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Keeping A Low Center of Gravity.

N

Nova Wake

NAXJA Forum User
Location
N. Chittenden, Vermont
OK now i plan on lifting my jeep in the future but jacking it 8in higher doesn't appeal to me, i want to keep a lower center of gravity(as well as price) and run 32s or 33s, and lift no more than 4" is it a good idea? with minimal trimming of coarse, i was looking at DPG for my lift needs. And do any of you have pics? or a better lift recommendation.

I want a more stable jeep for on road and off road, hence keeping it lower.
 
Keep looking around at DPG as they have some rigs with 35s on 4.5" of lift IIRC.
 
I can only speak for myself but at 4.5" and 31's (245/75/16) and stock axle locations I still have to do a little trimming of the stock fender flares and rear bumper skirt. Although clearing 33's with 4" lift is completely doable it would come down to what "minimal trimming" is? My cousin cleared 33's with a budget boost with a ton of trimming so I guess it could be done, My plan is around 6" and 37's but stretched and major sugery on the body.
 
Nova Wake said:
OK now i plan on lifting my jeep in the future but jacking it 8in higher doesn't appeal to me, i want to keep a lower center of gravity(as well as price) and run 32s or 33s, and lift no more than 4" is it a good idea? with minimal trimming of coarse, i was looking at DPG for my lift needs. And do any of you have pics? or a better lift recommendation.

I want a more stable jeep for on road and off road, hence keeping it lower.
Click to expand...

you can get some bushwackers or rusty's flex flaires to open up your fenders, allowing you to cram in bigger tires with less lift. It's the only way to keep a low center of gravity with our xj's.
 
actually what you are planning on doing is becoming a pretty normal xj build.

33's on a 3" and 35's and 37's on a 4.5" is not uncommon anymore. trimming is required, and more important than that is bumpstopping. it does more than keep the ries out of the fenders.
 
I'm running a 5.5" lift that has sagged to about 4.5". I run 33's and had to trim the crap out of the front fenders to give me full uptravel. On extreme flex I will get into the pinch weld so I still need to hammer that down.

Pre-trim and 4.5" the tires were brand new and measured about 32" and I had rub at the rear of the fender as I flexed up and turned and then would get into the top of the fender.
motivator9100044.jpg


Sorry it's not the best pic but it's the best I have without uploading some off my phone. This is with a true 33" tire and no where near full flex. I do have rub still but it's on the control arm and non on the body.

IMAGE_340.jpg


I do have a set of TJ flares that will go on sooner or later to give it a little cleaner look. After I redo my rear suspension I may have to trim some more on the rear. We'll see.

But what you want is very doable. There was an XJ build on Pirate where the guy did a 10" stretch, 37's or 40's and about 4"s of lift. Looked like it worked really well too.


Parakeet
 
I run 33x12.50's on 3.5". I chopped the front fenders about an inch away from the body line. Cut and folded the rears.

This is all stock with a sagging 200k+ suspension on it. Cut fenders, obviously.
DSC00769.jpg


This is after the lift. 3.5". No bumpstops in the back yet. Factory up front.
IMG_0078.jpg


I dont have any good pics of flex. Sorry.

Heres a vid of it coming down a waterfall that you can see how it works.


Here is going up it.



Do it, youll love it.
 
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35's and around 6" of lift. The top of my Heep sits level with most minivans and SUV's in a parking lot, it actually sits lower than a stock Liberty.

P1020030.jpg
 
Experience and skill are much more important than tire size and lift. I have run virtually every trail in you are likely to find with an old 3" lift and 31's. I now run 35's with somewhere around 6" of lift, some trimming and Bushwackers. A couple of years ago I went full widths. That helps the tip over angle.
 
3fifity's jeep is about exactly what i was looking for, i never liked the look of jeep lifted over 6in with 33" tires it just looks goofy i drove one with 33" an 5.5 lift for awhile and i cant really say i was impressed with the looks. for some reason i like the look of them with lower lifts and big tires a lot better. Trimming inst a big deal to me and folding the rear quarter panel is a planed project. Trimming the fenders to match the tire just seem to make it appear the tires belong there.
 
Built2Flex said:
<sniff sniff> I smell uptravel issues.
Click to expand...

Yes, that is my biggest problem. /sarcasm

You do not need 8" of lift to run 35" tires. Despite what you think. After reading through the last 50 posts you've made I can see why you made that comment. Thanks for adding to the conversation. Next time, please try to add something of value or just pass on through.
 
i think people get pissed when they find out people criticize bigger lifts, because they spend the mucho denero on a 6.5"lift when it coulda been done for less, and there to stubborn to think that its possible another way and try to debunk it. All in all its personal preference, me i don't like tall lifts. And i beleive being lower is a more stable platform, have you seen the original humvee? its not jacked 10 inches to clear those tires. As for travel i don't plan on climbing cliffs or ledges. Lower lift with big tires just looks at home.
 
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Nova Wake said:
i think people get pissed when they find out people criticize bigger lifts, because they spend the mucho denero on a 6.5"lift when it coulda been done for less, and there to stubborn to think that its possible another way and try to debunk it. All in all its personal preference, me i don't like tall lifts. And i beleive being lower is a more stable platform, have you seen the original humvee? its not jacked 10 inches to clear those tires. As for travel i don't plan on climbing cliffs or ledges. Lower lift with big tires just looks at home.
Click to expand...

He's right, it's personal preference. Some like it tall, some like it low. There's no law saying you can't raise it higher if you want to. My friend has a 92 with 7" lift and 33's. He likes it and wants to go higher. I can't stop him. I prefer to be in the middle, 4-5" lift and whatever size tires, 31's or 33's. Others prefer 1-3" lift and 33's, that's fine. I'm not all into cutting up a $10k rig so i'm staying high enough to clear my tire size.
 
muddeprived said:
He's right, it's personal preference.
Click to expand...

That wasnt the argument. Built2Flex said there were uptravel issue, but there really isnt. My point is that you do not need to lift "x" amount of inches in order to run large tires. I dont care what your preference is, you dont NEED to do it.

All I was saying is that high lifts are not needed in order to run large tires and uptravel isnt nearly as important as most people think it is. 4"-5" of up travel is plenty on most rigs.

Im not going to argue which is right and which looks better. It is preference. I will argue that uptravel is not nearly as important as people think it is in a properly setup heep.
 
3fifty said:
That wasnt the argument. Built2Flex said there were uptravel issue, but there really isnt. My point is that you do not need to lift "x" amount of inches in order to run large tires. I dont care what your preference is, you dont NEED to do it.

All I was saying is that high lifts are not needed in order to run large tires and uptravel isnt nearly as important as most people think it is. 4"-5" of up travel is plenty on most rigs.

Im not going to argue which is right and which looks better. It is preference. I will argue that uptravel is not nearly as important as people think it is in a properly setup heep.
Click to expand...

Sorry I misunderstood the argument. :)

Yeah you don't need X amount of inches to fit tires but some people's style of wheeling consists of mud and those people need height more than a low center of gravity. So an 8" lift with 33's will work much better in the mud than a 4" with 33's. You have less chance of swampin your motor, flooding your interior, etc. With my TJ, i was at 5" and 33's, more than what was needed but that was cuz it was a mud machine. When I got my XJ, i was planning a LCG rig with 3" max but then the first time out in the mud got my interior wet and it was just too low for mud runs. Now I'm at 5" and 31's. It looks good, and handles the mud runs just fine. I will be at 6" and 33's next for sure.

Here's 5" and 31's

DSCF6424.jpg
 
I understand what your saying but if your into running mud then up travel still isnt an issue because you dont need it. Then then argument is about height is need for clearance, not height is needed for up travel. :)
 
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