Hello everyone my name is Tye and I just bought my frist jeep and know nothing about the lifts. I want to run a 3inch lift and 33s, it will just be a "Mall Crawler" as yall call it, no rock clawing, trail riding maybe a little a little mud but thats it. I do not want to cut the fenders, I have google it and many say yes and a lot say no so Im just lost. Any help would be great.

 

You have to cut the fenders to run 33s on that much lift.
Otherwise your going to be scrubbing them like ****

 

What if I put a set of Bushwacker on it I know you have to cut the fenders to run them and thats fine because the flares cover the cuts

 

Get either Napiers or Bushwackers (I'd recommend Napiers) and you will also need either wheel spacers or offset rims. With these you should be fine.

 

With bushwhackers it should be ok.

You'll need to bumpstop and get rims with more offset

 

You'll be trimming no matter what

 

ok thanks guys and Yes I do have have new wheels order

 

You're welcome. And just to give you an idea of what it will look like. Feel free to check out the sticky in Cherokee Chat titled XJ Lift/Tire setup thread. There are a few with 3" lifts and 33's in there.

 

Part of installing bushwhackers is trimming the fenders...

 

You will be trimming.
Also plan on regearing if you want any decent fuel economy

 

Not a lot of trimming at all. And you can still keep the stock flares.

That is what I run. Stock backspacing and a 33 10.5 tire

I am 3 in the front and 3.5 in the rear. But honestly I could fit these on a 2 in lift with no problems what so EVER.

I am bumped about 1 3/4 front and rear. Also no swaybars, with 10 in shocks front and rear.

The front fender I trimed about an inch off of and re mounted my stock flares. The rear is just trimmed on the bottom edges.

 

The catch is if you go to a 12.5 tire, then you will have to do a lot more trimming. OR if you go with a wider backspacing. My 10.5 tires still tuck up in the fender wells. I think I have room for one more inch per tire, width wise.


I could run 34's if I bumped another inch. My fronts right now fully compressed are only 1/2 inch from hitting the washer bottle in the front fender. LOL

Your lift does not matter at all. Its all backspacing, tire width, and bump stops.

Lift is just for looks as where you want your jeep to set.

But I have a good bit of articulation. So I run it close everywhere for more flex.

 

Everyone always talks about people buying 3" lifts that they will want to go bigger. but really 3" is all you would ever need

 

Great explanation HOLLYCAVEMAN. listen to him. he's right. its all back space, bmp stop and tire width.

My initial lift is 3". then I added a budget boost because I really wanted to be at 4.5
So I am one of those who had 3 and wanted bigger, only because I wanted a certain look. I never even saw what she looked like with 3". I just know me...lol

 

Remember that every Jeep acts differently to different mods.