lift rears 35s and breaks ?

im farly new to the xj had mine for about 7 years love it lifted it 3.5 2 years ago and about to upgrade im thinking of getting the IRO long arm kit possibly the 8 but leaning tword the 6.5 i have a stock d 30 C 8.25 rear auto trans and a np 231 t case i wanna run 35 s not mutch rock crawling mostly mud and a daily driver of 15 miles lol am i making a mistake for going with the 35s and 4.56 gears? thanks

your mistake would be the 8" of lift.
35's w/4.56=good

in4aride said:

your mistake would be the 8" of lift.
35's w/4.56=good

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this

I'd go 4.88s, 34" skinny Swamper LTBs or TSL Radials, and 8" lift. That would be an ideal "mud slinger" and daily driving would be fine if you put some airsoft pellets in the LTBs and rotate them regularly (keep them aired for best wear, which is usually a few psi lower than recommended). Skinny tires will spin a lot easier with the relatively weak 4.0L. Think of them as pizza cutters. Less resistance.

i dont understand the need for excessive lift for mud... your only as tall as your axles. i guess its just a matter of keeping water out of the cab. :dunno:

whats wrong with the 8" of lift ? and i thought the c 8.25 rear only goes to a 4.56 ?

ya cuz skinny and tall is a GREAT idea for street duties.

you are gonna have to find a comprimise between capability and good street manners.

since you DD you may wanna think more about street manners.

flyingxj said:

whats wrong with the 8" of lift ?

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EVERYTHING

flyingxj said:

whats wrong with the 8" of lift ? and i thought the c 8.25 rear only goes to a 4.56 ?

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Nothing is wrong with 8" of lift if you have a proper alignment and quality lift components. For mud this is an ideal height. You need clearance and you need light weight. The 8.25 can go to 4.88s. With heavy 35s you will pretty much have to run 4.56 though because the 4.88 has a weaker pinion and you don't want the ring gear to become the weakest link. That's why I made the recommendation for skinny 33s or 34s. Less stress on driveline means you can run the 4.88s, they are lighter, and they have less resistance. Skinnys do fine on these light weight XJs on or off road.

Your axles may drag in the mud the same at 8" as at 6", but you might be able to drag the axles through the mud farther than you can drag your axles and undercarriage.

I wouldn't do 8" on a Cherokee though. A Cherokee is not a big fullsize. It would be more unstable at that height.

why are people crying about the 8" like they no somthing ?

good point darky i figured that that`s why ill probable get the 6.5 and 35s i dont wanna go any smaller on the tire but i just dont want my drivetrain to grenade

Darky said:

Your axles may drag in the mud the same at 8" as at 6", but you might be able to drag the axles through the mud farther than you can drag your axles and undercarriage.

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You're getting the picture!

I wouldn't do 8" on a Cherokee though. A Cherokee is not a big fullsize. It would be more unstable at that height.

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Not really an issue for street or mud. Not many off camber scenarios to deal with there. Just keep the anti-sway bars (you want them for mud and street duties. You don't want flex in the mud), install cross over steering, and good shocks (i.e. stiff). Proper alignment works wonders. 8" is not really that bad. There are a lot of people running 8" on 33-35" wheels here with few stability issues.

flyingxj said:

why are people crying about the 8" like they no somthing ?

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ever driven a rig @ 8" of lift????? specifically a XJ on skinny tires?

there is a reason im only on 3.5" lift, and it isnt cuz its easy to do.....

yes mudding is differetn from crawling. but its still the general idea.

HoneyBadger said:

Not really an issue for street or mud. Not many off camber scenarios to deal with there.

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you think 8" of lift and skinny is stable? gee. maybe ive been lookin at this whole thing wrong... :wstupid:

in4aride said:

you think 8" of lift and skinny is stable? gee. maybe ive been lookin at this whole thing wrong... :wstupid:

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Have any experience with 8" on skinnies? I have four mud racing XJs on that combination. Two are daily driven (my wife and daughter). They are very stable for street, mud, and trails. Several been to Tellico, Rubicon, and one has been to South Africa nine times. No issues. It's the driver that makes the vehicle. It's easy to call someone stupid when you have such a limited perspective. This is not rock crawling or desert racing. Where you need a low center of gravity. This is crusing round town, interstates, and mud trails. Very few off camber scenarios.

I don;t get it... 'breaks' ? what broke?

newp. been in mud trucks. full size tho. and all were relatively wide. :dunno:

im still baffled, are you making a joke about the 8" of lift and skinny tires being stable on road? i guess i dont really see anyone arguing that point unless they are full size and another 8" WIDER than the xj......

but i must have it all wrong

ericfx1984 said:

I don;t get it... 'breaks' ? what broke?

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Thought the same thing for a moment then read his post.

in4aride said:

newp. been in mud trucks. full size tho. and all were relatively wide. :dunno:

im still baffled, are you making a joke about the 8" of lift and skinny tires being stable on road? i guess i dont really see anyone arguing that point unless they are full size and another 8" WIDER than the xj......

but i must have it all wrong

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I have a couple of full size trucks with decent lift heights. One is Duramax at 6" on 36" TSL Radials and the other is K5 at 10" with 44" boggers. One tows my horse trailer and the other is my son's daily driver. Keep in mind we're here in Florida where the mud is not unlike that of NJ (the OP's place of refuge). You need tall and skinny tires to get through some of thick quicksand-like mud. I'm not pulling your leg. The difference is negligible with 8" and skinnies (re: 34" LTBs). You won't be able to tell the difference between 6.5" and 8" in most cases--except in the mud, where performance will be increased with the additional height because of the suction and resistance in mud that the shorter 6.5" lift would experience in some cases. Last time I checked most roads are flat or crowned slightly. So that's not much of an issue with camber. There is a bit more wind resistance at that height, but it's not much different than 6.5" or 5.5" of lift. Certainly there is a difference from 3.5", but it's not like driving an ice cream truck with a 70s suspension. It's a slight difference unless you are driving like "The Stig" and powering through corners like a Porsche driver. In other words, most of the places you'd notice: while rock crawling or desert racing--where lower is better. I won't deny there is slightly more body roll, but it's not that significant and it can be tuned out using spring and shock modifications. Certainly not dangerous unless you're an inexperienced driver that takes unnecessary risks.