Another concern of mine. I'm leaning pretty far toward DPG's ultimate 3.5" OME hybrid kit (plus or minus somethings). Another thing that has me leaning this way are the shocks. I've heard way better things about OME's shocks than RE's shocks.

We'll see what happens. Plan on getting in contact with DPG tomorrow to get an idea on price for what I need/want.

at first the RE 3.5 full leaf spring packs will add a little extra height maybe 1/2" to 1" even. The spring packs eventually settle under the weight of the Jeep to an overall 3.5" or so total lift. I left some of my tools in the back of her Jeep for a month or so to speed up the break in. Some people add a 1/2" coil spring spacer up front.

Pretty much all brand new leaf spring packs settle under the weight of the Jeep and lose some initial height... RE takes this into account when building the springs.

We are very happy with the 3.5 RE kit on her Jeep. She runs 31s with no tire rubbing at all on a newer (97-2001) body style XJ, which actually has a little less room to work with compared to the older body style.

Good luck with your purchase. No matter what you choose, you will probably be wanting a little more lift and tires after a few wheeling trips.

That's awesome man! I'm glad you guys are happy with it! That's really the bottom line is being happy with what you've done and purchased. I'm glad to get input from both sides, so thanks for that.

Also, Thanks for the good luck! I hope to be happy with my decision. Considering the DD miles put on it weekly and the road trips it will be taken on, I think I'm gonna go with OME. We'll see what happens though. Just want to take my time and not be in too much of a rush to get it up in the air.

Get the metal cloak. Its so much better ride!

http://www.metalcloak.com/XJ-Cheroke...ion-p/7180.htm

I have it on my and LOVE it.

It all really comes down to what you will be doing with the Jeep, you are right. She got the RE 3.5" kit with wheeling and desert trail riding in mind and not so much gas mileage and highway road trips.

If you do not plan on doing a lot of wheeling, Go with the kit that stays closer to stock.

$1,700 is getting pretty steep. I'm willing to drop the cone for quality stuff, but that is getting up there. Not to mention I have wheels and tires still to purchase. Also I've never heard of metal cloak before, so that's something new I'll have to research. I'm surprised I haven't heard of this before with all searching/research I do daily.

I'll see what price I'm looking at tomorrow with DPG and then go from there. I'm not gonna decide right on the spot tomorrow. There are still more pro's, con's, and prices still to factor.

I bought the OME ultimate 2.5" last week from DPG. It came in this week and will see if I can get it installed this weekend on my 99 XJ!!

Good luck! What size tires are you gonna run? Post a picture when you get it together.

They mainly cater to wranglers, but are expanding their product portfolio.

Its steep but its also very complete from one source (so if you have an issue with any part you go to one source) and its probably the best 3.5" lift kit you can buy.

There is another thread on here of another guy who just bought one:

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/me...ft-kit-203190/

I pieced my OME lift together using part numbers from DPG and other sources. I didn't need the whole kit which is why I did it that way. I ended up with 3 to 3.5 inches of lift. I found all my OME parts on Amazon. I order from Amazon A LOT and have Prime so I just went with them instead of spending time on the phone with a vendor ordering specific parts (which I can't do during my work hours, and after my work hours all the vendors are closed). Honestly I didn't have any trouble finding OME parts.

I didn't get the DPG kit because I already had a RE double shear track bar, JK Rubicon shocks, JKS disconnects, etc, from my previous XJ. The OME springs and the JK Rubicon shocks turned out to be a match made in heaven. I added bar pin eliminators front and rear so shock length became a non-issue for what I use my Jeep for.

The ONLY slight negative I had with the setup was that since the ride was now soft and cushy and a little floaty, there was a decent amount of body roll. But I added an Addco front sway bar upgrade and the on-road handling improved significantly.

Recently got an OME kit put on my '89 XJ, 187K miles. Got it done at the local 4WP and the kit was this one. They also put in about 1" TC drop.

I don't have experience of other kits or any other XJ suspension besides whatever was on there (assuming stock, don't know) when I bought it. The OME kit gave me 2" - 3" lift, looks even front to back. Very well damped, little bob even over bigger hits. Stays quite flat cornering, and generally rides and handles with much more composure than beforehand, and beforehand wasn't awful for an SUV. Again, I can't say how much that's down to the OME kit against merely tired previous suspension, but the results are very good.

Not cheap. Obviously no idea about durability yet, and haven't yet taken it offroad.

Tfitz, I'd like to add 30" tires but not sure if can afford it right now since the 28" tires on it are still good. I'm a novice with respect to XJ upgrades but decided upon 30" due to having 3.55 gear ratio and wanting this to stay my long-term daily driver. Its in the paint body shop now and also am adding new hubs, headliner, and retro sound system.

If your planning on shelling out that much coin forget the OME stuff and go with a quality long arm kit really good road manners and the best off road.

The only thing I would consider an OME kit for would be my GC and a small lift.

I put OME leafs on my Xj to replace the sagging RC AAL on my stock leaf pack. I love the OME packs, they are amazing in ride difference let alone quality. You'll be more than happy when you get yours on.

I agree with Fred.