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5.5" RE Lift

S

SharkXJ

NAXJA Member #1177
Location
San Jose, CA
Hi,
I don't have an XJ yet but I am more then likely going to get one soon. I currently have a TJ tha tI am going to sell. I want a Daily Driver I can wheel and an XJ just seems more practical then a TJ, with a wife and two dogs.

My question is. If I throw on a 5.5" RE Lift with 33" tires, will I still have to cut the Fenders? If so, would it be the front and back?

Thanks for your time -
 
if your going to wheel it, you will have to cut, mostly in the front.
SharkTJ said:
Hi,
I don't have an XJ yet but I am more then likely going to get one soon. I currently have a TJ tha tI am going to sell. I want a Daily Driver I can wheel and an XJ just seems more practical then a TJ, with a wife and two dogs.

My question is. If I throw on a 5.5" RE Lift with 33" tires, will I still have to cut the Fenders? If so, would it be the front and back?

Thanks for your time -
Click to expand...
 
my 4.5 re kit will clear 33's if you dont fourwheel at all. my rear doesn't need any cutting with 33x12.5 swampers but the front needs some massive surgery. i would recommend fiberglass or huge cutouts. i cant comment on the 5.5 kit but my 4.5 will flex the axle right to the bumpstop (ive got 3" blocks bolted to the axle end) and those 33's still rub but i have a snorkel which keeps me from cutting more metal off. anyway, either kit has serious flex and is capable of stuffing a 33 (even the 33x9.5 allterrains rub at full lock) without big flares or cutouts
 
lengthen your bumpstops an no you wont have to cut

if you want the advertised flex - then cuttage is a good idea.
Its not all that bad - and it can be done to look nice as well.

search for:
Explorer Flares - www.car-part.com
TJ Flares - http://www.discountjeepparts.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/1454_1781_2898/products_id/22031
Bushwacker Flares - http://www.bushwacker.com
Rusty's Flares - http://rustysoffroad.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=rustys&Category_Code=BODY

try these sites for trimming write ups:
http://www.myxj.net/tech/rolledfenders/
http://projectxj.com/mods/fender.htm
http://madxj.com/
 
SharkTJ said:
Hi,
My question is. If I throw on a 5.5" RE Lift with 33" tires, will I still have to cut the Fenders? If so, would it be the front and back?
Click to expand...

Yes and yes. Front moreso than the rear. The front fenders really require trimming for anything larger than a 31" tire on a stock rim. How much trimming you have to do will depend a lot on what rims you run the tires on. I would recommend 15x8's with about 4.5" of backspacing. 4" BS works well too, and doesn't require much more trimming.

http://jeepin.com/features/chop/index.asp covers what I did to clear 33x12.5's on my '95 XJ, running the tires on 15x8's with 4.75" backspacing.

Lift height only makes a difference in tire clearance on the street, off-road it's not going to make a lot of difference if you've got 3.5" or 6.5", you'll still have to trim the same.
 
hmm...buy the looks of your rig, how would you about lifts and cutting??
XJ_ranger said:
lengthen your bumpstops an no you wont have to cut

if you want the advertised flex - then cuttage is a good idea.
Its not all that bad - and it can be done to look nice as well.

search for:
Explorer Flares - www.car-part.com
TJ Flares - http://www.discountjeepparts.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/1454_1781_2898/products_id/22031
Bushwacker Flares - http://www.bushwacker.com
Rusty's Flares - http://rustysoffroad.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=rustys&Category_Code=BODY

try these sites for trimming write ups:
http://www.myxj.net/tech/rolledfenders/
http://projectxj.com/mods/fender.htm
http://madxj.com/
Click to expand...
 
Pietro said:
my 4.5 re kit will clear 33's if you dont fourwheel at all. my rear doesn't need any cutting with 33x12.5 swampers but the front needs some massive surgery. i would recommend fiberglass or huge cutouts. i cant comment on the 5.5 kit but my 4.5 will flex the axle right to the bumpstop (ive got 3" blocks bolted to the axle end) and those 33's still rub but i have a snorkel which keeps me from cutting more metal off. anyway, either kit has serious flex and is capable of stuffing a 33 (even the 33x9.5 allterrains rub at full lock) without big flares or cutouts
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I DO plan on wheelin' the XJ. I just don't plan on doing any "Rock Crawling" or super hard stuff. I want it to be capable but not over the top.
 
Jeepin Jason said:
Yes and yes. Front moreso than the rear. The front fenders really require trimming for anything larger than a 31" tire on a stock rim. How much trimming you have to do will depend a lot on what rims you run the tires on. I would recommend 15x8's with about 4.5" of backspacing. 4" BS works well too, and doesn't require much more trimming.

http://jeepin.com/features/chop/index.asp covers what I did to clear 33x12.5's on my '95 XJ, running the tires on 15x8's with 4.75" backspacing.

Lift height only makes a difference in tire clearance on the street, off-road it's not going to make a lot of difference if you've got 3.5" or 6.5", you'll still have to trim the same.
Click to expand...

Jason,
Thanks for the awesome write up. Like I said, since this is going to be my daily driver I still want it to like kind of nice. I am going to go wheeling just nothing too hard core.

One more question - Someone told me once that you can fit TJ Fender Flares on cut XJ Fenders. Is this true?

BTW - We have spoken before. I have purchased stuff from you for my TJ. IM me if you want.

Thanks again to everyone for your replies. Some great advice and links.
 
tj flares will work and look good if done right. search here and www.xjdb.com for tj flares and you should find some good info
 
whether you rockcrawl or just do normal wheelin, you will be amazed at how well the xj flexes with no sway bar in front hooked up, you WILL need to cut your fenders either way if you disco the sway bar regardless, dont worry, fenders are cheap
 
I'd have to say that ford explorer flares allow the most room with a better fit. TJ's fit well to the rocker but no farther down with out chopping up the flare too. Bushwacker really does'nt give that much extra room, they just stick out really far. rustys seem ok but I have'nt tried them my self. I've just swapped from bushwackers to TJ's and now to Explorers which I like the most. IMHO
 
I just tested some 33X10.50's on stock 7" rims with my new 5 inch lift. They stuffed all the way perfectly. I have cut my front fenders straight back just below the front corner light. It's a clean cut that just about everyone does. It cleared the tires just barely.

I wanted 33X12.50's but now I'm going to have to reconsider or get some hockey pucks.
 
Who's this guy?

standard.jpg


And why is he holding his coil spring? :wave:

Coming to the dark side now Mark? :scared:

Seriously, if you need help let me know.
 
SharkTJ said:
Thanks for the reply. I DO plan on wheelin' the XJ. I just don't plan on doing any "Rock Crawling" or super hard stuff. I want it to be capable but not over the top.
Click to expand...


Famous last words.

Mine started with..."I'll just put a 2" lift on there and some 31's." I took a perfectly nice 99 that looked brand new and just beat the piss out of it and now it is a confederate flag short of being the official redneck mobile.
 
Pietro said:
no matter how much crap ends up on the outside, the xj still cleans up nicely with a set of fender flares. hacked fenders just look like shit
Click to expand...

In your opinion. Not every one likes the flair look.

It is all personal pref.
 
i have just my front stock flares cut and the rears uncut and it looks like shit, my friends has the bushwackers and it just cleans the truck up more, one step closer to not having a confederate flag on the window. also, since i cut the front ones, i've got no inner liner, i can hear every piece of road salt hit the wheel wells
 
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