rear coil conversion Qs

I have found three companys that make rear coil conversions for the XJ.

Clayton (http://claytonoffroad.com/product_info.php?cPath=18_68&products_id=112) $1510.00

Rock Krawler (http://rockkrawler.com/index.php?r_intro=no) $1599.00
http://www.tntcustoms.com/page.asp?pageid=255
and Trek/TNT (http://www.tntcustoms.com/page.asp?pageid=255) $2995.95

am I missing anyone?

Is there anything missing out of these kits other then coils?

Why is the Trek kit double the price of the other two?! They all look about the same minis the Clayton and RK don't have the belly pan the Trek kit has, but no belly pan is worth $1500.00 to me! All three look very beefy. And all three are very reputable names.

I'm leaning toward the RK kit right now because I have had only good experience with the few RK products I have dealt with. I really like the TNT kit as the rest of my suspension is also TNT but cant justify the ridiculous price. I have never seen anything in person from Clayton so I don't have anything to judge them by.

Thanks in advance any advice is appreciated

look again, the clayton kit does come with a belly pan, if your going of the shelf coil convertion Clayton wins hands down

If you read each of the specs, you need to purcahse additional parts. For example, witht he RK kit you need to buy a new Cat Back, Never puircahsed one I don't know how much they are but I know they are not cheap. You also need to order 2' coils. Then there is the "recomended items such as upgraded steering and bump stops. That will take you to over $3,500 (suggested retail $2,649, add $399 for the steering and $115 for the bump stops).

With the clayton kit all you are getting is the skid, coil buckets and arm, it does not include coils (atleast that I can see) which can easily run you $250 to $300. That takes you to around $2,000. That's just for the rear. You are running TnT in the front and if I am not mistaken you probably can't combine the two. So throw in their front kit and you are well over $3,500.

The TnT kit looks like it comes with everything you need and it includes a rear truss. If you are already running their arms in the front all you need to do is switch out belly pans. Then you are good to go. So for $3,000 you get everything you need in one kit.

Hope that helps and happy shopping

The TNT dosnt offer anything more then the others, If you look at the specs, you still have to buy coils, you would still have to reroute the exhaust and they all have trusses because thats the way the arms mount.

exhaust work isn't that expensive. rusty's has pretty cheap cat converters and mufflers. used coils can be had for $25-$50, if that much. bump stops can be fabbed pretty cheap, no where near $115. why do you have to upgrade the steering? not saying it isn't a good idea, and if you are gonna run rear coils you probably need to to handle the hardcore trails, but you don't have to.

use stock frt xj coils out back for 6" wich can be had for free

I have the RK 4 link on the back of mine...but I'm running Fox Coilovers so I can't help much with the spring selection. However, I do really like mine....the ride is so smooth, and the flex is unreal. Pretty good street manners too, I just wish I had an anti-rock on the rear....the coilovers love to unload on off camber stuff.

SharkXJ said:

If you read each of the specs, you need to purcahse additional parts. For example, witht he RK kit you need to buy a new Cat Back, Never puircahsed one I don't know how much they are but I know they are not cheap. You also need to order 2' coils. Then there is the "recomended items such as upgraded steering and bump stops. That will take you to over $3,500 (suggested retail $2,649, add $399 for the steering and $115 for the bump stops).

With the clayton kit all you are getting is the skid, coil buckets and arm, it does not include coils (atleast that I can see) which can easily run you $250 to $300. That takes you to around $2,000. That's just for the rear. You are running TnT in the front and if I am not mistaken you probably can't combine the two. So throw in their front kit and you are well over $3,500.

The TnT kit looks like it comes with everything you need and it includes a rear truss. If you are already running their arms in the front all you need to do is switch out belly pans. Then you are good to go. So for $3,000 you get everything you need in one kit.

Hope that helps and happy shopping

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now that's some pretty terrible advice IMO... I was gonna pick this post apart, but I just don't have the patience.

To be helpful to the OP... I run Clayton arms in the front, and multiple people in my local club run the Clayton stuff on their TJs, and I can attest to the fact that it is VERY beefy, and that it's just an all around quality product. I personally don't have any experience with RK's LA/rear coil conversion, and the TNT kit is brand new to the market, so we'll have to wait a bit and see how people like it. If I were in the market for a rear coil conversion, however, judging by my personal experiences and the prices you've got posted, I would go with the Claytons without a doubt. I agree... I can't see how the TNT kit is literally twice as good, and my previous good experiences with products from Clayton would lean me towards choosing theirs over the RK.

Now, more importantly...Why do you want a rear coil conversion? Reason I ask is because there are many people out there with some extremely hardcore rigs that do very well, who are still running the coil front/leaf rear suspension setups. Before deciding on *which* coil conversion you want, make sure to do your research and be sure that it will be a mod worth your time/money/effort in the first place.

Good Luck and happy wheelin :thumbup:

I have to agree with 5spd XJ, in do you really need coils in the rear? Speaking from experience here....I think leafs can be made to perform almost as well, if not better in most situations. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my 4-link, but sometimes it is overkill and poses more problems than leafs would.

The leafs make the rig a lot more stable, and a lot more predictable. Just FYI..I have 2 XJ's...one with leafs in the rear, and the one I mentioned above with the 4-link. In many and most cases, I feel a lot more comfortable on most obstacles with the one with leafs. Main reason for that is I can actually "feel" what is going on with the leafs...where as the 4-link goes through it's range of motion soooo smooth that it goes from being all good and fine, to "ohhhh chit I feel like I'm going to fall on my head"!!

Now my problem with the 4-link would be solved by putting in a sway bar or limit straps ( which would put me back in the same flex department as leafs with the straps ), but the sway bar is $400 bucks, and the rear 4-link was around $2,000. So it's a huge chunk of change to throw down for something you might not "really" need.

But that's just my honest opinion having both options and experiencing them on the trail. If you do decided to do the 4-link I think you will really enjoy it. The ride is soooo nice compared to leafs.

Y waste money on a kit that limmits you to coils? why dont you just link it (or spend the money youd have spent on a kit and have some one link it) and run coilovers? All in all it would come out close to the same cost.

I've got the clayton kit am I would say the kit is great, but I will tell you that there is acclamation period. I just ran bald mountain a few weekends ago with a few other guys (a few jeeps that were well equiped...but not xj's) and I will have to say for 95% of what we did the rear coils performed great. its the 5% that will have you real nervous. I officially hate off camber stuff which in a regular xj wouldn't bother me a bit. but it seems like the wheelbase and the rear coils seem to work well otherwise.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=802138


The rear upper coil mounts on the TNT kit sure seem a lot more involved and sturdy "from the kit" than what the RK upper coil mounts are.

Im in the last stages of putting on a RK rear coil conversion on my 90XJ and I have to agree with the guy above that points out just getting links, brackets and CO or airshocks would be about the same price and about the same install complexity.


FWIW, with the RK kit, I was able to slide the rear link mounts back about 6 inches (to the front of the leaf spring bracket) on the uni frame and reverse the upper coil mounts L-R R-L do a little ginding here and there and get a 6" stretch

(My XJ was already stretched previously by reversing the leaf springs so obviously theres more to get a stretch done than that, compcut, fuel tank move, brake lines, longer driveshaft, all that good chit..)

I had originally asked for just getting longer lower and upper arms and RK really wasnt interested in doing that for me ???


one thing I dont like though is those TJ rear coils are very short springs, about 1/2 the length of the front springs. Seems like you would have limit you rear droop a lot more, than if you had CO or Airshocks. I dont know for sure.

I do alot of off camber hills here so I might have to rethink my intentions. I was looking for better flex, handling, and departure angle, and a balanced front and rear suspension. I think I cant make due with what I have to work with and install these HD offroad shackle relocaters.

any of those kits are great. but i cant justify the extra grand for the TNT kit. im thinking about linking my rear, but building it on my own. i can make it beefier then any off the shelf kit, for about 500 bucks less then the clayton kit.

then again, if all your looking for is a little better departure angle flipping the rear leafs will help there. youll just need a ladder bar to help with axle wrap

POLAR_JEEP_04 said:

I do alot of off camber hills here so I might have to rethink my intentions. I was looking for better flex, handling, and departure angle, and a balanced front and rear suspension. I think I cant make due with what I have to work with and install these HD offroad shackle relocaters.

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Roughly how much lift are you running? What I would do personally is, try and find the flattest leaf setup possible, then go to Treks ( T&T ) and get their U-bolt eliminator kit that will give you around an 1"-1.5" lift, and then install the shackle relocator's.....oh and get an anti wrap bar of some kind on there.

I think that setup right there would perform awesome. You'll get the added flex and better ride from the flatter springs and relocating the shackle, but still have the stability on the off camber stuff. I've been tossing around that idea on my other XJ, just haven't gotten around to doing it just yet.

If somebody wants rear coils in their jeep, wouldn't it be easier to start with a Jeep Grand Cherokee that comes stock with rear coils, and then go from there?

jeeperguy21 said:

If somebody wants rear coils in their jeep, wouldn't it be easier to start with a Jeep Grand Cherokee that comes stock with rear coils, and then go from there?

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this is a good point!

jeeperguy21 said:

If somebody wants rear coils in their jeep, wouldn't it be easier to start with a Jeep Grand Cherokee that comes stock with rear coils, and then go from there?

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Yeah it'd be a crap ton easier to do it that way, but I'm not that fond of the Grand Cherokee body style...I like the looks of the XJ a lot more

but you can get one with a V8 for the same price as the TNT kit

POLAR_JEEP_04 said:

but you can get one with a V8 for the same price as the TNT kit

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LOL.... could'nt have said it better!!!! atriot: