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JeepXJ93

JeepXJ93

NAXJA Forum User
Location
CT
After trying to convince my g/f to wheel and/or lift her xj and her backing down b/c she was afraid of provoking "problems" w/ the daily driver....ive managed to re-convince her into it. She wants to now go w/ a 2" anything weather its a OME or budget boost, w/ 30x9.5 MTR's. Now, b/c the OME is so ridiculously expensive, we are thinking we should just do a 2" BB. My question is, i have my 94, w/ the rear leaf packs in good shape (no sagging), hers are sagging pretty bad so i was thinking a bb on sagging springs is no good. If i give her my leaf packs, along w/ 1.75" shackles, and then a 2" spacer up front, will that give her the actual 2" lift we are looking for. I read somewhere that a 1.75" shackle will only give an actual .75" lift, is this true, if it is what other alternatives does she have to getting the 2" w/out spending the $$$ on OME. Thanks for any info on this...also any pics of a 2" and 30's would be much appreciated...as she is somewhat bent between stuffing in 31's or not. Thanks guys.
 
for someone who is looking to keep their ride quality - i think that anything but OME is a bad choice...

there is a reason that the OME kit costs more than the 2" Budget boost, but only lifts you the same height...
 
just throw a spacer and AAL in there and call it good.

spending a million bucks to go up 2" is just plain silly.
 
From a guy with a girlfriend who is in the same boat as your's......mine would slap me if I made her DD ride like crap. You can get 2" from several inexpensive ways, but she'll be way happier with a smooth-riding OME. The $$$ is worth it for having a happy girlfriend.
 
Here is a good way to lift it 2" with OME qulaity at a fraction of the price.

Buy some RE shackles, and a set of OME JCXL AALs for the rear. Spacers up front and you are good to go.

Just a thought.

Fergie
 
Ok, what i was originally thinking was to do the shackles and spacers, and then just throw in OME shocks, i did that to my buddy's xj and we all noticed a huge difference. That would run us around 400 bux done deal, no need in another 400 just for springs that give a 2" lift...although maybe the ride would get even better, but she was happy riding in the xj w/ that set up. Maybe in the future when we have 800 bux for a 2" lift. Otherwise right now its not worth it. As for my shackle question, anyone know about the acutal lift, do you get the actual 1.75" lift if you buy a shackle advertised as 1.75" lift? Or does it put more stress on your leaf pack causing it to sag down 1/2"??
 
if you buy a shackle that says 1.75" lift, then you'll likely get 1.75" of lift out of it. if you buy a shackle that is only 1.75" LONGER, then you will have just under an inch of lift. shackle length divided by two is how much lift you get (3" longer shackle = 1.5" of lift).

$800 for a 2" lift is just plain retarded. in my humble...
 
I have to make a call to Rusty's on monday, but for now do any of you guys know if rusty's BB w/ shackle have the actual 1.75" shackle "longer" like you were saying or is that the shackle thats only going to get us .75" of lift?
 
Dookie said:
if you buy a shackle that says 1.75" lift, then you'll likely get 1.75" of lift out of it. if you buy a shackle that is only 1.75" LONGER, then you will have just under an inch of lift. shackle length divided by two is how much lift you get (3" longer shackle = 1.5" of lift).

$800 for a 2" lift is just plain retarded. in my humble...
Click to expand...

you dont have a tempermental (redundancy?) girlfriend do you ? :D
 
Ok, now i just searched for different company's that make different shackles, my main point was to find whoever was the cheapest b/c i didnt really think someone made a "better" shackle than someone else. But i found that apparently some people do think certain shackles are built strong, so my question is, from looking at websites, all i need is a 2" coil and a 1.75" shackle for 90% on road driving and MILD off road driving maybe once every few months...rustys has it for 100 bux, re is too much b/c i dont need the shocks b/c we are planning on getting her OME shocks. Who has shackles that will fit what i need, i dont want to put a part on her jeep and then have it twist or break b/c its not reinforced strong enough...thats the last thing i need after convincing her everything will be fine if we BB her XJ. LOL thanks for any info.
 
JeepXJ93 said:
Ok, now i just searched for different company's that make different shackles, my main point was to find whoever was the cheapest b/c i didnt really think someone made a "better" shackle than someone else...
Click to expand...

Me neither, I've never heard of anybody making a "weak" shackle. But then, there are all kinds of things out there I've never heard of...

One thing that hasn't been mentioned: when you lift with a shackle, you do tweek the pinion angle some. You just might end up needing shims to eliminate the vibes...

Robert
 
Here's my 2 cents.
I got a spare set of XJ leafs, hacked the eyes off of the main leafs and inserted them into the existing main pack. That got me about 1-3/4" in the rear. If her pack is already sagging, use all of the leafs from the new pack and just keep her main leaf. That eliminates having to mess with bushings and bolts. All you will need are new centering pins and maybe u-bolts if you can't get the old one off without cutting.

For the front, I used a set of OME coils I got off ebay. As you are trying to save $$, just put a set of 2" coil spacers in there. Rent a coil compressor for free from Autozone, or buy one for around $45.

Shocks make a huge difference. I have OME medium duty ones and they are much smoother and better handling than 160,000 mile stock ones. They also make a light duty shock that will ride a little softer.

Any add-a-leaf (including OME's) will make the ride a lot stiffer - not what she wants. IIRC, the OME AAL is really intended for heavy loads, not primarily as a lift.
 
I wheeled for about 2 years with an OME lift, the 2nd year with spacers and longer shackles. It's a great suspension, rode well on road and did quite well off road, but it's expensive and you definitely won't get your money back when/if you sell it. If you're never going to go higher than 2" then try it with longer shackles and spacers, it's a whole lot cheaper.

Robert
 
You could aways do what i did.

put a 4.5in RE kit on it and tell her to deal with it... :p
 
LOL you did that!? Thats more along the lines of what i'm doing w/ mine, and she needs to deal w/ it b/c we are always in my jeep...but hers, i think she'd kill me.
 
red91inWA said:
you dont have a tempermental (redundancy?) girlfriend do you ? :D
Click to expand...

nope, i have one who is NOT a whiny beotch!! nor do i have one that i'm afraid of. :wave:
 
JeepXJ93 said:
LOL you did that!? Thats more along the lines of what i'm doing w/ mine, and she needs to deal w/ it b/c we are always in my jeep...but hers, i think she'd kill me.
Click to expand...
She is now my wife, and I drive further to work, so she has to drive the Xj to work. cause of gas prices. so she has to deal with it.
 
Lift shackles only give you half of the extra length that they are made, if you have a shackle that is 2" longer than the stock one, you will only gain 1" of lift because you are only lifting one end of the leaf spring. You also have to remember that when you do the budget boost, you will also need new shocks. If her leafs are already saging then I would see if someone has a decent set of stock ones that you can get and then use those with a budget boost instead, RE has the budget boost in 2 ways, one with blocks and the other with an AAL, do not do the block style, it will wipe out your stock leafs really fast, both kits come with shocks and front spacers
 
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