Thanks guys, the pictures are a big help. I don't have a cage yet, so I was hoping to avoid a more "extreme" method, but it may not be avoidable if I want to do it right. My ECU is already moved out of the way, and I don't mind moving the battery and intake etc (although I do want to install a york 210 also). but one thing I'm worried about is tire/ frame clearance at full droop on one side and full compression on the other, with a stock width axle... Obviously the trackbar/geometry pulls the droop side towards the frame, and the top of the tire on the compressed side is angle in towards the shock. Hopefully this weekend I can start mocking it up and cycle the axle.
my spring rates are 225/375, and that's a good place to start if you don't have a huge winch bumper or anything
I have a pretty substantial amount of additional weight, between the skidplates, unibody stiffeners, front winch bumper/ winch and the 3/16 rockers, but I'll probably go on the "softer" side for crawling. I won't be doing much high speed stuff, other than on the road. I was thinking of a combined rate somewhere between 175 and 200, but I haven't had enough time to really look into it yet. The front rustys springs I have now are 150lb/in and they are too soft, and the front/rear frequencies are way off and the front will flex far before the rear in most cases. ( rears are RE 3.5 with 1.5 shackle, so they are probably closer to 170 or so, compared to the listed 190 without the shackles.)
Also, I know I'm kind of crossing over the forums here, and most input here probably pertains to the Jeepspeed side of things (naturally). I figured more people over here would have ideas for the coilovers/ longtravel hardware. Having said that, I'll probably never jump my jeep or hammer it through the whoops... So, do you guys think it'll creek and crack itself apart if I'm just crawling with it every now and then, or should I be ok with the unibody stiffeners and a decent set of mounts?
My jeep is still pretty clean and most of the sheetmetal is unhacked, so if I can come up with some decent mounts without hacking it much I'll be happy...
I hadn't seen them before, but so far I'm liking the Vanimal style, since it uses mostly flat plate. I have some fab tools and skills, but I don't have reliable access to a tubing bender, so I have to keep that in mind.
Here are some "less intrusive" ideas that I liked, but they may not work with 12" of travel and the ride height I'm looking for... Just for the hell of it, the last few are my jeep how it sits now. The very last is part of the reason why I don't have enough time or money for the XJ. (ignore the goofy flares on the xj, tube fenders tied into the bumpers and rock rails are coming after the coilovers!) You can also tell, just from the pictures that the rear is pretty "stiff" compared to the front.