Lift kits, Tire Size, and Low COG questions

I have spent the last few months trolling through , JP Expedition, XJ Great lakes, etc... forums trying to get a handle on the realistic tire size with respect to suspension lifts. What I am finding very confusing is the fact that there are numerous posts indicating that you can fit a 33" tire with trimming and a 3" lift yet there are an equal number of photos showing 5 1/2" lifts with 33's that seem to have little room left for suspension travel without damaging the sheetmetal.

The truck is a 1995 2 door xj that I plan on modifying. I expect to use Bushwacker flares and trim the wheel wells out in addition to a suspension lift.
1) if I run a 33X10.50 tire (with wheel well trimming), what is the minimum suspension lift I should be looking at while attempting to keep the cog low? I liked the low cog thread and would like to keep to that concept while still having a fair amount of wheel travel.

2) Does running a long arm kit even with a 3" lift improve the overall suspenion performace and handling of the truck?

3) Do the suspension manufacturer's take trimming into account when they publish the maximum tire size and how much is really left in the wheel well for the tire to travel?

Truck will spend 80% of time on asphalt while the remaining 20% will be spent on intermediate trails (No serious rock crawling and/or mud bogging).

I realize that someone will post that I should search the forums and I have spent a fair amout of time doing that. Thanks for any advice in advance. BTW, sites like this are awesome compared to 20 years ago when we had a limited number of people to discuss the pro's and con's of the mods we were planning on doing.

1) if I run a 33X10.50 tire (with wheel well trimming), what is the minimum suspension lift I should be looking at while attempting to keep the cog low? I liked the low cog thread and would like to keep to that concept while still having a fair amount of wheel travel.

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You could run a 2" spacer and a shackle and stuff 33"s under it with trimming, so I would run about a 3-3.5" lift ideally to run 33s especially with bushwackers you will be good.

2) Does running a long arm kit even with a 3" lift improve the overall suspension performance and handling of the truck?

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Yes a long arm kit will help out no matter what size of kit it is, however it may be hard to find a 3" long arm kit you may need to do something custom.

3) Do the suspension manufacturer's take trimming into account when they publish the maximum tire size and how much is really left in the wheel well for the tire to travel?

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No most don't and they base it off of usage on the road not flexing or rock crawling, this is most all kits that I install at work at least. And most of the time they say you can do a certain size of tire but nine times out of ten you need to trim a little at least.

i run 33x12.5's with only a little trimming and they stuff just fine. keeps the cog low and makes you wider so more stable

To me 3" seems like a weird lift. The control arm is at such an angle that the ride is probably much worse than 2" lift, yet you can't upgrade to long arms.

Remember though, COG depends on the height of the vehicle, not the amount of lift. A 3" lift with 33" tires will give the same cog as a 4" lift with 31" tires. If you really want low COG, I think it makes more sense to have 2" and 31", with full skid plates.

Another thing to take in account if you want a low COG is backspacing. If you have bushwackers then you will have more room to widen tires. You could get wider tires, or a wheel with more backspacing to widen your stance.