The only advice I can give is: onlycause its what im doing myself is....
Get a good 3" lift....Adj.lower arms..Adj trac bar..Full rear leaf kit(3-3.5")

That sort of kit will give ya room to go larger to 5" lift with spacers and SYE or HnT.;....

Thats my thinking anyway At the end of the day its all down to the WALLET...

 

Time for different rims or wheel spacers

 

Or adjust your steering stop...

 

The most ive seen a stock cherokee take is 30x9.50 inch lt radial which is like an all season tire anything else is guarenteed to rubb i had a buddy claim he some how had 31s on his 96 or 97 cherokee without rubbing which seems highly impossiable unless a mid late 90's model was somewhat higher then an 89 i believe the right hieght is the same even with just street summer tires at 31 i dont see it now i doubt my buddy ran summer tires. All i can say is 30's rub unless ur buying street type with almost no tread. even if u added a leaf in the rear the front would rub wit 31 inch bad no matter how u trim anything i wouldent hack up anything get a 2" lift atleast or just try 235/75/15s aggresive tires and they should not rub at all and u will still be able to do some light wheeling

 

There was a cherokee up country model that did have a slight lift over other models

 

31s didn't fit on mine at all stock cheap 3" junkyard lift and they fit without rubbing even on trails. 33s fit with 5" in the front and 3" in the back with some trimming but still have stock flares.

 

Jp magazine has their black 98 at 2inches of lift, running 33's with 4in of backspacing. They ran the article cause they had installed iceland off roads new flares, A-lot of cutting and bumpstops, and a big effn mallet to "massage" the floor some, unless you have a manual trans, then you wont be able to push the clutch in all the way!

 

Yes, there was an option called "Up Country" that was about a 2" lift. Its not to be confused the optional "Country" package that was upgraded interior and exterior styling.

My stock '96 Sport runs 235-75-15s without any rubbing. I've read that 30-9.50-15s will fit but might hit on full turn. Adjusting the steering stops isn't something that I want to do because I like the fact that mine turns soooo tight.

There are some pretty aggressive 235-75-15s available. You don't need to be lifted, don't need to buy new wheels or offset spacers, or even trim fenders. It all depends upon what you want and how much $$ you're willing to spend.

 

Slot of drivers on CF run 235/75/15 before they go bigger. That's 29" give or take half an inch. For a stocker too run 31s they either had the upcountry or the tires were not aggressive, this being told to OP.

Edit: not OP, this being told to 4wdnewbie about his friend

 

Upcountry only had a 3/4"-1" lift from the factory

 

So I can for sure run 30s and I shouldn't have to do a whole lot to get it drivin normal but anything more will require either a lift or a lot of fender trimming?

 

The UpCountry package was 1" of lift, because of HD leaf springs and coils in front. No cherokee came 2" lifted from the factory.

 

Yea but that's plenty to make up for a 1/2 taller tire (top half that goes in the fender)

Yes you should be fine.

 

I totally agree, no reason it wouldn't

 

On my 96 XJ I put a 3in lift and my tires measure 31.75in tall and I had to trim alot to be able to turn out of my driveway! It rubbed on my fenders really bad. Took me about a 10 point turn to leave my house, got back and trimmed around 2in from fender and all was good again.