Fightin' the urge...

[The Swiss]

I had my WJ at 2" for 75'000 with a simple budget boost. No regrets what so ever driving or wheeling her, but there too was the "urge", specially after weekends wheeling where my 'lil puppy was tapping along with the big dogs with 37" tires and actually doing amazingly well.

Then I added OME HD springs. What should have netted out at just a little shy of 4" lift, turned out to be more like 4.5"+. Never got it to work that I liked the feeling in the steering and the way it was handling. I could have dumped way more money into it, go to a long arm set up yadayadayada, but really did not feel like going down that road. So I dropped her down to about 3"+, the lowest I could ride with the longer shocks (the bump stop bottemed out 1/2" before the shock bottemed out) That set up worked extremely well on the road as well as off, the long shocks offering an amazing droop (the rear coil spring fell out once or twice when fully flexed ).

With about 115,000 miles, several driveline components showed severe signs of wear; not sure if the lift or some mud that made their way under the rubber boots and went undetected were the culprits. Anyhow, my firm plans for my Commander now are to put in the 2" lift and to stay there!

So, I would say, fight the urge, stay at the lift hight you are ...

 

[BigAl]

Bah. Stupid idea. This thread is temptation in itself, and should be destroyed.

:lurk:

You should have stopped after bullet item #3, what else matters

Seriously, I go out with a bunch of cherokees of all sizes. Those on 31s always blow me away. I think they usually have a 3-4.5" lift. They flex nice, hill climb circles around me, keep the trails interesting, and travel at 65mph with no issues. If I was going to start over. I'd get a cherokee on 31s.

 

[xjclassic]

Don't do it. Keep it where it is.

 

[jim65wagon]

Do it. Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated...
:Mechanic:

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

Size Matters!.......see!

Size isn't everything and won't solve every trail problem. It will however get you deeper into trouble when trouble comes your way.

I'll have to remember this next time I even Think about finding a date on Craigslist!

See!......you can learn sooooo much at ExPo!

Thank You ExPo!:sombrero:



.

 

[CLynn85]

Man, when I saw this title I thought it was referring to buying a new JK.

I'd say keep it where it is. It has a nice stance and looks to be plenty for the types of travels you encounter. Have you ever reached a point where the size of your truck was a limiting factor and had to turn back?

 

[vengeful]

True. There's really no reason to go much higher than you already are. I think your Heep (sorry, old habits are hard to break) looks great as it is. If it works for what you want, then that's fantastic.

I do suggest getting some armor on that thing though, before you do some more serious damage to it, and lose functionality of one of your doors, or rip a hole in your oil/tranny pan!

 

[PhulesAU]

:iagree: The simplistic view.... If it ain't broke , don't fix it!

 

[BlueGerbil]

Going higher then the 2" OME on an XJ will open a can of worms:

You need:

• new trackbar
• new lower control arms
• longer (stainless steel) brake lines
• perhaps a slip yoke eliminator
• new bumpstops

Would I do it? YESSIR!

 

[cshontz]

8 months later

Well, it has been several months and I'm thinking about this again. I'm not losing sleep over it or anything, I just... you know... I'm a Jeeper.

My thoughts are - the 2" OME w/ 245 tires has been adequate for the exploring I've been doing in Pennsylvania. Its also a nice daily driver and is reasonably practical.

However, I do want to become more well-traveled. I greatly enjoy technical terrain, and 3.5" w/ 265 tires would open up some lines for me. Its a matter of preparedness.

Here's a picture I found of a similar Jeep with 3.5" and 265's. What do you guys think? This?

Or this?

 

[adrenaline503]

For once I have some real first hand experience. Above is my '96 Cherokee with a 3.5" RE lift on it. It caused some vibration problems which should be a problem since you did a SYE. Also, the 3.5" inch was actually closer to 4.5", then when I added my bumpers (custom4x4 winch front, swing away tire rear) it settled out to 3.5" a few weeks later. I got the full kit, full leaf packs etc. Its a great kit, never squeaked and gave a much firmer ride. I would go for it since you have the SYE already, thats the hardest and most expensive part of the total install. If you have any questions let me know. Oh, those are 30.5 tires.

 

[OverlandZJ]

The 1st pic sure looks good.

I dont know if i would want to replace the OME suspension, how would you get the additional lift?

If it were me and had the bug, i would consider 1" coil spacers and an extended shackle. Anything more and your going to need additional items as Gerbil mentioned. Your rig is one of a kind Chris... resist.

 

[kodiak1232003]

don't do it.

yours is fine.

become a better driver.

watch a few camel trophy videos, and realize what they did with basically stock vehicles (open diffs)

that is all

-Brian

 

[ExpoMike]

Sure the first picture with the 265's looks great but is it worth the can of worms to get that look. You have said that your current setup has worked very well for you and gotten you where you want to go.

Moving up to 265's you are going to have rubbing issues, especially with the 97+ ARB bumper. Your rig is very close to mine and mine has taken me everywhere I have wanted to go.

My advice is getting armor to allow you to slide over things that a little bit bigger lift might have cleared. Lockers and gears will make a hugh improvement as well.

Spend your money wisely, young Jedi... :costumed-smiley-007

 

[cnskate]

don't do it.

yours is fine.

become a better driver.

watch a few camel trophy videos, and realize what they did with basically stock vehicles (open diffs)

that is all

-Brian

Camel Trophy cars had open diffs? amazing