Like the title says, I'm looking for the best bang for my buck. Looking to get 4.5 in lift kit but not sure on what one to go with any suggestions?

 

Rubicon express 3.5" super ride. Will actually net 4.25-4.5" lift.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006GJ...ubicon+express

 

Alot of folks don't like them but I have the Rough Country 4.5 on my 2001. I have over 40,000 miles on it. It's my daily driver and I drive it 700 mile round trip to my deer lease every month. I don't wheel it hard but she gets dirty. They are good to go in my book.

 

Iron rock offroad... but as you can see everyone has an opinion lol.

 

Since you specifically asked which one was the best "for the money", keep these things in mind...

At 4.5" of lift you will NEED:

A Slip Yoke Eliminator to take care of driveline vibrations - $100-$150
A new rear driveshaft - $250, or a front shaft with new U-joints - $75 - $140.
Possibly shims for the rear springs - $30
A new fixed or adjustable track bar - $125 - $175
Possibly a dropped pitman arm for the steering - $70
Control arm drop brackets if you don't want it to ride like a pogo stick - $180
Extended front brake lines or relocation brackets - $25 - $70

Many kits do not come with these items, so just be aware of additional costs. There are plenty of cheaper kits that will technically give you the lift you want, but whether they will do it safely, reliably, and comfortably are entirely different arguments.

Other ancillary concerns:

With that kind of lift, it's assumed you'll be going for big tires. So if you are going for 32", plan on regearing your axles to avoid bogging down and severe loss of off-the-line power and acceleration. $1000 for DIY, and about $1700 to have a shop do it. And about $35 for a new speedo gear.

Tires that big require more to stop, so a brake upgrade may be in order. Were it me, I'd at least get drilled and slotted rotors, and high quality pads. Coupled with new steel-braided lines, that's a pretty decent improvement that is affordable - $225

If you live in a hot climate or do a lot of slow wheeling, a trans cooler might be needed, especially with the larger tires and the added strain they put on things. - $100

These are just some of the things off the top of my head. Some or all may apply to you. Just wanted you to be aware before you get elbow deep in the project.

 

LOL a big plus 1! But lets be honest (nothing against op) do we think he will do it like that the first go around or will he do like the rest of us and chase vibes while shelling out all that money inevitably?

 

Actually, I have a pile of new parts sitting in the corner of the garage waiting to go on. I started buying everything I would need to PROPERLY go from a 2" lift to a 4.5" lift starting about a year ago, and have accumulated everything I mentioned in my post, and more. For that I can thank my own past learning experiences as well as the awesome members of CF for their advice over the years, along with the stories relaying their nightmare experiences when they didn't do it right the first time.

At any rate, all I have to say is, "You can lead a Jeep owner to knowledge but you can't make him think."

 

Iron Rock Offroad makes a great kit, a bunch of my buddies run them. I run Rubicon Express. Nothing against RE but if I had to do it again I would run IRO.

 

Complete, front to rear.
http://www.seriousoffroadproducts.co...Path=419_2040&

 

Zone Offroad 3". It's a sub-brand of BDS and other than the powder coating, uses the same parts/quality.

I'm very satisfied.

Plus I tied it in with IRO's lower adjustable control arms and adjustable track bar with bracket.

Best of both worlds.

 

Owned by BDS, yes.
But that's where the similarities end.

 

I started with a quality 3" entry level set of American made leafs/coils in the Rustys 3" kit, most kits have leafs/coils made in China. Then I assembled all the other parts over the span of the next 18 mo. to go to 4 1/2" using my base kit and building on it.


He may not have allowed enough money to finish the job properly, it didn't in my case anyway.

 

Deaver springs, Clayton links, and Bilstein 5165's

 

And to go off on a tangent for a bit...

It is important for people to understand that a suspension lift is not the only, or even necessarily the most important consideration for off-road performance. There are too many factors to consider, most notably the type of terrain and wheeling a person will do. But in my opinion...

It starts with tires. All the lift/gearing/flex/horsepower you can get is almost futile if your tires aren't appropriate for what you will be doing. At the end of the day, friction/grip is quite literally where the rubber meets the road (or mud, or rocks), and much of what you do is about how that small contact patch reacts with what it is in contact with.

I'd sooner trust my XJ with a 2" lift, quality tires, and a locker, instead of a monster with a 6" lift and 35" mud tires, but open diffs.

I've seen old Suzuki Samurais with sub 100HP motors do amazing things if they were set up right with a proper balance of lift, tires, and gearing.

Performance is not tied to any one thing. It is the proper balance of components working in harmony. A vehicle is a system, and the engineering that goes into making everything work properly in the widest range of conditions takes more thought than how big of a lift you can cram under it.
It's okay to start with a big lift. Just understand that that is the START, not the whole shebang, and there will be much more to do to have a good system created.

Lastly, you should seriously consider the kit that Serious (pun intended) linked to. That's one of only a handful of sub-$4000 kits that will pretty well get you everything you need to do it right. And not just right, but optimally so. If you had that with your big tires, plus the re-gear and brake upgrades I mentioned, you'd have a well built XJ capable of just about whatever you want to throw at it. Plus, he's just a hell of nice guy, will help you with your purchase, and is a prolific contributor to these forums.