31's on my 95 sport??

[DangerBoy]

Hey guys: I have a 1995 XJ Sport that is desperately seeking MT's. My 5 foot something wife says easy on the lift and the pocket book so can I run 31's with no lift or do I need a couple inches? I have noticed that my truck seems to sit about 2"s taller than many of the better dressed XJ's (laredo's, etc) have a look and lemme know what you think. Truck is for medium wheeling and excursion duties.... no HD rock crawling but it will get twisted up.

Pic of the truck is here for reference http://www.execulink.com/~thenwood/jeep.html

And by the way I did do an extensive search before posting this.... its simply that my jeep appears taller than many I see around... including those with a BB 2" lift... although it appears to be all stock underneath.

 

[jjvande]

looks lifted to me. 31s should work from te looks of it. They might rub on the lower control arms at full lock. might have to do some minimal trimming, but it should work...i run 31s on 5" of lift no trimming at all

 

[DangerBoy]

From what I have heard unless I get new wheels with differenct BS they will rub regardless of lift... which is okay by me because new steel wheels are cheap. I am more concerned about clearing the sheet metal when I stuff a wheel. Thanks for looking... kinda hoping a couple others will have a look as well. My biggest concern is that I dont want to go and buy a 3 or 4" lift and only get 1 or 2" because I am already up by 2".... at least that is how it looks to me.

 

[XJFREK]

I agree, it does look lifted compared to the way mine looked when I bought it, if you know anyone else around you that has a jeep with 31's on it maybe see if you can trial fit one of their wheels. I was at a tire shop where a couple guys had wranglers with 32's on them and they stuck one on to see if it would fit(it didn't). If the guy stands to make a sale on 4 or 5 new tires he might be willing to mount one to see how it fits. And yes, my 94 with 3" Rusty's lift and 31's rubs on the lca's at full steering lock. Good luck with your project.

 

[ACE]

Just throw the 31's on, you'll be fine and it will look good. Only takes once to learn to not turn all the way to lock and if you do rub a bit at lock, back it off a hair.

 

[RichP]

Just throw the 31's on, you'll be fine and it will look good. Only takes once to learn to not turn all the way to lock and if you do rub a bit at lock, back it off a hair.

If it does rub on full lock get out and look behind the wheel, you will see a bolt that appears to do nothing down near the bottom, thats a steering stop. Note the size, go get a handfull of appropriate sized washers, take the bolt out, add 3 washers and put it back in. Check lock to lock for rubbing, if it still rubs add another washer or two till it stops.....

 

[xjhm]

go ahead and get a 5" lift and then you'll have no worrys the 31's will fit fine...

check to see if their is a spacer on top of the front spring, if so someone did a bb ....

also measure the height from center of hub to the flair, it should be around 17" some one correct me if i'm wrong...

 

[xjblue]

That does look like 3" of lift you got yourself there, check and see if you have longer shackles or spacers under there. should be just fine with 31's so I go for it. you can always increase bumpstops and lift more if needed later on.
I'm at 3" up front, 3-1/2 in back, 31" MTR's - aforementioned rubbing at full lock, and it will rub a little in the wheel well disconnected at full stuff offroad.
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[DangerBoy]

Awesome! thanks for all the input guys! I think the plan is to go ahead and install 31 x 10.5's and play it by ear. I appreaciate the opinions on the lift or lack thereof on my truck. A buddy has a 2" BB and I am at least as tall if not taller than he is but its all springs... no blocks or spacers under there.

 

[89xj]

you will get different opinions, but 31"s with give you a significant decrease in performance with a 5sp. for me, i felt it was neccessary to regear. mines a non HO, maybe the HO will do better. on the street it sucked, on the trail i had to use 4lo.

 

[HossHoffer]

Check out Ed Steven's site. He covers it all and all his advice is spot on.
Ed Steven's site
I run 31x10.50s and had to buy new rims to keep from rubbing even with the 2" budget lift. I still get a little rubbing in the front fender that will be taken care of with longer bumpstops or adding a hockey puck on the axle side.

 

[DangerBoy]

you will get different opinions, but 31"s with give you a significant decrease in performance with a 5sp. for me, i felt it was neccessary to regear. mines a non HO, maybe the HO will do better. on the street it sucked, on the trail i had to use 4lo.

??? all the trails I run you either run 4 low or you dont go..... 4 high is for cruising fire roads not for serious wheeling.

 

[89xj]

??? all the trails I run you either run 4 low or you dont go..... 4 high is for cruising fire roads not for serious wheeling.

thats not what you said in your first post. you said medium duty and excursion, no rock crawling.

serious wheeling and 31's???

serious wheeling depends on the area you wheel and how much your into the "sport". if you wheel in mud, you dont need 4lo.

 

[Ramsey]

you do need 4lo for mud if your running big tires and stock gears, at least down here you do when it gets nice and thick

 

[Kejtar]

Just throw the 31's on, you'll be fine and it will look good. Only takes once to learn to not turn all the way to lock and if you do rub a bit at lock, back it off a hair.

and all it takes is once to turn a wee bit too much while being stuffed and grab the fender sheetmetal (or flare? not sure) and pull it in..... And that all happened with limited steering stops and ~3.5" and 31's on stock rims.