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running 38's , need advice

what kind of wheeling do you do?

if you play in the rocks, go for a super88 and a full-case locker like an ARB.

and even still carry spares, I know a couple guys who have killed 8.8's on 37"s.
 
XJ longhouse said:
im gonna be running 38s on a ford 8.8 rear , anybody done this? just wanna know how its gonna hold up, diff is limited slip for now
Click to expand...

it will die

and limited slips are dumb when dealing with large tires and it might be close to useless if its a factory lsd
 
Just two weeks ago, you were asking if you could run a 5.5" lift on stock control arms. Are 38"s part of this package?
You need to think out what it is you want and then start banking the boatload of cash that is going to be needed to run 38"s correctly.
Just about everything needs to upgraded to run such a huge tire and rim; suspension, big axles, big, brakes, steering, skids, frame beefing, cage, SYE and drive shafts..... you get the idea?

You might want to think about a more modest lift and tire combo that doesn't require so many new parts and extensive modification.
 
I agree in the cost and most of the mods requied, but you don't need skids or a cage to run 38" tires. You'll want all of those mods, but if I had to save all the money for all of the mods upfront, I never would have got into wheeling in the first place. If 38" tires are the plan, buy some 1 ton axles, gear them appropriately, build the brackets to mount them and go for it. Work on the rest of the list as you can afford it. Problem I have is I didn't go bigger out the gate. I've got $1400 in my 35" tires, and another $3000 in gears, lockers, and axle shafts, all for axles that are at their limit. If you want to go big start big.
 
38's are too small, i would start with at least 44's.

Let us know what breaks with the 44's.
 
i was asking about the stock arms as a temerary soulutoin to drive the rig home, im buyin a long arm, already had the 38s from a toyota crawler that i parted, i was gonna do some heavy body mods to keep it street legal, and fit the 38s, and im not running king of the hammers, just mild wheelin, i enjoy the ground clearance,

but thanks for the opinoins,
 
If you're looking at mild wheeling, 38s will be stupid. You cna run pretty gnarly trails on 33s to 35s. 38s will be too expensive and roll over everything taking the joy out of conquering the obstacles.
 
Darky said:
If you're looking at mild wheeling, 38s will be stupid. You cna run pretty gnarly trails on 33s to 35s. 38s will be too expensive and roll over everything taking the joy out of conquering the obstacles.
Click to expand...

I agree. Mild wheeling is what my rig is built for 32's are a bit small but I may bump to 33's eventually. Ground clearance is no fun! :D
 
zachandandy said:
but you don't need skids or a cage to run 38" tires
Click to expand...

If you have 38's, You NEED a cage, plain and simple. Nobody wheels easy/moderate trails like I do with 38's on their rig! The wheel big obstacles where a cage is very important.
 
FlexdXJ said:
If you have 38's, You NEED a cage, plain and simple. Nobody wheels easy/moderate trails like I do with 38's on their rig! The wheel big obstacles where a cage is very important.
Click to expand...

Tell that to the guy in the f350 with 40's who never goes over anything bigger than the curb. My point is start your build the way you want to finish it. We've all sunk big dollars into parts that don't work with the way we want things now. If you no out the gate you want to run 38's, don't waste a dime on the stock axles. Don't buy a 3" short arm lift. Start with the parts that will work with your end goal.
 
I have a friend that runs 37's on his xj, with stock axles, and 4:10 gears, he "mildly wheels" his jeep to the mall and back... it looks good for a mall crawler, but spends more time being cleaned than it does getting muddy
 
zachandandy said:
Tell that to the guy in the f350 with 40's who never goes over anything bigger than the curb. My point is start your build the way you want to finish it. We've all sunk big dollars into parts that don't work with the way we want things now. If you no out the gate you want to run 38's, don't waste a dime on the stock axles. Don't buy a 3" short arm lift. Start with the parts that will work with your end goal.
Click to expand...
Unless you're new to wheeling or new to wheeling the XJ. Sometimes it's good to build slowly starting small and moving up. I had been wheeling for years before getting my XJ, but started with wheeling it stock, then a budget boost and 30s, then a welded rear, then 6" and 33s, now 5.5" 33s, 44 rear and locker. The only part left behind from a previous stage is the RE 3.5" leafs from the 6" lift stage...and those will be gone in a couple months.
 
FlexdXJ said:
If you have 38's, You NEED a cage, plain and simple. Nobody wheels easy/moderate trails like I do with 38's on their rig! The wheel big obstacles where a cage is very important.
Click to expand...
maybe on the internet :conceited

sure a cage is best, especially if you want the unibody to last. But I have 3 friends I can think of off the top of my head who are running 38s and 40s on their XJs/MJs with no cage.
 
kastein said:
maybe on the internet :conceited

sure a cage is best, especially if you want the unibody to last. But I have 3 friends I can think of off the top of my head who are running 38s and 40s on their XJs/MJs with no cage.
Click to expand...

were stupid though.
 
Maybe it's the small wheel openings, but in the xj world, it's seems people think of 31's as big and 35's as huge. A Dana 44 is considered the biggest axle you could ever need. It's like a time warp to wheeling in the early 90's. People read half a thread and then quote your specific post with irrelevant comments. He's got 3
 
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