casual

What do you thinks the best size lift & tire for a camping/expidition vehicle that is still an everyday driver? I've come up with this...
31x10.5 & RC 3" series II w/ full packs VS 33x10.5 & RC 4.5" long arm kit w/ full packs!
I've been making the XJ into a camping style rig for the family. Its main duty is daily driver, then trail rig on the weekends! Its a 96' and so far I've rebuild the motor & done some interior work. I tryed to make the motor more efficient while adding some power. So I did a ported head, stock cam, 99 intake manifold, 63mm throttle body, electric fan, bigger valves, 1.7 roller rockers, .060 & polished rods, decked the head & block so the quench area would only be the head gaskets thickness, everythings blueprinted & balanced...the squish(sp?) or quench area is .043mm & she runs on 87oct! Used a Apexi safc to tune in!
Now I can't decided what I want to do with the lift. I have a D30 w/ 3.73's and a Ford 8.8 with 3.73's and a locker for dirt cheap...and since I would only upgrade to 4.10's, I think I'll be fine for a while since its not much of a jump. I'd like to do some mild-moderate trails, maybe a little crawling but nothing to serious..mostly getting into spots to camp that the average joe can't! I see all these amazing camping spots/scenic pictures and I know I need to experience that with my family. This jeep will travel the states!!!

So if you have a few minutes help me build my rig, give me ideas, thoughts & info. Help me experience a little of what everyone else is experiencing!

troy fritz

If your going to use it to travel the states then I would do a 3in and 31's. XJ's are very capable with that set up. and it will be a little nicer for traveling and MPG's. Stick with the 3.73's also for MPG's again.

dogger15

Learn to wheel with a smaller lifted jeep first so you find out what you can and can not do with it. No point of having a big lift and now know how to use it

Bustedback

A bigger lift and tires will get you stuck further away from civilization ans out of cell range.

casual

Thanks for the advice guys, all good points..mpg isn't a big concern, but something to think about nontheless. Learning to wheel & getting comfortable with it is a very good info, as I didn't even think about it! Also with the bigger lift & tires, I'd probably get cocky & try something that will get me stuck or broke too far from help.
If anything I can always upgrade later down the road if its not enough. And I plan on keeping the 3.73's no matter what, cause I'd only upgrade to 4.10s, even with 33x10.5's..and it doesn't seem worth it to jump to 4.10's.

Thanks for the help guys!

casual

What do you guys think about a 4.5" RC LA kit with 31's?

JCKustoms

"In my opinion"...this is the perfect setup.

XJ4life92

I'm running a 4 inch lift and 235/75s (31s on the way) and I love it. It was a rustys 3 inch with full leaf packs...the full packs actually gave me 4 inches of lift, so add a 1-1/4 inch spacer to the front, iron man 4x4 full adjustable lower, and upper control arms along with his full adjustable track bar, and its a real nice set up. I've read that lifting too much on short arms can deteriorate your ride quality....but my jeep rides better then stock...minus the drive shaft vibrations, slip yoke eliminator on the way as well. But then again, I do like a firmer ride....but if you set it up right, they work great.

Here's some pictures off-road with that setup....granted the long arm kit would still be better...I'm probably going to to with a different company other then RC if I do get a kit. I've been eyeing up T&T customs kit. I really like their belly pan/control arm mounts. The mounts are set up higher then the RC kit. And I like Clayton off-roads, or rustys control arms.

casual

Thanks alot guys. Plans are 3" & 31's..I may piece together my own kit though. Have a few questions I need answered first.

1: How much better would adjustables be? We have a set of Currie upper & lowers on my buddys jeepspeed style rig & they seem very helpful/useful & because both ends are johnny joints it flexs like mad.

2: Are longer leafs better...idk if thats the right question, but I see alot of people talk about shackle angles & I'm curious about this.

3: Whens a drop pitman arm need? Why is it needed?

4: Any other concerns I should have, or anything else to think about if I decided to piece together my own kit.

SHANE 87

I have a 3in lift with 31's and I do pretty good offroad but I do flex out all the way and loose traction. I also have trouble with ground clearance in spots. In my opinion a 3in lift and 31's are the perfect spot to start.

troy fritz

At 3in my front brakes were good but the rear hose was kinda tight. I went with a brake hose from a 96 4x4 Dakota [ 6in longer then XJ]. You'll have to wait til lift is in to see if yiou need a ts drop. You should be good though. I ran stock arms for a long time and when I got my longer arms it rode a lot nicer. I'm at 4.5in now and still have stock pitman arm.

XJ4life92

double jonny joints would probably be a bit rough riding, as in feeling vibrations more. poly is stiffer then rubber, but johnny joints are basically like a heim joint, just with teflon (i think) bushings.

you only need a drop pitman when you drop your track bar also. you shouldnt need one untill you go over 4.5 inches or so. i dont really like them, i just sheared my steering shaft with a stock pitman arm...a drop would just add more leverage. the best set up is where you track bar, and drag link are as close as possible to parallel. then you would have minimal bump steer....but if you were to just put a pitman drop, or a track bar drop, you would probably see bump steer.

the rear brake line will either need to be extended, or make up a different frame side mount to lower the hard line. stock control arms kinda limit flex as well, the rectangle shape hits the shock mount at full flex. i had a rustys 3 inch and the control arms bottomed out before the shocks.

casual

All good info again thank you guys. Ya I think I'll just stick with rubber bushings on both ends for now, especially since this is a "starter lift". And I know I'll go bigger, so I'll just keep it cheap & simple.

So I guess aftermarket fixed length lower arms, and stock uppers? Or should I do aftermarket uppers as well?
As far as the drop pitman arm, I plan to run the RC 1.5-4.5" adjustable trackbar, and most likely zj steering for a cheap upgrade. No sure if that matters.
Probably yj lines up front & dakota lines in the rear.

XJ4life92

The stock upper.are good. I believe they are 15" eye to eye...I have my uppers at...I think around 15.5" and lowers at 17. The adjustable lowers I got are too long....they were used off a jeep with a 6.5 inch lift and don't go short enough....when flexed the rub the front of the fender....better too long then too short. And as long as you keep your stock track bar bracket, and stock pitman arm...you will be fine. If you change one, change the other as well.

casual

Making a call to Jason at RC today, plan to buy the 3" series II lift.

Need to know shock lengths though, as I want to run bilsteins 5100's.
No idead if these will work or not but someones selling some 5100's brand new and its a decent deal..Heres the lengths on them

From Bilstein site:
Front:*Collapsed Length (IN): 14.98
*Extended Length (IN): 24.61
Rear:*Collapsed Length (IN): 15.48
*Extended Length (IN): 24.59