So I need to get an alignment done after installing my 3 inch lift, the problem is I do not know what the specs are. I went to NTB today and they told me that they align to factory specs which from what i have been reading is not the correct thing to do. My question is does any one know what the aftermarket alignment specs are for a 1998 Jeep Cherokee with a 3 inch lift?

 

3/16 - 1/4" toe-in seems to work the best on all the jeeps we lift. And between 6-7* caster if adjustable.

 

Thank you is that for any lift height? Also how often would you suggest to align the jeep if its on road for the majority of driving

 

The majority of lift heights work fine with that toe.

Maybe just have it checked once a year, or if you notice abnormal tire wear. Once your springs settle in it can change the toe slighlty.

 

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to much toe-in.

Front alignment spects for a lifted XJ are the EXACT same as a stock XJ. Lift height has nothing to do with proper castor, camber, or toe.

Using the right components will allow any jeep owner to get an alignment that meets the factory spec's.

SPECIFICATIONS
ALIGNMENT
NOTE: All alignment specifications are in degrees.
CASTER
PREFERRED+ 7.0°
RANGE + 5.25° to + 8.5°
MAX RT/LT
DIFFERENCE 1.25°


CAMBER (fixed angle)
PREFERRED − 0.25°
RANGE − 0.75° to + 0.5°
MAX RT/LT DIFFERENCE 1.0°

TOTAL TOE-IN
PREFERRED + 0.25°
RANGE 0° to + 0.45°
MAX RT/LT DIFFERENCE .05°

 

going to disagree with you there.
3/16" is not to much. and is a very small difference when measuring front to back of the front tires. toe can be found easily and accurately with a tape measure and some patience.

most of the jeeps have a tendency to wander(that "float" feeling) if set any less than that.

3/16"-1/4" makes them handle and respond much better than being toe'd at anything less than that. and the tire wear is even at that setting.

for anything that gets driven on the street a slight toe-in is needed for a stable feel at speed. just about every lifted jeep that leaves this shop gets that. sure, you can start at 0" toe and work your way from there...but most of the solid axle jeeps and there owners "like" that toe setting. and we set toe after every change in suspension, and every tire size change.

 

Excessive toe-en will wear out the tires in no time flat.

The spec.'s I posted are right out of the FSM.

 

i feel i should mention this to.

i was an alignment tech years ago, and while using the degree toe measurements and the sensors that mount to the wheels may work perfect for vehicles on stock size tires the measurements become inaccurate when someone changes to a larger size tire. if you measure at the wheel instead of the outside of the tire, the toe difference actually becomes larger with the taller tire.


example: an 1/8" toe in on 225/75/15 can become over 5/16" toe in on 35/12.5/15, even without messing with steering or suspension.


it is this reason that i would never recommend using the wheel mounted sensors for aligning a vehicle on larger tires.

 

that is not excessive. ive been doing alignments for years. 1/4" is not going to wear out the tires

 

I'll stick with the Factory spec's.

 

factory specs using wheel mounted sensors will not work correctly on larger tires. True toe settings WILL change when putting on larger tires, which is why factory degree settings will NOT work and toe needs to be measured with a different method.

this is the best display i could come up with to show this.


toe in numbers demonstrate the difference found between the front and rear of the tire.


obviously i just made these exact numbers up, but the theory still applies

 

im still runnning my stock tires so im guessing i should stick to factory specs, Thanks for the help this realy clears stuff up and will be very useful to look back at when i decide to run some larger tires