The Good, The BAD, The Ugly!!!

[DelmarvaXJ]

Thanks man, exactly what I was looking for, personal experience and what works for you guys and how it might help me. thanks Also what lift kit is that, or did you piece yours together?

 

[xjbubba]

On the other hand---I have BFG 33x12.5's on 10 inch rims, with 4.5 inches of back spacing. I generally run arround 12-15psi in the rocks, and have run as low as 6psi in the snow--I've never popped a bead.

 

[rpraterxj]

Thanks man, exactly what I was looking for, personal experience and what works for you guys and how it might help me. thanks Also what lift kit is that, or did you piece yours together?

That is the RE 4.5" short arm kit with adjustable upper and lower control arms, and the control arm drop brackets. I have ACOS in the front and 1.25" schackle in the rear. I am running Bilstein 5150 shocks all the way around.

FWIW, when I air down, I go to 12 psi. No problems with the bead and the tires stick pretty dang good.

I am very satisified with the drivability and off-road performmance of the lift. Now I need to upgrade the steering and brakes... coming soon!

Hope that helps!

When you get ready to buy, check out the vendors. They help keep this site running!

Thanks!

 

[DelmarvaXJ]

That is the RE 4.5" short arm kit with adjustable upper and lower control arms, and the control arm drop brackets. I have ACOS in the front and 1.25" schackle in the rear. I am running Bilstein 5150 shocks all the way around.

FWIW, when I air down, I go to 12 psi. No problems with the bead and the tires stick pretty dang good.

I am very satisified with the drivability and off-road performmance of the lift. Now I need to upgrade the steering and brakes... coming soon!

Hope that helps!

When you get ready to buy, check out the vendors. They help keep this site running!

Thanks!

Just wondering what you just said, you really don't have a 5" lift, it's more like 6" or 6.5". Since you have the RE 4.5" which equals around 5" to 5.5" plus the 1.25" shackle.... Would I be wrong, I'm still new to this stuff, so I could be wrong...thanks

 

[rpraterxj]

Just wondering what you just said, you really don't have a 5" lift, it's more like 6" or 6.5". Since you have the RE 4.5" which equals around 5" to 5.5" plus the 1.25" shackle.... Would I be wrong, I'm still new to this stuff, so I could be wrong...thanks

The springs will settle, plus the weight of the bumpers, gear, and my fat a$$ bring it down a little. Without the gear, it sits close to 6".

A few other things you will want to consider - gears, lockers, slip yoke eliminator, & driveshafts. Gears and lockers are NOT neccessary, but your rig will over-work itself and you will notice the difference if you go to 33" tires without re-gearing. It's not terrible. I ran stock gears (3.55) for several months. I lost about 3 MPG and lost speed going up large hills, but I still drove it. I had to and could not afford the gears at the time. Once I changed the gears and installed the lockers, I had to learn to drive it all over again! I now run 4.88 gears (for 35" tires eventually), a Detroit full locker in the rear, and a True-Trac in the front. I wish I would have gone selectable in front and rear - OX Locker.

Overall, I am satisfied with my XJ, but it will never be finished!:laugh2: There will ALWAYS be something I can change or improve on it....

eace:

 

[DelmarvaXJ]

Thanks for your input, so your saying that I will regain my stock driver ablity from upping the gears from 3.55 to 3.75 or 4.10?

 

[rpraterxj]

Thanks for your input, so your saying that I will regain my stock driver ablity from upping the gears from 3.55 to 3.75 or 4.10?

Not at all. There are several threads on gearing and the pro's/con's and opinions of each.

Most folks run 4.56 gears with 33" tires. If you run a manual trans, then maybe 4.11 would be OK. If you plan on running 33's, I recommend 4.56 with an automatic.

There are some calculators out there as well that will help you figure out the better gear/tire ratio to stay close to stock ratio. I am not a math nor gear wiz and can only tell you the info is out there.

 

[DelmarvaXJ]

Reverse rotation, or standard rotation gear sets?

 

[XJEEPER]

Over the years I've tried lots of stuff, Rancho, Pro-Comp, Tera, RE and have been the most satisfied with RE components. This time I went with TNT's upgrade kit, supplied my own RE coils and leaves. Lift's been on for a week and no trail time yet to so it's premature to make a call......but the TNT stuff is well built.

As for your monster truck tire theory........:confused1

A wide wheel will loose a bead faster than the same size tire running the same pressure on a narrower wheel, real world experience talking here. A 12.50 will require more trimming....and even more trimming to run a 10" rim. Forget the wheel charts, an 8" wheel with proper BS will be a better choice for 12.50's. Better yet, jump up to a 16" wheel and you'll have even less sidewall deflection, worked for me.

For gears, I ran 4:56's with an auto and 33" tall tire on my last Jeep and it lacked power on the hills......my newly installed 4:88's are perfect. I can't even tell I went from a 27" tall tire to a 33. 65 mph RPM is 2400 when cruising, first tank of fuel is netted the same mileage as pre-lift......not bad, considering the larger rolling resistance, ground pressure from a large contact patch, decrease in aerodynamics due to taller rig, heavier components/armor.......won't find any of those catagories on your Proper Gear Ratio Formula Chart.

 

[Georgia Mike]

I keep hearing that RE LA's get bent from hitting rocks, which I won't be doing.

If you're not gonna be doing any rock crawling, don't worry about bending the RE long arms. Besides, you've gotta be doing some pretty major rock bashing (or need some driving lessons) to bend 2" DOM with 1/4" wall thickness, which is what the RE long arms are made from, IIRC. Especially under a lightweight rig like an XJ.....

 

[DelmarvaXJ]

If you're not gonna be doing any rock crawling, don't worry about bending the RE long arms. Besides, you've gotta be doing some pretty major rock bashing (or need some driving lessons) to bend 2" DOM with 1/4" wall thickness, which is what the RE long arms are made from, IIRC. Especially under a lightweight rig like an XJ.....

Good point; but you have it backwards, I said earlier that I would'nt be rock crawling so I would'nt be worrying about bending or messing up the RE LA's. But I also agree that if you can bend those arms then you are not a good driver.

 

[Motorvated]

Ide never run an RE longarm kit. MAYBE they are differant for the XJ, but I know they have been having a lot of problems bending the arms on TJs. Right at the ends, they bend like plastic.

 

[RCP Phx]

Reverse rotation, or standard rotation gear sets?

OMG!!!You dont get a choice!

 

[RCP Phx]

Besides, you've gotta be doing some pretty major rock bashing (or need some driving lessons) to bend 2" DOM with 1/4" wall thickness, which is what the RE long arms are made from, IIRC.

RE LA's are made with chromoly!
http://www.rubiconexpress.com/Products.aspx?Cn=263&Pn=1982&XnPath=173,180,251,263&Vid=34CB811915229

 

[Georgia Mike]

My bad......but that's even better than DOM! eace:

But I did add "IIRC"-LOL! My memory ain't what it used to be, I guess....