jdjonesdr

Hi guys,

I like to throw my situation out to you guys, and hear your opinions.

Basically, I bought a 90' Cherokee that was pretty worn out, and changed just about everything but the engine, transmission, and springs. I detailed the fixing up in this thread:

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f64/he...public-151585/

After all that was said and done, here is a pic of the results:


As you can see, it sits nice and level like it should.

What I'm not sure about, however, is how they are supposed to ride. For sure, this things rides like a brand new vehicle, EXCEPT if I'm going over a speed bump or hit any kind of pothole in the road. The front bottoms out waaaay too easy, IMHO. It feels like it's front heavy.

Is this something that Cherokees are known to do? Does this one look like it's too low?

Maybe the springs are "tired?"

At this point, I'm not sure what I want to do. I wanted to restore it back to stock, but now I'm thinking maybe a 1" or 2" lift kit would be in order.

What I don't think I want to do is get into the whole "new rims, new 30"(31"-32"-33") tire" mindset, but then again, I don't want to have the "skyscraper suspension with go-kart wheels" look either.

I am just using it on weekends at this point, and do not plan on doing much along the lines of offroad driving either.

It would be great to hear your opinions, and if I decide some sort of lift kit should go in, which do you think it should be?

Thanks!

ta2tony

Awesome XJ. I'd recommend the Old Man Emu ~2" lift. Mild lift and from everything I've read its the best ride you can get. It'd also look fine with your stock tires, or give you a little room to go up a size in the future next time you need to replace the rubber...

jdjonesdr

I like the OME, but down here, it costs more than twice as much as up there.

If I don't come up with a better idea, I'll probably go that route. I'm hoping I'll get a few more suggestions.

OEJ

Its hard to say, with what your plans are and all.
But i would do the 2" too. I would also do some Silver soft 8s with 4 or 4.5 bs, just to give it a nicer stance. Then i would do a 235 tire, which is a 29".

Shipping would be killer though, i'm sure.
Something to think about. Sweet 2dr.GL.

kirknd4spd

If its bottoming out, your springs and shocks are worn out. A 2" lift with replacement springs front and rear would be good, and throw some good shocks on with the lift. 2" would still look ok with the stock tires too.

jdjonesdr

Thanks guys..


I forgot to mention I've already installed new shocks on all 4 corners, which is why I was thinking it's suffering from tired springs.

OEJ, if you don't mind, what are the super soft 8s, with 4 or 4.5 bs (duh)?

ohio95xj

soft 8's are wheels rims, the 4 or 4.5 bs(backspacing) on the rims would make the tires stick out a bit more than stock, giving your jeep an overall better look

OEJ

What he said..lol

Silver soft 8s are cragar steel rims but they are silver not black.
u can get a full set for like 200 bucks. cheap as hell and tough.

jdjonesdr

Gotcha!..I suppose I could use wheel spacers too. That would widen the stance as well. I don't have any experience with those, however.

While I'm here... I've also been thinking about going the air bag lift route. I can get a set of 4 for 180 bucks on Amazon, and the would allow me to add whatever lift I want (within reason, of course) and would make the thing ride a helluva lot better, I'm sure.


Have you ever heard of anyone using those?

I had them on the back of my pickup, and could raise and lower the rear with an air compressor.

I'm thinking I could stick those on, and raise the front another inch or so, and get an air ride to boot.

holycaveman

anything but stock springs will make it ride like a truck. Just letting you know.

You can find nice larger tires that fit on your rims. 30" tires would look great and you would not even have to lift it.

For a lift 1.5in blocks work great, also spacer on the front springs. This raises u up just a little and keeps that nice stock ride.

And totally reliable and safe.

I put aftermarket springs on my xj now. And I regret it ride wise. I will eventually get stock springs and spacers again.

OEJ

Blocks???

1.5" aren't real bad. i just would go any higher than that with "blocks"

While probably not an issue with a 1.5" block; blocks allow severe axle wrap to occur under hard accell and hard braking.
just sayin. but 1.5" is prolly ok.

holycaveman

Yea, I don't mean the 12in hill billy blocks that I STILL see on pick ups! LOL


But a 1.5 and even two inch block can help a lot. I run mine pretty rough, and the 1.5in block worked great and put my jeep right where I wanted it. Great for fine tuning without buying yet another set of springs. Not to mention you can get them with a slight angle that helps your driveline from vibes.

jdjonesdr

Thanks for the suggestion. The option I am considering is not springs, it's a airbag system that fits inside the original springs(on the front, anyway) Once they're inside the spring, you inflate it, and it will raise the vehicle anywhere from 1-2 inches.

I loved the ride on my Range Rover with air suspension. I'm not kidding myself; I know it won't be the same, but I think it would still ride smoother without bottoming out.

BTW, When I bought the new tires, I tried a 30" tire, and it made contact with the under body. I ended up going with the stock size tires.

I'm guessing with the lift from the airbags, a 30" would fit.