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I have been trying to decide what to do with the suspension of my project 93 XJ. I am doing a lot of stuff to renovate this vehicle, so cost is a variable in doing everything, including the suspension.
The XJ will be my son's DD and may not see much off road duty, so the lift is really more of a suspension refresh, but to "refresh" a Jeep suspension without lifting it just seems wrong....
I had initially considered a 1.5 to 2 inch lift with front spacers and rear blocks, add a leaf, or longer shackles. However, I have concerns with ride quality and the "sag factor" from 23 year old leaf springs.
I am now leaning toward a 3 inch lift with new coil and leaf springs. Looking for feedback and opinions on this Skyjacker lift versus this Zone lift. Both are close in price (low $500's) and come with shocks and all new springs. What other competitive choices in this price range should I consider? Firsthand experience would be particularly helpful. Thanks to all.
I have been trying to decide what to do with the suspension of my project 93 XJ. I am doing a lot of stuff to renovate this vehicle, so cost is a variable in doing everything, including the suspension.
The XJ will be my son's DD and may not see much off road duty, so the lift is really more of a suspension refresh, but to "refresh" a Jeep suspension without lifting it just seems wrong....
I had initially considered a 1.5 to 2 inch lift with front spacers and rear blocks, add a leaf, or longer shackles. However, I have concerns with ride quality and the "sag factor" from 23 year old leaf springs.
I am now leaning toward a 3 inch lift with new coil and leaf springs. Looking for feedback and opinions on this Skyjacker lift versus this Zone lift. Both are close in price (low $500's) and come with shocks and all new springs. What other competitive choices in this price range should I consider? Firsthand experience would be particularly helpful. Thanks to all.
For the price, you can't beat that Zone kit. Zone is made by BDS suspension and is FAR superior to Skyjacker. Rubicon express would probably be the next step up, but it's more expensive. Rough Country and Rustys are in about the same price range as Zone, but they do not ride as well and the quality of the components and the customer service has long caused debate amongst enthusiasts of the sport.
My advice would be to go with the Zone kit, and then use the following chart to ensure you are getting the rest of the components you will need:
Another choice is the Trailmaster 3" lift. The one I installed rides really firm, came with coils and full leaf pack, lower control arms, sway bar relocation brackets and shocks. All i added was a R.E. transfer case drop. Hard to find a SYE for the 242 transfer case. My Jeep is a 92 and is a daily and weekend warrior.
Last edited by Shanning Porter; Oct 6, 2016 at 10:17 AM.
I have a '99 XJ "limited", these were a little squatty to start with
At roughly 120K the springs were just shot, the tops of the tires were tucked in under the top of the fender lips
I didn't want to have to mess with control arm disconnects or a SYE or any of that
I couldn't find a 2/3 inch kit that was anything more than spacers and shackles and I REALLY needed springs
So I put OME 1.5" coils on front with a .75" spacer, 1.5" rancho leafs with a .5" shackle on back with new Bilsteins
I couldn't be happier with the result, it certainly wasn't a cheap option the way I went about it, but the results are exactly what I was wanting
About a 2" lift over stock, about 3" above where I was with the shot springs.
The one and only complaint is that the poly bushings on the rancho springs really make noise in cold weather
Ride/handling as good if not better than it ever was on this jeep
This is great ! I just bought a 88 xj as a daily and for work and I just ordered some Achilles Desert Hawk X-MT 31s because they were 117$ each got 5 of them but now I’m going to need a lift and I don’t want to spend to much on one I was looking at your Pre School section , which would be better the rough country lift for 510$ you have listed or the Zone off-road for 510$ ? I don’t have experience with either companies and this is my first xj and don’t want to spend much at all on it .... I also have a 07 jk with 4in teraflex lift 37s nittos and lots of other goodies so I know that these lifts I’m looking at won’t be anywhere near as good as that set up but just got the xj for work I work up a mountain 4 seasons so please if anyone has an opinion on RC vs Zone
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