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wanting to lift my 97 zj, whats the best cheap lift ?

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1997 lift kit
43K views 29 replies 13 participants last post by  mperk12000 
#1 ·
Its at stock height with stock wheels and tires. looking for a good 2-4 inch lift kit if i can find one online or on here. let me know if theres any good deals out there. Ive never bought a lift before so im not sure what brand or parts would be good, just makin sure i know a little before i buy the wrong thing.
Thanks,
Austin
 
#2 ·
2" just go with a Budget Boost. Two inch spacers that go above the springs.

4" do a front to rear swap. New front springs, front springs go in the rear, find some shocks and bend the brake lines up at the caliper. Redrill the mount for the trackbar on the axle end over 5/8" of an inch. There is a writeup somewhere around here on this one.
 
#3 · (Edited)
that's a very difficult question.
I tried most of the cheap lifts before. The results were ..."cheap". And I hated them. Every cheap lift I had, I had them most likely for 6 months then ditched them. And I wish I had never spent those time & money. I guess it will depend on how crappy you are willing to tolerate the handling of your car. To me, any lift without maintaining or lengthening your wheel base will hammered the safty & handling of your ZJ. My ZJ is a daily freeway driver, safty is my #1 concern. So I am not sure what to recommend you. Sorry!
 
#4 ·
I bought the Rough Country 4" lift this past summer and I recommend it. It comes with adj. control arms and everything else you need. I was in your same position and decided budget boost just wasnt worth it to me so I saved the extra cash. Its a great deal for the money and sets you up nicely for new bumper etc. due to the stiff shocks. You wont loose much height with the added wieght.
Thats my take, if budget boost works for you then go with that, but I found it really worth it to save up and go bigger.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I was told to stay clear or the rough country lift its is cheap!! I believe 649.99 but i heard it is really stiff and will ride worse then the stock suspension!!! Ironrock off road has really good prices and they are well known for there product!!! they have a 3.5" lift for 474.99 and they have a 2 4.5" one is 774.99 and the other is 1174.99. The difference being the premium package has a full set of control arms front and back. All their kits are upgradable later on and if you were to get the 3.5 and a set of flares you could run 33" tire or so is says with the flare packages. the bushwackers claim with a budget boost and the flare you can run 33s and the icelandoffroad claim with 4' of lift you can run 35s so i would say with those you would be safe to run 33s also with 2" of lift. This will also keep your centre of gravity low but still give you a nice tire size for offroad and off!!!! There site is www.ironrockoffroad.com
 
#7 ·
I was told to stay clear or the rough country lift its is cheap!! I believe 649.99 but i heard it is really stiff and will ride worse then the stock suspension!!! . . . [/url]
Shocks are what typically make or break the ride quality. My guess is that RC lift just has cheap shocks. Makes sense that a cheap lift would have cheap shocks . . .

Why do you want to lift? If you are interested in read off-roading then there is nothing cheap about it. You are better off saving up for a complete lift that includes track bars, bump stop extensions, and quality shocks. And then throw in some skid plates and lockers. If all you are looking for is attention then why not just get some 20's and neon lights?
 
#6 ·
What about not lifting it at all, saving the 750 bucks, and trimming the fenders to fit 32s.
Use the cash to get some wheels with less backspacing to minimize shock and control arm rub.
There's a lot to be said for this configuration, it keeps your center of gravity low and all the suspension geometry stock

No adjustable trackbars, longer driveshafts, adjustable control arms required = $$$$ in da bank.

You won't get much articulation, but articulation is overrated and usually totally unnecessary if you have lockers and axles strong enough to handle driving the vehicle through only one or two wheels (the ones that are on the ground) there are extremely capable ORVs that have little to no articulation. Maybe you've heard of this one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9mtU-1mm9E

Check out this hombre's WJ - http://www.mallcrawlin.com/forum/showthread.php?p=267574 skip to post 11 to see what 32s with no lift and fender trimming looks like.

Ask yourself whether you really need that 3 inches of lift if all you want to do is clear bigger tires.
 
#9 ·
Im not able to add what was posted but the info be leo89 is irrelivant he has added a you tube link for a military spec vehicle that comes stock with an on dash tire deflator and comparor to reinflate,beadlocks,snorkel ect! also this is a flat fendor which gives you and advantage right there! I could post links on how in the war they use to paddle willys across a river with a dingie sorrounding it!!! Also i have looked at his friends truck and read some of the post and hacking my bumpers to pieces and having to add a subframe to may rad doesn't seem like a good idea and there are companies that speacialize in lowering your vehicle for bigger tires!!!! i choose and would still choose to go wider with the added hieght!! The 32's on that vehicle are the stock width!!! Its seems like compramising saftey for tire size is what these guys are doing and i wouldn't concider this at all!!!!
 
#11 · (Edited by Moderator)
sorry leo i was definitly not nice. i just didn't get it because from the you tube vid you were comparing apple to oranges. I also didn't see a point in cutting up a daily driver to fit bigger tires. I know fenders get cut and i am doing it myself but i am also putting flares on. So of the people on that msg board were talking about alot of hacking. Once again im sorry and didn't mean to be mean!
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the apology Larry, I'm also sorry for snapping at you. I think most lifts are a good way to go except for the BB for which i think fender trimming is a way better alternative (especially if you already have upcountry). In the real world I think 3 or 4 inches of lift would be appreciated on the trail, even if you do sacrifice road handling, aerodynamics and a fair bit of cash. I'll be honest I'm not the most hardcore of wheelers (yet) and when I start hitting rocks, mud, water and snow I'll probably want to jack my ride to the sky.
 
#13 ·
The name-of-the-game when it comes to offroading is Ground Clearance. The lowest thing under the ZJ is the axles. There is only one way to get those axles higher and that's with a larger diameter wheel. You can only upsize the wheel so much and then you run into clearance problems. To gain more clearance you can lift the entire chassis, trim the body back or do some of both. Any time you alter the suspension geometry (lift), you're also going to alter the way the vehicle behaves. Subtle lift will have less effect than massive lift. The reason some of the big lift kits are so expensive is because they include all the parts necessary to lift the vehicle and still maintain a roadable geometry. Regardless of the lift method, any lifting will also raise the vehicles center of mass.

I found the Hummer video interesting. It absolutely demonstrated how a vehicle with locking differentials can get by without extreme articulation.
 
#14 ·
Well. I was in the same boat about 2 months ago. I decided on a Front to Rear swap with 1" spacers, to run 32X10.5 on stock 16 in wheels. I put it all together and the control arms were way too steep. I was completed disappointed. I did not even drive it before I ordered a long arm kit (Rusty's) took out my spacers, way better. If I would have known all this I would have did a BB on 31s and spent money on lockers which I still need to do. I am all about low CG. It will be my DD and I travel on the highway often. So many options.

Bottom line.. Lifts done right cost a ton of money.

I would recommend spending money on lockers if you are interested in wheeling.
 
#15 ·
For sure the hummer video is interesting. the only point i was trying to state was you can't compare it to a gc. Its prebuilt that way and the gc has to have some sort of mods. Your both totally right. Also maybe instead of a locker, for now you might be interested in a limited slip? If you pick up the october issue of jp, there is a full explination for limited slips and lockers and spools. The true trac got a good review and i believe there about $400. if you want to wait im about to finish my lift and i will be having a new dana 35 with a true trac in it. I could give you my opinion on them.
 
#16 ·
The ultimate configuration for mild to moderate wheeling with the ZJ has got to be:

Upcountry/Old Man Emu springs (good for 1" and 1.5/2" of lift respectively) well trimmed fenders and bumpers
Daystar polyurethane bushings all round (kit runs around 70 bucks)
trussed, armored and shaved dana 30 front and dana 44a rear
32"/33" tires
Edelbrock shocks (reduces unsprung weight via upside down mounting)
Aussie locker in the rear, selectable locker/truetrac in the front
rock rails, transfer case skid and the upcountry armour

If you can set your heep up like that I think you'll be laughing. If you want to go to 35s you will need a long arm kit. Long arm kits are the only way you should lift your Jeep above 3 inches IMHO.

Waiver - this is all information I've gathered from lurking on this site and Mallcrawlin' for a year or two. I know there are a lot of people who successfully run 4.5" kits with adjustable control arms. I just really don't consider it an economical and necessary option for a DD/weekend warrior.
 
#18 ·
They're advertised at 2 inches but it's different for everyone because of the weight differences of vehicles and of course how sagged your original springs were. There's a fair bit of confusion surrounding the OME springs. There are light, medium and heavy duty available and recently they've become very expensive - about $70 each which is a real shame because I've only ever read great reviews about them and they're the only ones available in that minimal 2 inch size. The shocks are really nice too but once you get a set of them as well you're looking at the cost of a RE superflex kit. As someone has already said - bottom line, you're going to have to spend money.
 
#19 ·
H1 is geometrically a completely different car. It has extremely wide track & long base. It can afford to go 3 wheeler. In a jeep, 3 wheeler means you are about to roll over & lose you car. ZJ have relatively a lot smaller size & width tires and much shorter & narrower wheel base. Articulation became extremely important. It is very important to keep all wheels on the ground for more tire surfaces tractions, and most importantly, prevent the suddent wheel drop follow by body rolls & rollover. As long as the suspension is flex & extend enough for the wheel to touch the ground, the shock will prevent the body from violentely rolling over.
 
#20 ·
the best budget lift ive seen thus far is the front to rear spring swap. its simple just put your front spring to the back and buy a couple of springs from an up country or a f150 and put those on the front an easy clean and clear 3" lift 200 bucks max
 
#21 ·
i put the rough country 4" lift on my ninety five larado and it actually rides a lot nicer than it did when i had the bb on the stock suspension but that might have something to do with fact that this lift raised me up three inches from where i was sitting witht the bb. i also opted for the upgarde to the nitro 9000 shocks cause i read some where it would improve the ride but i can't remember right now. i've riddin iwth the tera flex three inch and was impressed with it but it takes a little bit more money to ssave up for .
 
#24 · (Edited)
What will really improve the ride quality is to extend the arms (or better use long arms) so the arms will not be at too steep of a angle to the body frame. Then your shocks will take most of the share of the road energy, instead of the arms transimmitting a lot of energy to the body, then to you bottom. Any reliable shocks will do fine.

i run rough country and very happy with it. its alittle rougher for sure but hell its a jeep if you want to ride like a cadilac sell your jeep and go find one. on and off road i am pleased with the quality
disagree, I used to think like you, until I loose the short arms, put in the long arms & dialed in properly. if you set up the car properly, it will ride almost like a Caddy and do the job off road. (as long as you avoid short arms)
 
#22 ·
i run rough country and very happy with it. its alittle rougher for sure but hell its a jeep if you want to ride like a cadilac sell your jeep and go find one. on and off road i am pleased with the quality
 
#25 ·
where could i find long arms for the four inch lift will any long arm kit work as long as they are adjustable?? i know tera flex does like a three inch long arm and i saw something on clayton about a long upgrade kit but i wasn't sure if any of that would work
 
#27 · (Edited)
I got RE, nice kit, but hated their customer service. or should I say no customer service and poor after sale support. Their rear upper control arms also have major design problem on their ball joint (which they already knew & so does everyone own the RE long arm kits) & they will sale you a so call "bigger ball kits" to you afterwards to make another profit out of you. To get a nice ride & better handling & braking, you need to push the axles far apart as possible to maximize the long arm effect, may also need new drive shafts to do that.
 
#28 ·
So lets say I get a 4inch Rough Country lift. Can I upgrade to long arms at a later point in time? and can I upgrade with another brand? The reason I ask is that I like the price of the lift but I dont believe they offer a long arm for it. I dont want to waste money on the RC lift if I will have to scrap it later to get a long arm setup. On another note i only plan on running 33s so if the 4inch is not needed let me know. Thanks
 
#29 · (Edited)
from what i've read you should be able to keep th rc lift kit and just replace the control arms clayton sells upgrade kits that should work later on. i'm not sure cause i don't have a lot of time right now to spend researchin between school and work but check out clayton
 
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