I have been thinking about our XJ as an expo rig. I currently have a ZJ that I am learning to 4 wheel on. My only big concern with the XJ is ride quality. The ZJ I am on now has a 3 inch lift on 31s and I would not like its ride quality for any sort of long distance. I know a lot of this has to due with the front solid axle as opposed to IFS. If I go with this XJ I will go TNT 3.5 inch long arms. I do not need major lift and want to really keep this as comfortable as possible. Any suggestions?
XJ expo rig ride quality.
- Thread starter bobfoe95
- Start date
I opted for the I6 ZJ. Although it is much too worn out to be worth making into an expo rig. I bought it to learn to wheel on. Would you suggest a different jeep? I mean really my biggest concern is ride quality since performance will probably be better than the tacoma I want to build with it as a pair. Maybe a wj? The xj has been great so far. We just already have it to any money I have for this vehicle will go straight into modifications. I could go long arms, air lockers, bumpers and everything before I even buy a similar condition WJ.
K2ZJ
Explorer
If you don't like the ride of the ZJ I am guessing the you will like the ride in a XJ less. The XJ was released in 84 and has leaves in the rear, the ZJ was released in 93 as a luxury SUV. While it has the same basic front end as the XJ it has coils in the back. Is the I6 tired or the whole rig? You could change all the suspension bushings, that will go a long way to smoothing it back out. Especially if those are the stock arms, they are at least 14 years old if you have the latest ZJ from 98 (also assuming they have not been changed). What year is your ZJ and what lift is on it? Are they stock arms, just lowers or all 8 aftermarket arms? Are they adjustable?
my xj is on a 4.5" long arm lift from rough country. the long arms made all the difference in the world on ride quality in the front. nice and smooth down the highway. my rear was still a bit harsh, but that was due mostly in part to my shackle angle. after the lift, my shackles were near verticle. installed a shackle relocation kit to get them back to 45deg, and she rides like a dream. if i wanted to take it a step further, i could ditch the leafs altogether and go with a 4 link rear.
The ZJ I have is just all around tired out. It is a 1998 but I bought it without intentions of ever making it into an expo rig. I mean within the last few weeks I put all 8 IRO adjustable control arms, 2 inch BB, IRO steering, snorkel and a few other things. The shocks are just the IRO stock ones. I built this one for just going park to park and learning to wheel on because I know it will get all beat up. The ride quality is fine, I just do not want to turn it into an overland rig because I am not sure how much I trust a 1300 dollar rig with a few upgrades. After looking around I think a WJ would be my best bet. Is there any certain things I should look for? For example on my 1998 ZJ I opted for the I6, factory disk breaks and factory 3.73 gears in the diffs.
On the WJ I would want to go 2 inch Old man emu and 32 inch tires. How would the ride quality be?
On the WJ I would want to go 2 inch Old man emu and 32 inch tires. How would the ride quality be?
