To modify or not to modify...
 

I have owned my 99' Cherokee for almost 8 months now and really haven't done anything to it other than routine maintenance. Recently with the summer months upon us I have seen alot of lifted cherokees and really like the look but am having a problem deciding if I want to lift mine or not. Mainly I use my cherokee as a daily driver for back and forth to work and other stuff, I have rarely taken it off road at all, my main concern is that with a lift and driving it daily I will end up putting alot more wear and tear on the drive train. I do not want to cause premature failure of components because I am adding alot of strain on them. Will a small lift, like 3" be practical for a daily driver or should I just leave it as it is and drive it? I am looking for any advice or suggestions you guys can give me. Thank you in advance.

It's not like this hasn't been asked before..... Lol do a search around and you can read up on how to do a lift properly where wear is minimum to none on the drivetrain. Good luck

These things are like an addiction. It starts with a small lift then a bigger lift, many sets of wheels/tires, diffs, bumpers, stickers and anything else you can get on it.

A 3" would be a good start. Springs front and rear, shocks and a little more.

I've got a 3" RC lift on mine and it's a DD. I have no complaints at all. My gas mileage is the same as when it was stock (15 MPG). I am, however, rolling on 235's, I'm waiting for those to wear out before getting 31's. I know a lot of people hate on RC, but me and some friends have their lifts and we have no problems with it.

If you're not going to be wheeling it, I really don't see the point in a lift and bigger tires. If my Jeep was only a daily driven rig, it would still be stock, but I wheel it hard all the time as well as being my dd, so I did a mild lift and 33's.

I remember when I had my first jeep. Put a cheap 3 inch rustys lift on and was almost scared with the places it would get me. Then 3 years and 3 jeeps later (and about 10k later) I had a 5" custom built 3 link and was bouncing off rocks and lifting tires.
Im never content...

Fwiw get a quality 3" lift and you'll be happy..for a while

for a street driver, trim the fenders and put on some 31's and new rims. it will DRASTICALLY change your appearance

see?

Attachment 339902

this cost me practically nothing

Attachment 339903

There are a lot of pros and cons on lifting. Read up on it. Mine has a 4 inch Timco lift on it and it use to ride like a buck board. I installed a Control arm drop bracket and I really did help. I do like to take my xj out the the back country. I did find out that if someone that is a dumba$$ will go somewhere their jeep is not ready for. Lol and it wasn't me but I did have to go and get him. Lift and tires doesn't mean you can go everywhere the big boys go. Mods like lockers, gears, and brakes are the next step.

Don't change it. Why spend money on a lift and tires if they won't be used right? Why spend more money gas? Good to hear that you do regular maintenance. But you could do something else to your Jeep instead of a lift.

i agree with everyone telling you to leave it alone.

i have a cherokee that i DD, as well. i have 0 intention of offroading it. the lifted XJs look cool and all, but I really don't see the point in (possibly) compromising the reliability and general longevity of a perfectly good jeep. i'm the kind of person that designates a purpose for my vehicles. if I wanted an offroad rig that's what i'd build. if I wanted a fast one that's what i'd build. mixing intended purposes gets expensive and frustrating as most people don't have the required blank checks to make their vehicle do everything *right.

and the resale value. I hate seeing a jeep on craigslist with crap suspension add ons. I'll pay more for a clean slate. only reason I cut the fenders on my blue jeep when it was stock was because I knew that jeep would spend the rest of it's life (and soon to be death) with me

A lift is fine if its done right and when you run bigger tires you regear the axles to match the tires.Only down side is lifting and bigger tires you might lose a few mpg in the end tho.

My view, coming from driving some modified cars every day, unless you are driving a ton, or a lot of far trips and need the extra mpg just do whatever. I will probably lift mine a bit because the suspension needs replacing anyway.