TheAngryViking

I just picked up a '93 XJ off Craigs for $1400. 109,000 miles, 4.0, manual tranny, rear tire mount, otherwise stock. A good one.

I'm taking a long road trip in May, Seattle to Orlando and back, with several side trips off the pavement. No serious crawling or mudding is planned, but I will do some single tracking looking for hidden alpine trout.

My question is, I would like to lift it and add a bigger tire. Tire choice is the big decision I face. I need a tire with good on-road performance, quiet and good for rainy hiway driving as well as a tire that will handle novice off road conditions. Not to mention, reliability and longer wear, I'm not looking for a mudder that will burn up by the time I hit Nashville. I prefer the look of a tall but not super wide AT tire.

I've looked at the Rough Country 3" for the lift, but I'm really open for the juries recommendations. And I welcome advice on any other mods that will make my 10000+ mile vision quest a journey with worry free exploration.



I've got a budget of around

96_xj

i would suggest the new Goodyear Wrangle Silent Armor. they are very good highway tires, quiet and can handle the rigors of novice offroading. they look really good too!

http://bigotires.com/Tire%20Detail/G...CHNOLOGY/14189

or of course the BFG AT's

http://bigotires.com/Tire%20Detail/B...RAINTAKO/13613

thats just my opinion tho

93gc40

I would say that tires are very low on the to do list. I would start by doing a MAJOR tune-up, plugs, wires, ALL filters, ALL fluids, brakes not just pads, U-Joints. Get done with the tune-up, go with whatever 30" or 31" tire you like best or can afford.

IMO, the Goodyear is a better road tire and the BFG a better dirt tire.

superj

not that you are going to run a 33 but i had the bfg at in 33 and ran them for almost two years driving 6 hours each weekend plus normal daily driving. they were great tires and never got stuck anywhere and the kids always fell asleep on the road. this was in an 85 isuzu trooper2 which is very basic on the interior.

i am getting the bfg in a 30" when i get tire money scraped up because of how good those 33s were

XJs-R-us

I would consider getting a hydraulic winch, just to be on the safe side.
It would suck to be in a place you have no clue about and get stuck.

just my opinion.

TheAngryViking

I'll be getting the full monty tune and lube, new battery, belts, hoses, etc.
As for the tires, I looked at the silent amour skins, nice tire. The rims on it are stock 15"s, I'll be going with a set of AT 30"s. I've decided to go with a milder lift, maybe just a spring spacer and new shocks.

As for a hydraulic winch, um, not on this rig, not yet anyway. Me and Pogo the 3 legged dog plan to stay as horizontal as possible. I've got all the required manual self recovery gear and we're good campers, so a night stuck on a Moab slick rock would just be part of the adventure.

rollingstone

I agree with the tune up, but tires are still a must. Thats a long trip, and if you plan on doing any off roading, what tires you have are going to make a huge difference. I drove from NC to Louisiana and back with some Dean Wildcat EXT's, and being that they are soft and aggressive, they made me drowsy. BFG all terrains last long and grip well aired down.