2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport - EXTREMELY Slow High School Build
 

Sup guys. I got my 2001 XJ Sport about a year ago from a family friend for $600. Had 79k miles at the time and a cracked windshield, but everything else was working brilliantly. I'm planning on lifting this Jeep about 3.5"-4.5" and throwing 31s under there, as I'm a low budget 17-year-old who only drives this Jeep.

I'm looking at the IRO 4" kit and the RE 3.5/4.5" kit, with more interest in the RE 3.5". It seems to sit high, stuff 31s well, and has provides good ride offroad and on street. Any input appreciated. :thumbup:

Anyway, on to some pictures!

When we first got the Jeep (after a wash and wax, of course)

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After some new tires from my dad and some messing around behind the town pool

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Poser flex shots in my driveway

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600 bucks. what a steal!

Basically! I mean, the leafs springs are so old that they're bending down, but that's nothing a lift will fix, so I don't even care! Basically stole the thing. :D

nice xj, can't believe you got it for $600

If you're gonna lift it, do it right, and go bigger than you think you'll want to start.. You will always want bigger tires :) Go 32's, you won't regret it! trim if you have to.. And if you wanna spend the money, go long arms! otherwise, the RE kit is definitely a great kit if you're set on the price/size you're looking at. but if you go 4 or 4.5" definitely go bigger than 31's, they get old quick!

Yeah, definitely. The one thing is I'm really low budget, which sucks. I'm really liking the 4" and 5.5" long arm kits from IRO, but I can't seem to find any useful information on them. Do you guys know if they're high quality or not?

So am I man... I'm looking to save up for tnt's long and because they bend to tuck up and give a little more clearance. I know one guy that runs the IRO arms and I haven't heard him complain.. Don't know too much detail though on them

Iron rock long arms are highly frowned upon by the hardcore guys. but everyone that runs them is very happy. it is tempting because it looks very good for the price, but don't be fooled it is one of the lower quality kits out there. my recommendation, buy what you can afford. if you hate it a year from now then replace it with something better

The only thing with that is that if I spend money now and hate it, its just more money I have to come up with later. I'd love to get the BDS 4.5" long arm kit, but that is extremely expensive.

It's definitely a good thing to save up for what you want, rather than just spending what you have and settling..

I run IRO on both my XJs, my trail rig and my JeepSpeed XJ both have IRON ROCK long arms. A lot of my the guys in my club run iron rock and never have heard a complaint from them. RC is good stuff for the price. Rubicon Express is always at the top of the list but its their cost. I'd say look around some of the builds around here and do some research cuz you don't want to restart anything.

I vote for you piecing your own 4.5 inch kit together with Rubicon Express stuff and maybe another brand for certain things.
For example:
RE 4.5" coils: 80 bucks
RE Chromoly Heim Joint Trac Bar: 110 bucks
RE 4.5 Leafs: 220
RE Superflex ADJ LCA's: 220.
Thats the base of your lift kit..only other thing you would really need is shocks. This is what I did (with those parts specifically).. So without shocks your in around 700 bucks for an all RE lift. Buy cheap shocks if you cant afford bilsteins..but if you want a nice ride go with BIlstein or OME. You can straighten your front brake lines, might be able to get away with a stock rear one (I have an extended). Youll need U bolts, and thats about it.

it's the only way you can learn. I bought a rubicon 4.5" becuase of these yahoos on the forum telling me I need an expensive lift. I'm happy with it because I only paid $400 for it. I would be pretty upset if I had payed full price for this. the point is no one on here can tell you what you will like. you'll have to buy what you can afford and learn from there. I also highly recommend figuring how to piece together a suspension. keep on researching and you'll find something that suits you

I'm really liking this idea. I'm not sure if I'd need the brake lines at this height, though. Also, I heard IROs track bar is beefy as hell so I might get that instead. This makes a lot more sense, especially since I won't need all of the stuff from the kit. One thing, though, would I want both the upper and lower control arms, or just lower? Also, I might just build it with long arms and not bother with the short arm stuff.

If your going long arms add an extra 500 at least to the price. I built my own kit using RE stuff and have about 700 into it. You dont need new uppers but they are nice to have.