RE is out, so what lift to get?

D

Dirt22

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Temecula
I'm looking into a 4"ish lift, short arms are fine - probably gonna run 33" tires. I want something I can disco and have some decent flex, but work well on the road.

I'm looking at the Iron Rock 4" lift, for around $500 and then getting wheels and tires from 4WP for another $1200ish (ATs on soft 8s)

Also Rusty's Off road kit that includes wheels/tires $1629

The Rusty's kit incl fixed LCAs...

I have the stock-built 231 TC with SYE from my TJ to stuff under it, there will be no TC drop.

Are these kits good? Which is better? Is there another option I should look at? I originally wanted to go with Rubicon Express, but I don't want to wait till next summer for Trans-America to figure out what they're doing.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
I'm leaning t'wards the Rustys kit, as it comes with a full leaf pack instead of an AAL... my stock leafs are wore out (read flat)

Not realy interested in scrounging up parts to piece a kit together, I just don't have the time.
 
I thought the TJ 231 was not clocked the same way? It may have been the holes on the transmission were clocked differently, but its something you should check on.


I would avoid the Rusty's kit. At 4", you want something with uppers and lowers, a trackbar that does NOT use a TRE, front/rear brake lines, and of course springs front and rear.

The IRO kit doesnt come with control arms, a trackbar, brake lines or leaf springs. I would steer clear of it.

the rough country 4.5" "X" kit isn't bad, I personally dont like the UCA or trackbar it uses, but its a decent kit and I would trust it.

There are a lot of new vendors out there to look at. Things to look for:

-A complete kit, everything listed above and more.
-Flex joints in the control arms - if it has a rubber bushing on both ends, walk away. When you articulate, those arms will stress or damage your mounts.
-Leaf springs, not an Add-A-Leaf
 
Dirt22 said:
I'm leaning t'wards the Rustys kit, as it comes with a full leaf pack instead of an AAL... my stock leafs are wore out (read flat)

Not realy interested in scrounging up parts to piece a kit together, I just don't have the time.
Click to expand...

There are some very serious quality problems with the Rusty's suspension components. A lot of people buy them because of the price, and spend the next two years replacing every component..
 
cal said:
There are some very serious quality problems with the Rusty's suspension components. A lot of people buy them because of the price, and spend the next two years replacing every component..
Click to expand...

Good info, Thanks. If I upgrade the AAL in the Iron Off Road kit to full leaf and buy a tire/wheel package from 4WP (friends with the manager) I can get that for $1700, but still don't have control arms... I could buy them separate though as I doubt there's a 'kit' out there with good ones. I'd have to start selling blood and sperm to afford the JKS arms...

the under 2k mark, with wheels and tires works for me, but I don't wanna buy crap either. I dont mind upgrading hte kit as I go as long as I'm not changing out everything. (add control arms later etc...)
 
There's a thread in Mod Tech from a couple weeks ago that lists a couple dozen currently available lift kits.

Gimme a while to see if I can dig it up..
 
cal said:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1055328

There is a list of a LOT of lift kits. Browse through them for something that catches your eye and let me know what you find.
Click to expand...

Cal... I appreciate your help...

I'm still leaning t'wards the IRO 4" kit, if I change out the AAL to a leaf pack, I can get this for under $800 and then buy control arms later. Reviews on IRO look pretty good from what I've read.
http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merc...e=IROR&Product_Code=IR-X4LK&Category_Code=PFX

I just don't wanna drop a ton of money into the XJ. Hard core wheeling is not in the cards for this rig, That's what my TJ is for, and I can't have my wife kickin my ass every time I swipe the visa...
 
What about one of the OME hybrid kits from Dirk over @ DPG. I think it uses mostly Old Man Emu/JKS parts:

http://www.dpgoffroad.com/site/OMEXJkits.htm

If I can offer a bit of advice, I'd worry less about wheels and tires, and more about the suspension you're paying for. If you need to run stockers for a few months, or find a good deal on some gently used tires/wheels, so be it.

I bought my wheels of craigslist, painted them black (16" aluminum grand cherokee snowflake wheels), and bought some basically brand new Goodyear wrangler AT take-off's from a friend. Cost: Less than $200.00 total.

I understand the "want" of a particular brand of wheel/tire when you're shopping around, but a year later, I'm glad I didn't put as much $$ into my wheels/tires as I was planning.

Cheers!

p.s. Oh, and call Dirk if you have any questions. He'll ask you all about your rig, and what you use it for, as well as how much weight you plan on carrying (Armor, kids, camping gear, etc). He'll then recommend one of the kits, or maybe even add or remove parts depending on your end goal. He's definitely good people. :)
 
Rock Krawler?
 
I've got Rough Country springs at 4.5" of lift under mine. Recently replaced upper and lower control arms with Rokmen and RC drop brackets. The change in the way it handled with the drop brackets was very impressive. The Rokmen CAs flex very nicely, and are very sturdy. They are Johnny Joints on all points except the upper axle end.

Piecing together a kit is more work, but you can then get the best of all worlds.

David Bricker / SYR
 
Still can't beat Rough Country's 4.5" X kit for $829.95. Comes with upper and lower adjustable johny joint arms, full rear spring pack, new shocks, and everything else needed. I wont say they are the best quality on the market, but they give you the most complete lift for the $. You add some drop brackets to this kit and you will have a factory ride with a crap load of flex for short arms. Check them out.
http://roughcountry.com/jeep_xj_4x.html
 
Last edited:
bhicks said:
Still can't beat Rough Country's 4.5" X kit for $829.95. Comes with upper and lower adjustable johny joint arms, full rear spring pack, new shocks, and everything else needed. I wont say they are the best quality on the market, but they give you the most complete lift for the $. You add some drop brackets to this kit and you will have a factory ride with a crap load of flex for short arms. Check them out.
http://roughcountry.com/jeep_xj_4x.html
Click to expand...
x2 for the RC of the price and customer service.
I paid $960 shipped for the 4.5" full leaf pack with CA drop bracket on Dec. No complain on the ride but the passenger rear leaf sagged about 1.5"-2" after 3 month and they sent the replacement for free.
My rear XJ is heavy with the rear storage, steel bumper and tire carrier.
I now relocated the spare tire to the roof and removed the carrier swing.
 
They definetly get the customer service award.

I was complaining about a lack of beer in my belly, grimus flew out to cali and went barhopping with me.
 
Don't half ass your lift. Buy a complete lift kit, or buy all the parts you need to make your own "kit", and then worry about wheels and tires later. I was running 6" of lift on 30s with mismatched wheels and tires for a few months (ok like 8 months) before I was able to get a full set of 33s, and even then I bought those used.
 
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