Hello! New to the Jeep family and forum. We have a 1999 TJ Sport. Looking at a 3" lift kit( shocks, spring perch and diff lowering hardware). Will 35's work or would 33's be better? Will be mostly a dailey driver with light and limited offroad use.
$8K total to do 33’s right, lift $900, a regear will run you $1500 minimum, while in there you might as well do lockers, another $1400-2300. Adjustable front trackbar, $200, rear trackbar relocation bracket $25, extended rear sway bar links, $30, body lift, $170, MML $170, front sway bar disconnects $175, winch and recovery gear $700, bumpers? $750, tires $1000, wheels with proper bs or spacers $500-800, extended brake lines?, what else for your unique situation? Every TJ has its differences. Maybe you need a SYE and DC to eliminate vibes $600.I've gotta ask, what is this ''lots more'' you speak of for running 33's? Another 8k after the lift? Remember the OP said for ''light and limited offroad use''.
Other people would do it the same way too. My wish list for 33s has exactly the same items on it as @JMT listed. When you look at how the Jeep suspension and driveline works, and what you need to make your Jeep more capable off road all those things start to make sense.I think what you call the 'right way' is just how you would do it
If you wanna drive a crappy riding Jeep, go ahead and buy the RC lift and stuff some 33's on there. You'll have about 3" of uptravel, a dropped skid, and you'll probably blow the shocks out. Best case scenario is that every bump will have you into the bump stops. More likely, the shock limits the up travel and that sudden, jarring, stop is why people think that lifted TJ's drive like crap.I think what you call the 'right way' is just how you would do it, and to call anyone without a winch 'irresponsible' is ridiculous.
Your intended uses seem perfect for a 2.5” OME, a small tuck, front lunchbox locker and 32’s. Honestly, that’s a wonderful build that doesn’t break the bank and does well as a DD and off-road. The pic below is not my rig, it belongs to a 70-something year old I met in Moab. This guy ran the Escalator in under 3 minutes in this mildly built rig. He did Hell’s Gate with a smile. I saw much larger rigs on 40’s fail where he had success. He is locked front and rear, but still, amazing. If I build another rig, I’ll build a Rubi on 32’s with a 2.5” OME and a small tuckThank you for all the input. Like I said we are virgin jeep owners. I completely understand the sky is the limit with any modifications. I understand trade offs with modifications and "well you can't do this without doing xyz. We want to stay simple at first, maintain a safe decent ride. Have a nice stance with the ability to go trail riding and beginner type offroading in our future. Great input!!!
If you wanna drive a crappy riding Jeep, go ahead and buy the RC lift and stuff some 33's on there. You'll have about 3" of uptravel, a dropped skid, and you'll probably blow the shocks out. Every bump will have you into the bump stops it the shock limits and that sudden, jarring, stop is why people think that lifted TJ's drive like crap.
If you want something that drives at or better than factory... @JMT has a pretty good list for a regular TJ. Rubicons are slightly cheaper to get set up properly, but they cost more up front.
RE's springs are well known to give at least an extra inch over the advertised amount. That 5.5" kit gave your TJ more like 6.5" of lift. I ran RE's LA suspension on my previous TJ and after first ordering the 5.5" springs, downsized them to 4.5" during the ordering process after learning of that. Even with its 4.5" springs it was more like 5.5" of lift in reality. Even it, in combination with my 1" BL, was a bit too tall for my 35's. I'm glad I'm no longer running RE's LA suspension, it just didn't work for me well on the type of trails I enjoy.i had a 3 inch lift when i first bought my jeep. and it was on 33s....worked well. i went to 35s and they fit just fine too. but i had already added tube fenders to increase my wheel well space. this worked for a while and i rubbed my tires on my tubes alot but it didnt bother me. then i went to a 5.5 inch RE long arm and then the 35s seemed to small. 37s would have worked well with that setup.