Recommendations for a 4" Lift Kit.

GK

Sorry,

GK

lol , don't bite on this one...

Don't bite on what one?

Year? Model?

Besides, if you aren't going offroad, you don't need a lift. You don't need a Jeep either, for that matter.

---------------------------------------------------- Del Rawlins- del@_kills_spammers_rawlinsbrothers.org Remove _kills_spammers_ to reply via email. Unofficial Bearhawk FAQ website:

It would help usd if we knew what kind of vehicle you are talking about.

most people who have a Jeep don't "need" it either.. In fact, we *need* to convince people like him that D44s/60s with lockers and decent lifts look great on the highway if we want DC to make 'em that way from stock and save us a few bob ! It's his cash, and if he get's fun out of it, let him be ! Woah, am I mellow this morning !!

Dave Milne, Scotland '91 Grand Wag> > I won't be doing any off-roading. I use my Jeep for highway driving.

With all due respect .... the last time I looked I was the one that paid for my Jeep and I'm the one that will be paying for anything that I do to it .... that being said, I appreciate your desires to mold me mind into your way of thinking .... but it would be GREAT if replies were directed to opinions about a lift kit that fits my needs instead of how I should think more like you.

Thanks ...... MACKY ....

Thanks GK .... that was one of the ones that was high on my list .... from what I had read it sounded like it fit my needs. How much is cornering afftected by putting in a 4" lift? Does it becomes sloppy on lane changes, or worse yet raise the Center of gravity enough to make it street dangerous?

MACKY

Of course the roll factor is increased when you raise the Jeep, but as long as you're not pushing threshold on your turns, you're going to be happy. Tires for that lift should be 33s or less. The taller the tire sidewall, the more 'wallowing' you will feel.

I had the Teraflex S4T and was very happy with it. I now have an RE 4.5" and like it as well. You'd do well with either. Remember, you will have drivel> Thanks GK .... that was one of the ones that was high on my list .... from

That is quite true and nobody here will try to stop you from lifting your Jeep. On this newsgroup, however, as with usenet in general, you don't get to pick and choose which opinions you will receive. I do support your right to modify your vehicle as you see fit, but also think you are being silly by lifting a Jeep which won't be going off road.

What you seem to have missed in my post is the fact that nobody on this newsgroup can as of yet render an opinion as to which lift will best meet your needs. In order for this to happen you must first provide some basic information about your Jeep, like which model is it and what is the year of manufacture?

---------------------------------------------------- Del Rawlins- del@_kills_spammers_rawlinsbrothers.org Remove _kills_spammers_ to reply via email. Unofficial Bearhawk FAQ website:

Macky,

I really wouldn't worry so much about cornering, etc. Pick good shocks and keep the swaybars connected, and it will likely handle much like stock...or possibly even stiffer on corners (if you go with cheaper stiffer shocks like the ProComp ES3000).

I have a 4" lift that began as a ProComp lift and is slowly turning into a mish-mash. I have all teraflex LCAs. They feel alot like the ProComp arms did, but since they are adjustable and flexible, are easier on the mounts and allow me to change the rear pinion angle.

Going to a 4" lift, I would seriously consider a long-arm kit from one of the manufacturers (Tera, Rubicon Express, Full Traction, etc.). It will keep a better on-road ride for you by flattening the control arms out more, so more of the impact force from bumps on the road goes up, into the spring, and less can go up into the vertical component of the angle of your control arms. My friend's longarm kit does ride smoother than my short arms. The LA (Long Arm) kits are a bit more pricey in general, but hey, like you said, it's your money.

Another thing to consider when going to a 4" lift. You WILL have driveline vibrations caused by the steeper angle of the rear driveshaft. You will need to have a "Slip Yoke Eliminator" (SYE) kit installed on your transfer case, and have a "CV DriveShaft" installed in the rear, with your rear axle pinion then changed to point directly at the transfer case output. If you don't do this, you will wear your rear driveshaft U-Joints out in quick order, and produce annoying vibrations at various speed ranges, especially at the speeds attained in 3rd gear (oddly enough). BTW, yes, some kits do come with transfer case "drop" kits. Unfortunately, even with one of these drops, a 4" lift can and probably will produce vibes (I speak from my own personal experience). They aren't an end-all solution.

You may also one day want to re-gear your differentials to something around 4.11:1 for the larger tires (33" I'm guessing, for a 4" lift) you're going to end up running. This can wait though, and won't be quite as urgent since you don't go off-road. But you will notice an annoying lack of power since your transmission's gearing will be too high for your engine in many situations, rendering your 5th gear pretty much useless. If you have the upgraded factory 3.73:1 ratio it won't be as bad, but if you have the crappy 3.07 gears, you'll definitely notice it.

As you can see, a lift definitely puts you on a slippery slope of needed other modifications; it's not as quick, cheap, and simple as the lift kit manufacturers like to make it seem. Some kits (such as the Rubicon Express LA kit do include extra items you'll need, such as the SYE kit and CV driveshaft), which can help. You should take that into account when pricing your chosen kit. If you go smaller (2" or so lift and maybe 31" or 32" tires), you can get away with less up-front expenditure, as your driveline angles won't be affected so badly and your tires will be smaller and not detrimentally affect your current differential gearing driveability as much.

Good luck in what you choose.

Oh, and once you do the mods, take it off-road! I know you don't think you want to now, but you have to try it. It's a blast, and you may find you have a new favorite hobby once you do.

/Bob

Hi Del,

I personally think my Jeep is a Great looking, fun vehicle to own and drive. I live in snow country and couldn't ask for a better vehicle. Got four wheel drive for winter (and a hardtop) take the doors off and top off for the summer. It's fun to drive and I love the way it looks. Adding a Lift Kit and wheels with 33 x 12.5 tires will make it look even better ..... ya only go through once .... get off on whatever you can that won't get you locked up or hurt others.

MACKY

HEY DUDE,

The question has been what kind of jeep do you have??????????

I think that you finally sort of answered it by saying top and doors off, so it must be EITHER a CJ, YJ, or a TJ.

What kind of 4" lift is best depends on IF IT IS A CJ, A YJ, OR A TJ???????? They have different suspensions on them.

So I take it you are going to park it for the winter now?

You won't be happy with a 12.5" wide tire in the snow on the street unless all you want to do is 'look' at it.

Wide tires like that are only for show, they have no real function unless you are a rock crawler, then the wide tread gives more grab.

On snow, they just get up on top and float.

I had 10.5's on my CJ7 and they got dangerous anywhere over 40 mph in

4-6" of snow.

I now have 9.5's on and I can easily run at 55-60 mph in the snow so I can at least keep up to the transport trucks now.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Macky wrote:

Mike,

While I realize and agree that the 12.5 width tires do cause greater flotation, they're not as horrible in the snow as you like to make them out to be. Yes, they can cause some extra sliding here and there if you're not careful, but I've done fine with mine. I go at least as fast as the other cars on the road, if not faster, while maintaining complete control. I did get extra siping put in my BFG AT KOs, though. So far, they've done great, even with the 12.5 width. My old ProComp MT tires of the same exact size, however, were a different story...I could keep up speed with most of the other vehicles, but it was definitely a more difficult to keep it from trying to slide on the ice.

Granted, I live in Denver, and we don't actually get all that much snow here in the city as a lot of people think we do. We'll only get about 5 or 6 good snowstorms in a season to deal with, and if we're lucky, one blizzard ;-)

/Bob

There is no comparison in my opinion!

I am in 4x4 for weeks at a time sometimes and do have to travel.

In snow we tend to drive almost the speed limit up here, so being able to keep up to traffic takes on a whole new meaning....

One of the saying is 'you know you are Canadian, when grandma and grandpa drive at 65 mph for 2 hours in a blizzard to go visiting without flinching.'

When I lived out west, we lost sight of the pavement in September and it didn't come back until April or May sometimes.

My CJ7 was 'very' unsafe at anything over 40-45 mph with 10.5 muds on it. Very unsafe. Driving 'white knuckle' every day to get to work was really hard on the nerves.

If I was running 12.5's for looks, although I don't know why I would do that seeing as I like function, I would certainly have a second set of rims with 'real' snow tires on them. You know, tall skinny ones like P225-75's or thinner.

Even my 7.5" wide mud tread is noticeable better than the P235-75 AT's that measure in at 8.5" on the tread.

Mike

Bob wrote: