Newbie looking for some help!

E

Ed Langenfeld

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Feb 7, 2018
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York, NY, USA
Begging for some help on my first TJ. It's a 1998 with the 2.5L and AT, and is going to be my daily driver. I want a "little lift" and slightly bigger wheels and tires. From the research I have done, it looks like a good compromise is 32s on 16s with a 2-2.5inch suspension lift. Those ranges seem to be where I can go without a ton of "extra" supporting work.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Pics of those ranges would be great too!

Thx!
 
If you want the best lift you can get to run 32" tires without a bunch of extra work, then you'll want the OME 2.5" suspension lift.

You'll clear 32" tires on that perfectly, it will look good, ride amazing, and you won't need to do anything like adjustable control arms. You can probably get away without a SYE and CV driveshaft possible (worse case scenario you'd have to drop the transfer case ever so slightly).

This is what I've done on my Rubicon and absolutely love the way it rides. You won't be disappointed, I promise you that. The OME 2.5" lift is the cream of the crop for lifts in that height range.

Here's my Rubicon with the OME 2.5" lift on 32" tires, with the factory 16" rims:

12046661_10206765052499147_2111490368422724373_n.jpg
12115609_10206765052619150_729166828860237728_n.jpg
 
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You'll have a better tire choices if you go with a 15" wheel, unless you already have 16's, then mute. OME 2.5" lift on 32's. You'll need 1" bumpstop extensions front/rear to keep the 32's our of the inner fender wells, fyi.
P1050281.JPG
 
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BDS 2” or 3”
OME 2.5” Light Duty or Heavy Duty, or combination

15 or 17” wheels, but not 16”. If 15’s tires are cheaper. 17’s better braking.
 
Since he has a 2.5 with AT, I would assume a OME 2.5 Light duty is in order?
Here is my 98 Sport 4.0 5sp Heavy front Light rear OME 2 inch with 31's on 15x8 (3.75 bs) for comparison, and also since everybody else is posting pics:


IMG-0120.JPG
 
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I would agree with one of the comments above about staying with 15" wheels unless it's already too late. 15" wheels will give you more tire selections and you can stay at load range 'C' which is preferable for our TJs.

In 15" wheels, 32s are not in every tire but there are some great 32s in the 15" wheel size. Once you go to 16s or 17s you'll be looking at the metric sizes so you need to use one of the online tire size calculators to see how they measure up.

One other thing, don't get wheels wider than 8" or maybe even 9", 8" wide wheels are preferable for tires up to 12 inches for offroad.
 
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Ed Langenfeld said:
Thx for all the suggestions so far... more thoughts on LD vs HD would be appreciated ?
Click to expand...

Well I will tell you my story,

I pieced my kit together because I bought the heavy kit and it went on backorder, but I was able to buy the pieces separately. I bought the pieces to do a heavy duty lift but when I installed it the back was over 2 inches higher than the front. As you notice in the front I have a winch and lights. I also and running dual batteries under the hood as well as a straight 6, but as you will also notice I have no weight in the rear at all. I called OME (ARB) and they advised me to put the lights in the rear since I have no weight. I put the lights in the rear and now I have about a 3/4 rake front to rear.

Since you have no weight in the front or the rear (unless you plan on adding a winch later) I would suggests a light duty kit for your daily driver. That said since you don't have any weight if you did do a heavy kit it would probably not have as bad of rake as I did, but you will most likely get more lift out of it. With the light you will probably get away like Chris said earlier with not having to do more mods like lowering your tranfercase and such.

This is just my experience take it for what it is worth. I am not a 4 link suspension expert. For more smarts on this topic, I can deffer you to @bobthetj03 He knows his s#$%.
 
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The 2.5 and an automatic trans for a daily driver?

Even if you stay with a 31x10.50 you are going to want gears. 4.88 or 5.13's. With 32's, you are going to want 5.13's. You may also want to think about adding alloy axle shafts. Drop a 32" tire off a curb a few times, where it spins and grabs, will eat an axle in a Dana 35 eventually. Not the first or second time it happens, but eventually.

You may also want to look into H&R springs paired with Bilstein or another appropriate shock. Lots of discussion on this setup on this forum.
 
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Newb here also...I put on a 1.25” BL, Novak cable T-Case shifter, and 32’s. I haven’t detected any rubbing having just done some light forest service road wheeling so far.
9e599d32f4b80f5ba521f3860752384f.jpg



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Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]
cradkins_9591502 said:
Newb here also...I put on a 1.25” BL, Novak cable T-Case shifter, and 32’s. I haven’t detected any rubbing having just done some light forest service road wheeling so far.
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Click to expand...

Might get you by till you disco the front sway bar. And you are missing out on the ride quality as a result. I run a lot of FSR's, and airing down and disco'ing the front sway bar makes the ride much more enjoyable.
 
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Ed Langenfeld said:
Begging for some help on my first TJ. It's a 1998 with the 2.5L and AT, and is going to be my daily driver. I want a "little lift" and slightly bigger wheels and tires. From the research I have done, it looks like a good compromise is 32s on 16s with a 2-2.5inch suspension lift. Those ranges seem to be where I can go without a ton of "extra" supporting work.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Pics of those ranges would be great too!

Thx!
Click to expand...

If you’re on a budget, you could go with 2” coil spacers and new shocks or I bought some BDS coils front and rear for $225. They have 2” or 3” coils. Same price. Add some RS5000X for another $200 or so and you’re good to go.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I like the 2.5" lift that most people have shown here. It is what I have and works for me. My kids still have to climb a little but the stance is nice and works.

My lift has settled to about 2.25 based on measurements and I run 32s.
 
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Ok, so we've had a small change of plans. Instead of the 98 SE, I have found a 98 Sahara, still AT, but it has the 4L 6. Does this change any of the suggestions frpm above? Thx for all the help so far, and in advance for the upcoming suggestions.
 
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