Rough Country Series 2 3" lift, bushwhacker cut outs, and other Q's

Fixing to install a 3 inch Rough Country Series 2 kit with full leafs. I am also installing Bushwhacker cut out flares. Sway bay Quick Discos are in the near future as well. I was able to pick up the lift brand new for $200 and the flares used for $125 on Craigslist.

My question is, with this combination, what is the best tire size to go with on some black steelies that will prevent rubbing, let me flex out the suspension, yet fill out the cut out flares in a respectable manner?

Also, will I need to do a Transfer Case drop and Pittman Drop for this kit? And anyone have any feedback on how the kit is?

Thanks for the help. College student on a budget, just trying to feed my addiction.

I am running an RE 3.5" lift with bushwhacker cut-outs and 33x12.50r15 BFG KM2s on 15x8 black steelies with 3.75" backspacing. When I first put the lift on I actually netted close to 4.25" lift but it has settled in now so I am probably at 3.5-3.75" lift. Never actually seen how much an RC 3" lift actually nets but I can tell you with where my lift is right now and my tire and wheel combination the tire fills out the wheel well nicely and I got just a tiny bit of rubbing at the back bottom corner of the passenger side front flare but I massaged it a little to get it so it didn't rub under normal driving conditions. I am still running stock bumpstopping so I can make the tires contact the flares but I get a decent amount of flex out of it before they do. The tires do make contact with the lower control arms when turned at full lock but its not much and I barely notice it only occasionally and I can see where it contacts the arm because a little bit of the paint is rubbed off but its not enough for me to be concerned about really. While I like how it is I do plan to go up some more in lift with some coil spacers and shackle relocation brackets in the future.

Here is a recent photo of how it looks right now.



If you want to see more pics of angles or questions just let me know. Good luck!

Ben824 said:

I am running an RE 3.5" lift with bushwhacker cut-outs and 33x12.50r15 BFG KM2s on 15x8 black steelies with 3.75" backspacing. When I first put the lift on I actually netted close to 4.25" lift but it has settled in now so I am probably at 3.5-3.75" lift. Never actually seen how much an RC 3" lift actually nets but I can tell you with where my lift is right now and my tire and wheel combination the tire fills out the wheel well nicely and I got just a tiny bit of rubbing at the back bottom corner of the passenger side front flare but I massaged it a little to get it so it didn't rub under normal driving conditions. I am still running stock bumpstopping so I can make the tires contact the flares but I get a decent amount of flex out of it before they do. The tires do make contact with the lower control arms when turned at full lock but its not much and I barely notice it only occasionally and I can see where it contacts the arm because a little bit of the paint is rubbed off but its not enough for me to be concerned about really. While I like how it is I do plan to go up some more in lift with some coil spacers and shackle relocation brackets in the future.


If you want to see more pics of angles or questions just let me know. Good luck!

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Awesome, thanks for the help! Do you have discos? I was just wondering how much of your tire you can shove into the remainding fenders when disconnected. Also, are you running stock lower control arms? I'll probably try to go with some 32's I guess to make sure I have good clearance.

Also, I really like your jeep man, looks clean and functional. What kind of rocker panel/slider protection are you running? Is it a homebrew or what brand?

danjr2010 said:

Awesome, thanks for the help! Do you have discos? I was just wondering how much of your tire you can shove into the remainding fenders when disconnected. Also, are you running stock lower control arms? I'll probably try to go with some 32's I guess to make sure I have good clearance.

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I do have JKS discos and I can stuff the tire decently well before it makes contact with the fender. I am currently running a set of RC x-flex arms upper and lower that I got for a steal in the classifieds in my local chapter and rebuilt the bushing and flex joints. 32s would look good with this setup and have very good flex I will say that I would not go with 31s with the BW flares as that is what I had when I first put the flares on before I went and got my 33s mounted up and it looked really awkward with that size tire.

danjr2010 said:

Also, I really like your jeep man, looks clean and functional. What kind of rocker panel/slider protection are you running? Is it a homebrew or what brand?

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Thanks man I appreciate it I have had this thing for 9 years now and I wanted a mix between the off-road look and also a clean look. I intend on bumping up the lift a little more and adding bumpers in the future but I am picky with my choices as I want to make sure it still looks clean.

The rocker guards are a homebrew that another member from my local area made for me.

I would say the three necessities to go with your lift right from the beginning are: DROP PITMAN ARM, TRANSFER CASE DROP (because you are doing a mild 3" it should be fine), AFTERMARKET LOWER CONTROL ARMS. if you are going to be running 33s you need to upgrade your lower control arms. i wouldn't even daily drive it with stock LCAs because they tend to turn into pretzels. i mean even if you were running 31s and decided to go nuts with the jeep in a rough area you may bend them. craigslist is awesome as you seem to know. find some adjustable lower control arms on there for about $100/125 used. can't go wrong. also you should consider extended brake lines when you can afford them ($90 from crown auto)
Good luck man!

Thanks a lot for the input. I've heard mixed things about the pitman drop, but will probably do a transfer case drop while saving for an sye. The kit I got came with lower control arms, so I should be good there. Installed the rear leaf springs last night, how much settling should i expect? Because the lift looks to be much larger than 3". I wonder if who i bought it from didn't know what he had.

Drop pitman arm you wont need, I'm at aroud 5 inches of lift and I dont even need one.

The pitman arm isn't something you NEED just a good idea a taller lift heights but 3" it would be unnecessary.

Every spring brand is a little different. The quality of the spring will determine amount of settling and sag. I put RE spings on mine and they maybe have settled 1/2"-3/4" over the 4 years that I have run them. RC however has a very bad rep of severely sagging springs so in a few months you may see it squatting out back pretty bad or you may not. RC is very good with customer service and following through with warranty claims so if that were to happen call them up and they should send you a new set no problem.

If you decide you do want a drop pitman arm I have a brand new in box pro comp drop pitman arm I would let go for 50 shipped to you. 40 if you go red. One of many perks to being a member.

What front brush guard is that? I love it.

Surprised nobody mentioned a trackbar. Forget the drop pitman arm at that height. I'm also at 5" in the front and see zero need for one. I do however, feel a trackbar becomes a necessity around 3".

DanMan2k06 said:

Surprised nobody mentioned a trackbar. Forget the drop pitman arm at that height. I'm also at 5" in the front and see zero need for one. I do however, feel a trackbar becomes a necessity around 3".

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You are the first person I have ever heard say a track bar is a necessesity with a 3" lift and I have been wheeling, wrenching, and lifting jeeps for 11 years. While a new track bar is a very very good idea it is not necessary. I ran a stock one with a 3" lift for 4 years before I replaced it and it did not break and held up fine with some pretty tough abuse. I only replaced it to gain more flex and wanted something that could handle more lift in the future.

squirrels said:

What front brush guard is that? I love it.

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I believe it is a RAM brand guard. I bought it secondhand from a neighbor who couldn't remember exactly what brand it was.

yeah i take back the pitman arm haha i sometimes have flashbacks of my pickups. not really a big deal on the XJ at 3 inches but i think a strong steering upgrade is something good to save for in the near future.

Installed the rear leaf springs last night, how much settling should i expect? Because the lift looks to be much larger than 3". I wonder if who i bought it from didn't know what he had.

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most people forget to factor in that your jeep had sagged suspension when you got it. it's 3 inches of lift from stock height so you may gain a few more inches than you expected from it.

the lift will take a while to settle but my girlfriend had the same RC setup in her XJ and ran it with no shocks for about a month due to a shock length mix-up and even hers didn't settle down after a years time at all

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