I've got a question and looking for some advice. I've got a 92 that's pretty much stock. I will be getting a lift and tires in the coming months with lockers and gears later this year. My end plan is to end up on 33s for tires. I've looked at MetalCloak, RE and RC. I really like MC, but there's not a lot of info for XJs and people that have installed and ran it, but looks like a solid system. Are there any others I should consider? Experiences with your suspension systems are welcome.
I have even thought about piecing my system together.
I will mainly be expedition type of trail with moderate rock crawling, if that helps in your advice. Thanks for your input.
This was taken the day I got her.

 

The best bang for your buck i know of is http://www.rustysoffroad.com/jeep-su...-pack-kit.html

 

Metal cloak is pretty much top-notch stuff. The reason you don't hear much is because there's not a lot of people willing to shell out that kind of dough for suspension parts. I run a Zone lift and am happy, it's hard to find anything bad even said about them (child company of BDS). RE gets decent enough reviews and looks like a good bang for the buck. Rustys...there's a few that love it and a few that aren't as impressed. Consensus is to steer clear of Rough Country at all costs, cheap and you get what you pay for.

There is a thread somewhere around here that is about 5 pages long, it's an extended MC review and others with MC have chimed in with their pleasure. If I had the $$$ I'd run it.

Welcome to CF.

 

If your going to stick with short arms, metal cloak is the best kit that money can buy. On the flip side of that, with the same $$$ you spend on MC you are easily in long arm territory.

If your end game is 33s then I would buy the lift for 33s. I ran stock gearing on 33s for a year until I could afford to buy 4.56s and F/R Truetracs. You lose some power on stock gearing and 33s, but for me it was only really noticeable off-road and I would just use 4LO to compensate. Also I am at sea level, so if your at elevation that would increase any feeling of power loss.

I just pulled the trigger on a BDS long arm system to replace my RC short arm lift. Looking forward to what should be a night and day difference between the 2 lifts.

 

This is the highest quality entry level lift you can buy with leaf and coils made in NA where all the others are made in China or off shore. With this basic kit it can be built on using higher quality parts that aren't included where with a kit they sell you what they think you should have. I just increased the 3" lift of this one to 4 1/2" lift 1 1 /2 yrs. ago based on the same leafs and coils.


You can always do better with research of putting a lift together yourself than buying a kit one. The reason higher quality parts built to your exact needs in those areas that you need them in. A fellow from here on the forum ended up buying the MC kit and with his build has had several issues come up where what he had was scrapped in order to upgrade or not fitting properly to his needs. I have been in email contact with him for over 2 months now, he's a great guy with a nice build wanting to use it like you plan on.


Planning is the key here and I suggest you do a lot of it before spending a single dime, the key do it right the first time.

 

Do your research on the forums, and piece together the "kit" you want. I spent a few months researching before I bought anything, and am glad I did. If you buy a kit from one manufacturer, you are stuck with only their parts, and I've yet to come across one company that makes the best of everything. My pieced together lift currently consists of a mix of RE (mostly), JKS, and Currie parts.

 

I'm leaning towards piecing my system together. A little more work, but get the best parts that will fill my needs/wants. I'm in no hurry, except for the itch to wheel.

 

My advice is do the lockers, gears and recovery first. The lift and tires is the easy part. And locked you can do some decent wheeling. Once you invest in all it takes to lift you might find it harder to spend even more on the axles. I wish I had went this route years ago and the next will definitely do it this way.

 

I've got recovery down. It came with a winch, Hi-lift and all the accessories you could want. If I do gears, before the tires, wouldn't that be too much for basically stock tires? That's why I lumped lockers and gears together, get in there once and get it done instead of twice.

 

If you spend a lot of highway time then it depends on what ratio you gear to. JMO I would rather be over geared on small tires than under geared on larger. If you are confident in your budget and willingness to invest then my previous post is kind of moot in your situation. I just found myself out of funds after I started my build, life you know?, and now am under geared and open diffs with no way to change it. For the places I drive I would be happy to be waiting on a lift and tires.

 

Yeah, life has a tendency to be harsh and unfair. But, I think I've got a good timeline with plenty of flexibility to allow for life. This isn't my DD, so if it takes longer than I want there's no harm. Just means I have to wait a little more. When it comes to gears, I'll have to wait till my friend is available or take it to a shop. I don't have the tools or knowledge to do gears.

 

I would take my time review all the parts make a list and save up tell i can afford it.Its cheaper to spend more on good made stuff then go with the cheapest lift you find and not be happy with it.

 

FYI with that Rustys 3" lift with some trimming I ran 33x12:50x15" tires with a 15x8" wheel and 3.75" of BS no problem. Here is an old photo right after I installed both a few yrs back. I waited for a while longer for gears and lockers and can tell you it really sucked, they made a night vs. day difference in the XJ off road.