I've heard good and bad from both, just wondering what to expect and what y'all think I should get. I'm looking at a 3" lift for a 98 XJ from both companies.

I've no experience with either on an XJ. Rough Country on pickups though. You'll find here that Zone is recommended well above Rough Country.

Very true. I will personally recommend Zone because of good experience with them.

In my experience Zone is far better quality than RC, and there isn't much difference in cost.

You can expect every bushing on the rough country kit to be ruined in about two wheeling trips. I have heard nothing but horror stories about RC parts. Unless its gonna be a pavement princess go for the zone lift. You can also do a pretty good and cheap 3-3.5" lift with alot of junkyard parts. My XJ is lifted on a good bit of parts sourced from other vehicles. It is spiced up with a few bells and whistles up front though.

Well, I've got RC stuff on mine, but there are no bushings in those parts.......

Just like Rusty's.......everyone said stay away from them, but 90% of the stuff I got from them has worked just fine, and I spent less money. I say 90%, as the steering setup I got from them, while it worked, I wasn't a fan of its design.

I have rough country lower & upper control arms purchased in 2015. They are adjustable and have the flex joints on them. Have had no issues with them.

I used to get cheap to free RC lifts for my TJs to test out their new products and give a review on JF. That was until I bought a Zone lift when they first hit the market and did an honest review. I've had 5 Zone lifts now(TJs and XJs) and no more RC. Zone stopped selling the smoother riding white hydro shocks for some reason. They rode much better than the black nitro shocks. My 3" Zone lift with 31s on my old silver 2000 XJ and 4.5" lift with 33s on my current 99'.

p.s. Zone is owned by the same company as BDS and JKS.

NICE vehicles and GOOD info.

Thanks.

I have 3" Zone coils and Full Leafs - Piecing together all my stuff. So far no complaints with the Zone stuff.

Zone makes pretty good parts. However the 3" coils have a 240lb spring rate. A lot of 3" springs are like this. Idk why. Stock is ~150lb. This makes for a harsh ride. Some people like the stability stiff springs give. For me I had to get rid of them.

Just my opinion but I believe that XJ's were equipped with light duty springs all around to provide a more comfortable ride that would appeal to most buyers. BUT they do wear out quicker than any vehicle I've ever dealt with. Especially the rear ones.

I can vouch for that a bit. As aforementioned, I'm sure they originally came a bit softer from the factory for "comfort", These are essentially the first 'crossovers' if you will. The stiffer aftermarket springs make up for the added weight of bumpers etc that are often added as well.

I need to replace my shocks soon. Anyone have recommendations for shocks to help "soften" it up a bit again? I drive my XJ daily, so trying to find that nice balance of form and function.

I've heard a lot of talk about the Bilstein 5100s

https://amzn.to/2SWXwDy

Are they really worth $300? I have to stop being so cheap lol but I want decent stuff.