I'm sitting at over 3" with my RC lift, using 31x10.5x15 tires. I haven't wheeled with this setup yet(this is my first xj) but already have gone back and forth with the ideas of going higher with bigger tires. Now be honest, how much bigger than 3" with 31s do you need for your average trails? Do a lot of you go higher for looks and the feel of sitting up high, or do you really need it? I'm especially curious to hear from the guys that drive their Jeeps daily.

 

that is about the best "overall" combo imo. lock front and rear, w/high clearance sliders, armor, and you will go just about anywhere, and it will still be a very dd'able rig.

my last xj, i went from 3"/31s to 4.5"/34s, and i regretted it.

 

I have a stock and a 3" lifted jeep. The stock jeep goes every where and then some that my lifted one does. It also rides smoother and is easier to get in and out of and that comes from a 6'6" guy.

The lifted one does look awesome but its really not needed for the trails I go on.

 

only reason to get a taller lift is to help fit taller tires without trimming fenders.
just gotta find a balance between lift/belly height vs. tire size/fender trimming that suits your terrain and style

 

I'm sitting at 3" with 31's and a rear locker and have to say it works out very well for me. You'd be surprised at how capable your rig is sitting at that height. I'd recommend at least taking your xj out first before deciding to go higher though. You see guys all the time with huge built rigs who can't drive for crap... and while it can be highly entertaining to watch, it can also be pretty dang sad. The worlds best rig won't help the worlds crappiest driver offroad. So go out and learn some driver skills, learn what your xj is capable of doing at 3" and then if you feel the need to go higher you'll be better prepared to make the decision.

 

I went 3"-3.5" with spring packs, no blocks, no add a leafs. All from the same manufacturer. I'm no "hard-core" wheeler and most of my off road adventures are in/thru the woods out around the the river bottoms.
I lowered the the TC about 3/4" with longer bolts and spacers which worked out most ("most") of the drive shaft wobble.
My Jeep has taken me about every where I wanna go.
A higher lift would put put me in the trees on most of my off road adventures.
I'm curious about the SYE, adjustable control arms and other chassis/steering mods that are out there that's why I joined this forum. I'm too old to worry about how much crap I can list on my sig. and too poor with too many other interest to throw a bunch of cash at components I don't really need.
While "wheeling" Haspen Acres a few guys showed up with some really nice rigs, all on trailers. Big rigs, lots-o-doe in 'em fer sure. My Pal has a ****-box-rust-bucket-spring-saggin'-Cherokee w/33" skins, 3" blocks and coils outta an old Ford sedan and lots of fender trimmin'. His rig went EVERYWHERE the other rigs went all day. They were all good guys and lots-o-fun was had by every one.
He knows how to pick a line and how to run the skinny peddle, both skills that I'm still trying to figure out. Both are skills that NO amount of money/upgrades are going to overcome. Ya' GOTTA KNOW HOW TO DRIVE ONE...

 

up here, it used to be 31's minimum with 33's being the next option.
now 35's is the new 33.

but most of the easier trails can still be done with 31's and 33's.

lift doesn't really matter, but 3.5 on 31's and 4.5-5.5 on 33's.

 

I went with 4.5" w/ 31's going to move up to 33's. I planned on doing some rocks and a lot of mud. It's great on the road, highway and off road. Higher lift = less undercarage damage

 

I wheeled for my first 2 years with my xj on a 3 inch AAL full coils sway bar discos 31 inch km2s and open differentials. My jeep would get over a ton of stuff I doubted I would even be able to get. I was very suprised at how capable it was at this height, I just finished up my 4.5 inch kit last night and plan to stay at this height for a while and see what I cant crawl over. I think next for me will be lockers and axle upgrades. I think 4.5-5.5 on 33s is my most ideal setup

 

i think i'm going to stick with 3" lift on 31s till something breaks or i decide i want to start cutting my fenders. thanks for the input.

 

Just go with 3" and 33s

 

I started off at 3" of lift and 31's and honestly thought that would be all I would ever need and seemed to work pretty well for local wheeling. Then I went to Moab, everything changed. Now she's at 5" of lift and 33's, the hardcore Moab trip this fall will determine whether I've nailed it or if other changes must be made.
In my case the origional question of how much is kind of different. After the initial lift the type of wheeling I was doing changed. The short answer to the origional post would have to be, "hopefully 5"s and 33's", time will tell.

 

would full armor have made a difference in your moab trip? i've really considered adding another 1.5" by means of adjustable coil spacers and shackle relocation brackets. that would lead the way for the 33s. re gearing would be inevitable.

 

I never ran 31s, went from stock to 33s and they were great but as I tried harder trails I found them lacking and went to 35s. Those killed my stock axles and I upgraded them then bigger tires. It's a vicious cycle. Back on 33s I wheeled almost every weekend and now it's once a month if I'm lucky because I tend to break a good bit. We have a guy that rides with us on 31s and he does quite well but doesn't get to hit all the things the bigger ones do but he's OK with that.

 

This is very true. As you get further in the game, you want to run harder trails and try harder lines. It's like a drug, for awhile a little works, then you need to step it up, and so on. I'm doing Moab in 2013 and I'm building another xj for the trip. You gotta love a sport that keeps you in pb&j sandwiches.