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Best 4.5" Lift Ride Quality

Mudshack

NAXJA Forum User
I am giving my 19 year old son our 1999 XJ. He will be running back and forth to college in it (8 hours 1-way). He wants a lift to fit 33" tires therefore I am assuming he needs at least a 4.5" lift. And I want it to have good driving characteristics at the 80-85mph speeds. Whatever lift we get has to have new rear spring packs as the stock ones are actually beyond flat. I just don't think an AAL will help it.

So, let's hear your recommendations on best ride quality lift to fit 33's (without trimming). And if you want to throw in recommendations on tire/rim combos I am open to hearing that too.
 
What's your budget?

33s on stock gears you'll be hitting 80 downhill with a tail wind. Honestly don't lift it. I'd keep it under 2" and 30s. Could do upcountry coils and ACOS and a shackle relocation box rear.
 
I'm on a 4.5" lift and 32" tires. They are Metric though, so not true 32's. I think your budget is very thin for this lift. For the best, I'd be looking at Long Arms. Probably Iron Rock for a good quality and cost. I have 4.10 gears. I'd probably go 4.30 or 4.54 gears. Regearing cost a bit.
I would look into a 2" lift and 30" to 31's. I'm on 31's with my 2" lift and 3.73 gearing. Does OK, but some of the grades in WV kills the power. 4.10 with 31's is a good combo.
 
$600-$1300 Budget.

Good point on the gears. Interesting thought.

For a good 4"+ and 33 setup to be done right you're going to need to drop more, like a few k more. At that budget I'd stick to what I said with a refresh of the steering and suspension. Driving 8+ hours in a shoty rig sucks. I'd focus on maintenance and creature comforts over looks. Assuming based on your location he ain't driving through flat land the entire way either. So 33s on stock gears is gonna suucccckkkkk.
 
I would highly recomend agaisnt lifting any xj I planned to burn 8 hours of freeway at 80 85mph on regulär Basis.

It will Handle ride and steer horrible in comparison to stock and could potentially be more dangerous than stock for a new driver. Especially one distracted by cell phone and passengers.

Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk
 
3" of lift is fine for long freeway service. I usually do at least one trip a year that is 1,000 miles each way, with off-roading in the middle. I am running 4.10s and 30" tires, manual transmission.

I have OME springs in the rear (Clevite rubber bushings) and unknown springs up front with ebay aluminum spacers.

For the new driver, the first thing I would be concerned with is the trackbar. Death Wobble and a new driver is a bad combination. If this XJ hasn't already been upgraded with a double shear trackbar that would be my first priority. Core 4x4 would be one good option on that front.

One more reason not to go large is brakes. The bigger the tires the poorer the braking. If you are truly set on going big then add brake upgrades into the budget.
 
33's will need new axle gears, double the budget for 33's

Lift 3-4" and run 31's with stock 3.55 gears. It will have adequate gas mpg's and adequate performance on pavment and off-road. If running short control arms, use control arm drop brackets. No matter what lift kit, if any, or gears, 80-85 mph in a brick shaped 4x4 will murder the gas mpg's.

I have had Rubicon Express on my 2000 for 12+ years. It has been both a daily driver and a trail rig. RE has worked well for both.

I have driven 1,280 miles from Minneapolis to Moab and 1,280 miles back home at least five times, no complaints about the lift kit ride quality.
 
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For the new driver, the first thing I would be concerned with is the trackbar. Death Wobble and a new driver is a bad combination. If this XJ hasn't already been upgraded with a double shear trackbar that would be my first priority. Core 4x4 would be one good option on that front.

One more reason not to go large is brakes. The bigger the tires the poorer the braking. If you are truly set on going big then add brake upgrades into the budget.

Just put a new track bar, rotors, brakes, and calipers on it this week.
 
33's will need new axle gears, double the budget for 33's

Lift 3-4" and run 31's with stock 3.55 gears. It will have adequate gas mpg's and adequate performance on pavment and off-road. If running short control arms, use control arm drop brackets. No matter what lift kit, if any, or gears, 80-85 mph in a brick shaped 4x4 will murder the gas mpg's.

I have had Rubicon Express on my 2000 for 12+ years. It has been both a daily driver and a trail rig. RE has worked well for both.

I have driven 1,280 miles from Minneapolis to Moab and 1,280 miles back home at least five times, no complaints about the lift kit ride quality.

Great post!!!

Looking into the Rubicon Express 3.5” Super-Ride Short Arm Lift Kit with Rear Leaf Springs and Twin Tube Shocks. I put a a 2” RE spacer/shackle lift on it back in 2009 with RE mono tube shocks and adjustable LCA. I NEVER GOT IT ALIGNED and should have. It team 31x10.5x15 very well until the tires started to get old and I began developing bumpsteer. I was never confident I got the LCA adjusted properly.

Gonna get everything done professionally, now that my son will be driving it.
 
When taking apart a stock xj toss a angle finder on upper balljoint to get a base line for caster.
Vissualy notice how coil spring looks and even shock. Angle finder could again be used to get base numbers for reassembly.

I can look at a xj front end and in my head im like that shits gucken up, then a few simple tools verify what my eyes see. Ounce in awhile the tools do say my eyes where wrong. As I get i realize my eyes can let me down

4.5" short arms and twintubes dont make a good riding jeep this creats a jeep with improper geometry that also creats undeserirable driving characteristics.

People do this ever day and swear by it best jeep ive ever rode im ummmhmmmm.
I will say 2"ish on short arms isnt the most horrible ride but it can be harsh and choppy depending on terrain or even road conditions
Can work ok when exspectatians and wants are kept in check.


I think many xj'rs have very little in exspectatians because good isnt known why we see horribly set up steering and suspension set ups rolling down the road all the time, even my xj at onetime Was a built turd all the corners were cut on.

The information is out there to set up a jeep with correct geometry, but it costs time to learn what is correct and then $$$$$ potentially lots of money.

A jeep on 33s and 4.5" of lift and 1300 invested has cut nearly every corner there is to cut.

Leave it stock toss some 31s on it and run it. And fix the cause of bumpsteer.
Id probly look at bolt on axle end of track bar it could be moving even though its tight. Itl bump off the drag link each time it clunks back and forth in the wallowed out hole

Good luck

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My 2000 started out with 2" budget boost, from coil spacers and an add-a-leaf. The ride quality and steering were fine. After a few years I swapped to the RE 3.5 softride, with RE coils and leaf springs and a double shear track bar. The control arm angles were steep and the ride was harsh. The steering and control was fine. It didn't take long for me to install control arm drop brackets and boost the lift to 5.5" for improved 4x4 trail abilities. The improvement in the ride quality with the drop brackets was dramatic. At no point in the 2000's modifications did I have any steering issues or have any bump steer.

My 1998 needed new suspension so I went with 3" coils, longer lower control arms, and an add-a-leaf. The track bar was changed to an adjustable. The ride is good, and there are no steering issues or bump steer.

I use DoetschTech DT 3000's shocks for my trail rig and and Bilstein 4600 for both my daily drivers.

In my experience, 31's require a minimum of 3" of lift to prevent rubbing. Also, stock steering is adequate, (but not ideal,) up to about 5" of lift. I would very strongly recommenced control arm drop brackets at about 3.5 - 4" of lift. At or above about 3" of lift, at least one set of control arms should be adjustable.
 
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Great post!!!

Looking into the Rubicon Express 3.5” Super-Ride Short Arm Lift Kit with Rear Leaf Springs and Twin Tube Shocks. I put a a 2” RE spacer/shackle lift on it back in 2009 with RE mono tube shocks and adjustable LCA. I NEVER GOT IT ALIGNED and should have. It team 31x10.5x15 very well until the tires started to get old and I began developing bumpsteer. I was never confident I got the LCA adjusted properly.

Gonna get everything done professionally, now that my son will be driving it.


I ran that kit on my old XJ, did great on 31s, when I moved to 33s it was meh.

I wouldn't pay anyone to do anything, I'd do it with your son. Reason being he's going to be 8 hours away and he's going to need to know what what was done. Plus unless you have a really good shop most of these fools can barley build a Lego set let alone fix a car right.
 
I ran that kit on my old XJ, did great on 31s, when I moved to 33s it was meh.

I wouldn't pay anyone to do anything, I'd do it with your son. Reason being he's going to be 8 hours away and he's going to need to know what what was done. Plus unless you have a really good shop most of these fools can barley build a Lego set let alone fix a car right.

I appreciate the suggestion. He has helped me wrench on many vehicles. We are not physically able to do it right now and I honestly dread the thoughts of breaking off rusty bolts and heading down rabbit trails. We have a reputable off-road shop here in Billings and they will be the first I will every pay to do this and I have been doing this for 22yrs. No shame on my part.
 
I'm puzzled about using an XJ has a commuter vehicle in this era of gasoline prices. My 2009 Civic gets 35 mpg on the highway. My XJ on 31" tires and 4.5" lift with stock diff gears barely makes 20 mpg on the highway.

I get that an XJ kinda makes sense in Montana, but in my 10+ years of highway commuting in all kinds of weather, its hard to beat a FWD sedan. With good tires that have ample tread, my Civic handles rain, snow, heat no prob. Also, ABS is so valuable in limited grip situations. And I don't drive slow. I'm always among the fastest people on the highway in the snow. And my Civic so reliable. I don't think twice about my weekly 500 mile round trip commute. Perhaps the main selling point of an XJ for a Montana commute would be survivability hitting a deer/elk especially if the XJ was lifted and had an aftermarket front bumper that is properly tied into the frame. The driver would likely fare a bit better than in my Civic.

Now if your son plans on going offroad while at school, that could be a good enough reason for the XJ. Your budget is not going to get you a usable 4" lift though. As others have suggested a 2 inch lift with perhaps 29 or 30" tires would fit your budget if you are having a shop do the install. It would be good to include replacing all suspension bushings while doing the lift. Get new shocks.
 
Fuel economy is relative.

AFAIAC my XJ is an economy vehicle. Sure beats the mileage of my 7.4 and 8.1L Suburbans.
 
XJ: Long ago paid for. Cheap to buy, cheap to insure, cheap to fix. Rugged, reliable, laughs at any amount of snow. I was at the junkyard Saturday, one 88, one 98, two 99's and a 00.

One month of gas is less than one car payment.
 
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I just came back from a road trip. 600 miles to PA. Then running up to Hazleton to the PnP, to New Ringold, to another PnP etc. My mom looked at the Xj and said where's the Volt. Meaning MGP vs Gap prices. I can't take trash in the Volt. Then to WV, than back to IN. About 17 to 18 MPG. Then when home, I was talking to my neighbor. Basically, his GM Arcadia gets the same.
The XJ is a good platform. Very balanced, decent performance, reliability, and repairable. Look around at what cars are still out there from the 80's and 90's. Still, more than a few XJs. Still a few MJs, too. I used to see some older W123 MBs and other MBs. The past 5 years, I only see a few. My 204D gets some looks now.

Also, with a 4.5" lift, you will need to do a SYE, or Hack-n-Tap, or the washers to tilt the trans, for driveshaft vibes. I'd also, replace the steering box spacer with a metal one. At least a low budget steering box brace. I'll look at Kevin's Offroad for some upgrades to prevent Death Wobble. Also, look at the "Cure' from (???). If your going RE for a lift, then I'd look at their Track Bar brace, too. Some simple stuff to firm up the steering.
 
Yes. Fuel economy is relative. I had a 2012 Tundra that got 11-13mpg. I now have a 2021 F150 on 35's getting 17-18mpg. So having a XJ get 15-16mpg is good and anything more would exceed my expectations. This isn't about MPGs. This is about a 19yo wanting to take his late grandfather's XJ and give it a little lift and be able to drive it around while at school in Denver. I (the dad in this situation) wants the XJ to be safe enough for my son to drive back and forth from Montana to Denver a few times per year. I prefer to not have the XJ so stiff that it hops around going over every bridge. That is not fun in the winter.

The Rubicon Express 3.5" Super-Ride lift kit seems to be sold out everywhere. Now I am trying to find an alternative lift kit. I am open to adding to a kit (i.e. LCA drop brackets, shocks, etc).
 
One challenge you'll have is that virtually all lifted leaf springs are overly stiff. I surveyed spring rates before purchasing, and most were quoted by the manufacturer to be north of 200 lbs/in, and stock is around 160 lbs/in. I had to remove a leaf from mine to soften up the rear. Shocks may be another challenge. I've only tried two different shocks, and while my Rough Country N3s are better than what was on it before, they are not as smooth as I would like on square-edged bumps.

A lot of people like to bag Rough Country, but I think a lot of their stuff is pretty decent. I'd rate it better than most Rubicon Express. I suggest the Rough Country 3" short arm with new leaf springs rather than the add-a-leaf. You'll most likely have to remove a leaf to get the rear soft enough. You could compensate for the slightly greater sag using an extended shackle.

If you plan on going with aftermarket wheels, the by-far most common 15" wheel is a 15x8 with 3.75" backspace. If you run 31" tires on these rims with a 3" lift on stock fenders, there may be occasional rubbing when the front wheels are turned. 4.5" backspace on an 8" wide rim is much better. In my opinion 4.5" BS will look better too. 3.75" BS sticks the wheels pretty far out past the fenders.
 
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