Glad my father had no say in what vehicle I drove. These vehicles were plenty safe in there days and I still feel safe in mine every time I drive it. Even with it being lifted 4.5" with 33's.

One thing I am thankful for is his help along the ways of building mine and all my other vehicle projects. I suggest you keep that in mind for your son, its a lifesaver and a money saver to know how to work on your own vehicles, and yet alone just the satisfaction.

 

I've been driving XJ's on the highway since I was 16 and never had an issue. Just did a 1800 mile trip to texas and back 95% highway travel w/ a trailer at highway speeds and never felt out of control.

I think it depends on how you drive and not so much what you drive? Just my two cents.

 

There seems to be a lot of contention in this thread about whether or not xjs are safe and or are safe for young drivers but I don't think the original question or issue was actually addressed. Im going to assume that to get 6 inches of lift you either have a package lift (full aftermarket kit) or a junkyard lift with blocks and or hack pack leafs and spacers and long reach shocks and aftermarket coils unless they just stacked too many spacers. either way I would recommend going to junkyard and getting stock springs which will most likely be weak so check Jc whitney and get a helper spring set for the rear to give them a more level if not slightly higher than stock stance for the front get a set of stock coil springs and an inexpensive 2 inch lift blocks( or rings more accurate description) on the stock springs. I would recommend buying new stock length shocks. other issues to look for are drive shafts to see if they have been modified for the additional lift and the anti sway bar end links If so then get these from the donor vehicle as well. This is roughly the same set up I am running on my 92 XJ and I drive it as a daily driver with good year wrangler 235-75-15 tires on it $83 each at Wal-Mart. It drives well is quiet and performs well in rain snow and even on ice that we had a lot of last year. A good alignment will most likely address any death wobble issues on a stock or near stock set up. IMHO most death wobble issues are the result of poorly engineered mods in combination with worn suspension components coupled with large tires. When I bought mine It had death wobble issues on worn tires. New tires shocks and an alignment afterward completely eliminated the issue. hope this helps

 

I do not think that the original post was meant to be malicious against the XJ platform of the driver by any stretch of the imagination. It is a 'parental thing'. Parents will always worry about our children. I still worry about my oldest and always check his vehicle over when he comes by (no matter how much he protests). We only want our children to be safe. When they or even we buy a vehicle that has been modified by someone other than us we tend to worry. So humor us! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

 

 

This thread brings the lulz, for sure. I drive a lifted cherokee. Daily. Have done so for years. It goes on the freeway. It goes on the street. It goes off-road. Never has it imploded while driving it. I've had all kinds of vehicles. Sports cars, 4wd, VW bugs, Saab's, sedans, coupes, 2 doors, 4 doors, several motorcycles, both on and off road, a couple crotch rockets, a couple enduros, a couple cruisers, a van at one point, and they all drove just fine.

Here's the bottom line. You need to know how to drive it. Each vehicle is different. Hence, you need to learn how to drive each vehicle you own. OP...you have a son who's new to driving. Don't just teach him to drive. Teach him to drive accordingly. If he's going to be driving a lifted cherokee, then teach him what driving a lifted cherokee should be, what it's limits are, on and off road, how a higher center of gravity affects turning at speed, how speed factors into everything you do in this choice of car. It is not a sports car. Drive it like it is meant to be driven. If you're nervous about him driving it, then get him a different car to learn with. But definitely let him experience different vehicles.

Teach him respect for what he drives. Make sure he knows the pros and cons. Some vehicles handle like they're on rails, some of them take finesse to drive, and some of them can damn near drive themselves now, LOL...education is key.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to put anyone in a stockish xj. I lifted mine ~2.5" and the instability is noticeable, but not to a point of concern. lifted on the CHEAP to contend with sagging leafs (AAL and pucks reusing all other stock parts), but i couldn't be happier. I'm looking into what it will take to restore the handling characteristics as i loved how my xj drove and performed in stock trim.


to the OP: it sounds like you're on the right road. i would honestly consider a huge lifted xj to be more of a concern on backroads than the highway. i think it'd be much easier to midjudge the required speed for a tight turn than it would be to let the xj wander off the road. if it were my child i would do what i think is right and definitely take the time to educate them to its response, as aforementioned. take him out somewhere and let him put it through its paces braking, turning, sliding, etc. regarding driving: the best thing i did for myself when i was younger is drive around in fields and woods crashing, sliding, ramping, rolling, etc - cars and trucks. doing donuts in the snow and constantly acting a fool when i was the only one at risk. it would've been nice having someone to teach me. i can't wait for my daughter to reach driving age. we're gonna have some fun! jumping creeks in the woods and making passes at the drag strip.

 

Ok we will take jeep to a local frontend shop that does a lot of 4x4 stuff and have them evaluate it. Immediate need is a drivers door latch which is 96 only!!! Any suggestion on finding one since not able to post on classifieds yet?