4'Lift recommendation

'98 XJ with 2" lift already installed, but with my new Gladiator 17" wheel take-offs, things are a bit tight. This is a daily driver, by no means a rock crawler.

So:

Aesthetically, I really like a 3" lift. I'm neither a Diamond Jim nor starving undergraduate, so recommendation re a 3" lift -- a quality kit -- would be much appreciated. I'd sorta like to avoid the expense of an SLE kit, but if I must, I must.

Pls advise.

I'd look at IRO:
https://www.ironrockoffroad.com/product/xj-3-premium-short-arm-lift-kit.html

or DPG. I don't have a kit from either. I have ordered from both. On IRO, their 3.5 springs are their own. I think otherwise they use RC springs. I do have RC 4.5" rear springs. They were about 6" or higher when first installed. It took about 3 years for them to settle down. They do not have anti-friction pads.
I am planning a 3.5" build. Presently I have 3.5" OME springs for it. I plan 3.5" front springs from Metal Cloak. Other rear springs I'd look at are ZONE ($300) and RE ($350).

If you just need a little space could just throw on a ACOS in the front and a shackle box in the rear. Otherwise I'd suggest IRO. I run their 3" on my WJ and love it.

My recommendation would be to get some best of breed products vs a kit. Even if you are not rock crawling, a long arm kit will make your on road ride a ton softer. I personally like the Stinky Fab setup. https://www.stinkyfab.com/collections/suspension/products/sfr-long-arm-kits-for-jeep-xj-cherokee There are lot of other long arm kit options available, but if you decide on a long arm setup I highly recommend you get one that is NOT designed with a one piece cross member. I have the BDS long arm, which has a one piece cross member and having to drop the whole front suspension every time you need to do anything to the tranny or tcase is a total pain in the ass
You have lots of options for coils and leafs. For a mainly road rig I personally like OME leafs - they provide a Cadillac like ride. I am running Rubicon express coils and Deaver leafs on my rig, but mine is a dual use street and rock crawler rig. One other thing I would recommend is that if your shackle angle ends up being vertical, you look into a shackle relocation bracket. Most of the aftermarket leafs out there are too short and you end up with a bad shackle angle. I already had a SRB on my rig when I tried some OME leafs, so I don't remember what the angle was at vs. stock. I ran Bilstein shocks for years on my XJ and was extremely happy with them. I ended up going to some Fox 2.0's simply because they were tunable and my rig had changed so much and was heavier I wanted a tunable shock.
The way to get good pricing on coil springs, shocks and leafs is to simply take a little time and price hunt on Amazon, 4wd.com, Morris 4x4, Quadratec etc. You will find in doing this the overall cost of the best of breed products can end up the same or even cheaper than a "kit"

IRO Rear with MetalCloak front progressive.