)
 
first of all welcome aboard!

Your question about a lift is tough because YOU and only you have to love/drive/wheel your Jeep...I wanted the same things as you and I went and did stuff probably the wrong way but I've gottin over it by doign things right on my second Jeep...

Rusty's is a waste!!! People said that to me and I said well whatever its cheap so I will buy it...BAD f**kin' idea....The kit you get is not even a kit and by the time you make it right your already in the RE range or past it....Coils sagged, tracbar blows blah blah blah Some people swear by his stuff and a lot fo people hate his stuff....Its not worth the $500+ to find out you hate his stuff..

And for Rough Country I dont know people personally who have RC lifts on their Xjs but my buddy has there 4" for his Bronco and he hates it...one again he could have bought a better lift by the time he was done buying+fixing half assed parts

If you can save up the money deffinitly go RE...you will probably need an SYE (slip yoke eliminator and new driveshaft) at 4.5" but driving for awhile without it isin't the worst thing...I have a T-case drop right now and my vibes are there but they are okay for me to with stand untill I can buy an SYE

with a 4.5" kit you will probably want 33s and with that comes gears...Once again though you can drive around on 33s without regearing but It will put stess on your tranny and also you will be kinda slow...

There is a lot more to consider then just a lift so if your going to do it make sure you can completly commit because out of personal experience theres nothing good that comes out of half assing it...

I'd say to suit your needs do a 3.5"RE super flex kit...which will probably net you 4" of lift....You will be right on the cusp of needing a SYE and with a tcase drop installed you should be fine... For tires I'd say either a 31 or 32 inch Interco TruXus Mt because they are cheaper the some of the others and they are wonderful tires...I love mine and I'm sure many people can back up what I say about them...for rims do a Cragar soft 8 or d window they are something like 32 bucks a piece and hold up great

Offroadtoystore.com has a good package deal on RE lifts
NTWonline.com has good deals on tires
Quadratec.com has good deals on Cragars

You could probably do what I recommended for $1300 using those websites...The ORTS RE deal comes with shocks(RE doesnt include shocks in their kits usually) and JKS quick disconnect swaybars and adjustable control arms instead of fixed for 50 bucks more

so look around on those sites and also Jeepinoutfitters.com and just ask if you ahve any more questions

Andrew
 
I have a 01 and I went through the same thing a while back. I asked around and here on the forum, did a lot of reading. I thought about going with the OME heavy duty and ZJ coils. I did not want to go with anything larger than 31's. I ended up with Rubicon Express RE6030 with full leafs. Rubicon Express had the best recommendations.

It is 3.5" +, fits 31's. I have some blk rock crawler 15" wheels w/ 4.5" backspacing and no rubbing. I was expecting driveline vibs and went ahead and purchased a SYE kit, but have yet to put it on. My vibs are very minimal. With a late model, esp. an 01 I was lucky, I guess. I am generally picky about how my vehicle drives, but the vibrations are not bad at all. I have the lift kit on about 6 months now.

Hope this helps.
 
thanks alot for the advice. I know that every car will behave differently but...
If I go with a 3.5" lift, will I be able to avoid a SYE and or new drive shaft or whatever drivetrain parts that a higher lift require? I want to get a solid functional lift without having to replace the whole drivetrain.
 
32's are better for a 4.5. Thats what I have, not slow at all really, was able to burn my buddy's porsche off the line at a stop light. If you go 33's, then you will need to do some good trimming to fit them without any rubbing on road.

I'd go 3.5 and 31's if I was you, listening to your needs
my 4.5 isn't the greatest highway car, even with a SYE and shims.
 
XJiggy said:
thanks alot for the advice. I know that every car will behave differently but...
If I go with a 3.5" lift, will I be able to avoid a SYE and or new drive shaft or whatever drivetrain parts that a higher lift require? I want to get a solid functional lift without having to replace the whole drivetrain.

Seems like I just posted this in another thread... wait I did! :D
Anyway please refer to : http://www.naxja.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=165
Then : http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=101244

As for replacing the entire drivetrain... that will come with time :) I'm in the process of doing it right now.

I'd also have to agree with everyone else that has posted so far and say stay away from Rusty's.. he has the junkyard name for a reason... thats were his stuff belongs. I say this all the time... spend the money once, spend it right, go RE or something else worth the money.

Oh, I'm sure there will be someone soon that will say the ''Rusty's stuff has worked for me'' well they are either in denial or don't wheel their rigs.
 
begster said:
32's are better for a 4.5. Thats what I have, not slow at all really, was able to burn my buddy's porsche off the line at a stop light.

I'm calling BS. :nono: :looser:

begster said:
my 4.5 isn't the greatest highway car, even with a SYE and shims.

Any lifted rig isn't going to ride great (or like a car) on the highway, I don't care what you have or how much money you've spent.
 
RCman said:
Any lifted rig isn't going to ride great (or like a car) on the highway, I don't care what you have or how much money you've spent.

I hope you were being sarcastic.

And, XJiggy, before you start spending money on Offroading, I would suggest that you go out with an offroad club, and see what you want to get into. I'm sure there are several clubs in your area. Contact them and see if you can either take your Jeep out on a run, or ride along with them.

It will show you what you are getting into. And it will also show you what you need to do to modify your vehicle. Sure, we can all tell you what we think. But in the end it is your vechile and you are going to be the one that decides what you want to do to it.

Just my two pennies.
 
i like the rustys 4.5 even though im not a fan of rustys products i have a buddy who has this lift and it looks and works great i dont like rough country. if you have the money I would give a call to rubicon express and get there 4.5 with full packs
 
I started with a RC 3 inch lift on my 2001 Cherokee because it was cheap. In the end it was money I should have saved for my RE 3.5 Superflex. I love the RE lift, flexes great and the ride isn't bad either. I paid $520 for my RE lift. try www.4x4groupbuy.com Jason treated me right. I also have an SYE, Tom Woods driveshaft, and 4* shims, but that is just my Jeep. You may not need all of the things I have on mine.

But do yourself a favor and stay away from the RC lifts they are crap. After having mine for about 2 months I noticed that it started to sag. I had it on the Jeep for about a year before I bought the RE. It didn't flex very well and rode like crap!! I will enclose a pic of mine flexing with the RE and one with it just sitting level. That might help you decide. I'm running 265/70/16's (31's) Grabber AT'2.
100_05832.jpg


shamokinoctober06039_edited.jpg
 
forgot, the dates on the pics are wrong. I didn't reset the date when I changed the batteries. The pics are less than 4 months old.
 
begster said:
Thats what I have, not slow at all really, was able to burn my buddy's porsche off the line at a stop light.



...and what kind of Porsche was this??


My 2k with HO 4.0, AW4 couldn't even think about beating a Porshe off the line stock with 235s...much less with 32s. The tornado must be working pretty good for you.:worship:


I have to raise the BS flag on this one as well. :bs:





As for lifts, to get the most complete package in a lift, I would go with RE. It is really worth shelling out the extra cash for good parts.
 
Arlihgt all the advice is a big help.

I have another question about tires and wheels and their measurements.
Now you can defiently throw this question into the noob catagory but ill know if i dont ask.

alright first for the tires what does 33X15.5R15LT mean? basically which numbers corespond to which tire dimensions.

secondly, I think i have the wheels down 15X8 is a 15in high wheel and 8in wide, but please correct me if im wrong. another question with the wheels. if you have a 15X8 lest say; what is the widest tire that you can fit and the narrowest for that matter?

thanks
 
alright thats half of it...will a 15.5 wide tire fit on a 15X8 rim? why or why not?

and are these dimensions in inches or what?
 
Dimensions are in inches. IDK if a 15.5" tire would do well on an 8 inch rim. Somebody else who has tried it could clarify a little further on that.


I, myself, wouldnt trust it. I wouldn't go above 12.5" on an 8 inch rim...but that's just me.
 
Last edited:
What axles are you thinking about using? I push the hell out of the stock axles but you will be really taking a chance on them even on the street. Especially with the offset you will have to use witha 15.50 tire. Its your Jeep and you use it how you want, I would just hate to see a fellow Jeeper on the side of the road with a problem like that when it could be easily avoided.
 
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