macgyver35

I'm guessing you already bought the lift, so it's probably too late, but...

Can I ask what your thought process was in deciding on a 6" lift, rather than a 3" -4.5"? Those that are telling you you'll spend big bucks aren't lying. And honestly, outside of hard-core rock crawlers, I've never seen the need for anything over 4.5" in something with as short a wheelbase as an XJ.

you might read through this other post I made about what it costs just for the core must-have components of various lift and tire combos. This will not include all the extras on suspension and steering that have been mentioned.

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/ne...3/#post2899951

Atmos

even for hard core crawling, a 4.5" lift is great. completely versatile, stuffs 35's no problem, and keeps you somewhat low. I always recommend that height. tall lifts are for show ponys and mudders. nothing wrong with being either of those, but being honest about the purpose will help us recommend more useful parts. the taller you go the more of a pain in the butt it's going to be

for instance, stock steering SUCKS even on a non-lifted jeep. I could not imagine that at 6.5". so steering would be my first upgrade. caster just keeps getting worse the higher you go. there's people who are afraid to take a sway bar off but I'm way more afraid of the guy with wonky caster and crappy steering.

as others have said, rising lift height definitely has a direct relation to rising cost

JD Cravin

Not sure why all the 6.5" hate but I love my 6.5" LA lift.
And as a lot of buddies of mine will attest to, the over all height of my Jeep is practically identical to a Jeep with a 4.5" lift.
The real difference is on the underside of the rig... That's where I've got a couple of inches more clearance than a 4.5" kit

And to say that 6.5" is too tall or tippy is completely wrong and I doubt they've ever been in a Jeep with a properly set up 6.5" kit.
I would recommend upgraded steering... I have the Curry HD system and it rocks... You could also go with a grand Cherokee kit to save money.

Congrats on your kit... You're going to love it.

jeffro9944

I'm running a 6.5 LA. No complaints,

Atmos

it's still rough country dude..

and I don't think anyone's hating on a 6.5. we're all just saying that the taller you go that more upgrades become necessary as opposed to simply recommended. and that means mo money

89eliminator

i dont consider 6.5" a tall lift. yeah it is expensive but if i were to build another jeep, it would get the same height lift.

Atmos

I didn't specifically say a 6.5" lift is tall either. I just generalized about tall lifts.

as you well know, exact lift height doesn't really matter at all. as long as you're not lifted to the moon or trying to run 1" of uptravel in pursuit of lowcog, no one really cares. but for the bolt on crowd there is an extra bump in upgrades with every 2" higher up you go it seems

but if you're doing it all at once it doesn't really matter. and it looks like that's the direction the OP is headed. I just want him to get some good steering in at the same time as everything else

Chuck82

I have a 4.5 RC lift I love it idk why people hate on RC so much I mean sure back in the day they were horrible! But they've come up a lot. But one thing I do really hate about RC..... is on the 4.5 kit the leafs are too short. But guys let's face it every kit has their problems idc what brand it is.

macgyver35

Now you have my curiosity up. I was aware that years ago they had problems with the rear leaf packs being too short, but I was under the impression they got that fixed back in 2012. I ask because I have a new 4.5 X Series kit in my garage waiting to go on. How long ago did you buy your kit?

Atmos

thanks for reiterating my point (previous threads where I've said this before). I'll say again. there's a reason RC is the cheapest kit out there. if it's not the leafs it's the bushings wearing fast. you cannot have quality and cheap in the same lift kit. RC sucks. you won't have any complaints if you had a clayton or a T&T kit. but it'll cost you. and for good reason too. they're really high quality kits

there's nothing wrong with not being able to afford a great kit. but buying a cheap kit and saying it's pretty good is not favorable either

884x4

I'm gonna have to agree with you on this one, you get what you pay for. Some things are okay to buy from them, like coil springs or shackle relocation brackets. But for a while I had that wimpy piece of steel rc wanted to call a track bar.
Went through three of their heims in 3 months. Had horrible costomer service, and sent me the wrong part.
There will be issues with rc lifts. I would stay away from them when buying things with bushings or joints in them.

macgyver35

Again, just as I asked the previous poster, when did you buy your lift? I'm trying to establish if those of you that have had problems bought your lifts recently, or if these were from 2012 and prior when they had known issues.

884x4

My lift is from about 2010. Rear is an add a leaf though. The track bar was brand new in 2013. Heim went bad in about a week. Got rid of that stupid thing within 3 months.

Hewittxj

Back to the original thread
You all have your points I have my idea on what I need now yes plenty of you were hating on the 6.5 I have a 2.5 right now and on the trails round here higher is much better can't do majority of the trails right now and I am limited. Ok so rc is a cheap brand lift but to me it's worth it to at lest have the lift.
Ok it's expensive to go over 6 but it's not like I can not just wait to get the rest of the parts I don't NEED the lift in tomorrow or anything.

JD Cravin

RC hate... What's new? Lol
I've had the RC 6.5" LA lift for almost 4 years and I've put it through a crap load of hard wheeling... And guess what? No issues with any of the joints and bushings.

I'm positive that my preventive maintenance has had a direct influence on this, but that goes with any lift.

One thing I highly recommend is that once you install your lift, you make sure to retighten everything at least 3 or 4 times. New bolts stretch like hell and become loose, and this leads to play and premature failure.

Also, if it has a zerk fitting... Use it. It's super important to make sure each bushing or joint that can hold grease, has plenty of it. I'm not talking once a year or once every blue moon, I personally grease everything at least every other time I go wheeling. As you know, offroading is the hardest thing you can put your vehicle through. Subsequently you need to do maintenance on it.

Take care of your lift and it will last a long time.