Removal of present lift and getting back to a tamer ride

And people mock me for sticking with a stock ride height, but tall lifts just open a can o worms. 1"-2" springs and high clearance fenders for 33's is an option that avoids alot of that mess.

I agree with you. The TJ had this lift when I bought it. I would not have gone this high because the type of off roading I will be doing does not warrant it.
 
Shocks and tires are significantly more than 75%. Finding a ridiculously high spring rate to complain about in the first place is something that is ridiculously difficult to do.
Yea. That is my point. And what I said. A person would have to look to find springs with a rate so high it would seriously affect ride quality.
 
He’s on the right track , there has been a general movement in the last 6 months or so toward less lift , smaller (than 35”) tires and a desire for optimum drivability and ease of entry/exit . The new build is an Anti Build sort of ...

If I’m off base , please tell me ...just going by observation ...and commenting from experience :

One of the best riding , driving TJs I have ever driven was a stock Apex model with Duratrac tires I believe, and I try to drive as many as I can .

If it was lifted , it wasn’t much ...and it just did nothing wrong .

As I write this , I realize I have a 4” lift , and not sure I will change it ...but if I had a 2.5 , it would go no higher.

Most 4” lifted TJ’S I have driven are just awful. I know they all aren’t , many of us have been able to find the driving and handling manners we want ...but I think it’s a crap shoot if it isn’t done with correct knowledge and completely.

I think it’s safe to say , generally , that the more extreme the change , the farther away from stock ride and drive you are going .

Today I was thinking about long arm lifts , I have 2 tj’s and one is 4@ zone short arm and one is long arm with 5000x shocks .

Both drive really good , but the short arm rides slightly better, and it’s arguable which one drives the best . They have different tires (m/t vs KO2 ) so that alone is enough to be factor .

A long arm looks soooo different it gives the impression it’s just doing things for jeep a short arm can’t .

I’m convinced it probably isn’t in most cases. I’m no suspension guru, and I’m just speaking from a normal driving standpoint .
 
Mine has a 4" lift and 33's, and while I could do most of the trails I do with less, I'll never lower it and run smaller tires. Mine doesn't have a lot of money in the suspension, and it still drives very good, and that's with pretty aggressive Cooper STT Pro's too, not AT's. Lifted TJ's don't necessarily drive bad. Mine isn't my DD, and it looking cool matters too, but I could drive this daily no problem, especially after I get my SYE and get rid of the minor vibes I have.

Besides, I already geared it for 33's, so they're staying.
 
Any time you raise a vehicle you decrease its stability. Thus race cars are as low as possible.
When the Jeep goes up it wants to roll easier. Adding more air turbulence underneath complicates the problem even more as speed increases.
Jeeps are marginal on road performers by design restrictions imposed by the design to go off road. The less you can lift the Jeep the better it is. BUT if you want to go over more than just a dirt road some amount of suspension change is necessary. The bigger the tire the bigger the obstacles you can drive over. This is obvious. The trick is to keep the Jeep as low as possible to keep it stable, while getting it as high as possible to get over obstacles easier.
Almost every vehicle is at it's best on road from the factory. Lower the Corvette any more for better track performance and now you bottom out hitting a pothole. Raise the truck any more for better off road performance and now it gets dicey when cornering at speed.
Most aftermarket parts are geared to produce better functionality for what they are aimed for but most do not spend a lot of time trying to balance out the negative results. Jeep, Ford, whatever manufacturer has spent a LOT of time and money to get the best balance they can to a specific vehicle. Bob's spring shop hasn't.
Thus so many forums like this exist for almost every car or truck or ATV or bicycle ever made to try and find a way to make the vehicle perform better for each individual owner. I can do 90% or more of what I want out of my Jeep with 2 1/2" lift and 32" tires. But it is clear that many folks need more than I do for where they go. It is a balancing act for each person and their needs or wants.
Why I see JKUs at the mall with long arms and 40's who never go over more than a curb (by accident. Don't want to scuff those purple rims and shoe polished tires!) Is beyond me. A Jeep that is never going to see more than a dirt road is best at stock height. To spend all that money to ruin on road handling when you are only going on road is ridiculous to me. But to them it makes no sense to take the Jeep offroad and get it dirty. What would all the other soccer mom think?