Hey Guys,
I've got probably what is an elementary question and an easy decision
for most of you guys, but I'm having a difficult time deciding what
lift option to go with. I recently purchased a 95 Sahara 5spd, 3:07,
w/ 90K miles. It came with AR Outlaw II 15x8 (3.5 backspacing) with
235/75R15 (28.5") on it.They don't look bad, but I do want bigger
tires (who doesn't??) I am not new to jeeps, but new to YJ's. I used
to have an 84 Laredo CJ7 w/ 31's. My 84 Had a shackle lift on it
(which I wouldn't advise) and 31's seemed small on it. When I
originally got my 95 I automatically thought I would be able to put
31's on it like my CJ without a lift, but after research that isn't
the case. Now, I'm faced with the decision of what size of lift I want
to go with long term since I plan to keep the Sahara for a long time.
I've tried to find pictures and other jeepers advice, and get very
mixed feelings on everything so I decided to go to you guys..IMO, the
experts.

What I do with the Jeep: 90% of time it's my fun around town vehicle,
and occassionally (4-5 times) a year I will go trail riding and a
little rocks and mud. I do like the looks of a lifted YJ, but I also
want it to drive as good as it does right now being stock. I do have a
set of 31's to put on it already, but it would be a while before I
could get bigger than that if I went with a 4" lift vs a 2.5" lift.
Here are the options I am at right now:
1) Put a 2" or 2.5" on it and the 31's I have and call it good. There
is a used 2.5 lift complete selling for $150 which would allow me to
do other things to the Jeep but i don't know about used vs new when it
comes to lift kits. I know that the driveability would be about the
same as stock (from what others have said), but most folks said that
they regret not going with a 4" from the start. Why? Is it because of
the off road capability, because I want mine mostly for looks driving
around b/c I love a lifted jeep and how it looks.
2) Put a 4" lift on it with the 31's and look funny with small tires
and a big lift (I think that's how it would look...I don't know what's
why I'm asking). Then later be able to go with 32x11.5 or 33x12.5 (not
sure which one) and 3.73 or 4.11 and be good. However, my concern with
a 4" is that it will take more wear and tear on my other suspension
components (ball joints, tie rod, etc...) since I do mainly drive it
on the highway and occasionally on the interstate at 70+MPH. Can
anyone give me history on what a 4 inch lift on occasional off road
has done to their jeep? I've found a rough country lift with a good
price (complete with pitman arm, steering stabilizer, 9000 Nitro
shocks), and the only complaint I have found is the rough ride by some
and others have loved it. Some of those were old posts as well, and
Rough Country says when I talked to them that they have redone their
springs and they are a ez-ride spring now. I don't know...Any opinion
on this particular lift out there?
So please any help, advice would be great as I've read posts till I'm
blue in the face and finally decided to ask other Jeepers since I've
gotten past results from you guys when I did the Nutter Bypass on my
CJ.
Basically, what I'm asking is what would you guys with history of
lifts do since I'm starting out with a clean slate.

On Apr 24, 5:16 pm, Chris Hill <tateh... (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:
I haven´t lifted my 95 Yj yet but based on a lot of research am
planning on doing the following:

1) Upgrade to Dana 44 in the rear
3) Lift 2.5 inches with a high quality spring kit (Rubicon Express or
OME)
4) go to 31 inch tires

If I decide to later go with 33 inch tires I plan to
1) Upgrade to 1 inch longer shackles for 0.5 inch lift
2) Add 1 inch body lift
3) Add slip yoke eliminator and new driveshaft (maybe not needed but
will for other reasons)
4) Re-gear to 4.88

This would give 4 inches of total lift to clear the 33 inch tires and
proper gearing.

Probably the cheapest way to fit 31s is to do a 0.5 inch shackle lift
and a 1 inch body lift.

On 26 Apr 2007 07:25:11 -0700, nrs <neale_rs (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:


One of the few that has actually done his homework correctly... Kudos
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TheSnoMan.com

On Apr 24, 6:16 pm, Chris Hill <tateh... (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:
I have a 95 wrangler with about 5 inches of lift. it had 33s on it.
i dropped to 31s to make it a better jeep for me. if you do trails a
couple times a year go with a 2.5 lift of good quality. the money
flows freely the higher you get SYE CV shafts etc.....

On 28 Apr 2007 06:09:24 -0700, Chris Hill <tatehill (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:


You really want at least a 4.10 with 32 or 33's. Forget the factory
gearing because it was way too tall to begin with (it was that way to
try to sqeak a little more MPG out on EPA MPG cycle but not in real
world) If you use link below you will find a free online tire
size/axle ratio calculator that will shed a little light on you quest.
When you do the numbers remember that the lift and bigger tires
increase drag so it will tak more power to cruise same speed so simply
making same effective gear ratio as stock will not help MPG one bit.
You will take a drop in MPG because of lift and tires but you will
take even a bigger drop if you do not properly regear it and lug
engine.

http://www.snoman.com/HTML/axlecalc_5a.html
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TheSnoMan.com