3.5 or 4.5 RE????

for a daily driver for my family i was only planning on doing a 3.5" because i didn't want to put anything larger then 31" tires becasue i don't want to comprimise the drivetrain (what everyone says about putting only 31's on stock axles/you know what im talking about). But if i did go with the 4.5 is it that big of a deal to put 32's on a xj. I used to have a 91 yj with stock axles and a 32's and didn't have any problems. would it be worth it or not?

When i went from 31's to 32's i could def tell a difference in power loss. But it also depends on what brand tire you get. Some run small. So like a 31" BFG would actually be something like 30.8 where as something like a Super swamper runs true to size maybe a little bigger. But either way you go, your getting quality parts from RE. with 31's, i still had plenty of power, so its all on what you want.

I got 32's on stock axles. Other than it being a dog. It behaves fine.

I've wheeled pretty hard with 32's on stock axles with no problems. I do have 4.56's, I ran my 32 BFG's on stock gears for a while and it was pretty sluggish. If you are doing a lot of highway driving, 4.10's and 32's would probably be perfect.

RE 4.5" kit is pretty high for a family DD. If you are gonna have your wife and kids getting in and out a lot, go with the 3.5" and 31's, it'll be plenty high. My gf is 5'2" and she doesn't like getting in and hour, I'd imagine kids getting in the backseat would be worse.

My best friend has an RE 3.5" and 32's on his xj with very minimal trimming. he only recently put the rustys flares on it. For a fam vehicle i would not go higher than 3.5 and 32s and 4:10s is perfect for 31's or 32s.

RE 3.5" with full leaf packs, 32x11.50 Cooper Discoverer STT's (amazing DD/wheeling tires) and Newly installed rustys offroad flares ( JUNK)

bwhenkaline4 said:

for a daily driver for my family i was only planning on doing a 3.5" because i didn't want to put anything larger then 31" tires becasue i don't want to comprimise the drivetrain (what everyone says about putting only 31's on stock axles/you know what im talking about). But if i did go with the 4.5 is it that big of a deal to put 32's on a xj. I used to have a 91 yj with stock axles and a 32's and didn't have any problems. would it be worth it or not?

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i think 33s are the best bet for tire size, and your stock axles can handle this. Go for the 4.5

I am at 3.5" lift, cut out fenders, stock axles (5-speed so 3.07s), with 33x12.50s and I love it. Yeah its a bit of a dog, but its something I gotta deal with until i can find a nice set of axles. I don't think it rides to high or anything, but then again it also depends what your family is like. If your family is young, small kids, etc... maybe stick with 3.5" and 31 or 32. If you got older kids go for the bigger lift. If you do get the 4.5 you may have to deal with getting a SYE, 3.5 should be fine w/o, I never even had to use the transfer case lowering blocks they supplied me. No driveshaft vibs at all... every rig is different in that some will vibrate with 2" of lift, some with 4"-5". That all may be stuff you already know from your YJ, but anyway, What year is this XJ? If its 97 (I believe) or newer you will run into driveline vibs with less lift than you would with an older XJ from what I have heard.

Edit: Also remember, if you go 4.5" you are stuck with 4.5" springs, etc... go with 3.5" and you can always get a spacer or ACOS system for up front to get an extra inch or 2, and a shackel for the rear, make up that extra inch at a later date.
Its much easier (cheaper) to go up an extra inch than down an inch. Thats why i got the 3.5"... now that my XJ isnt my DD I plan on going to 4.5" or 5".

Overall, I would say go with the 3.5" and work from there, if you want more, its not hard to get more. Plus you can always trim like I did and fit up to 33s.

I ran my 98 xj, RE 5.5" lift 35s on stock axles with a 1 in t case drop w/o any vibes/binding at all for 2 years until i regeared and did an sye.

themangeraaad said:

Edit: Also remember, if you go 4.5" you are stuck with 4.5" springs, etc... go with 3.5" and you can always get a spacer or ACOS system for up front to get an extra inch or 2, and a shackel for the rear, make up that extra inch at a later date.
Its much easier (cheaper) to go up an extra inch than down an inch. Thats why i got the 3.5"... now that my XJ isnt my DD I plan on going to 4.5" or 5".

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??? I am running 4.5" springs with ACOS and before those I was running 2" lift spacers with those springs your post makes no sense.

mucovich said:

??? I am running 4.5" springs with ACOS and before those I was running 2" lift spacers with those springs your post makes no sense.

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You can remove spacers.. yes. But if i buy a kit that comes with 3.5" lift springs front and rear, I can always add a spacer to increase that to 4.5".

If I buy a lift that comes with 4.5" lift springs, all I can do is add spacers to get more, I cant say "eh, this is too high, I wish I had a 3.5" and do an inexpensive mod to get to where I want to be. I would have to buy all new springs in order to decrease the amount of lift.

Yes you can add to a 4.5" life using spacers, ACOS, whatever you want. I'm just saying that if you start with 4.5" springs you cant decide that its not what you want w/o selling the springs you have and buying new ones (should you want to decrease the amount of lift). With a 3.5" kit you can go out and buy spacers and increase your lift for not much $$. If I was deciding between 3.5" and 4.5" I would be conservative (which I was when i got my kit, 3.5") with teh knowledge I could always get myself a shackle and spacers to make up the extra lift if I wanted. Sorry if I was confusing, maybe I still am, who knows

Ahh roger, i thought you meant you couldn't do it for some reason. your reasoning makes sense though, he can always just go back to 3.5 if he wants too and if he's staying with 31" tires my vote would be to go with the 3.5". :cheers:

Or just start at 3.5", if he reaches a point that he thinks "I want more" its an easy upgrade (thats where I am at... itching for more, thinking 35x12.50s on 5" lift, fully tubbed fenders, and doing all i can to keep it as street legal as possible... aka inspect it before adding the extra lift since I know it passes like it is now)

Jeeps are a love love relationship... i love it and it loves to drain my bank account when I am around it

X2 on that and I think we've all been stuck with inchitis at one time or another

Just my $0.02.
I have the RE 4.5" and running 32 x 11.5 BFG/AT's on my '95.
I've done no fender trimming, and the only clearance issue
I have is at a full-crank U-turn the tires rub the control arms
a little bit.
Suspension rides a little stiffer than stock but for me its fine
for both DD and off road.
I cant speak to the power/performance of stock axles cuz I
re-geared to 4.10's at the same time I got the 32" tires.
Another thing to consider is the drive shaft.
With the 3.5 lift you might get away with using the stock shaft
but 4.5 or more will almost always need an SYE and a CV type shaft
to eliminate vibration.

4.5 If it fits your budget.. That way when you want larger tires down the road you can just add to this lift, saving ya some coin.

You won't go wrong either way.

Good Luck

Nick

if this is going to still be a daily driver, I'd just go with the 3.5". If you go to 4.5" you're going to need to get a sye. The stock gears will be fine with 31's. If you go bigger, you'll want better gearing as you're gas mileage and "pep" will suck. I have 33's on stock gearing and it's a dog for sure. I have the RE 3.5" lift and the ride is very smooth, better than stock in my opinion. If you decide to go bigger down the road it's as simple as putting some spacers and shackles on for an additional 1-2".

thanks for all your replies. Since my family is young (7 week old, and two year old) i guess it would be a pain in the ass to try and put in child seets with a lift and tires that would sit that high. I like the idea of going with the 3.5 for now with 31's, and adding a spacer/shackle lift in the future. Here's my question though, adding a spacer/shackle lift to a 3.5 lift would that be equivilent to having a 4.5" from RE as far as flex/articulation goes? Or would the 4.5 from RE be more flexy then adding a BB?

Technically it should be quite close to the same. The big question is whether the RE4.5" kit comes with upper and lower control arms and and the 3.5" doesnt. I know some 4.5" kits include the control arms while their 3.5" counterparts dont. If it does (and the 3.5 doesnt) then yes, the 4.5 would be significantly better unless you upgrade the control arms when you go to 4.5" (which is something I would do at 4.5" anyway, esp for a DD).

The 4.5" kit probably comes with a 3.5" leaf spring and a 1" shackel for the rear. while the 3.5" probably comes with just the spring. So if you add a 1" shackel later on, you are essentially doing exactly what you would get with the 4.5" kit. No loss there. I.e.: My 3" (actually 3.5" of measured lift, even after all parts were broken in) from BDS (another great lift system) came with just the leaf spring, while their 4.5" kit came with the same spring and a 1.5" shackel.

As for the front end, you may lose a BIT of flex, but quite frankly I wouldnt lose any sleep over it. Many people run the ACOS system or spacers w/o any complaints. I will be doing it myself whenever I can work on the XJ again. So adding the spacers shouldnt hurt ya too much. What 3.5 and 4.5 kits are you looking at? Dont they have the super-flex kit and the super-ride kits to choose from?

if i recall correctly, the RE 4.5" lift comes with shackles in the rear anyway. So, as to your question of will the 3.5" lift w/ shackles be as flexy, I'd say yeah. in fact, adding shackles will prob. improve your shackle angle and give you better flex. once i get the money to do the sye, i'll prob. be doing the shackle/spacer lift for another 2"...best of all, it's only about $100 to do that extra bit of lift.

Also, if you are going with the RE 3.5" lift and don't plan on doing a lot of off-roading requiring super flex, go with their super-ride kit, it's a little cheaper. i have the superflex kit, but mine is strictly a trail rig. the lift kit is great quality, though.

what would be the best shocks to run considering ride quality and off road capability??