budget boost worth it?

Hi all Im new to the world of wheeling (own a modded mustang GT) but figured id mess around with a wheeler when i got a deal on a 87 wagoneer xj.. so Im looking to go pretty cheap as a "mudder" and light/moderate trail rig.. so I was looking at a budget boost and then some recovery stuff, lights etc.. BUT my question is, is it worth it to do a budget boost for a moderate trail rig or should I just save for a 4.5 Rough Country lift or something of the sort. sorry to ramble but I think I got the point across :eyes:

thanks,
Kieth

You really need to find out how much trail you want to do. A BB isonr thing, a 3" another, and 4.5 you are talking lots of $$$ and parts. I whanted to lift up to 3 inch but realized I dont need it for now so I will get a 2". Start with good hooks, recovery strap, tires, full size spare, then think of how much lift you NEED, not want.

A B-Boost will be cheap, you can even run stock shock is some cases but 4.5, you will need lots of stuff.

My 2cent

I got my budget boost and was happy with it. and there really not that much. i'd say go for it, but it all depends on what you want to be doing down the road. i upgraded to a RE 3.5" superflex kit, and when i have the cash to throw on a short shaft kit, i'll throw my budget boost back on too for the extra lift.

Frankkl said:

You really need to find out how much trail you want to do. A BB isonr thing, a 3" another, and 4.5 you are talking lots of $$$ and parts. I whanted to lift up to 3 inch but realized I dont need it for now so I will get a 2". Start with good hooks, recovery strap, tires, full size spare, then think of how much lift you NEED, not want.

A B-Boost will be cheap, you can even run stock shock is some cases but 4.5, you will need lots of stuff.

My 2cent

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ya thats kind of along the lines of what Im thinking.. I would prob be making 10ish trail runs a year and lots of mudding lol.. so recovery is a must, I have a full size spare, brand new tires (stock size i guess bought car with em on there 235/75-15) so the thing is i dont know what i need cause i *think* i might need that 4.5in clearance but idk. and is the rusty's offroad BB the cheapest? also with a 2in BB would I be able to get full flex without rubbing with 30-9.5's?

thanks again,
Kieth

87woodyXJ said:

ya thats kind of along the lines of what Im thinking.. I would prob be making 10ish trail runs a year and lots of mudding lol.. so recovery is a must, I have a full size spare, brand new tires (stock size i guess bought car with em on there 235/75-15) so the thing is i dont know what i need cause i *think* i might need that 4.5in clearance but idk. and is the rusty's offroad BB the cheapest? also with a 2in BB would I be able to get full flex without rubbing with 30-9.5's?

thanks again,
Kieth

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I was like you when I started posting and gain more info about a lift. You said two words that automatically tell me that in the future that you are going to want to go bigger and those two words are "*think*" and "flex".

Save the money!!! For what you really want!!!

So is the BB worth it? NO!!!

If you are going to invest $250 for a BB it is worth investing $250 more and buy the RE 3.5 super flex aal. If you get it through jeepinoutfitters you even get shocks to help out on the cost when you start it out. Get more info on the discount code! Keep shopping around.

Good luck and Happy Trails :wave1:

I wanted a big lift when I got mine, and ended up with a 2" OME lift... after a few years with it, it has sagged back to stock height and my 31's rub a bit on bumps around curves and offroad. started to ruin my tires too... I wish I had just gone for a higher, more heavy duty lift... the extra cash would have been better spent on drivetrain parts than a second set of tires.

moparmatt said:

I was like you when I started posting and gain more info about a lift. You said two words that automatically tell me that in the future that you are going to want to go bigger and those two words are "*think*" and "flex".

Save the money!!! For what you really want!!!

So is the BB worth it? NO!!!

If you are going to invest $250 for a BB it is worth investing $250 more and buy the RE 3.5 super flex aal. If you get it through jeepinoutfitters you even get shocks to help out on the cost when you start it out. Get more info on the discount code! Keep shopping around.

Good luck and Happy Trails :wave1:

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hahaha ya its hard cuz all of my buddies that do wheel have some pretty serious CJ's and yota's, I want to be able to keep up with them and idk if a BB would be enough.. Pardon the "noob" question but what is aal?
:cheers:

thanks,
Kieth

aal = add a leaf
in other words, an additional leave that provides a little bit of lift, a rough ride and it will cause leaf failure under extreme usage.

I bought my first lift about 3 years ago...
It was a pro comp 3"...3" coils, track bar bracket, shocks and a aal for the rear.

I have removed all my sway bars... I flex it to its full potential and then some and I rub with 2.5 year old 31's.

I wish I knew what this Jeep was going to cause. :cheers:

I now have a hp44/9" combo that I going in and I will be going to 35's+ after the axel swap and I will also need to spend more money on bigger suspension parts.

I guess what I'm trying to say is...

dont waste your money on a BB...go ahead and get into a lift that you can upgrade down the line instead of replacing and wasting the money on parts that you WILL outgrow in a couple years or less.

kewlkatdady said:

aal = add a leaf
in other words, an additional leave that provides a little bit of lift, a rough ride and it will cause leaf failure under extreme usage.

I bought my first lift about 3 years ago...
It was a pro comp 3"...3" coils, track bar bracket, shocks and a aal for the rear.

I have removed all my sway bars... I flex it to its full potential and then some and I rub with 2.5 year old 31's.

I wish I knew what this Jeep was going to cause. :cheers:

I now have a hp44/9" combo that I going in and I will be going to 35's+ after the axel swap and I will also need to spend more money on bigger suspension parts.

I guess what I'm trying to say is...

dont waste your money on a BB...go ahead and get into a lift that you can upgrade down the line instead of replacing and wasting the money on parts that you WILL outgrow in a couple years or less.

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I see your point.. o was it the add a leaf that failed and messed up the springs? is it worth it to get new leaf springs from RE or whoever? I just found the RE 3.5 and it looks damn good and will prob end up going that route. Now just to get the mulah :confused1

well the aal contributes to leaf failure.

I would never use an all again.

Spend the extra $$$ and get a full pack. You will not be sorry.

Or you could do a bastard pack.

Do a search on S10 or Dakota leaf packs.

Welcome....
Like me and MANY others, you will find ALOT of great info here.

the Rough Country lift kit is fine, and you skip the first "build up" part of owning a xj with just getting a 4.5" kit. For instance...if you get the Budget boost and run 30" Mud tires you will be happy with where your jeep can take you. My friend started out with a 3.5" procomp lift and wide 31x12.5 procomp tires...great in the mud but rubbed on the turns...we put the budget boost on with his existing 3.5" lift and now he runs 33"s...all he does is mud so the sway bars are still connected and it drives great down the street. Flex wise it wouldnt be the ideal set up but works for him...I guess what I'm saying is that you arent necessarily throwing money away with a budget boost but if you can contain yourself and just get the 4.5" kit you'll appreciate it later...when you've dented up the xj a bit...trimmed the fenders...put the 33" tires on it...broken the axles...upgraded the axles...flopped it...put the cage in..taken the doors off...bought the truck and trailer...so you can take it to harder and harder trails...that it might not be able to drive home from...its just a natural progression...for some

yellowxj said:

the Rough Country lift kit is fine, and you skip the first "build up" part of owning a xj with just getting a 4.5" kit. For instance...if you get the Budget boost and run 30" Mud tires you will be happy with where your jeep can take you. My friend started out with a 3.5" procomp lift and wide 31x12.5 procomp tires...great in the mud but rubbed on the turns...we put the budget boost on with his existing 3.5" lift and now he runs 33"s...all he does is mud so the sway bars are still connected and it drives great down the street. Flex wise it wouldnt be the ideal set up but works for him...I guess what I'm saying is that you arent necessarily throwing money away with a budget boost but if you can contain yourself and just get the 4.5" kit you'll appreciate it later...when you've dented up the xj a bit...trimmed the fenders...put the 33" tires on it...broken the axles...upgraded the axles...flopped it...put the cage in..taken the doors off...bought the truck and trailer...so you can take it to harder and harder trails...that it might not be able to drive home from...its just a natural progression...for some

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haha ya well Im sure ill get to that point but it will take a while.. well I think that the RE 3.5 SuprFlex sounds good with some 30-9.5's... then ill get the flex and clearance on the trail that I *think* i need and then just fix w/e breaks from there :doh:

I am Here with you :dunno: :gee:

Plan, Plan, Plan!!! I bought my XJ back in August 2005. Ive owned it for a year and a half. Ive put a year and two months into planning my stroker project. Im still planning it out to this day, but it has gone smoothly with the help of and I believe if I didnt plan that far ahead Id be in the negative and pissed at the Jeep.

Ive also been planning a lift from the begining. Right now I look, but I dont click the "Buy It Now" button. I want a lift, but I shouldnt install it or purchase until end of May 2007. Why? I have slightly new 235 tires with 75-80% tread left. My stroker is taking up alot of my funds, and Im still stuck between 3.5" or 4.5". When I first started looking I wanted a BB, so I looked around at spacers, well then I came across RockLizardFabrications BB(Highly suggest you look into it) and I thought awesome. Well never did it because I knew Id wants more and I didnt want to waste money. So I had enough money once for a RE 3.5" Super-Ride(AAL :'( ) couple days later after thinking about getting it I forgot that Id need shocks, and larger tires, and probally gears, after research I would have spent much much more then the full pack specially since my stock leafs have started to revese arch. So I would have had to buy new OE leafs which are a good $125 each.

Well now Im saving up for a stroker and lift. Im going a RE 3.5" SuperFlex(Full Pack), and used muds, and new gears. But to add another inch I got smart and figured I can make my own spacers or purchase for nothing, and use my FREE shackles I have gotten from purchasing a stock driveshaft. That gets me damn close to 4.5" of lift and still have money to spare on things that might go wrong.

Its not a bad thing to pack rat Jeep parts because something will break and you will have wished you kept those old axle shafts, or larger driveshaft, or "INSERT PART NAME".

depends on what you want.

I bought my jeep for hunting, and I knew the roads I would be driving would require a locker and some good mud tires. I got rustys budget boost, and it worked awesome this year. I went places in 2wd @ < 5 mph that the guys with their fullsize rigs (some not even a year old) had to use either 4wd, or a lot of go pedal.

100 bucks for a budget boost isn't a lot of money, if it lets you wait another year or two to save for the bigger lift later on, and it will let you do more wheeling now.

31's will fit with it, but they will rub in about 15% of the situations you will see. I am running 30's, cuz I found out the 31's would fit too late.

is it better to go the aal or the extended shackle route?

I'd say shackle, because it can be lubed, the AAL can contirbute to spring failure.

I'm gonna go with a regular lift in the future, but the BB (spacer & greaseable shackable) does what I need for now.

ok so the budget boost isnt bad..rustys has a 2" lift that gives you new coils in the front,aal, and shocks all around..it gave me about 2.5" of lift and when i get my fender flares i can trim enough to bea able to fit a 32" tire which is great cuz the whole point in lifting is to fit bigger tires..so just something to think about