Which lift kit???

Brendan2 · 04-11-2001, 08:15 PM

I have an early YJ, and I running the stock suspension. I love my jeep, but i desperately need a lift. I am 16, and learning to do all the maintenence and mod stuff by myself. My lift is going to be purely cosmetic for the time. I don't want any lift that is incomplete, and I was thinking about suspension systems between 2.5 and 3 inches. I want to run 31s or 32s. I want people to know my jeep is lifted, so i can show up all those kids in town that think they are bad *** with their stupid broncos and blazers. Which lift is best???? For the money, Ride and the quality.

Square Peg · 04-11-2001, 08:48 PM

I have the RE 4.5" Extreme kit with 33s.
I like the RE kit for being complete, having a smooth ride and the flex for off road. If you're not going to take it off road ... there are other kits you can choose that cost less.
The RE 2.5" Extreme kit will give you plenty of room to wheel hard on 31's and 32'a if you wheel mildly and 33's if you don't hit a bump ... lol.
An issue you may run into with the new tires is rubbing on the springs while making U-turns - if you have stock rims. If you have wider rims you may rub on the flares while off road and may need to use extended flares to cover the tires and stay legal in CT.
Good Luck and enjoy

BTW if it were me ... I'd go with 31 or 32's for the looks and then show how well the YJ wheels.

FLHT_FXRS_YJ · 04-11-2001, 09:34 PM

I've got a 89'yj w/ 2 1/2" rancho. The system was complete (springs, shocks, relocation brackets for track bars, bump stops, u-bolts) - the improvement in ride quality is awesome (especially off road). Right now I'm running 31x10.50 on 15x8 A.R. rims. A 32" would fit easily. Only problem I've noticed is a little sag in the front springs. The lift is about 8 yrs old and I have a warn 8000 sitting up front. - Overall, good lift for the price if all you want to go is 2 1/2" and no bigger than 32" tires.

Cody_91YJ · 04-11-2001, 10:48 PM

LOL, I know what ya mean Duvie...I bought my Jeep last year when I turned 16 and now enjoy showing the idiots that think IFS is the only way to go how it is hehe

I have the ProComp 4", and despite all the trash people talk about it (without experiance with them it seems), I think its a great kit.
Comes with everything, and after breaking it in is VERY smooth and flexy.
I've had mine for about 2 years and it rides like stock, still provides 4" of lift, and flexes awesome for an SUA, over 1000 on the 20 degree ramp.
The RE 4.5" is also good like Square Peg said, and BDS is also supposed to be pretty good.

But, I'd consider going SOA.
I'm about to do this, and I think if you ever plan on going to a 33" + tire you'll want to consider it. You'll get about 5-6 inches of lift while getting a great ride and great off-road performance.
But an SOA isn't for everyone, so choose what best fits you.

Square Peg · 04-11-2001, 11:40 PM

There is bound to be settling after the instalation. Originally I had 5 3/4" of lift and since have made a number of changes so couldn't tell you where it sits now. When the kit says it provides what ever lift it's the settled lift, so on a 4.5" kit, 4.5" will be the settled lift amount.
I have a hard top and heavy duty bumpers and which that add weight but it's not sagging.
The RE standard kit is just ProComp springs and RE components, while the Extreme kit has RE's own unique military wraped springs or at least that's what I saw and also what they told me when I picked my lift up from there facility in CA. The funny thing was in the Extreme lit I found the 2.5 degree shims and the u-bolts were ProComp ... lol
Rancho is a good one for mild lift, the shocks are suppose to be pretty good at smoothing the ride out.
You asked about the RE components ... The biggest plus in my mind is that they give you full stainless steel brake lines, where other kits don'r include them or send line extenders. It has the t-case drop kit and pitman arm that surprisingly not all the others do. The 2 big deals are the new boomerang shackles and the quick discos, which would cost about $80 each if bought without the kit. By the time you add in the extras to another kit the over all prices are about the same if not more that RE. Which was one of the reasons I went with it.
Since it's just for looks ... I'm not so sure the extras are necessary. If you ever really wanted to take it off road, I'd say absolutely it's necessary.
Easy answer - It's great off road and the setup is smoother than my old stock set up, but it's your money.
Hope it helps