Hello all!

I am new to the whole 4x4 world and would like to get some feedback. I have a stock '99 XJ that I want to use for basic off-roading. Mainly logging roads for hunting and winter fun. No need for any big 4x4 and oh my existing shocks are toast.

I was looking at a 2" lift so things would not get complicated. The OME 2" seems to get good reviews.

http://jeepinoutfitters.com/scripts/...?idproduct=645

The tires I was looking at were Medalist 31" but, I am not sure if they will fit or not with a 2" lift especially if I have to chain up.

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

Thanks for the help

you can fit 31s if you trim a little off the fenders. but only 30s if you dont want to trim

So if I wanted to keep the 31" tire I could go with either these two? I went and measured and rear is currently lower by 1 3/4" inches now.

I will be adding a custom welded bumper to the front and back with a winch plus a steel roof rack that I need to whip up. Am I going to need to change something with this added weight?

RE 3.5 Lift and than add shocks separately?
http://jeepinoutfitters.com/scripts/...?idproduct=219

OME 3" Lift
http://jeepinoutfitters.com/scripts/...?idproduct=429

The RE 3.5 kit you could likely get 32's on it with just a little trimming but not much. My RE 3.5 measures out to almost 4.5" of lift.

go with a 3" - 3.5" kit to get yourself plenty of room for your suspension to flex and to fit chains on your 31s without fear of rubbing.

the rear probably does not sit that much lower than the front...how are you measuring? cause you have to keep in mind the fender openings are different on your jeep

Well I was measuring from the ground up. I assume than their is a more accurate way.

well if you want to do the easy,kinda accurate way measure from the ground to the body line,it is a pretty consistant level line across the vehicle,if you are measuring from ground to bottom of fender that will not work,notice how much lower on the body the rear fender opening is,there is a technical way to do it but i'm not 100% on it...also factory measurement(from hub to bottom of fender) is 17.5 front 17 rear

If you're planning on installing heavy after market battle bumpers, winch or rear tire carrier. I recommend going with a 4.5" lift with your 31s. Make sure you get full replacement rear leaf spring packs, too. If your rear sits 1 3/4" lower than your front. You have some butt sag going on with your OEM rear springs. AAL or shackle will only be a temp. fix for this.

Thanks for the advice! I called and talked with folks at Jeepin and ordered up the RE 4.5" kit. Hopefully I can get this in over Christmas

Just to add a little tidbit about about tires and chosing the right size.. The Medalist Mud King tires listed as a 31" tire is actually 30.3" in total diameter so they will be closer to 30" not 31". Something I have learned in researching tires is if they come out between 30.1-31" in over all diameter they label them as a 31" tires. So those tires will more then fit a 2" lift.

I have a set of Mudkings that are labeled as a 30" tires and measure at about 29.4" so they really are closer to a 29" tire. On my RE 3.5 lift they look so tiny. I put my friends Firestone Destination MT's which measuer at a true 31" really made the jeep look damn nice.

Now my opinion on the Medalist Mudking stay far away. They don't wear well at all. My fronts are damn near gone and they have maybe 6k miles on em almost all highway miles. Rears are warn just not as bad. Cheap is good but you get what you pay for. My buddy with the Destinations has almost 40k miles almost all highway on his and they have way more tread left then mine.

I guess what I am sayin is when you are picking tires look at the over all diameter the manufacture lists not what they are labeled at.

Some examples..
BFG MT 31" over all diameter is 30.8" so closer to a true 31" tires.
Basically go over to tirerack or the manufacturers website and get the specs and look for overall diameter specs and go from there. If you want a true 31" tire find one as close to 31" as possible.

Well shoot. I just ordered these tires up off of summit racing as I was reading someone else had good luck with them. 6k miles on those tires is pretty **** poor.

I did have them switch out to smaller coil springs on the lift so that should help some but, I hope now it does not look like small donuts!! I wonder if I will get another inch in drop once I get the extra weight on it.

-R

OKCJeeper. I will give summit a call in the morning to see if I can cancel or at the least return the Mud Kings back . The BFG Mud 31" were my second pick and would be an extra 1/2 taller.

Hopefully between a combination of that, the smaller 3.5 coil springs. and some **** *** heavy steel front and back bumpers will even things out.

Well, if you're on a budget, there's always this route for lifts:
http://www.lunghd.com/Tech_Articles/...udget_Lift.htm
Note: It's a total headache. I went to JY today, everything was coated in snow...and cold. Didn't even pull any suspension parts, just a few switches for my lights.