Help me decide RE 4.5 or 5.5

h.curtis · Sep 30, 2003

Hi all. I was wondering if anyone had experiences with these lifts? I am not sure which one I should get. I drive my '96 Jeep every day and on the highway at 70+ mph. I hope not to give that up. I have a 4" AAL Trailmaster lift with a transfer case drop that has been great for over 100K miles. Nothing every went wrong until I towed an over weight trailer for over 1000 miles. Now the leafs are shot and the whole system is really in need of replacement.

What are the + and -'s on these two lifts? Do I need two new driveshafts, SYE and dropped pitman arm on both? I have a '96 and I heard they don't like the big angles and I don't want vibrations due to angle.

Thanks for any help,
Curt

ChuckD · Sep 30, 2003

It really depends on what you want. What size tires do you want to run, are your axles geared for that size tire? The main idea of a lift is to fit the biggest tire possible and to keep the COG as low as possible. Unless your doing it for looks, then things like gears does not really matter. Both are good, both can be added upon, it depends on how high youe want to go.

Both have the posiblities of causing driveline vibrations, and would idealling require a SYE.

Both may have issues with steering linkages.

Both may have issues with crontrol arm angles, unless the 5.5 has the drop brackets.

What is constant the higher you go, the more you will need to attend to. Just be prepared if it does not go as easy as expected.

juicexj24 · Sep 30, 2003

I would have to agree with everything XJ chuck said. Steering linkage can be a problem, control arm angles, SYE and new rear driveshaft. Brake lines are something else.

Now I have a little over 6.5" of lift on mine. I drive as fast as I want in it with 33" tires. I have it geared right, haven't chaged the speedo gear yet though. I don't have drop brackets for the control arms. I have adjustable with the uppers almost all the way out. The pinion angle is great, it drives straight and true. I also have the NP242 Select Trac t-case. These don't really need SYE kits. I didn't have one on mine for a year with 6.5" of lift and didn't have a problem. I do have the hack and tap RE SYE and CV shaft. I just like the fixed yoke idea better.

But tire size, gear ratio, what you plan to do with it, are all things you want to look at. Plus the cost of doing the lift. for the 4.5" lift you going to be way ahead of the game cost verse 1" if you get my drift with comparied to the SYE, alignment and all that stuff.
Juice

RCP Phx · Sep 30, 2003

Everyone has called it right,it depends on tires/needs.Ive had both kits and there both excellent!

CStamm · Oct 1, 2003

I think the best thing about the 5.5" kit is the fact that it utilizes drop brackets. This helps the ride alot, as the LCA angles are much closer to stock. I believe you get the bigger leaf packs too with the 5.5" kit. IMO, you will most likely want to go as big as you can, so I say gor for the 5.5" kit. However, if you want the smaller kit, RE can upgrade to the drop brackets and bigger leaves for a little more.

bigjoe · Oct 1, 2003

I have the 5.5 RE Extreme Duty which I added 2.5 more inches to it for 8" of lift. I drive mine daily at 70 -75 MPH. (that's code for 65 if there's any UHP's out there). I run 35" Pro Comps. This is plenty for any serious off road conditions and still looks great going down the Freeway. You will incur issues such as driveline sye kits, drop pitman arms, re-gearing etc..
My Motto is....... Go Big or Go Home!
If you don't go big then you'll wish you did. If you don't you'll cry every time you see your buddies lil' white princess with 10" of lift and no flex.
Sorry Todd, just had to throw that in!
Joe

bigjoe · Oct 1, 2003

I have the 5.5 RE Extreme Duty which I added 2.5 more inches to it for 8" of lift. I drive mine daily at 70 -75 MPH. (that's code for 65 if there's any UHP's out there). I run 35" Pro Comps. This is plenty for any serious off road conditions and still looks great going down the Freeway. You will incur issues such as driveline sye kits, drop pitman arms, re-gearing etc..
My Motto is....... Go Big or Go Home!
If you don't go big then you'll wish you did. If you don't you'll cry every time you see your buddies lil' white princess with 10" of lift and no flex.
Sorry Todd, just had to throw that in!
Joe

h.curtis · Oct 2, 2003

Thanks for all the replies. I guess my heart wants the 5.5, even though it will be more work and hassle. I mean to buy a whole lift and only go up .5 of an inch seems kind of sad. I just wanted to know what I needed to do to get that little more lift. I drive in the snow and some off road. I sell land and go off road for fun too. I don't think I will go more than 32's though. I am thinking 32's will bo ok with the 5.5. I guess they would go on the 4.5 as well, but I don't want to cut, so I don't know.

Thanks for the help on deciding. I guess I'll sleep on it a bit more. I need to do this in the next month because I have some money now. You know....it will be gone because I did something stupid with it, instead of buying a new lift.

Here is my costs I think on either lift. Am I forgetting anything?

5.5

Lift w/shocks $1270
SYE $180
CV $250
Upgraded shocks $100

Total $1800

4.5

Lift w/shocks $839
SYE $180
CV $250
Upgraded shocks $100

Total $1369

Curt

David - Atlanta · Oct 2, 2003

Curt,
Where did you find the 4.5" kit WITH shocks for $839.00? I am getting ready to order this kit from Jeepin Outfitters ( http://jeepin.com/outfitters/catalog.asp ) for $899, with shocks and free shipping, but if I can save a couple more bucks then hey...

h.curtis · Oct 3, 2003

Oh no, they must have raised thier price. I just looked at there site a couple of days ago and that was the price then.

Oh well,
Curt

David - Atlanta · Oct 3, 2003

Ordered the RE 6130 with the Heavy Duty track bar and DT 3000 shocks last night from jeepin outfitters for a total price of $960 (no tax or shipping charges), also have Aussie locker and AJ's SuperRocker skids in the pipeline

On to tire shopping...

h.curtis · Oct 3, 2003

Sounds good Dave. I made a mistake. Jeepin's price didn't change, I messed up.

Curt

BillR · Oct 3, 2003

If there's even a CHANCE you'll want to go taller, get the 5.5" lift. It comes with the drop brackets and the XD trackbar, two upgrades I've already done to my 4.5" lift.

Gravedigger · Oct 3, 2003

That RE 5.5 is a great lift, but it gives ALOT of lift. If you are only wanting to run 32's I dont know that you will need all the extra lift just to fit 32's. Just for your information Jason at Jeepin.com runs the RE 5.5 with 35's. Although he has done some trimming and is running BW's. Just trying to make sure you have all the info and get the lift that suits you best.

Grave

h.curtis · Oct 3, 2003

Well, I ordered the 5.5 today. It wasn't that much more money and I like the idea of drop brackets. I will run my 31's until I can save some money and then will decide on what to to about tires. maybe 33's or 32's. If I go 33's I will need to get new rims. I like my stock Grizzles on the '96, but they are not wide enough to handle 33's. They can handle 32X10.50's, but I will have to bag them for 33's. At least I will have some time to think about them. It won't look good with the 31's, but $ is a problem.

Thanks for all the help. I guess I am going bigger, and will probably end up buying new rims and tires when I save up, but I will in the end be happier after reading all the responses here.

Curt

chad · Oct 3, 2003

You could probably run 33x9.50's or 33x10.50's instead of 33x12.50's and still use your stock rims,
Chad

h.curtis · Oct 4, 2003

chad said:
You could probably run 33x9.50's or 33x10.50's instead of 33x12.50's and still use your stock rims,
Chad

I didn't know they made them that narrow. 9.50's, that would look pretty military I think. I wonder if anyone has a picture of one with 33X10.50's or 9.50's. I would like to check that out. I am kind of glad I have some time to think about it.

Thanks for that idea.
Curt

RCP Phx · Oct 4, 2003

Heres mine!
http://hometown.aol.com/rpayne9421/index.html

h.curtis · Oct 4, 2003

RCP,

That is sweet. Do you have a picture from the front? What kind of rims and tires are those? Backspacing?

Thanks for posting that. I hope I can get mine to look that nice. I like those rims more than my stock ones, but I don't know if I can afford them.

Curt

RCP Phx · Oct 4, 2003

Here ya go,other than the price of the rims($45) everything else is in my info insert!

Help me decide RE 4.5 or 5.5

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David - Atlanta

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Toy Jeep driver!

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