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Should i just go for thrills per mile?

Nova Wake

NAXJA Forum User
Ive been pondering a lift combo for quite some time now and pretty much have an idea of what i want, but gas prices are increasing a little and i am only mildly concerned about them, i was wondering if the drop in mpg would be worth it in sakes of fun and thrills. I was planning on a 4 in lift and 31's but found out it be close to the same price and mpgs just to go to 33's, i was planning on a clayton's 6.5 lift and 4.56's for my cry axle. I suppose i'd need a sye and a driveshaft, what is the complete run down of what i need to complete a total overhaul. I know i'll have a decrease in MPG but am i being overly optomistic by thinking i'll get around 15-16 mpgs? I'd be happy with that, do the payoffs of a lifted jeep heavily outweigh the negatives? Another factor is that there is a e85 converstion for the 4.0, so if we ever get a station around here i'd definately have no regrets. I'm a very outdoorsy person and have always wanted a lifted vehicle, for my adventures, is it as fun as it looks? Any input would be appretiated.
Also it is a dd but mainly only about 24 miles a day. This is planned for next summer project.

Any of you who have done a similar combo and daily drive it have any regrets whatsoever of doing so? Would you advise me not to? What do you recomend?

here she is as of now.
DSCF0001.jpg

DSCF00052.jpg
 
Just went from 31s to 33s about 6 weeks ago, still on stock gears. Mileage didn't change much, loose calculations put me at about 12-13, I was at about 15 beforehand.


Of course this is in the mtns. Stock I used to get 20-22 hwy and I anticipate I'll get in the 17-19 neighborhood when I get my gears (SOON!).


Oh, and yes. It is as much fun as it looks. But probably more work than it looks, too.
 
hey guys, just so you know, it is somewhat rumored that the Rock Lizard products will be available for cherokees from another manufacturer...;) I may know some more about this... but dont know how much i should say incase everything doesnt fall through... Dont wanna get your hopes up...
 
yep, thats what got me on that, yeah, sorry it was a little random, but it seems lke anytime anyone sees one of those they want it, so i just couldnt help myself.
 
On my 91 I had 31 M/T's and 3.5 lift with 15 MPG highway. I drive 40 miles each way to work, so I changed back to 235's and get about 18MPG highway. It is at least as fun as it looks even with a Junior Jeep as I have. It is definately more work than it looks like if you do it yourself. Damn rusty bolts.
 
I have never gotten good gas mileage in mine (13-14, sometimes better on highway, 17). I'm on 33's with 4.56 and I gave up even trying to figure it out. Too depressing! Fortunately it's not my DD.

Why not stay at 4" with 33's. Just do some trimming. I've got pics if you need them.

How about some numbers for gas mileage:
You say your communte is 24 miles a day. I assume that is only during the week, so that is a total of 120 miles a week or 6240 miles a year. (this is just based off the number you gave).
At 18mpg you would use 346 gallons of gas.
At 14mpg you would use 445 gallons.

Now depending on how much gas is will obviously vary the results, but let's say it's $3 a gallon. That's $1038 dollars in gas versus $1335 in gas.

Over the course of the year, that's not a a huge amount. Most people drive more than 6K miles a year, so I think those numbers are modestly low.

Whether it's worth it or not is up to you. Face it though, you will have to feed the addiction! (It will cost you more than mpg if you get my drift)
 
I say build it for wheelin! Benefits of lifting DOES outwiegh the negatives!

I run 33's and 4.88's in my 2000 Auto. I drive it everyday and I love it. Gas mileage.... what's that? I was not concerned about it when I bought the Jeep nor when I started building. I figure I get around 14 mpg average. freeway and trips I probably get about 18 or so.

Best of luck!
 
Whats the point of converting to E85? As far as I know E85 is significantly more expensive that gas. Does anyone see E85 getting cheaper and more common in the future? And can you still use regular gas with this conversion?
 
E85 is 80 cents to a $1 cheaper per gallon in Colorado. Even though it does not get as many miles per gallon, the cheaper price of E85 will pay for the kit quickly. Two of my boys are in Iraq right now. The middle east can keep thier oil. I use E85 in all my vehicles now with the conversion kits from www.change2E85.com. I perfer supporting American Farmers rather than some Sheik that needs a new 747 or an indoor ski slope in the middle of the desert.

Another thing that you guys need to think about especially when running bigger tires is that E85 and a conversion kit will give you a 10-20% increase in power.
 
I perfer supporting American Farmers rather than some Sheik that needs a new 747 or an indoor ski slope in the middle of the desert.

Hell ya! :us: I agree with you 100%. All those Hodgies can go F#@k themselves.

E85 is 80 cents to a $1 cheaper per gallon in Colorado.

I had no idea it was cheaper. A little over 2 years ago when I lived in Idaho it was way more expensive. Im not sure if its available where i'm at in Arkansas right now. I'll have to look into that.
 
I just looked it up and the nearest E85 station to me is 30 minutes away. Prices are only 2.19 a gal for it, almost a dollar cheaper than gas here. Honestly I thought that E85 kit would be a waste of money when it was first mentioned. But now i'm going to seriously consider it, 425 bucks isint that bad.
 
jdbwrx said:
I have never gotten good gas mileage in mine (13-14, sometimes better on highway, 17). I'm on 33's with 4.56 and I gave up even trying to figure it out. Too depressing! Fortunately it's not my DD.

Why not stay at 4" with 33's. Just do some trimming. I've got pics if you need them.

How about some numbers for gas mileage:
You say your communte is 24 miles a day. I assume that is only during the week, so that is a total of 120 miles a week or 6240 miles a year. (this is just based off the number you gave).
At 18mpg you would use 346 gallons of gas.
At 14mpg you would use 445 gallons.

Now depending on how much gas is will obviously vary the results, but let's say it's $3 a gallon. That's $1038 dollars in gas versus $1335 in gas.

Over the course of the year, that's not a a huge amount. Most people drive more than 6K miles a year, so I think those numbers are modestly low.

Whether it's worth it or not is up to you. Face it though, you will have to feed the addiction! (It will cost you more than mpg if you get my drift)


i was thinking of staying with a 4" lift and put inch spacers or whatever to make it a 5" lift is that enough for 33"s? i don't wanna do serious hacking but removing the flares is an option. Sure images would be cool.
 
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