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Rough Country and Rustys

G

GudaXJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Richmond, Va
I'm pretty sure this has been asked a million times but I never find what im looking for in the search box. I just bought my new baby(98' XJ sport) and its getting a lift. I want 4.5" and at this point im between two companies. Rough Country or Rusty's. I've read very mixed things about both. It seems that Rusty's has more good reviews than bad. I've only seen a few good ones on Rough Country. I wanna do mild to moderate wheelin' and want to use my xj as a daily driver. I've allready bought the rough country lift, but its still returnable. Maybe i should just keep the rough country lift. I duno It just seems rusty's seemed better. Anyone had any good opinions on rough country other than its cheaper?
 
I have Rusty's 3" coils and rear 3"AAL. The AAL still gives more than 3" after 30,000mi. The coils are what is great though, super flexy, and also still over 3".
 
Don't get me wrong you get what you pay for with most more expensive kits, but Rusty's beats anything in it's price category(cheap)
 
I have been running that 4.5" RC kit for about 3 or 4 years now. The springs haven't sagged at all. In fact, I just removed the load leaf from the rear springs to make it ride a little softer. I ran just the RC kit for about 2 years with 32" Swamper SSR's with some very minor fender mods. (pounded in lower corners with hammer) The only thing that it really needed that I wished they had included with the kit is an adjustable Trac Bar, sway bar disconnects, shackles, and brake lines. About 1 year ago the Jeep got stolen and recovered so I took the opportunity to add another 1.5", 33's and TeraFlex Long Arms. (This was probably the best mod but that's a whole other thread)

Anyway, I have had pretty good luck with my kit.

DON'T use the Trac Bar drop bracket, buy an adjustable Trac Bar.
Sorry no pics before 6".


-------------------------------------------------------------------
90 2dr 6" RC & Tera LA, 33" MTR, Tom Woods SYE & Shaft, Currie Steering, PosiLok, Open diffs and lots more.
 
i love my rustys kit.... RE busted my balls so i said f*** em and im glad i ordered my rustys kit, im sold on rusyts parts for life
 
I had a 2in rough county on my blazer a couple years ago. After putting it on it never drove the same. Some of the u-bolts were a little bit to big and I ahd to go get some made. So that was another 45 bucks on top of the price of the lift.

I wished i'd never done it

I'd buy from another manufacturer if you can.
 
this thread like so many others all comes down to personal opinion...

i put Rusty's and RC on the same level...
take that for what its worth...

this thread is:
worms.gif
 
You hit the nail on the head, Slipkid. In most instances, you get what you pay for. And subsequently, there is a reason why cheap kits are cheap.

When I have questions or concerns about a product's quality, and abilty to hold up to real punishment, I search Pirate. There is a much larger population of wheelers there who genuinely beat the snot out of their jeeps, and in a realm like that you quickly find out what was made for show and what was made for go.

Dig into this just a little deeper, and you'll see an entire underground dedicated to keeping Rusty's parts off of jeeps. I wont comment on my own experience with their product, but I can say Ive seen more of it on the floor, busted in someone's garage, after the weekend's run.

I'd be willing to wager that most of the folks who are sold on, and satisfied with the Rusty's parts are those who enjoy mild wheeling and trail cruising. If thats you, then you could make do with either of the kits you have in question. If you plan on really pushing the limits of you and your vehicle, then I'd suggest going with something beefier.

Just some random thoughts. :thumbup:
 
Sorry Artic but I pound the hell out of my rig ask anyone in the SE...have run Rusty's 4.5" for 3 years and stepped up the 6.5" LA in 2003 and love it. I can't say on the others because I have never run anything else and most likly will not run any other lift...Right now id I had the $$$$ I would be putting a 6.5" LA on my 01 DD.
 
Kudzu said:
Sorry Artic but I pound the hell out of my rig ask anyone in the SE...have run Rusty's 4.5" for 3 years and stepped up the 6.5" LA in 2003 and love it. I can't say on the others because I have never run anything else and most likly will not run any other lift...Right now id I had the $$$$ I would be putting a 6.5" LA on my 01 DD.
Click to expand...

Same here... I've ran Rusty's 3" and 4.5" (boosted to 6.5") for quite awhile, also ran Rustys track bar, steering, crossmember, skids etc... NEVER had a bit of problems from these parts.

"mild wheeling and trail cruising..." Hahaha :laugh3: You Funny.
 
Slip Kid said:
I have Rusty's 3" coils and rear 3"AAL. The AAL still gives more than 3" after 30,000mi. The coils are what is great though, super flexy, and also still over 3".
Click to expand...

DO you have a pic? I am in the midst of installing the same lift and would like to know what yours looks like. How much lift did you get overall?
 
I put a RC on my 98 and I like it a lot. I picked the whole setup on ebay for $145, and it has been on there about 30k with no issues. It flexes good and I have been very pleased. Seems that everyone else only says RE but I had to see for myself, and the way I look at it I got a great deal.
 
This is a Rustys 3"...but with the full leaf. I have had it on the jeep since last thanksgiving. All seems well. No problems. It flexes well. No sagging as of yet.

749273_10_full.jpg
 
Return the Rough Country while you still can.

You'll thank me later.
 
I have installed two of the Rubicon Express kits and they were great. Well worth the $$. You do get what you pay for. Do it right the first time and you won't be sorry. I installed one of the two products you mentioned and have had to replace everything on it. Just wasn't very stout.
 
woody said:
Same here... I've ran Rusty's 3" and 4.5" (boosted to 6.5") for quite awhile, also ran Rustys track bar, steering, crossmember, skids etc... NEVER had a bit of problems from these parts.

"mild wheeling and trail cruising..." Hahaha :laugh3: You Funny.
Click to expand...

i wheel my toshiba ultra hardcore
i roxsors!

(just thought it was funny when people said "but I DO wheel it hard" when someone mentioned the mall crawler statusassociated with Rusty's and RC)


I run RC LCA's and they are fine.... Cheap too...

thats all i got...
 
I think he said he wanted opinions on RC not any other lifts, lets let the RC guys handle this one, if there are any RC guys. I run one just BC it is cheap, and If you put it toghether like I did the lift is not bad. I have be running RC for 5 years now. I now have the 4.5 with adj. lowers, full leaf packs, mj shackles, quick discos, adj. track bar, and custom rear shaft to copensate for the lift. It rides great drives great and will clear 33's with almost no trimming. I am not going to say it is better than anything else but if you are on a buget, RC offers a way to go a less expensive route. I just think that they get a bad rep, you can build a pretty good lift with there components if you try. All of my stuff except the discos are RC, and it flexes well enough for the weekend trails. If you like the lift guy just put it on and ride forget the rest of our opinions form your own, I did and I 'm not ashamed to say that so far(for the money) I like my RC lift. Just so you know I think I payed like $500 bucks with the adj. lowers, and track bar , full leaf packs, and I figured in the dicos which came from tomken.
 
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