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how does one prep the jeep for some air??

WE b GPN

NAXJA Forum User
what does one prep a jeep for some air? now we are not talking huge air here. but you know, alittle. i was thinking starting with larger bumpstops, bigger shocks, maybe fab up a dual front shocks! truss the axles. what about spring swaps, like from heavier vehicles? this is an old '86 xj 4th vehicle i have and i dont want another huge beast. maybe keep it stock looking if possible, ohh yeah, and CHEAP!

i searched but all i came up with was a xj that was really airborne and there was a fuss whether it was it was photochopped.

let me know what you think.
 
Check out www.jeepspeed.com

Those guys go flat out in desert racing in which "catching air" is a big part of what they do.....
 
WE b GPN said:
what does one prep a jeep for some air? now we are not talking huge air here. but you know, alittle. i was thinking starting with larger bumpstops, bigger shocks, maybe fab up a dual front shocks! truss the axles. what about spring swaps, like from heavier vehicles? this is an old '86 xj 4th vehicle i have and i dont want another huge beast. maybe keep it stock looking if possible, ohh yeah, and CHEAP!
I can tell you one thing: it's not going to be cheap.
 
You will definitely want to truss the axles (I have seen many front Dana 30's brake at the housing from airing out xj's and zj's). For safety sake, you'll want a cage, and the unibody wont hold up too long without one either, it should extend all the way through the engine bay to the front bumper and tie into the suspension mounting points. Almost all of the Jeepspeed guys are running hydraulic bumpstops. None of this is cheap. I have been reasearching this stuff for a while and I don't plan to do much jumping but lots of go fast through the desert and whoops. Whats nice is we are not limited to 10" of front and 12" of rear travel like the Jeepspeed guys. They also tend to set up their suspensions biased towards more uptravel than down from what I've gathered. Hope some of this helps!

Dave
 
Bigger motor mount block brackets. Unless you want to leave the engine lying in the dirt. The list is long and expensive.
 
David Tucker said:
You will definitely want to truss the axles (I have seen many front Dana 30's brake at the housing from airing out xj's and zj's). For safety sake, you'll want a cage, and the unibody wont hold up too long without one either, it should extend all the way through the engine bay to the front bumper and tie into the suspension mounting points. Almost all of the Jeepspeed guys are running hydraulic bumpstops. None of this is cheap. I have been reasearching this stuff for a while and I don't plan to do much jumping but lots of go fast through the desert and whoops. Whats nice is we are not limited to 10" of front and 12" of rear travel like the Jeepspeed guys. They also tend to set up their suspensions biased towards more uptravel than down from what I've gathered. Hope some of this helps!

Dave

Mine didn't break, but after some accidental air the center was 1/2" lower to the ground than the axle tube ends. I also broke the tie-rod end at the power steering crank. Got to do another junkyard swap.
 
I launched mine about 25 feet at Silver Lake this weekend. I have about 6-7" with aired-down 33's. The landing was perfect, equal on all 4 tires, and landed in soft sand. Nothing is broke or bent, but I dont think I would hit that spot again.

I saw another Xj with about 8-9" of lift and 33's. He had so much wheel travel that when he jumped and landed, it didnt even seem like he bottomed out. Seems the best way to come down soft is lots of suspension travel.
 
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