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Monster tires with no lift?

sherman08

sherman08

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Belfair WA
Ok lets be realistic, really what im looking for is moderate tire size with minimal lift. Im hopin to fit somethin like 32's or 33's with minor lifting if any. This idea is fresh so im just looking for some ideas and things that i will run into. Im aware that major fender trimming, or removal, will take place. also i figure i will need to space the wheels out so that they dont rub on suspension etc. Some lift is o.k. i just don't want to get into SYE and extended driveline territory, if at all possible. Is this goal even possible/resonable? any help would be great thanks!
 
you can fit 33's without any lift. . . but you'd better get that sawzall out. Bumpstop accordingly, and you're probably going to have to go with some pretty low backspacing, or different lower control to keep the rubbing to a min.
 
I would say that you will need at least 3" lift and some serious fender cutting to fit 33" tires. A good amount of bumpstop could decrease the amount of cutting but you won't have as much flex if you bumpstop it too much. You will also have to keep an eye on your backspacing or you'll rub on the control arms and inside fender
 
I have an 88, ive heard of people doing 3" without sYE, ore T-Case drop or whatever but i dont know if i want to stretch it that far, the more i look at it the more i like the fenderless look, i think it would look good on a doorless rig, and ive got no problems hacking away at the rear fenders but would i even have that much room to cut? Ive got a 2door if that changes anything?
 
sherman08 said:
I have an 88, ive heard of people doing 3" without sYE, ore T-Case drop or whatever but i dont know if i want to stretch it that far, the more i look at it the more i like the fenderless look, i think it would look good on a doorless rig, and ive got no problems hacking away at the rear fenders but would i even have that much room to cut? Ive got a 2door if that changes anything?
Click to expand...

1. Get a set of full-widths
2. Build lift into the coil buckets
3. Make your own U-Bolt Eliminators for the back
4. Cut
5. Buy Tires
6. Bumpstop

There is no real way to do it cheap, you will just end up paying for it down the road
 
I have seen 33x9.5 on a stock rig, but it had a chopped top and quite a lot of trimming, and it's not a daily driver. I had moderate vibes at 2.5" and 31s, but mine is a 99. I've heard that the 84-96 XJs have less driveline issues issues with bigger lifts. If you can cut and weld/patch well, then I say go for it.
 
33's, 3" lift and 3.5" backspace. You'll cut a bunch on the fenders to stuff without rubbing, but you shouldn't have any driveline vibes and it can be done "on the cheap." (relatively speaking, of course)
 
I have 33x12.5 TSL's on my 98 XJ with 3.5" lift. I had to trim about 2.5" off of the front fenders and 1.5" off of the rear. I can flex fully to bumpstops without rubbing now. I have 3.5" BS on my 15x10 rims. No vibes at all, no tcase drop, no SYE. Click the pictures for a bigger version.







 
Hey thanks a lot guys this helped out a lot, and gave me a good place to start, I've got a lott more research to do, ill be back with questions later im sure.
 
i hacked the crap out of my body with a hammer and grinder. i wheeled 31s on stock suspension for a few months before i could afford a lift. i didn't change my bumpstops, but looking back it would have been a good thing to do.
 
I don't remember who but there is an XJ somewhere here that had 33s stock suspension and boatsides. I think after running the Rubicon like that he added a 2" lift, I can't seem to remember who it was though.
 
WaXJ_Skier said:
I don't remember who but there is an XJ somewhere here that had 33s stock suspension and boatsides. I think after running the Rubicon like that he added a 2" lift, I can't seem to remember who it was though.
Click to expand...

That was my rig...

I ran Barrett with fully stock coils and leafs and 33's. I did have aftermarket control arms and 10"+ travel shocks though. I also had about 1" extra bumpstop on the driver side for steering clearance. I have a nearly flat belly, and was still all over my 'frame' and skids. I wasn't thrilled about how often I was dragging my junk, but I didn't really have any other issues. There is a write-up on the Eric'sXJ site, and it includes some side by side pics with his rig to show just how low mine really was.

I went scrounging and found a nearly new set of Rusty's 3.5" coils and leafs at the pick-n-pull. I am running the Rusty's coils and bastard packs made of the Rusty's and stock junk right now, and prefer it greatly to the stock stuff both on the highway and on the trail. I have no intention of going bigger.
 
Do you think the Boat sides and the estended wheel base did anything to help you fit those tires? That rig is awsome it looks like you did an amazing job on it... I didnt see a "write-up" he did have some info on the specs but not much, did the write-up go away or get moved? Some basic info on your steering settup would be great please, o and i think i found a new addition to my library.
 
sherman08 said:
Do you think the Boat sides and the estended wheel base did anything to help you fit those tires? That rig is awsome it looks like you did an amazing job on it... I didnt see a "write-up" he did have some info on the specs but not much, did the write-up go away or get moved? Some basic info on your steering settup would be great please, o and i think i found a new addition to my library.
Click to expand...

The write-up is on the trail run...

I do have a build thread on here. If you search on my user name it shouldn't be hard to find since I don't post often. Most of the pics aren't hosted anymore though, so it might not be that insightful. I might clean it up someday if I get bored...

To make room, I completely replaced the wheel well in the back. In the front I rebuilt the area in front of the coil support, and the area in the back where the floor is.

I like my uptravel, and I really didn't see how else I could get full stock optravel with no lift. I actually still rubbed the fenders just a touch that first run out. Others just hack what they can, add bumpstop and call it good.
 
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