XJ lift questions

hello, im new to the board and a new owner of a 1999 XJ sport i just wanted to get everyones opinion on different lifts available and what YOU recommend. i dont want anything outragously big or something that looks weak and small,

also...wheel and tire suggestions???


POST AWAY, thanks

get a 3.5" RE lift with full packs if you can afford it and some 31x10.50 tires. you might need an sye, might not. you also need to consider armor if your going to wheel this thing on anything other than mud.

hey, hope you are happy with your new cherokee. what kind of lift kit you buy will be based on how much money you are willing to spend, and what you plan on doing with the jeep. if you just want a nice looking jeep, with a little capability, and dont want to spend a lot of money, get a 2 inch budget boost, and you will be able to fit 30 inch tires. if you want something a little more serious, and plan on doing some more serious wheeling, i would recommend a 3.5 inch kit, with full leaf springs in the back. you can 31's, and it will be pretty capable off-road. i also sent you a Private Message.

Etan Miller

i am looking to spend somewhere under a grand on the lift itself, i dont wanna go cheap, something with good quality and decent capibilities off road, for moderate wheeling

then i would go with one of rubicon express' 3.5 inch kits with full leaf springs. they give amazing off-road capability, and ride awesome in the streets as a daily driver. since you have a 99 cherokee, you might get vibrations. you should be able to solve that with a transfer case drop, which is the way i did it. look at the kits they have available at their web site.

http://www.rubiconexpress.com/dynamic/mainpage.asp?folderid=185

Look at this link. This is something that I found on ebay. It is one of the best prices I have seen for this kit with RE shocks and shipping included. Check it out here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7915088044&category=33585

It does not have a full leaf pack. But this is a good starter for you. You don't have to spend a lot of money on this which leaves money leftover for driveline problems and/ or nice tires. In the future when you get a few extra dollars, you can purchase some full leaf packs used or new.

Do not buy Old Man Emu if you plan on med to heavy offroading. it will sag back down.

This is a very common question. As much as I hate to say it, the best starting point would be to run a search on this forum to read up a bit about what others have done and then asking more specific question. A search of "lift suggestions" yielded this thread amongst some other hits.

2offroad said:

Do not buy Old Man Emu if you plan on med to heavy offroading. it will sag back down.

Click to expand...

?? :sure:

In my experience OME is one of the more durable suspensions available. If you've got sag (meaning: "the suspension's fallen and it can't get up") then you've got a warranty claim. ARB is phenomenal when it comes to honouring OME warranty claims.

Obviously, if you buy the JC1B's and the 930's, then add 250 lbs of bumper/winch/tire-carrier, cram recovery gear/tools in the back for another 150 lbs, and then proceed to flex like mad, you're going to stress the suspension.

The spring-rate of the 930/JC1B combo is designed for the weight of the stock, or near stock, XJ and isn't going to be up to the task. OME offers higher spring-rates for heavier demands (including the full-length JCXL add-a-leaf), though RE is more economical once you get to finagling around trying to get OME to 4.5' or 5" of suspension lift.

For the kind of wheeling that many people are going to expose a '99 XJ to, the 2" OME suspension, with 30x9.5" tires would be ideal. If you want longevity and good re-sale, then this new suspension is, IMO, better than the factory design and will increase the value of the vehicle. Once you get into suspension lifts over 3" in a '99 you're also into the Jeep money-pit syndrome, with the need for an SYE, 31" tires (with the extra weight & wear/tear/gas mileage issues), quick-wearing brakes, etc etc.