Questions Pre-Lift

Hey guys,
I'm about to order my lift. I've read and researched most of everything and I've decided to get the RE 3.5 SR with the leafs, no AALs here.

I'm going to go with some AR Baja 15x8s with 3.75 BS because I want a really aggressive stance, not to mention the chrome should match the Limited's chrome nicely and tastefully. Unless you guys think I should say screw looks and go with some steel crager's or something to save the dough.

Finally, I think i'm gonna go with the classic 31/10.5/15 bfg tires. Should I go with the AT's or the mickey thompson atz's? I'll be street driving 95% of the time (just finished up freshman year in college, school is 4 hours away). I'll be able to safely do 70-80 mph at some points right?

Questions
1) What shocks should i get? Should I find a site that includes discounted Doetsch Tech DT3000s or splurge on the RE Monotubes? I am really set on doing this lift for as cheap as possible, but still using quality stuff, i don't mind a rougher ride (it IS an xj afterall)
2) Is 3.75 BS too much? I want the tires to stick out enough for an aggressive stance but not too much for a 3.5" lift.
3) Are Treadwrights just too good to be true? I want to go with them SOOO bad because of the price and only good reviews, but I get worried highway driving on retreads with friends or family in the car. An accident in a lifted xj is the last thing i want, but if you guys think I need not worry, I would love to save the 350 bucks.

Thanks alot fellas.

Additionally, what's the reality of keeping those mudflaps? they are stock and although most of you guys will probably say F mudflaps, I want to keep my xj as pristine as possible. It's a 2000 with 50k miles and gorgeous paint and considering the car is in my dad's name (and is his), he and i want to keep it in nice condish.

triple post FTMFL, but......

Should i pickup a surco roof rack for the spare and jack or just put it in the trunk? people say putting it on the roof is a killer for gas mileage, especially in my application.

what are my options here?

i'm done, i promise, i'll listen now

dude, where in cleveland are you from? im in gates mills, i could help you out with lifting it. and i have some 31" AT's sitting in my driveway that ive been looking to get rid of. also have some BFG 30" at k/o's.

also i love my RE monotubes, they ride a bit on the stiff side but they are nice on the highway. i would also def recommend any RE lift, i have had my 5.5 LA lift since this winter and i love it so far (just need to find some nice reasonably priced tires) but i wish i had just gone up to the 5.5 lift in the first place instead of BS'ing and wasting money on the 2" lift then upgrading to what i have now. just do it the way you want it to end up in the long run and it'll save you alot of $.

PMed

I have Tread Wrights on my F250 and they are a good tire. The put them on good quality carcasses, mine came on BFG A/T carcasses. You can't really tell it's a retread except a mud tire with and A/T sidewall.

I wouldnt bother getting alum rims if your trying to save dough. you may need a sye so dont blow all your cash until youve got it on the road and its good to go!
As far as the surco with tire killing the mileage, you could keep it inside on long trips to save fuel. I can definatly feel the weight of the tire up there though gets a little weird in strong crosswinds. YMMV

TREADWRIGHT ALL THE WAY !!!1 GREAT TIRE !!

jasonsxj said:

TREADWRIGHT ALL THE WAY !!!1 GREAT TIRE !!

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HA HA HAHA !!!

idk how i can pass up treadwrights now

also, i have the chrysler 8.25 right? 2000 cherokee limited with the aw4?

I'd take the Mickey Thompson over BFGs any day. I had BFG ATs and they were completely bald after what seemed like 5 minutes of driving. My new tires (which are, incidentally, made by Mickey Thompson) are doing great despite frequent burnouts and other abuse. Both sets of 31's I've had (BFG AT and Dick Cepek FC-II's) were great on the highway, even when greatly exceeding posted speed limits I love the tires I have now, though they're priced as if they are made of gold.

I have Rusty's shocks now, which were dirt cheap. They seem too soft for me. I loved the Rancho RS5000s that I used to have, they were rather stiff (I liked it), and they appeared to be far superior to what I have now in terms of beefiness. They certainly cost more than the Rusty's shocks, but Rancho (made by same guys as Monroe) are available at most parts stores.

hey as far as treadwrights is this a good site to get them from or is everyone looking at some other place??

http://www.treadwright.com/shopNowresult.php?sectiresize1=&tiresize33=&tiresizef=285%7C75%7C16&next=+Next+#

I just got a set of AR Baja 15x8's.... They are not mounted yet so I can't really tell you much other than they are a good looking wheel...

I looked around and the best price I could find was at Jeg's.... $89.00 ea.

I have 3.5" lift on mine and 32" Mickey Thompson ATZ. I am happy with what I have. Also the soft 8s with 3.75" BS.

that's the stance i am pretty much going for big kev. is there any way i could sqeeze 32s without trimming or is it impossible?

these are the rims im thinking

http://www.quadratec.com/products/92601_5XX_B_PG.htm

3.75-4" BS is what is recommended for our Xj's with a lift (and without , I suppose).
Between the BFG and Mickey T, I would go with the ATZ. I don't have any yet, but I believe that the treadwrights are worth it. I would go for the MT/R's in the size you want.
Otherwise, as far as a great A/T tire I would say my top picks is the Bridgestone Dueler A/T (REVO or 693/5), Dayton Timpberline A/T.

You can get the chrome Soft 8's/other cragar steel wheels to match your scheme. (Noticed that is your pick) I beleive they are cheaper @ Jegs or Summit. I think they price match as well.

You won't have much off-road capability/flex without trimming for 32"

how many miles do you think the treadwright mt/r's and a/t's are good for? 90% on road driving.

Skibum12189 said:

also, i have the chrysler 8.25 right? 2000 cherokee limited with the aw4?

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it depends do you have abs? is you do its a d35 I believe. also the 8.25 has a distinctive flat lip on the bottom. the D35 is round. there not hard to tell apart, now that I know that I love to annoy my GF by telling her what axle is under certain XJ's, Dakota's and ZJ's while were driving around town and on the high way and stuff.

I had to trim the front. The tires were rubbing on the lower part of the fender when I turned, I only had to trim the front, I added to the bump stops in the rear though. I would stick with 31s if you do not want to trim. (trimming is easy, but your jeep is really clean, I can see if you don't want to do it) I did run 31s before these, I had stock rims and would rub a little on the control arm at full turn. Other than that I had no problems. You should not need to change your rims, unless you want to. With less back spacing I would look at your bump stops, you might hit the fenders faster with the tire sticking out a little more. I have the same rims you are looking at, mine are black though.

chedisme said:

it depends do you have abs? is you do its a d35 I believe. also the 8.25 has a distinctive flat lip on the bottom. the D35 is round. there not hard to tell apart, now that I know that I love to annoy my GF by telling her what axle is under certain XJ's, Dakota's and ZJ's while were driving around town and on the high way and stuff.

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Oh, good, I'm glad I'm not the only one :jester: .

The breakdown on axles is this: If you have ABS, you have a D35. If you don't have ABS, you probably have a 8.25, but not necessarily. Supposedly there are rare examples of non-ABS D35s out there.

The 8.25 is easy to ID, though, by it's flat lip on the bottom. Here's a picture of mine, if it helps:



You can see the squared-off flat lip on the bottom of the differential that peeks out from behind the diff cover. Ignore the leak, please ...