I just bought my first XJ (1994 Country Edition). It's all stock, other than aftermarket wheels. I've already put in some Rough Country LED lights, and boy what a difference. My ultimate goal is to swap in a VW diesel motor (ALH) like I did with my 84 CJ7. My ultimate goals are Iron Rock Offroad 3" long arm, 5/8 over the knuckle steering setup. I plan to run American Racing wheels (with 3.75 backspacing to clear the steering setup) and 31x10.5R15 tires.

On all my trucks I've always run some aftermarket coilover setup and love the ride in comparison to stock. I have Kings with adjusters on my Tundra, but have run Fox, King, Icon, Radflo, and Bilstein 5100s on trucks in the past. My XJ will more than likely just be on pavement duty for most of it's life. The setup that I plan is overkill, and I understand that, but I'm wondering if the ride is significantly better with Fox or King shocks over the Bilsteins that will come in the lift kit.

Here is the CJ build video if you're interested.

 

i would say run the bilisteins from the kit and if there is more to be desired out of specifically comp-rebound then move towards swapping them out. Low mileage used shocks still have value and can be sold to offset your cost for more desirable shocks