RE 3.5 VS RE 4.5 Lift

Well I've been thinking I would buy the RE 3.5 Superflex kit but I also wanted new UCA and adjustable trackbar plus OME shocks. So I went to the RE site to get some prices to compare to other vendors.

Well it looks like by the time I add the upgrades to the 3.5 lift I would be spending more than I would for the 4.5 kit which already includes the UCA and trackbar, plus it has all three brake lines. And the shocks cost the same for either kit.

Now I'm gonna be running 235x85x16 (31.7x9.25) on 16x7 4" BS rims, hopefully with little or no trimming.

Looks like I would be better off getting the 4.5 lift.

For any of you guys running this lift what do you think of it? How does it ride etc.???

Thanks,

Bob

If you're going to buy upper control arms and an adjustable track bar, you'd be crazy not to go ahead and buy the RE 4.5" kit. I had the RE 3.5" kit installed on mine less than two weeks ago. After I ordered the kit, I sort of regretted not going wth the 4.5". I started adding up the cost of the upgrade to the 4.5" and was shocked at how much more it would cost to buy these items later. I did go with an RE adjustable track bar, but got it from a friend who wasn't using his, so I didn't have to spend the big bucks for it.

I thoroughly enjoy my 3.5" lift, and am running 32's on it. They don't rub under normal driving conditions, but I'm sure I'll have to do some minor trimming to offroad it. Mine had vibrations from hell, so we installed a SYE and double cardan driveshaft a couple of days ago. I'd recommend you doing the same, along with .75" coil spacers to level your XJ up, as the RE kits tend to run .75" low in the front. Mine sits a level 5" higher all the way around now.

The 4.5" kit is nice, but you will need control arm drop brackets to make it ride nice. The 4.5" springs just give too much lift and make the control arm angles too steep. I run a 3.5" Super-Flex with all the upgrades (upper control arms, brake lines, bumpstops, discos) and the control arm angles are still too steep. I think with either lift you will have to get the drop brackets/braces to make it ride smooth.

carlton989 said:

The 4.5" kit is nice, but you will need control arm drop brackets to make it ride nice. The 4.5" springs just give too much lift and make the control arm angles too steep. I run a 3.5" Super-Flex with all the upgrades (upper control arms, brake lines, bumpstops, discos) and the control arm angles are still too steep. I think with either lift you will have to get the drop brackets/braces to make it ride smooth.

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What are the symptoms of too steep a control arm angle? I feel that my XJ with the RE 3.5" (and .75" coil spacers) on 32's rides as good as it did stock, and I don't have the drop brackets and am still running the stock upper control arms as well. It has absolutely no wandering, no wobble, and tracks perfectly straight down the highway at 65 MPH. It does feel a little bouncy even with the OME shocks though.

Just curious to learn more. :read:

Hmmmm, need more opinions on the ride quality for either the 3.5 or 4.5 lift. Some say good ride others rough.

Drop brackets, long arms, soooo much stuff to consider. It really never ends does it? :0

I had the RE 4.5" kit and loved it. I ran it with 32" tires and 4.56 gears with an auto. I didn't think that it rode rough at the time.


A year later i added drop brackets. Suddenly the jeep rode like a caddy on airbags, even doing 50 mph thru the desert. The 4.5" kit rides fine by itself, if you add drop brackets later it rides night and day better. If you think you wanna do drop brackets now, get the 5.5" kit and the HD trackbar, as its far better anyways.

If I were you, I'd get the 4.5" kit and add some drop brackets later when you stumble over them cheap.

with the drop brackets, it should make the control arms almost parallel to the ground, which is like the angle that they come on a stock jeep.

If you're wanting the components of the 4.5" kit, but the height of the 3.5" kit, just order the kit with 3.5" coils instead of the 4.5" coils, and either save the shackles for later in the future, or sell them (you'd make more money selling them than leaving them out). Any of us RE dealers would customize a kit for you no problem.

For the tires you're planning on running, the 4.5" kit is going to be much taller than you need.

get the 4.5 kit you wont be sorry

Just for the sake of showing you, this is a 4.5" RE lift on I think either 225's or 235's (I don't recall).

The RE 4.5" SuperFlex is a great lift kit.. I love it...

The ride is so so.. But eventually I'm going to get drop brackets.

I'm also running 235's. I haven't trimmed yet and haven't' extended the bump stops... Every once in awhile, I 'll stuff the front tire up in the wheel well pretty good..


If you think for a second that you might even consider going above 3.5", then go with the 4.5" lift right off the bat.. You'll save money in the long run and save yourself a lot of time and frustration..

Oh yeah.... It NEVER ends.. :repair:

Elias
Eh-lee-us

I run the RE 4.5 kit on my '96, it is fine on the road (very good stability at 75 mph) and very flexy off road, but on washboard roads, even aired down to 18 psig, it is a real kidney buster! I want a bit more lift in any case and am considering the RE 5.5", either with the arm lowering brackets or the long arm. A lot of dough, however!
cv4wheeler

cv4wheeler said:

I run the RE 4.5 kit on my '96, it is fine on the road (very good stability at 75 mph) and very flexy off road, but on washboard roads, even aired down to 18 psig, it is a real kidney buster! I want a bit more lift in any case and am considering the RE 5.5", either with the arm lowering brackets or the long arm. A lot of dough, however!
cv4wheeler

Click to expand...

You could just add the drop brackets to what you have for a couple hundred dollars, and it would ride like a dream.

Good suggestion! I need to do something. The guys I am wheeling with now like to drive fast over the California desert washboard in their leafspring pre '86 Toyota trucks. I thought my fillings were going to fall out trying to keep up! On top of that I did break both front bumpstops, sheared 'em right off! I have to look into progressive or hydraulic bumpstops too. That thrashing can't be good for the unibody or my body!
Rick

It sounds like you need to do 3 things

1) Buy Bilstiens.

2) Buy Drop Brackets

3) Slow down.