Decisions...... Rusty or RE?

[CJXJJeeper]

love RE kits have one on the CJ and my buddy has one on his XJ 5.5 34s with cutouts, all around amazing suspension as far as offroad and the street cant say anything about the LA if your going that route, i do know be sure and buy the full leaf packs whatever you do

 

[Georgia Mike]

I've got the RE 5.5" LA kit. Although it's a little more involved installation-wise (lots of drilling), it's a great kit. All the components are top quality parts. I got mine from an eBay dealer. $1845 w/free shocks, free shipping, and 2 free RE t-shirts.

 

[xjjeepthing]

What about the BDS 6.5" Long Arm kit. I have there 3" kit and love it.
http://www.bds-suspension.com/php/ProductBase.php?kri=455H

 

[rescuejeeper]

This seems to be a common dilemma Rustys vs. RE I feel that RE may be a quality product, but certainly overpriced, and perhaps over rated. Some people are totally against Rustys because they may have had some issues? While others seem to love Rustys products?

When it comes time for a 4.5" kit I'm buying Rustys, but again its all a matter of personal opinion and what you want.

 

[steveybass]

People run skyjacker because...Its well known. They see it all over the place on f350s and all of that and think to themselves " Must be good, all these guys are using it" I would put a skyjacker sticker on my truck, let alone one of there lifts. Over priced junk. Between RE and rustys, thats tough. A lot of people lik eRUSTYs front springs a little better...they arent as soft if yuor adding winches and bumpers. BUT you will be hard pressed to find a company that make stronger and more reliable parts than RE. Ide go RE, actually...I think I am going RE.

So, you are going to ignore the racers who run Skyjacker? People bag on Rusty's all the time (never used their stuff myself) and you've heard complaints about RE's long arm installation hassles. I have beat the poop out of my Skyjacker and haven't had a probem. It flexes extremely well, can handle big bumps at high speeds, AND drives great on the street. This is ACTUAL TESTED ADVICE. I have 2 other friends ('98 and '99) who run the same Skyjacker 6 inch Rockready lift and we all love it. TRUST ME!!

 

[DelmarvaXJ]

What about the BDS 6.5" Long Arm kit. I have there 3" kit and love it.
http://www.bds-suspension.com/php/ProductBase.php?kri=455H

I love the stance of the BDS system, and what it comes with, but for $2512.18 it's way over priced and out of my price range. The rusty's 6.5" LA kit is $1600, and i could add extra components if necessary and still be only $1825 which is the price of the RE 5.5" HD LA kit.

I will give BDS credit, there kit looks amazing, but way out of my price range.

But this is exactly how I would like my 2000 XJ sport to look, i think it's BDS's 6.5" LA kit with the 33x12.5 tire I want.

 

[DelmarvaXJ]

So, you are going to ignore the racers who run Skyjacker? People bag on Rusty's all the time (never used their stuff myself) and you've heard complaints about RE's long arm installation hassles. I have beat the poop out of my Skyjacker and haven't had a probem. It flexes extremely well, can handle big bumps at high speeds, AND drives great on the street. This is ACTUAL TESTED ADVICE. I have 2 other friends ('98 and '99) who run the same Skyjacker 6 inch Rockready lift and we all love it. TRUST ME!!

Skyjacker looks nice as well, but again way out of my price range/more than I want to pay. I don't think I need all of the components that come with either BDS's 6.5" or skyjacker's 6" kit, both are nice, but way to much at $2216. I think about $1850 is about the limit I would like to pay for a kit at the moment, I don't plan on rock crawling. I only plan on running through the mud and hitting the sand dunes.

 

[Tenament]

If you only plan on mudding and hitting the sand dunes- don't waste your time with a LA kit. Invest that money into a snorkel (if you want!), skids, armor, etc. to protect your investment from the sand dunes/mudding thing.

 

[Craig96_XJ]

Skyjacker looks nice as well, but again way out of my price range/more than I want to pay. I don't think I need all of the components that come with either BDS's 6.5" or skyjacker's 6" kit, both are nice, but way to much at $2216. I think about $1850 is about the limit I would like to pay for a kit at the moment, I don't plan on rock crawling. I only plan on running through the mud and hitting the sand dunes.

well if thats really all you wanna do, heres another option...

i wont speak for any RE or pricejacker kits, but i opted for the rustys 3" full leaf kit, and had it to my door for under $500. i havent done one other thing to the suspension and im sitting on 33x12.5x15 on 15x7 and i really dont rub much at all unless im disco'd. start working with the angle grinder/sawzall and they will be your friend when it comes to running big tires on a small lift. i dont have any pics, but i can get some real soon if you need an idea what it looks like

and BTW, i love my rustys 3" kit thus far (about 18 months)

 

[CurlyFry]

Tenament is right there is no need for a long arm kit for the dunes. I have run the RE 4.5 inch system on 33 x 12.5s with no problems in the sand for years. I can't speak to the Rustys but a friend has their 3 inch system and likes it. Some things to think about, I did do some fender trimming and ran Rusty's flares. If you cut the lip that holds the original flares you should be fine, just be sure to not cut above the spot welds on the rear fender.

If you are going to go long arm stay away from RE and Rustys's, not because of quality but because they are designed for maximum flex as the upper control arm is not mounted to the uni-body. Stick with Full Traction, BDS, or Skyjacker. The reason the Jeepspeed racers use the skyjacker is because of the control that it has at speed. If you are planning on needing flex then look at the RE or Rusty's.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

I cut the hell outta my fenders and came close to fitting 33-12.5R15's with a 3.75 backspace on the wheels. But that was only driving on the street.
I currently have the 3" Skyjacker kit, and i WOULD NOT recommend their products.
I've been running it for about 4 years now.
When i first put the kit on and my 31's, within the first month I wheeled one long weekend and the rear springs sagged so much i had nice shiny spots on the inside of my rear fender wells where the tires were contacting. I went to a local (to me) suspension shop and had them add an extra leaf and re-arc them all. That problem was solved.
Within a year, 2 out of the 4 shocks were smoked, i replaced all 4.
Then about 6 months after that, the bracket for the trac bar cracked and broke. Had to get it reinforced and welded up.

That's a real-life experience from a guy that wheeled about once a month on average during that time frame. And i wheeled mostly mud and didn't jump it off rock ledges or anything crazy.

I'm going to a 4.5" RE lift because i have heard and read many good things about the quality of their components and it should allow me to run my 33-12's. But like i said, i have really cut out my front fenders, but haven't touched my rears yet. I would go to the 5.5, but i would like to keep the center of gravity as low as possible.
A good tip from a friend of mine is to bend the sheet metal back instead of just cutting it and leaving a nice sharp edge for the tire to get cut on. I've done almost all the cutting, but have a few more spots to shave off. Then i will make some "relief" cuts in the corner areas of the sheet metal and bend it back into the wheel wells. When i finish i should have a rounded edge and limit the possibility of cutting my tires if they still rub.

 

[-=Gar=-]

Anyone have any comments on T&T Customs LA Y-link kit? I was thinking of using T&T's LA Y-link kit, with componets from the RE 5.5" LA Kit. It would end up costing me around 2K total.

Thanks,
Gar

 

[JNickel101]

Check out Full Traction's LA kit....or....

I feel like I'm repeating myself...

Call Dirk at DPGOffroad.com and ask him about his 5" trailgunner springs.....I'm sure he could put together a hybrid kit for you so you could run 33s...