Ideal set-up for trail/street driving

I would like to hear some opinions on suspension, tire/wheel, and axle configurations for trail abuse and the ability to drive to and from the trails.


It will be for a '99 XJ. D30hp/C8.25

I would like to have as many ideas as possible,Thanks in advance.

I guess it depends on the trails.

My recommendation would be 33x12.50s (probably BFG MTs for Indiana), ARBs front and rear in the axles you have, 4.56 gears. For suspension either about 6" with TNT longarms and little or no fender trimming, or 3-4 inches with short arms, fender trimming, and extended bumpstops. Bilstein or OME shocks. appropriate skids and sliders. recovery points. a winch would be nice.

You could go much bigger than 33s and still drive to/from the trails, but the price will go up massively as you will need to spend a LOT more money on the axles.

I think a 4.5" lift with 32X11.5s, and ARBs would be a great dual prupose setup. When my XJ was still a DD I had a 4.5" lift, 4.10s and 31s and I went many places with that setup yet still drove it home and had lots of power for the hills and merging. When I put the lockright locker in the rear the handling went downhill and thats when it got bumped to 2nd car duties. If it had been an automatic at the time it probably would not have been as big a deal.

I know a few people with Truxus MTs and love them on snowy streets. Haven't had them long enough yet to comment on tread life though.

What sort of wheeling will you be doing and whats your budget? For what I do I find a wider tire(for the snow and muskeg) and good articulation(for the rocks and ruts) to be more important than actual tire height, HP or lockers. I see lots of rigs with small lifts and big tires that can't articulate. I'd take 31s on a 4.5" lift before 33s anyday.

I will be taking occasional trips to the badlands and to northern Michigan

Dont forget to budget in a SYE kit!

4.5" lift (with drop brackets, or TnT long arm), 33x12.50 MTRs, 4.56s, RE Hack & Tap, selectable lockers front/rear, and armor.

3.5 RE-33/9.5/15bfg/at's-limited slips f/r-4.56 gears -4.6 stroker-chopped fenders-sye-oba

I am in love with my 3" on 31"s, just get an SYE and lockers if you'd like.... it's good to go.

I gotta weigh-in on my set up: RE 4.5" Superflex w/ 31x10.5/15 Goodyear MTR's on 4.11 (also running a d44 w/Electrac in the rear, d30 w/ TrueTrack LSD up font).

I tried 32x11, but they rubed a bit when fully articulated. Also, the extra inch made a really big diffrence in terms of street performance. Steering was heavy, accelleration was slow, and breaking sucked. Going back to 31's made everything "click" on the street, and I don't have any problem wheeling with lifted and locked TJ's on 33's.

-Andy

Almost anything will do what you want. It's not the components that make a difference, it's how the package is set up. Any suspension/tire package should be set up so the road handling of the rig is still good. Tons of people around here drive their rigs to the trail and to work every day, and still wheel them hard, with all kinds of different suspension setups. Most people here could just tell you what they're running as an answer to your question.

Well, it depends on a lot of considerations. Probably most important is, do you just want something that will be safe for driving to and from the trails? Or do you want it to be an easy and comfortable daily driver? There is a big difference.

If this is mainly a trail rig that you can also drive on the highway then the suggestion for fitting 33" tires is probably a good one. If, however, this is mainly a street rig that can also handle the trails well then I would limit the lift to 3" and the tires to 31".

Regardless, the most improvement in off-road ability will come from armor, lockers front and rear, and perhaps a winch. I'd take a stock-height vehicle that is armored, locked, and carrying a winch over a lifted and giant-tired vehicle any day of the week.