98 brutus

I love my xj but alot of people around me drive lifted wranglers which is better annd why? What can one and other do that the other can't? What would be a better build idea?

xebraj

Well wranglers have a shorter wheelbase so they can fit into slighty tighter places (like tank traps), but the longer wheelbase of xjs makes the ride smoother and can help on certain obsticles. cherokees have a lot more room for friends, subwoofers, beer, etc and you can sleep in them! Xj's dont have a seperate frame which means no body lifting but IMO you'll be better off with it being all suspention lift anyways. They share a lot of the same parts so one really isnt going to outperform the other. I say be different from the others and build an xj! Every one knows wranglers are for girls.

xebraj

by the way i think this belongs more in the cherokee chat section.

bluedragon436

I will have to say that I would go with the Cherokee... for the above listed reasons... Also because you can get a Cherokee for way cheaper than a Wrangler anyways.. because no one really wants to build them... they all want the Wranglers... but that is fine by me... I'll take my better handling, longer wheelbase, and plenty of storage space any day!!

EUGENE the JEEP

THATS RIGHT ! WHAT HE SAID

Irongrave

Depends on what you want to do. under a 35in tire stockish alxes and such XJs are a great rig. near perfect wheel base and a good time on the trails. however if you start going out and doing stupid trails and want to run bigger axles and 37s wranglers make a better starting platform. Also body lifts are not all bad i wish i could do a 1in BL with a tummy tuck on my XJ (motor mount and t-case lift to match body lift)

BigC9164

and not to mention everyone has lifted wranglers. AND....cherokees come with chryco 8.25 rear axles and not tiny dana 35s.

Dakota5605

Me and my son are in the process of building an XJ, but, with that said the only real big difference I see is that the XJ with it's unibody, if you roll it, it's toast, with the wrangler it's just body damage. What made our decision to do the XJ is cost, XJ's are an inexpensive way to get into offroading

RkyMtnH

Some Cherokee's did come with the d35.
However, XJ's are a good platform to start with. Eventually the un-body will get damaged with hardcore trails. The longer wheelbase does come in handy on hill climbs.
Wrangler's have a plethora of parts available to them. Full frames definitely make for a more solid platform. If you get too much body damage, there's always another tub to be found somewhere to swap it out with.

RkyMtnH

Some Cherokee's did come with the d35.
However, XJ's are a good platform to start with. Eventually the un-body will get damaged with hardcore trails. The longer wheelbase does come in handy on hill climbs.
Wrangler's have a plethora of parts available to them. Full frames definitely make for a more solid platform. If you get too much body damage, there's always another tub to be found somewhere to swap it out with.

bravododger

For the most part were all a little partial to XJ's, but anyone can do the math. Look at the cost of the rig/parts/reliability/capability and of course fun. It all equals XJ. Plus Wronglers are played out! And with the current craze of less is more (see March JP mag). They are running smaller and smaller tires with less lift to get CG under control. Something we dont really worry about.

rweaver138

your asking on a CHEROKEE forum whats better to build lol, of course most are going to say cherokees.

with that being said from what i've seen wranglers cost alot more to buy and cost alot more to build.

i like the XJ because its more practical, and it doesnt drive like complete **** on the road

EUGENE the JEEP

XJ ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!!!!

azxj99

Motor size, I love blowing by the wronglers after a group run

cherokeeaddiction23

for one xjs are practical, me and my buddy were making fun of a wrangler guy the other day, he was in his jeep wearing a hat, gloves, and a big winter coat haha, while we we're having to take our coats off cause it got so hot in my jeep haha, also the cherokees just have more room, like i said, very practical, and there are too many lifted wranglers, its not even cool anymore haha