XJ Suspension question for experienced overlanders

[shauncondit]

I'd like to get opinions from some experienced overlanders...I'm having a bit of a mental crisis trying to figure out the best suspension setup...or at least the best start to the best suspension setup....for expeditions/overlanding as well as being a daily driver.

I've searched other Jeep forums, but I've seen mostly big or semi big setups to crawl the rocks or crawl the mall and I don't need to go with a big kit and big tires because it looks cool, I need what functions the best for the purpose I want to use it....for example, a full TAT expo, hopefully around fall of 2013.

It is a 1992 Jeep XJ limited 4.0, aw4, 242, HP d30 front, D35 rear but most likely upgrading to 29 spline C8.25. It will have a rear tire carrier, winch, RTT, at least a rear locker and all the necessary belly armor...just to give you and idea of weight, cog and basic capability

This is what I'm considering

Stock (or so) height but built heavy duty...hd rear springs, shocks, jks quick discos, etc... with 30" tires (I have them on now with no rubbing)

DPG/OME 2" basic and jks discos and 30" tires

DPG/OME 2.5" Deluxe and 30" to 31" tall tires

RC 4.5" x-series (may or may not need a hack n tap SYE) with 31" to 32" tall tires

In your experienced opinions, what would you recommend for best overall capability and durability? I really just want to spend the money and time once and move on to other things the Jeep will need.

Thanks!

[Black_ZJ]

Ewww, stay away from RC if you want reliability. If I were looking at smaller lifts OME is where I would spend my money.

[4xdog]

I put a basic OME kit on my 1988 XJ many years ago and its been perfect -- comfortable (better than stock) on the road, and perfectly capable of getting me to any campsite I wanted. A competent but not terribly aggressive system. Minor tire upsize to 235/75-16.

OME highly recommended.

Don

[shauncondit]

Ya, I've heard a lot negative things about RC over the years, but I've also heard they have gotten a lot better recently with redesigned arms, leafs, 2.0 shocks, bushings. With that said, there is no denying the great reputations of ome and jks. And I'm not sure if I want to get into SYE's, pinion angles, gearing......at least not right now.

[-XJ-]

I haven't bought my next Jeep yet but if It's a XJ pending I do move west as I plan to, It will be built for overlanding.. OME from DPG is where im heading when the time comes..

[Steve F]

I've had my XJ for 10 years now and done lots of overlanding in it, my first trip with 3000km of dirt was with 30's and 2" of lift. It was fine, fairly economical etc and copped with the tracks I wanted to do.

My last trip had around 3000km of dirt also (10,000km all up) with massive corrugations etc. There were 3 of us in the XJ, we had a rooftop tent, winch, tyre carrier, 120lt fuel tank, 40lt water and lots more, so carrying a fair bit of weight. I'm also running 35" tyres. It performed great and ate the corrugations when aired down low.

Both setups worked great but the bigger lift and bigger tyres gave me more options on what tracks to take. Both setups were with quality gear, the original with OME gear and now with RE springs etc and Bilstein 5150 shocks. When it comes down to it if the gear is good gear then just build the XJ to the level you require for the terrain and you'll be happy.

Here's a pic, all loaded up on its first big trip many years ago, sitting pretty low with a months worth of gear and food in it.



And the latest trip 4 months ago, also for a month but with an extra mouth to feed this time.



The main difference was some of the tracks



Cheers
Steve

[bob91yj]

You need to figure out what your Jeep doesn't do now that you want it to be able to do in the future and build it accordingly.

A little out of the box thinking, go to jeepspeed.com and check out some of the XJ suspensions there. Obviously a little more overkill than what you are looking for, but by rule, all of the suspensions have to be off the shelf.

[lthixson]

I have a 4.5" RC lift on my 98 XJ and haven't had any problems. That being said, it sounds like you won't be needing that big of a lift. I think the 2.5" with 31" tires and 4.10 gears would be best for you. With the 2.5" lift you wont need to worry about a SYE and you'll maintain a relatively low COG. You should have plenty of clearance for the 31" tires. If you use the 4.10 gears with the 31" tires your speedometer will be very near to accurate. Mine shows 72 mph at 70 mph.

[shauncondit]

Steve F, that is definitely an evolution, how do you feel about your center of gravity as it sits now?

The other option would be a RC 3" series 2. Looks like a decent way to keep overall cost down and still be capable? See, this is another reason for the mental crisis Value for money. I know ome is top of the food chain as far as quality, but RC isn't bad (anymore) either.

Well, off to work and make some double time.....thank you for all the responses so far

[Steve F]

Steve F, that is definitely an evolution, how do you feel about your center of gravity as it sits now?

The other option would be a RC 3" series 2. Looks like a decent way to keep overall cost down and still be capable? See, this is another reason for the mental crisis Value for money. I know ome is top of the food chain as far as quality, but RC isn't bad (anymore) either.

Well, off to work and make some double time.....thank you for all the responses so far

No problem with the center of gravity, sure its a lot higher than it was and the RTT doesn't help but it doesn't fell unstable or handle badly. It's no sports car though and there is some body roll but it's not to the point where it has resticted us or felt unsafe. I've had no issues with this build and wouldn't go back to anything smaller now

Cheers
Steve