Suspension can't decide, need imput
 

Ok I have a 92 xj Laredo. It's fairly stock besides 16 inch soft 8 with 265/75/16 at tires. I'm looking at a new suspension do to how rough the current system is. And I mean rough. it came with a few extras like extended break lines, tubular lca, and a bracket the drops the track bar, 1 inch on the axel side. I'm pretty sure the previous owner was getting ready to put on a lift I'm assuming. But I'm looking for a new suspension system that will give it a better ride on and off road that goes well with these parts. This is my dd during winter and I want to not feel like I'm in a wooden wagon every time I hit a bump. Looking for 3 to 4.5 inch lift with budget in mind. Also is the drop bracket really necessary at all?

Well, you'll get about 1000 different answers to this, but you wouldn't go wrong with Metalcloak (What I have, and love). Other quality options are Rubicon Express, or calling Dirk over at DPG shop. He's a great guy and a wealth of knowledge.


If budget is a concern, a guy here named Fred can tell you about the Rusty's lift that he swears by. You'll see mixed reviews on Rusty's but Fred runs it and loves it, and honestly the price is really reasonable.

How does your setup feel on road? Cause mine is mainly on pavement, only get to see the trails when we have the time.

Have a look at the Rustys 3" lift full leaf/coil/shock/hardware package about the only one made in NA and not China. Its an entry level kit with the highest quality of them all. You get the basic's then you can add on to it if/when you wish with optional equipment of the quality you desire not what someone else sticks in a kit for you like many do. This kit is $438 and the only item needed with it would be an adj. track bar if you don't have one now.


With this kit you can upgrade it to 4 1/2" lift very easy I did using the same leafs/coils where some of the expensive kits the are no upgrade paths with them and others are just plain poor quality. There are many kits out there but cost vs. quality Rustys has the edge.

My rear leaf springs are Rusty's, got them used so the bushings are toast but the springs themselves are great! My shackle angle is around 50-60 degrees where I want it. The other day I ordered a crossmember from Rusty's and if you don't count MLK day as a shipping day then it got here in 2 days.

On road is great. It's firmer than stock but otherwise everything feels good!

Ha! Called it! I knew you'd chime in with info on Rusty's. Always good advice, and helps that a gleaming review comes from someone USING the parts.

Ive never heard of an axle side drop for the TB....do you mean a piece that mounts to the frame? Those are helpful for lifts 4.5 and up.

For budget minded folks I would stress a 3in. lift. They are great and usually dont require the severe number of parts to make everything "normal" again. Some say they have 4.5 lift and no issues.....that is rare with just your basic "lift kit" parts. You may still need some more added items to make a 3in lift work perfectly but that is far less frequent. Here is the list of generally needed items.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...2d7929c446.jpg

[QUOTE=gunmetal_nightrider;3203015]Ive never heard of an axle side drop for the TB....do you mean a piece that mounts to the frame? Those are helpful for lifts 4.5 and up.

Sorry for the late reply been moving. But no it was a bracket the bolted in the factory axle housing on the axle side. It dropped it about an inch but it pushed the trac bar over so the whole geometry of the front end was off. I took it off this weekend since it snapped in half while I was towing a trailer cause the great death wobble haha. Now it rides a bit smoother. But as far as a lift goes I'm most likely going to go with 4.5" with 33x12.5 just have to get 15" rims. Hopefully the engine can move the tires lol. Thanks for your help guys, I'm new to jeeps so I'll have tons of questions.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...60db2e7620.jpg


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...387a8851d9.jpg

This was the bracket that was on the axle side. As you can see it failed horribly lol

Huh....interesting. Now i know lol. 4.5 and 33s is a popular combo. The engine moves just fine for 33s, 35s....37 i suppose but at that point most are doing engine work anyway. The important think to know about tires is: GEAR RATIO. Plenty of reading on that out there. Basically, your stock axle is geared for the tiny stock tires. If you increase tire size but not your gears in the axle, the engine revs go higher to maintain the same speed with the wider diameter tire. Physics and stuff. Plenty stick with stock gears and 33s and dont mind. However they suffer power loss and mpg loss, especially if it is a daily driver.

The transfer case and transmission are also part of the gear equation but they really dont mean anything unless you are into serious rock crawling. Bleepinjeep on youtube changed his transfer case stuff to get much more crawling power at slow speeds....but thats way beyond 4.5 and 33s.

Yea I'm looking at rebuilding the trans and the transfer case, especially since they have 240k on them. As far as gearing I'm trying to decide between 4.56 or 4.10.

For the 33" tires you need the 4.56 gears to bring it back to a stock ratio. I run 33's and 35's off road only and that gearing works OK for me and what I do.


Another thing to consider when doing gears is to install lockers at the same time as no extra labor is required to do them even with a full case locker. If you don't install a full case locker in the D30 with the 4.56 gears you will need a new carrier to do the install also.


My XJ is quite heavy with added equipment and additional wind drag yet it still gets about 15-17 mpg and the heavy lug 33" MS tires.

I love my Rubicon Express/Bilstein set up, rides nice, takes a beating, and travel for days haha(long arms help with that) I'd personally go the piece your own kit together route(I did the 2nd time around) That way you can choose each part you want from each company eventually building the exact kit you want. What I'd do if I were you is:
4.5" Metalcloak coils
3.5" RE Leafs
Shackle Relocation Brackets
1" lift shacks
Adjustable trackbar
Adjustable uppers and lower(Long arms would ride and articulate better)
Longer Brake lines
Bilstein 5100s at each corner
SYE & new drive shaft
Then throw whatever size tires you want. 35s look good at 4.5'' with light trimming.

Yea it definitely needs gearing. It has 265/75/16 on stock gears and im getting maybe 12 mpg on the highway. I'll be going with 4.5 lift from rustys, I was able to talk to talk to them and they sold me. One thing I know I'll have to address is the dana 30 up front. It has the half shaft up front, so I'll be upgrading it to full shafts. I also plan on putting a locker in the rear that's no big deal. On the front I'm leaning towards an air locker since it will be a dd for my wife and I.

One thing I for got to ask was with the 4.5 lift and 33x12.5 tires what backspacing on 15x8 rims should I keep in mind to not rub on the lca and or fenders. I plan on using flares to make some room. Thanks guys for your input on this.