My 18 year old son wants to put a 3" lift on his 2001 Cherokee. Just wondering what that does to the ride on the street and highway since it is a daily driver. Also , what brand lift do ya'll recommend? The lift is mainly for looks.

 

the ride will just be a little rougher, but your 18 yr old proably wont mind that

as for the kits rough country & rustys will be your cheeper kits and old man emu will be your better ride

rough country VVV
http://www.roughcountry.com/jeep_xj_3.html
rustys VVV
http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/merchan...ode=sus_xj_kit

 

it sucks, he'll hate it. absolutly not worth it. I would rather walk..

just kidding..

I love mine. I have a case of Inchitis and am bumping up to 4". so be prepared, lift kits come with side-effects, like..wanting more.. Same with tires.

 

i have a 3" lift on my 91 from tuff country. its ok if you are not gonna do serious wheelin. but as stated by others in time you will find yourself wanting more, as i have and so the build starts. the ride and handling of mine didn't change a whole lot. caution him and he will figure it out.

 

my friend has it on his and his rides really smooth...i would go with rustys or rough country

 

If you can talk him down from 3" to 2", the kit will come with coil spacers which utilize the original coil springs, and lift blocks or shackles which also utilize stock. the ride quality will be nearly the same. It'll clear some 30's.

 

i just installed a 3 inch zone lift on my daily driver and its alot softer and drives alot better then it did with the stock suspension

 

Did you get any vibes or wobbles? I just installed my 3'' zone kit with ext. quick release links and adj. trac bar (only part from RC the rest is all zone). I did coils and full leaf packs and the nitro shocks. Mine rides like hell! the mirrors vibrate so much they are useless when on the throttle. When I get off the gas or just back off a little while going down hill, so on the gas but not enough to gain speed while coasting down overpasses and such, I get this groaning/rough howling grinding from the rear. And if I go 50+ you better hold on tight cause this jeep twerks harder than Miley. I get this rapid death wobble that used to not happen till 70mph, then 60, and now consistant at 50mph.

This weekend I opened up the rear end. I changed the wheel bearings, checked the axles for damage (local 4x4 shop said they are bent) I saw no signs of that. The gears looked good in my least profesional opinion, and I didnt see shavings in the fluid. So i closed it all up and filled with new fluid. Nothing changed! I really need some help if anyone's got any! Please Apply!

 

I have the same kit on my '98. I get vibes between 35-45 mph. Need to get a slip yoke eliminator for the transfer case to smooth out the ride and correct the driveline geometry. Alternatively, you could do a transfer case drop kit, for the cheap way out.

Also a factor is the track bar. The Zone kit does not come with one, and you NEED an adjustable track bar for 3" kits and above. I have an Iron Rock Offroad track bar and it does just fine. The new suspension is a bit bouncy in the back I've noticed. It rides like a truck, basically. I love it.

 

Do NOT get the rear add a leaf, spend the extra money for a full leaf pack, its a much better ride. You must also get an alignment, you will ruin your tires if you dont.

Also you wear parts much faster and death wobble will more than likely show up. Death wobble is terrifying, every time I go over some rough road I get worried/remember the wobble, for me it was the most terrifying thing to happen while driving. Be prepared to spend twice as much as you expected. Normally on parts that will wear out faster. I had to change what were new ball joints about 4,000 miles after the lift, and parts just keep getting added on, I wish it wasnt lifted anymore. Wheel Hub Bearings are next at $130 a piece. I would suggest against a lift unless you have a spare vehicle when parts go bad.

 

For any lift kit id peace it together found this out the hard way. Get the front coils you want and adjustable track bar. Then figure out the rear most rear lift springs give you a bad shackle angel. So the rear will ride really ruff so then you need a shackle relocation bracket to fix the bad shackle angel. After you add the shackle relocation bracket you gain more lift in the rear now the rear sits higher than the front.
So for a 3in lift
Front
3in front coils
adjustable track bar.
Rear
Shackle relocation bracket
longer rear shackle.
longer shocks
longer brake lines.
Bigger tire
The list goes on.

 

I just installed a 3" full leaf spring rough country kit.. It is awesome... The ride is great to... Pain in the *** to install but well worth it...

Ant...

 

Rustys and rc are always junk

If you want something decent go with zone offroad and some nitro shocks. Quality? Go with old man emu or rubicon express

I've personally driven all 4 brands with different lifts and full leafs and aal. Zone 3" with aal and nitro shocks was the perfect balance IMO

My .02

 

I have a Rusty's 3.5" lift now consisting of the springs and Rubicon Express Superflex lower control arms. It's a great ride, I can vouch that Rusty's has a good quality at least in their springs. I will say that once lifted the build takes off as far as future ideas go. Never would of thought my Jeep would be like how it is today when I got it four years ago in high school. The lift made road imperfections easier to manage, body roll was slightly increased but easy to get used to. I'd recommend a 3" lift to anyone looking to start a jeep build without hurting the bank. One thing I haven't seen anyone mention so far though is that newer Cherokees such as your 2001 are more prone to drive-line issues with lifts 2+", this would call for a SYE (slip yoke eliminator) to fix any issues, but these can be expensive. Good luck with everything.

 

I vote for a 2" lift because it will have less adverse effects on the ride and is much cheaper and easier. -coil spacers - longer shackles -new shocks If money is less of an object you could use full coils and leaf packs with shackle relocation brackets and possibly adjustable lower control arms. Also possibly an adjustable track bar. Those are all more of a luxury thing with a 2" lift, but all of these things become more of a necessity with a 3" lift. Coming from a 19yo college student who has had an xj with a cheap 3."5 lift for about two years now. It's really starting to wear out. Tell your son to google some pictures of Cherokees with 30x9.5 tires on some nice lookin wider wheels. If he's only really going for looks I feel like that's a better option, IMO.