Hey guys, just got a 1995 XJ 2 door sport. I made some necessary mechanical repairs, new exhaust, new 02 sensors, and now I want to make her look cool.

I'm not that familiar with lifts, but I now that some people say it will ruin the ride and possible result in "death wobble" or that it can cause issues with steering.

She's an every day driver for me with not that much offride time, unfortunately, so I don't want anything too extreme.

I was thinking about a 2 inch budget boost lift to add a more aggressive look to to the jeep. Also considering a new roof rack and new grille with light mounts.

Taking any advice on lifts or other modifications.

Thanks.

 

To be honest, I wouldn't even bother with a 2 inch lift. You can hardly tell it's there. Even as a daily driver I would want to put my money into a full lift kit if aggressiveness was my main desire.

 

I agree. Honestly even 3 inches, you can tell its lifted but not a ton. If you're just looking to get a little more aggressive look, get ~3 inch or so lift. Looks good, functions well, but doesn't ride bad because you're not really changing as much of the engineering of the vehicle.

 

Get some wheels with a wider offset and aggressive tires. Does way more in the looks department than a 3" lift on stock size street tread

 

A 3.5" lift will look good with the stock wheels and tires as long as you keep the flares on. I had a 3.5 RC lift with 235/70/15 and it looked perfect.

 

3.5" (is what I have) and 31x10.5 tires, if you want to look aggressive I think a prerunner winch bumper even without a winch has that look, get some rock sliders

 

if you're not going to off road it then leave it the heck alone. save your money for later maintenance or a build when you're ready.

but if you have to.. I'd trim the fenders, take off some moldings, and put some cool black paint on it. I really liked the way my xj looked before I had the money for a build and the aesthetic changes cost me practically nothing. leave the rest alone

search around google. "cheap free mods cherokeeforum" etc..

 

I thought I was safe with 3' of lift WRONG!!

I wanted 4.5 of lift but settled for 3.5 re kit (full leaf, adj track bar, crown HD steering w/stabilizer and bilstiens) thought if I kept it low I wouldnt need all the extra crap. wanted a nice aggressive looking jeep that I could take on the trail.

After all that I still ended up needing SYE, DS, shims, and shackles, and shackle relocation kit CHA CHING. (another $500-600 in parts).

the more you buy the more you want and need.
and I still have about 3g's in parts I WANT

You MIGHT get away with not needing ANY of this extra stuff but I didnt. my drive vibes SUX, my shackle angle SUX

TheTRUTH bro, yorur opening a can of worms and you might end up in the deep end of the pool,even if you dont want too! And no one can tell you, you wont until the truck is lifted.

If someone would have gave it to me this simple my truck might still be STOCK, and thats the TRUTH.

stick with a 2' budget boost, maybe bump up to 235's anything else DEEP END OF THE POOL your been warned

 

^^shoulda done your research first. your can of worms is the average stuff that most of us expect to deal with when modifying. gotta learn to swim before diving in the deep... you get it

 

I think you guys scared the new guy away ha ha

 

Take off that brush guard thing and make it look nice with a new coat of paint, take off the panel trim, get the the 2" lift with the spacer and shackles, trim the fenders or just the flares depending on NY laws on that, and get some 30" tires and maybe look around CL for a nice set of new wheels with a wider stance

 

He already said he's not gonna be doing any crazy wheeling. He's just looking for a more aggressive stance. Theres a sslight possibility you'll need extra stuff. For me, 3inches came new coils and AAL. You really don't need a lot for that. Do whatever you want, that's just my 2c. There are tons of Jeeps running around with 3" lift and 31's with no problem.

 

i did at least I thought I did.

Went from thinking i wanted a Rustys AAL to RE full leaf. From the BS shocks they offer to Bilsteins. From 235 to 31's. From redrilling the track bar to adjustable. Nothing special, just MORE $$$ I hate buying crap twice. So I think I did do a fair amount of research.

I knew going in it was hit or miss with the SYE, DS, and shackle relocation. I MISSED. research. But I was AWARE

Im not complaining, Im just not going to do anything half azz or cheap. I found out what was good then found out what was better.

No one simply laid it out for me, so I did for him what i wish someone would have dont for me. I CUT TO THE CHASE!

So considering I have done most of this work in 2months and have another $3k on parts I want maybe im not in the deep end yet it just is what it is

 

lift kits dont really affect the handling up until u go above 4.5 if i were u id get a 3 inch lift with some nice shocks and a good trac bar you will be golden

 

Even a 3 inch is going to have bearing on his handling. He's using regular road tires and wheels without any offset. This changes the center of gravity tremendously and makes it so centripetal force can be unbearable on turns.