lift question

I have a 98 xj lifted with a 3-1/2" RE lift and they put 1-3/4" spacers in the front bringing the front lift to 5-1/4". The control arms are from the 3-1/2" lift and are set in the stock brackets(on the uni body). My brother won some 5-1/2" coils at tierra del sol and gave them to me so I am getting rid of the spacer in the front and this is where the question starts. I am going back and forth between the long arm convertion kit or the kit that drops the control arms. I mainly use my jeep for hunting but get into more technical stuff a few times a year. Is the long arm kit worth the extra 7 or 8 hundred bucks? or is there a better choice than these 2, I did see an XJ with control arms that where bent to make the angles right.

I am currently running 31s and 4:56s but plan on going with 33s on the next tire change out.

Any help will be appritiated
thanks, Ron

The bent arms are bent to clear the mounts, they do nothing to fix the angles.

As far as drop brackets vs. long arms, the debate can go on forever
I just added drop brackets after running without them for years and WOW it makes a huge difference!
If you can, come on out to calico and watch rigs with both types, then decide what would work best for you

Edit: one other thing to consider: most LA kits come with a beefed up crossmember, so if you want/need one you may want to factor that in.
If your just trying to make your rig not ride like a covered wagon, the DB's should do the trick

My jeep rides exactly the same going from drop brackets with Rubicon express super flex uppers and lowers to TNT long arm. But its super beffey now! I decided to go to long arms after this....

Simple, set your budget first, then build your Cherokee to your budget. There is nothing wrong with control arm drop brackets. Lots of people use them.

Tim_MN said:

Simple, set your budget first, then build your Cherokee to your budget. There is nothing wrong with control arm drop brackets. Lots of people use them.

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That sounds the most logical but my budget was always very very little... so my jeep went thru many many stages!

2 inch budget lift>3 inch rough country stacked with budget lift> 4.5 coils w/spacers, 6.5 shocks, rough country adjustable lowers, rusty’s track bar, s -10 bastard packs, shackles> drop brackets with stock uppers and rough country adjustable lowers> shackle relocation brackets> rubicon express uppers >rubicon express lowers> 6.5 coils> (then I graduated and got a JOB) > TNT long arms > BOR 4.5 leafs.... and that’s just an overview of my suspension!

whitexj98 said:

That sounds the most logical but my budget was always very very little... so my jeep went thru many many stages!

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Me too. Swapped and traded for, or brought home from the junkyard nearly all my lift parts. Got an XJ D30 with 4.10's and a Detroit True-Trac for $125.00. Got my RE control arm drop brackets and RE/TeraFlex adjustable control arms for $100.

2" BB, 3" bastard pack, 3.5" RE front and rear springs, 5.5" with RE drop brackets.

Money's not really the issue and I'm really leaning toward the longarm kit because I think it will be superior. I just don't want to spend money on something I don't need. There seems to be about a $700 difference betwwen the 2 and the long arm will have a crossmember piece that should make it alot stronger. The more I think about it I seem to be talking myself into a longarm kit.

I will probably think on this for a week or two before I pull the trigger on one or the other,

3 or 4 link?

I don't know, the more I read the more pro's and con's I read about, I may just keep it simple and get the drop kit for the control arms but I guess that's why I am going to take my time and weigh my options before I do it. I need to research this more.

If moneys not really an issue then I would recommed just going to long arms, I recomend TNT long arms, super beffy and it has a pretty sweet skid incoporated into the crossmember.

TNT is a radius arm setup...

souske said:

TNT is a radius arm setup...

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From what I can tell his rig is mostly for street / light trail duty, making a radius arm setup like the TnT one just fine. IMO, there aren't enough downsides to that type of setup to steer me away, I think when I go to a long arm setup (I have DBs now, they ride really nice) I'll go with the Serious Long Arm kit, which is also a radius setup, it's just closer to my teenage budget.

souske said:

TNT is a radius arm setup...

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It sure is and it works perfect...

Get Serious.