• Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Bigger tires vs suspension

Jeep450r

Jeep450r

NAXJA Forum User
NAXJA Member
Location
Nor*cal
So my setup right now is 4.5" RC lift w/ short arms and 31's.

What would be more beneficial:
- Re-gear and bump up to 33's?
-Shackle relocation, sye, and home made long arms (or drop brackets)?
-Something else? (other options)

I will be running mainly rocks, and would eventually like to give the rubicon a shot.
 
IMO

Re-gear
drop brackets (or LA's if you can afford em')
shackle relocation brackets (+1")
1" Coil spacers
35"s
 
I don't really want to go to 35's with the D30.. Not that I don't think it will handle it, but because this is my DD and the brakes will suck... more
 
I am in the exact same predicament. (same lift and tires) I think I am going to 33's. Would like 35's but don't want to break axles. I am on the turdy and 8.25 and am afraid of 35's locked with them. I figure 33's, gears, lockers, shackle relocation and some armor and I will be pretty happy for a while. I figure long arms can wait. My short arms do fine the way they are. I would like some adjustable uppers though to adjust my pinion and try to get my bumpstops out of my springs. Thoughts???
 
dont do 35s. theres a lot more you'll need to upgrade when you do so. stick with 4.5" lift but go with a longarm setup. 33s will be perfect if you re gear, trim and bumpstop
 
Mine is just a mostly just a wheeler right now and I really didn't notice a HUGE difference over stock....some, but not a lot.
 
My line of thinking is that bigger tires go over bigger rocks, but at the same time long arms have been the best investment I've made by far. 33's and LA's are my vote, especially for the rocks. I've got drop brackets on my 01 right now and those stupid things hit every time i come down off a rock or ledge. The ride isn't too bad with them but compared to my long armed 89 you'd think there's no suspension on it at all. MUCH smoother with the LA's.
 
Jeep450r said:
I don't really want to go to 35's with the D30.. Not that I don't think it will handle it, but because this is my DD and the brakes will suck... more
Click to expand...

The brakes on my 2001 XJ were not great when running 31"s. After changing to 33"s, the brake were totally inadequate, requiring a bunch of money to rectify.
If it is a daily driver, you need to upgrade the front and rear brakes to be able to stop in a reasonable distance, while at freeway speeds.
The brakes need to handle the extra load of the larger tires and also the extras weight of the skids, bumper, control arms, etc… It’s easy to weigh over 4000 lbs before loading extra travel gear.
The stock brakes were designed for a 3400 lb vehicle running 28" tires.
 
winkosmosis said:
You don't mind how harsh bumps are with shortarms on 4.5"?
Click to expand...

Yeah its pretty harsh... I think I'm gunna go the suspension route unless you guys can convince me otherwise. Gears are expensive anyway haha.
 
From a ride/handling standpoint, if you're not going to go with 33"s, drop down to 2"-3" of lift.

You didn't really state why you wanted to change. Overall, it sounds like you're going bigger and bigger. So the thing to think about is to try not to spend money on things you'll end up doing again(and again,.. :D)

From the options listed, for a mainly off-road and rocks rig, I'd say do the suspension option:
Leave it at 4.5" and long arm the front. Play with shackles if you think there may be a problem there. SYE and drive shaft.
If you weren't into rocks as much, I'd recommend drop brackets. The problem is, if most of what you do is play in the rocks, you'll eventually toss drop brackets because of the "bashing on rocks" problem and go long arms anyway.

By the way, if you want to do the Rubicon, GO! Don't put it off until you have the perfect rig. The rig you have will be fine. Gather up a couple friends, make sure somebody has a winch, get your recovery gear in order and hit the trail. You will not regret it.
 
The Nurse said:
Mine is just a mostly just a wheeler right now and I really didn't notice a HUGE difference over stock....some, but not a lot.
Click to expand...
That's what I said... till I got a stock MJ as a DD. Never realized what a change it really was till I got out of the XJ and right into the MJ to drive it home.

I say 32s, 33s, or drop brackets / longarms. What year is yours? If it's a 94 or earlier, upgrade the brake booster to a double diaphragm and your brakes will improve - cheap (~$30-60 plus fluid that you probably should flush at this point anyways) and fairly easy. 95/96 XJ booster/MC or 99-whatever WJ booster/MC are what you should get.
 
Here's input from my experience.

Armor and lockers.
Then tires.
Gonna pay for better arms? Get a 3 link or don't waste money.
4.88's make ring/pinion more succeptible to breaking.
The less lift the better
armor armor armor
learn to drive what ya got before ya get bigger shit. Every asshole can toss mo ey/parts at something to make it handle shit. Learn to drive smaller setup and when yiu go bigger then you can appreciate what you are capable of with new stuff.

Fwiw I can lock up my tires on my STOCK 30. I run locker, beadlocks, and 35's. Just fine tune and it works fine. (dual diaphram helps a lot)

armor armor armor
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
A few comments on RC 4.5" long arm setup
Replies
2
Views
3K
maxbraketorque
M
F
Shackle Relocation - IronMan4x4 Brackets
2
Replies
25
Views
6K
dktool
D
X
Help me my Obi Wan Kenobi's
2 3
Replies
47
Views
13K
75SV1
7
K
How does backspacing affect handling? 3.75 vs 4.5 backspacing for 31 x 10's?
Replies
11
Views
4K
XJEEPER
XJEEPER
M
Test fitting RC 4.5" long arm on 2000 XJ
Replies
10
Views
4K
RCP Phx
R
Back
Top