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Rough Country lift - good or bad? Give your "final" opinion

Goatslayer said:
The current rear is CJ springs with 2" blocks, shackles, and AAL and will be replaced by full leaf packs, no AAL. One of the springs is bent a little so I've gotta swap it out. I'm hoping that I can remove the blocks from the rear too. They welded a truss onto the 8.8" rear and there's a single anti-wrap/traction bar running off of it so there may have been some axle wrap issues. Getting rid of those blocks would help out.

How damn heavy is that box???? My XJ has two JL 12s in the rear (came with it) and I konw the box isn't too heavy.


For those of you running RC kits, is it an AAL kit or full leaf packs? Guess I should've asked people to specify when I started this thread, as that may make a difference in the sag department :dunno:
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Prolly majority are running the AAL and not the full leaf packs. And my current speaker box hasnt been weighed but runs 2 jl W7s so add that up for weight............. ummm its more than a lot!!!
 
I havent read anything on this post about bump-stops. Extending your bump-stops will extentd the life of your springs. I have a Rustys 4.5" and after 10 months im probably at 4.5" now. I think I was closer to 5.5" when they were installed. Im looking at bump-stop extentions to reduce any further sag.
 
XJedi23 said:
I havent read anything on this post about bump-stops. Extending your bump-stops will extentd the life of your springs. I have a Rustys 4.5" and after 10 months im probably at 4.5" now. I think I was closer to 5.5" when they were installed. Im looking at bump-stop extentions to reduce any further sag.
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That'll just make sure it doesn't flex upward too far, right? There are bumpstops on the rear axle right now and I can figure out if I need something longer front and rear when I get the springs in. I'll be getting full flex, compression, and sitting still measurements so I can get the right size shocks so that'll be the time for me to figure out how long of bumpstops I need. With the way this thing was set up I don't think I can simply order shocks for the lift so measurements are necessary :eek:
 
i talked to rough country about bumpstoping their lift kits, and they told me not to. they said that unless my wheel/tire setup is to big or to offset and would cause body damage, not to worry about bumpstoping.

they said that bumpstoping would only make you loose the flex you just paid good money for and that they guarantee their springs not to sag from overflexing. so i tried it on both of my jeeps. the lift and tire size i'm running right now is just perfect i think. i can stuff my tires until they just barely start to rub in the top of the wheelwell, and at that point my knuckles make contact with the coil springs.

they've also been really good so far about replacing parts with super fast response. (bolt broke off on my quick disconnect and lost parts of it on the road. so they send me a whole new setup)
 
Bumpstopping may not matter too much w/ leafs but be careful with your tires.... As for "just getting" into offroading why are you running leafs all the way around anyways?

Basically I go by the "you get what you pay for" philosophy. I personally think RC, and the like are crap but that's just me.... I do know, for a fact, a guy running the RC kit that wheels with us some. It doesnt flex much, HE hates it's road characteristics, and is about to dump it and go RE....

BUT you have to make your own decisions.

EDIT: Scorpio Vette... have you ever wheeled your Jeep really hard? I mean taken it out, loaded down, and wheeled it for 3 or 4 days. I bet you would notice those RC springs would go to crap really fast. Especially not bumpstopped properly.
 
I have had the RC 4.5" lift kit for 4 years now. I think it is a pretty good deal, but the shocks they send you are crap. Mine rode horrible until i replaced the shocks, but now it rides fine. Also, I did have to replace the rear leaves after about 2 years because I allways have about 200lbs of crap in the back, and a full size spare on the bumper. I replaced the springs with RE and now they are shot allready, and I did not notice any difference in ride or flex.
 
uncc civilengineer said:
EDIT: Scorpio Vette... have you ever wheeled your Jeep really hard? I mean taken it out, loaded down, and wheeled it for 3 or 4 days. I bet you would notice those RC springs would go to crap really fast. Especially not bumpstopped properly.
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3-4 days straight???...NO..........5 weekends back to back driving 2 hours there and back home........YEAH.

i've had my RC lift on for 1 year now, and i beat on it as hard as i can and still be able to drive it home. i'm not one to back down from a challenge, so my cherokee gets beat/abused and hung up quite a bit. so far i haven't had any problems with my RC lift.
 
uncc civilengineer said:
As for "just getting" into offroading why are you running leafs all the way around anyways?
Click to expand...

I bought it set up with a leaf spring front. It'll be easier and cheaper to leave it as a leaf spring front than go back to coil spring, as I'll need a new axle with the spring mounts and who knows what else if I want to go back to coil springs.
 
cuboulder96xj said:
you'll need to, if you plan on daily driving it, i'd get discos. night and day difference, at least with my rig.
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Well, I just decided that I'm not going to buy the quick disconnects and I'm 100% sure I don't need them. I was pretty sure I didn't have a rear sway bar so I went out to make sure before I priced them out.

While I was laying on the wet blacktop with a flashlight I got confirmation on what I already thought - I don't have a rear sway bar. So since I was already damp I decided to check out the front to see if there were already disconects on the swqy bar. During this time I discovered that I don't have a front sway bar either.


Wonder why the previous owner didn't didn't put a front sway bar on :dunno: Would the lack of sway bars contribute to DEATH WOBBLE?


So anyway...if I decide to install sway bars I'll get quick disconnects for both ends. I'll have to do some research to find out what work I have to do and what parts I need if I add sway bars. I wouldn't mind damping some of the body roll I get on the street.
 
Goatslayer said:
Well, I just decided that I'm not going to buy the quick disconnects and I'm 100% sure I don't need them. I was pretty sure I didn't have a rear sway bar so I went out to make sure before I priced them out.

While I was laying on the wet blacktop with a flashlight I got confirmation on what I already thought - I don't have a rear sway bar. So since I was already damp I decided to check out the front to see if there were already disconects on the swqy bar. During this time I discovered that I don't have a front sway bar either.


Wonder why the previous owner didn't didn't put a front sway bar on :dunno: Would the lack of sway bars contribute to DEATH WOBBLE?


So anyway...if I decide to install sway bars I'll get quick disconnects for both ends. I'll have to do some research to find out what work I have to do and what parts I need if I add sway bars. I wouldn't mind damping some of the body roll I get on the street.
Click to expand...

Really "DEATH WOBBLE" is not contributed to having no front sway bar. As for adding one in the rear you really dont need it. It doesnt do much but hinder your flex. As for on road the rear will do minimal to your driving. Add the front one back on and it will make your rig handle a lot better on the street, thats for sure. Discos for the front would be a great investment especially if your plan on wheeling this rig from time to time.
 
find yourself a swaybar for the front, and get a set of quick disconnects for it. then you'll be happy. don't worry about the rear, as some of the cherokees didn't even have the rear ones on from the factory. first thing i did to my cherokee was throw the rear swaybar away and put disconnects on the front. you'll love it.
 
I have had my 6.5'' lift for about a year. It's not bad at all. Gets good bit of flex, just a bit stiff. It's not a sports car so it doesn't bother me. Running 35's so had to trim fender but all in all a good investment.
 
I have ran two 4.5" RC lifts. One on my old 1993 and one on my 1996. Dont good AAL because its garbage. I will admit, the ride can be stiff. The price is good. If I had more money I would have thought about something else. But it is worth it.
 
I'm on my 2nd RC lift kit. 1st was 3" full leaf, not bad, they sagged after a while of being loaded down with moving cross country. My 2nd (and current) is the 4.5 rock kit, stiff yes, better shocks will improve the road ride.

If you got the $$ yeah go with RE, maybe better quality or last longer, I dont know because I have only had RC kits. I like RC, they are cheap in price, and have done me good in the past.
 
Last edited:
does RC have a "flex" joint in the arms for their kits??
 
I bought the 4" with new packs in the rear with the DT shocks... Good price, but thats about all I liked about it. It has sagged at least 2 inches and rides like the axles are welded to the unibody. I have had the lift on for about 1.5 years and am currently looking to replace it. Not a satisfied customer.
 
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