XJ BUILD- Help me decide! 3" w/31's or 4." and 32/33

[njjeepthing]

Well, I'm back in the XJ game after a short visit back to the SWB Jeep world. The 3 fractures in my back really didn't care for the ride in the lifted SWB TJ!

So now I've got a 01 XJ. I had a 01 XJ with a 3.5 RE lift and 31's it did pretty much what I wanted to, but I always had the itch to go a bit bigger. Now I have a clean slate. So I am debating whether to go with what I know works, 3inch lift and 31's or step it up to a 4"+ and a 32/33 ish tire.

This forum is chock full of knowledge, so I am looking for some thoughts. I do go to the offroad park a few times a year, Rausch Creek, for my rock fix, but also like just trail riding in the jeep. So I am kinda a cross over wheeler!

3" inch and 31's.
Pro's.
I know what I am getting. Had it before!
Factory gearing, can deal with it for now!
Factory axles will remain happy.

Con's
The itch to go a bit bigger!

4" and 32/33
Pro's
Fixed my itch to go bigger!
May be able to step up a level on trail choices.

Con's
Gears are questionable.
Factory axles are also questionable.
Parts more expensive.

I also plan to add lockers to the Jeep, most likely True tracs front and rear.


TIA folks, looking forward to your suggestions.

 

[jscusmcvet]

I would suggest going to 3" + 31's and consider a better, or rather, a more flexible and effective , locker system, such as ARB or Ox. That, combined with a winch, effective skid plates, sway bar disco's and other armor makes most anything "passable", just might be using your tools... such as dragging the jeep up or over ledges much more a reality in the limited times you locked and flexible xj can't get there on it's own (with you excellent driving and line choice helping as well)

I say this coming from my own experience of the move from 33's to 35's on my old TJ Rubicon. Went anywhere on 33's, winched when needed (and had fun doing it handled better on the road and got better mileage. I went to 35's to "scratch that itch and found a limited inrcrease in off road... not enough to make a difference, but it led to breakage, poor gas mileage and an eventual switch back to 33's.

Go small... Lock it... be a sleeper... make it flexy... so that when you walk up some of those rocks... the onlookers say... "Dang, how'd he do that?"

I am considering the same build for my son's XJ... and maybe, making it mine

Good luck.

John

 

[njjeepthing]

I would suggest going to 3" + 31's and consider a better, or rather, a more flexible and effective , locker system, such as ARB or Ox. That, combined with a winch, effective skid plates, sway bar disco's and other armor makes most anything "passable", just might be using your tools... such as dragging the jeep up or over ledges much more a reality in the limited times you locked and flexible xj can't get there on it's own (with you excellent driving and line choice helping as well)

I say this coming from my own experience of the move from 33's to 35's on my old TJ Rubicon. Went anywhere on 33's, winched when needed (and had fun doing it handled better on the road and got better mileage. I went to 35's to "scratch that itch and found a limited inrcrease in off road... not enough to make a difference, but it led to breakage, poor gas mileage and an eventual switch back to 33's.

Go small... Lock it... be a sleeper... make it flexy... so that when you walk up some of those rocks... the onlookers say... "Dang, how'd he do that?"

I am considering the same build for my son's XJ... and maybe, making it mine

Good luck.

John

Thanks John, good stuff. I've always said 3" and 31's are perfect for an XJ, maybe I should drink my own cool aid!

I've been there before with the old XJ, following guys on 35's that are locked and me on 31's unlocked. Was a lot of fun, made me a better driver and I got a lot of WOW, can't believe you made that!

What "flexy" suspensions are you considering. Right now I am looking at Rubicon Express, past experience with them has me leaning that way. OME is known for it's ride quality, not really known for being flexy, I am not a Rough Country fan, and the Iron Rock system has be a bit nervous, also looked at Rusty's stuff, but not convinced.

 

[jscusmcvet]

On my Rubi I frankensteined a lift together. I had great luck with Currie control arms and HD steering, which seemed to provide the flex I needed. I had Rubicon Express springs and while they rode nice and di dgreat off road, on my current TJ I have BDS springs and they have a WAY more comfortable ride than either stock or the Rubicon Express springs. I am also a fan of the BDS quick disconnect.

I think the key is the control arms. I don't think you could go wrong with Currie. The Rubi actually rode better, by my seat of the pants judgement, than stock. Somewhere I have a picture of the Rubi up at Tellico (RIP) with a droop flex of the front passenger tire hanging down a ridiculous amount, body level and rear ready to step off... If I can find it I'll post it.

FWIW, Currie was great to work with in my case and in regards to long term adventuring, carry an extra Johnny Joint or two and you are golden for years. You do have to be ready and willing to grease... If you do there is a long life to the JJ.

Hope that helps. Nothing you have not already heard, I expect.

John

 

[njjeepthing]

Yep, I'll second Currie, Ran it on my LJ RUBI, great stuff for sure!
I'll see if I can did up a pic of my XJ flexing the RE springs.
I am a fan of BDS, ran their stuff on my old YJ, can't beat their warranty, I'll have to look into their disconnects, the RE one's I had were horrible!

 

[njjeepthing]

Hope these work!

 

[jscusmcvet]

Yep, I'll second Currie, Ran it on my LJ RUBI, great stuff for sure!
I'll see if I can did up a pic of my XJ flexing the RE springs.
I am a fan of BDS, ran their stuff on my old YJ, can't beat their warranty, I'll have to look into their disconnects, the RE one's I had were horrible!

These are the BDS disco's I am running on my current TJ:

http://bds-suspension.com/product-display?sr=disconnect

Love them, no tools, no mess, no extra parts. So easy. I previously ran Teraflex disco's and they did the job but were a mess that needed constant grease and then bushing replacement... inmy case at least.

P.S..... While I am a southerner NOW I grew up in Wayne, NJ.

 

[Hill Bill E.]

Don't be nervous about the Iron Rock stuff, it works great!!

I'm running one of their first long arm kits, with 4.5" RE coils and 4.5" RE leaves.

The ride is incredibly smooth, compared to an XJ with 'short' arms and the same lift.

I still have the stock 3:55 gears (AW4 Auto trans) so my overdrive is about useless.

I'm running 33's, but see your point about the 31's.

The front HP30 and 8.25 in mine handle the 33's fine (but I think '99 was the last year for the HP30 in the XJ?)

I've been to Moab 4 times, and each time, someone in our group was running an XJ on 31's and 2-3" of lift. They had just as much fun, ran the same trails and did 99% of the obstacles as those of us with 33's and locked front/rear.

"Lock It, Plate It, Drag it" has always worked well for me :elkgrin:

While I like my long arms and 33's, doing a smaller lift and 31's would have been less expensive and more economical fuel wise.

 

[bldeagle10]

OME is known for ride quality but its oriented towards overlanding specific builds, not really flexy rock crawling stuff, 3" and 31's IMO, that is where i plan on going when i can afford to lift my XJ, you will go anywhere especially if you have a winch, disco's in the front, ditch the rear sway bar, or if you are like me and like high speed corners keep it, i had read in the past someone home made discos for the rear sway, ill have to look at it to see if its possible.. another con to 4"+ is the need for a T case drop or SYE, which just adds alot more cost to it.

with mine i plan on doing OME front shocks, coils, steering stabilizer, not sure who's but i need an adjustable track bar, i may home brew some quick discos, rear will be the OME 2.5 leafs and i will either AAL (least likely) or get that extra .5-1" from different shackles (more likely) i hope to get 3-3.5" on 31s...
w
what rear axle do you have? and t-case.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Eek, the 01 does indeed have the lp30, so you can either stay at 3in or swap in an hp30. I love being at 4.5in and 33's. I'm open and have very few issues playing with the big boys, the long wheelbase and 4.56's make a huge difference.

 

[JCMatthews]

It all depends on how you are planning on using your Jeep. I loved mine with 33X10.5 R15s and 4.56 gears. I had it lifted about 5 1/2" but with good bump stops you could do this with 4 1/2" of lift I believe. I would not recommend Rusty's Offroad. I used them and my leaf springs sagged out quickly with no recourse from them, and my adjustable lower control arms were horribly noisy as well as my front springs. Check out Rocky Road Outfitters they also make Cherokee lifts and armor.

 

[njjeepthing]

Axles are D 30 and 8 1/4 rear, 3:55 gears, 231 tcase.

 

[stomperxj]

I am going to agree with some people here... I did a ton of research on mine before i built it and ended up with 4" and 31's. It will do anything i ask of it with a front locker only and still is very streetable. I drive it every day to work. When you get up to a 33" tire on an XJ you start running into some clearance issues among other things. Unless you plan to drag it across the rocks every weekend 4" and 31's will be the best combo IMO. I have been very happy with my setup. Ive put 60k+ miles on it without an issue... See my sig for specs...

 

[Steve F]

I've had numerous combinations from stock, 30s, 31s, 32s and now 35s. I tour and crawl in mine and will be heading off in 6 weeks for a 9000km trip with the 35s on. Lots of people will tell you to stay away from bigger tyres but if you build it right it will run just fine on the freeway and offroad. Anyway, if you go with 4" of lift that will see you up to 33's with some cutting and bushwacker flat flares (or pocket flares) and may be the best option. So start with the 31's or 32's with 4" of lift and that will give you room to go up if you want. 31's will be ab easier fit with stock flares though.

Personally I also think any tyre bigger than stock calls for a regear, once you go over 31's it has do be done IMHO. The SYE is almost a have to have as well, the stock setup is weak with such a long output shaft and can get a lot of leverage on it. A SYE will fix any vibes but will also add a bit of strength to the setup. Basically what I'm saying is there a bunch of things that really need doing regardless of the lift.

Cheers
Steve

 

[JCMatthews]

Axles are D 30 and 8 1/4 rear, 3:55 gears, 231 tcase.

I had the D30, 8.25 w/Powertrax (don't think I would do it again), 4.56 gears (I loved them), AX15, and 231 tcase w/SYE. However, I do believe that if I were to do it again, I would try to keep it to no more than 4 1/2 inch lift. With that 31s would have fit really well. I would also regear to 4.10s with 31s.