Tires/Lift

[Lonewolf2976]

hey all, pretty new to the forums. I am in the plains region. I am new not only to the MJ community but to the jeeping community as well. I am trying to do some research on what improvements to do on my jeep as far as off road perfomance. One of my big questions is tires and lift. I am stationed at Sill at the moment and Oklahoma is a headlight state, and yes this Jeep is also a daily driver so I need to keep it street legal. Any recommendations you all have would be great. I have a 2005 LJ.

[MetViper]

First things first....welcome to MJ and Jeeping world!

OK, so there's a whole bunch of ways to skin this cat.....but first you need to decide what you want to do off-road with you Jeep.

If you're still running the Dana 30 front axle and Dana 35 rear axle (assuming your Jeep is not a Rubicon) than you probably don't want to go with tires larger than 33's or 35's.

Once you figure out what size tire you need, you can pretty easily figure out how much lift you'll need with some Googling and forum searching. Check out the search feature on jeepforum.com or search this forum.

You can spend just about as little or much on a lift as you want. They start with cheap "budget boosts" that aren't much more than some coil spring spacers all they way up to high-zoot long-arm kits. If you're not lifting your Jeep a lot you won't need a long-arm kit, but it will make it ride a bit smoother on-road for a daily driver. I would certainly steer clear of any cheap-ass no-name lifts you might find on Ebay. Settle on a well established company like Rough Country, Rubicon Express, etc....and when looking at the differences in prices consider how complete some kits are compared to others.

Good Luck!

-Jeff C.

[trailsnail]

Exactly what he MetViper said. You need to ask yourself what your jeep should be like in the end.

[Lonewolf2976]

First things first....welcome to MJ and Jeeping world!

OK, so there's a whole bunch of ways to skin this cat.....but first you need to decide what you want to do off-road with you Jeep.

If you're still running the Dana 30 front axle and Dana 35 rear axle (assuming your Jeep is not a Rubicon) than you probably don't want to go with tires larger than 33's or 35's.

Once you figure out what size tire you need, you can pretty easily figure out how much lift you'll need with some Googling and forum searching. Check out the search feature on jeepforum.com or search this forum.

You can spend just about as little or much on a lift as you want. They start with cheap "budget boosts" that aren't much more than some coil spring spacers all they way up to high-zoot long-arm kits. If you're not lifting your Jeep a lot you won't need a long-arm kit, but it will make it ride a bit smoother on-road for a daily driver. I would certainly steer clear of any cheap-ass no-name lifts you might find on Ebay. Settle on a well established company like Rough Country, Rubicon Express, etc....and when looking at the differences in prices consider how complete some kits are compared to others.

Good Luck!

-Jeff C.

Ty for the welcome. Basically I do very little road travel with it other then the 5 miles on and off post daily, but I must keep it street legal. PCS moves it gets trailored. I am looking at major over haul a pieace at a time. I am looking for all around off road performance be it crawling or in the mud. From what I have been reading 35x14.5 tire, 4" suspension lift and a 2-3" body lift to prevent rubbing and help with articulation. These are just some base numbers I have come up with reading alot of forums and such on over all performance and handling off road. I am looking to get the best off road experience but dont want to kill myself on the road either I am not sure of the front end but the rear end is for sure Dana 44. I am thinking doing the body lift first, then getting the tires and rims, and finishing off with the suspension lift. But then again I am new to doing this and it will be a learning experience for me as well. i will definately be looking at quality equipment because i do have my 4 year old riding in the Jeep with me. ill wait the extra month to make the next step in modifications for money to keep him safe. If I am way off base with my thoughts please let me know, and I will try to find the specs on the front end for more information. The Jeep is a 2005 Wrangler Unlimted TJL

[DirtWarrior97]

Lonewolf,

Unless your LJ is a Rubicon, then your front axle is a Dana 30. It's not a bad axle as I've seen them stand up to 33's and 35's on many rigs (except MetViper's...his 35's eat Dana 30 u-joints...just sayin'!).

As far as body lifts go, my advice is to go as short as possible on it...if you're dead set on having one. I have a 1" BL with a 1" motor mount lift. This helps get my drivetrain further up between the frame rails to make it possible to run a "belly-up" or high clearance skid plate. If you're planning on keeping your stock skid plate, then don't bother. A suspension lift will give you the clearance you want for the larger tires. If you want a little more clearance after that...get a 1-2" coil spacer.

Just my two cents and welcome to the forum and the world of Jeeping!!

-Jim C.

[Lonewolf2976]

Lonewolf,

Unless your LJ is a Rubicon, then your front axle is a Dana 30. It's not a bad axle as I've seen them stand up to 33's and 35's on many rigs (except MetViper's...his 35's eat Dana 30 u-joints...just sayin'!).

As far as body lifts go, my advice is to go as short as possible on it...if you're dead set on having one. I have a 1" BL with a 1" motor mount lift. This helps get my drivetrain further up between the frame rails to make it possible to run a "belly-up" or high clearance skid plate. If you're planning on keeping your stock skid plate, then don't bother. A suspension lift will give you the clearance you want for the larger tires. If you want a little more clearance after that...get a 1-2" coil spacer.

Just my two cents and welcome to the forum and the world of Jeeping!!

-Jim C.

The only reason I was considering the body lift was to prevent rubbing and issues in that area. If the suspension lift alone will take care of it I wont bother. Just not looking at killing my turn radius in the process of enlarging the tires.

[SGM O]

Take my advice for what is worth, but I have been doing this for a few years...the way to deal with rubbing issues in not with a body lift, but with a properly installed suspension lift and new wheels that have the proper back spacing for the width tire you are running. Some suspension lifts will require a 1" body lift so that certain components can be bolted on, but anything more than a 1" body lift and you will begin to have other issues, like engine mounts, radiator brackets and if you get serious about wheeling, failed body mounts because of the strain of having a 3" body lift when you are flexing off road.

Another issue you will have is running a 35" tire with your stock gearing. Sounds like you don't do a lot of highway driving, but 35" tires with 3.73:1 gears in the axles your Jeep will be a real dog. Keep in mind that that a 35"x14.5" tire is more than twice the weight of your stock tire and the wider tire with and aggressive off-road thread pattern will dramatically increase your rolling resistance. All these factors will rob your horsepower.

I am currently running 35"x12.50" tires with 4.56:1 gears in my axles and I have a 5" suspension lift and a 1" body lift. I also am using 1.25" wheel spacers and my wheels have are 15"x8" and have 4" of backspacing. I have no rubbing issues and to give a more legal appearance in all 50 states I have wider fender flares that completely cover the width of the tires.

2004 - 2006 Jeep Wrangler TJ Unlimited's, commonly referred to as "LJ" came with Dana 30 front, Dana 44 rear with 3.73:1 gearing. You may or may not have the limited slip in your rear axle. The Rubicon's came with the Dana 44 front and rear with 4.10:1 gears and lockers. Keep in mind that the Dana 44 used in all the TJ's is a Dana 44 hub assembly and axle shafts with Dana 35 tubes and outers, so it is not as strong as an aftermarket Dana 44 or the new Dana 44's used in the current Wrangler JK's.

[Rubitron]

These guys have given you some good advise. Way better than than the forum(s) you read about a 4" lift and 3" BL. No way do you need 7 inches for 35's! Another avenue you may want to look at is lifting it not quite as much, but "making room" with tube fenders. I would suggest (just me talking here...), a well put together 3" suspension lift, a 1" BL, and tube fenders. A well put together 3" kit may be a 4 or 5" kit substituted with 3" springs. A lot of times a kit that is supposed to lift it more will come with more/better pieces, such as adjustable control arms and track bar(s). The 1" body lift will get you back to 4" of lift and also open the door for a motor mount lift, tummy tuck, raised gas tank skid, and give you clearance to mount your oversized spare. You could leave the lift like that, people do it. Tube fenders however, will give you 2-3" of tire clearance into the fenders while keeping your COG lower. Then what everybody else said about gears and such. Spidertrax makes wheel spacers that I run to prevent rubbing. I'm just using them until I get new wheels, but they took care of all my rubbing. I hope this helps you, or at least gives you food for thought. Good luck with the new Jeep!

Edit - I would also like you to think about improving your roll cage. I also wheel with my daughter so my first purchase for the Jeep was a lift kit and Rockhard cage. And I bought them at the same time from the same place so they cut me a deal, but they're a preferred vendor on ROF also.

[jsargent]

I think folks here are steering you in the right direction. With my current setup is an OME lift (roughly 2.5 in), proper bumpstops, 1.25 in bl and 1 in MM lift, and I'm running 34's. There are not many places I can't/won't go, but I am locked front and rear. Shortly I will be highlining it and running 38's with no additional lift. I may have to add some wheel spacers to keep from rubbing the control arms. Right now some of the bigger undercuts are a problem with the 34's but other than that I run with a lot of much bigger rigs.

[Lonewolf2976]

Take my advice for what is worth, but I have been doing this for a few years...the way to deal with rubbing issues in not with a body lift, but with a properly installed suspension lift and new wheels that have the proper back spacing for the width tire you are running. Some suspension lifts will require a 1" body lift so that certain components can be bolted on, but anything more than a 1" body lift and you will begin to have other issues, like engine mounts, radiator brackets and if you get serious about wheeling, failed body mounts because of the strain of having a 3" body lift when you are flexing off road.

Another issue you will have is running a 35" tire with your stock gearing. Sounds like you don't do a lot of highway driving, but 35" tires with 3.73:1 gears in the axles your Jeep will be a real dog. Keep in mind that that a 35"x14.5" tire is more than twice the weight of your stock tire and the wider tire with and aggressive off-road thread pattern will dramatically increase your rolling resistance. All these factors will rob your horsepower.

I am currently running 35"x12.50" tires with 4.56:1 gears in my axles and I have a 5" suspension lift and a 1" body lift. I also am using 1.25" wheel spacers and my wheels have are 15"x8" and have 4" of backspacing. I have no rubbing issues and to give a more legal appearance in all 50 states I have wider fender flares that completely cover the width of the tires.

2004 - 2006 Jeep Wrangler TJ Unlimited's, commonly referred to as "LJ" came with Dana 30 front, Dana 44 rear with 3.73:1 gearing. You may or may not have the limited slip in your rear axle. The Rubicon's came with the Dana 44 front and rear with 4.10:1 gears and lockers. Keep in mind that the Dana 44 used in all the TJ's is a Dana 44 hub assembly and axle shafts with Dana 35 tubes and outers, so it is not as strong as an aftermarket Dana 44 or the new Dana 44's used in the current Wrangler JK's.

I definately appricate the information. What you have put on here makes alot of since, and to be honest I wasnt to sure about alot of the downfalls of the body lifts but all the post here have been very helpful on that. I will definately look at more of a build like your runnning, it seems to make alot of since and with an aggressive tire will probably do plenty well on the off roading. Rubitron thanks for the direction on the roll bar upgrade. I had already been talking to a friend about upgrading the roll bar and you have definately given me a direction to look. That was definately an investment I was going to make. None of us want to think about something like that happening but even if my little man was not in the jeep someone still has to be around to take care of him SGM O. I understand the physics of ratio on the axles and understand what the ratios mean. But to change that ratio am I going to need to completely replace the front and rear end, or is there somewhere I can do some reading tha tyou would suggest to educate myself on this. How to fix this ratio. it seems to me to prevent damage to the Jeep getting the underside upgraded to where it needs to be to carry the burden and extra strain would be the smart way to go. Again thanks to all who have responded for your help.