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Lift kit handling performance?

twistedlizard720

NAXJA Forum User
I've got a 2001 XJ on a 3 inch pro comp lift and 31x10.50's (bought it that way). We've had quite a bit of snow this year in Colorado and even though I've had this thing for a year, I still don't feel comfortable driving in incliment weather. The vehicle breaks traction in 2wd even with the slightest snow pack. When braking wheels lock up fairly easy and madness usually ensues. This has caused me to drive much more cautiously. Last night I was holding up traffic going over a mountain pass. In my mind, I'd rather get home in one piece than smash my Jeep into something.

I got to thinking, and am curious how different lift kits and spring rates handle in the snow and ice.
 
What you're describing sounds more like a tire/brake issue than a lift kit or spring issue to me. What tires do you have? Are the rear drums properly adjusted? Any stuck pistons in the brake calipers/drum assemblies?
 
Seems like my XJ on 3in of rough country and homeade packs out back tends to break traction a little easier and lock wheels easier for some reason also in the snow than it did stock. I drive it, just tend to be very cautious and find myself reaching for that four wheel drive shifter more often. On a dry road though, the handling kicks serious ass over the stock suspension even with the added height, it handles the curves better with less body roll, ain't a ferrari obviously but it was an improvement over the stock setup in my instance. I'm comfortable drivin mine, its staying LCG all the way not a better way to build a rig in my opinion.
 
I've got mastercraft courser c/t tires. Brakes are good for the most part, they are duralast pads and shoes and front rotors showing signs of warpage. As ridgerunner97 stated, I have absollutely no troubles on dry roads. Its just when the Ice and snow start to build up.
 
I'm running General Grabber A/T2s 30in variety, plenty of tread on em, my brakes are good, components are good in the suspension system and brake system, but definately lose traction easier for sum reason in the snow and ice where when stock, same tires, gears, etc. I didn't lose traction. It is kind of strange. Rear spring rate increased causing this maybe???? It is strange.
 
Are you still running a rear sway bar? If so, did you add extensions to the links? Excessive tension on the bar will tighten the rear suspension which will cause a loss of mech traction. We tune sway bar tension on the race truck and other cars to help the vehicle rotate in turns. Excessive tension will cause a loss of traction during braking and accel. This will be more severe in slippery conditions. Just my .02
 
I would have to agree with kastein and double check your brakes, wheel cylinders, and adjustment in the rear. I lift vehicle for a living and I have not heard anyone ever say there vehicle feels unsafe to drive. I also have installed more Pro Comp kits then I can try and count and there cheap but they don't make your rig unsafe. I also worked in Salt Lake City, UT for the first part of lifting 4x4s so there was plenty of driving in the snow. Anthing is possible but I would not think its your lift making your Jeep act the way it is.

You may not really notice a leaky or bad wheel cylinder but it can cause your brakes to not work right for sure.
 
I agree with what people are saying to check, but if he is having traction problems during braking AND during accel, then it is either a prob with the tires (wrong pressure, worn, etc) or the rear suspension is overly stiff. Still sounds like a sway bar issue to me, but I've been wrong before. Ha!
 
I agree with what people are saying to check, but if he is having traction problems during braking AND during accel, then it is either a prob with the tires (wrong pressure, worn, etc) or the rear suspension is overly stiff. Still sounds like a sway bar issue to me, but I've been wrong before. Ha!

I drive my XJ daily and I don't run sway bars at all and I don't have any issues with braking, but like I said anything is possible and all XJs handle different.
 
I drive my XJ daily and I don't run sway bars at all and I don't have any issues with braking, but like I said anything is possible and all XJs handle different.

I would agree with that, as having no bar is like having a soft bar with very little input. This would allow your suspension to fully cycle for decent mech traction in certain conditions. Nobody has to believe me, just research sway bar tuning using google and see what you find on how a TIGHT (stiff) bar will effect the mech traction on any vehicle. Anyway, I could be wrong and this xj might not even have a rear bar. Ha!
 
I have longarms and 35's and my heep does great in the snow. I have the old design MTR's which aren't the best but it does no worse than a stock Jeep in the light snow and much better than a stocker in the heavy stuff.
 
Have you thought of using 4WD in the snow? It helps alot.:) I don't use swaybars either and it handles fine as long as drive it like a lifted jeep on 35's.
 
Are you still running a rear sway bar? If so, did you add extensions to the links? Excessive tension on the bar will tighten the rear suspension which will cause a loss of mech traction. We tune sway bar tension on the race truck and other cars to help the vehicle rotate in turns. Excessive tension will cause a loss of traction during braking and accel. This will be more severe in slippery conditions. Just my .02

The length of a sway bar link will have zero effect on the sway bars "roll-rate".There is no tension/compression on it when driving straight,so under normal accel/braking its not doing anything.It only "loads" under cornering and a XJ bar is so small it doesnt do much anyway!During straight line driving swaybars would be concidered "passive" and have no effect on springs rates thus no effect on any "dive/squat" characteristics
 
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To the OP,how about a little more info like full packs or AAL's?What shocks are you running?What tire pressure(BTW:Ive never had much luck with some of Coopers tires as far as bad weather traction goes)?Wheres you spare mounted?
 
^^ Yeah, give us more info.

My Jeep works great in the snow. 32" Kumho KL71's at mid 20's pressure probably. Granted I have a Detours tailbone with a spare on the back and had an engine block and driveshaft in the cargo area when it was snowing. A little weight in the back of your XJ might help.

Since you drive in the snow a lot, have you thought about getting a locker? You are probably losing traction because you have an open diff in the rear and one wheel is constantly spinning. I was driving around in 6" of snow a few weeks ago and with the rear locked, I had plenty of traction most of the time even in 2wd.

As far as your brakes locking up, that might also be a weight issue. Or you are just hitting the brakes too hard. You can't drive the same in snow as you do on dry roads ya know...
 
So I do still have my rear track bar, no extensions that I'm aware of. Does taking the rear track bar effect dry road driving much being its on leafs? Shocks are Pro Comp shocks, not sure what series but I'm sure they're pretty basic. Tire pressures are 30 up front 28 in the rear. Rear lift is add-a-leaf. Spare is a full 31x10.50 mounted in the stock location. The jeep is a blast to drive in 4 wheel, and it does okl with lots of accumulation on the ground in 2wd. its just the snowpack and 2wd. A lot of times I'll have to put it in 4 wheel just to get going from a stop light. Especially if there is any incline. I have thought about a locker. I guess part of it is being that people around Denver drive crazy and your limited to what speed you can do in 4wd. Plus it tears up gas in 4wd.
 
Try a dedicated snow tire. Considering your location, it would help a lot. I run Firestone Winterforce snowtires and my XJ handles better in 2WD in snow than it does in 4WD in snow with my summer tires. Starting and stopping is not a problem. I got mine from the Tirerack for only $72 each in a 245/70R16 (29.5").
 
the only annoying handling "quirks" i experienced on any xj i have owned was when i had a 3" swaybarless lift up front and some stiff 4.5" packs in back with an open differential. on faster turns the rear inside tire would have little weight on it and lose traction easily.

the leafs settled a bit and i spooled the rear and its mucho better
 
Plus it tears up gas in 4wd.

I bet the difference in fuel consumption between 2wd and 4wd on snow covered roads wouldn't be very much. Especially if you're doing alot of spinning in 2wd.
I'm stuck without a front driveshaft right now, it sucks so much, i couldn't get up the hill infront of my house the other day, there might have been 4 inches of snow. To top it all off my buddy got up it in his 2wd chev 1500 without any problems. :bawl:
 
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