[Adventurous]

I just purchased a 98 Jeep Wrangler SE which has not been modified at all. I am new to offroading as well as jeep ownership. I took it out for the first time on the trails down at the beach...with 4 people in it and the hard top on and had a lot of trouble with it bottoming out and swaying. Traction was not so great but it needs new tires. I was thinking of upgrading with a 2" suspension lift and some new tires. I have a budget of $700 and will get friends to help with the upgrade. The tires have to be all-terrain since off-road tires are not permitted on the trails. Do you have any suspension and tire recommendations...links to sites would be great? Also, is there anything else that I should add or upgrade?

 

[affende]

swap in some coils from a V8 jeep grand cherokee ... should be able to find a slightly used set for about $50 ... this will net you about 1.75 inches of lift (more if you have a 4cyl) and will inprove the ride quality quite a bit, get some shocks for a 3-4" lift, and a set of AT tires

best way to lift on the cheap.

i did this with my 97 sport and got some used 33" MTs from a friend ... all in all, springs, shocks, steel wheels, tires, mounted and balanced ... i have about 400 in it all.

 

[rickr]

check out rockyroad.com. you can get a 2" bb & a 1" bl with shock relocators (so you can use your stock shocks, or any shock)for about $200.that will leave you $500 for tires!i,m using this set up on my tj with edelbrock performer shocks and 32" bfg at,s.works great for me!

 

[Rawkon]

why would you need shock relocators?

 

[erickpl]

Shock relocators will move up the bottom of the shock so they aren't a low point on the rear axle. By moving them up after adding spacers or taller springs, you get their full range of travel back.

Keep in mind, if you go with a budget boost, your stock springs will still be used. If your 98 SE's springs were anything like my 97's (and it sounds like they are), you are already sagging. You'd benefit more from new springs (either from a Grand Cherokee or you can find Rubicon springs from folks who have upgraded to bigger lifts).

 

[4Jeepn]

So what do you mean by no off-road tires on the trails?

 

[erickpl]

MT's or swampers tend to leave more tread pattern and tear things up when on the trail. AT's are a bit less likely to do that.

At least that is what I'd suspect is the reason...

 

[hardy1531]

If you only have $700.00 then I would go with either some 2 in coil spacers or the V8 GC springs. I got the Budget boost from Rubicon Express for right around 200. It came with shock, spacers, and bumpstops. Really easy to install. The tires are gona make the biggest diffrence. (as far as traction) I got the ProComp's X terrians, I know those are too aggressive for what you are looking for but what about the AT's? I always had good luck with Good Year too.

http://www.procomptires.com

http://www.rubiconexpress.com

 

[mrbigjeep]

if you had enough money i'd get an MTR...i've been wanting to try these...kinda expensive...also don't know if its considered "too aggressive"

 

[4Jeepn]

MT's or swampers tend to leave more tread pattern and tear things up when on the trail. AT's are a bit less likely to do that.

At least that is what I'd suspect is the reason...

I figure that too, but running a more agresive tire can in some cases cause less damage than an AT or street tire, less wheel speed to get over certain type's of terrian.. vs having to use more gas etc.

 

[osbornl1]

what you can do is a 2in BB i got my skyjacker one for about 230 with shocks. and run some 33x10.50 BFG MT or AT on your stock rims and that would bring you in at about 700 bucks or so. for tire deals check tirerack.com my setup was about 1200 bucks for tires wheels lift and 5 hrs of my own labor.

 

[erickpl]

I figure that too, but running a more agresive tire can in some cases cause less damage than an AT or street tire, less wheel speed to get over certain type's of terrian.. vs having to use more gas etc.

I completely agree. My BFG AT's rocked in Cali, but out here in Alabama/TN with the mud we have, they just became racing slicks. MT's rule out here

 

[Adventurous]

I may have misunderstood our regulations...it says "street legal tires (4-ply tread, 2-ply sidewalls): snow/mud tires are not recommended" I am not mechanically inclined which is why I looked to the forum for help and appreciate all the advice that has been/will be given.

 

[Adventurous]

swap in some coils from a V8 jeep grand cherokee ... should be able to find a slightly used set for about $50 ... this will net you about 1.75 inches of lift (more if you have a 4cyl) and will inprove the ride quality quite a bit, get some shocks for a 3-4" lift, and a set of AT tires


If I use a shock made for a 3-4" lift, will this improve ride quality and give me around 2" of lift? Do you have any shock recommendations?

 

[hardy1531]

I have always heard that Old Man EMu shocks are the best...not sure on price but you can check with www.dpgoffroad.com (Dirk) he is one of the vendors on this site

 

[mrbigjeep]

swap in some coils from a V8 jeep grand cherokee ... should be able to find a slightly used set for about $50 ... this will net you about 1.75 inches of lift (more if you have a 4cyl) and will inprove the ride quality quite a bit, get some shocks for a 3-4" lift, and a set of AT tires


If I use a shock made for a 3-4" lift, will this improve ride quality and give me around 2" of lift? Do you have any shock recommendations?

a 3-4" shock will not improve ride quality and it will not give you any more lift.

 

[mrbigjeep]

what you can do is a 2in BB i got my skyjacker one for about 230 with shocks. and run some 33x10.50 BFG MT or AT on your stock rims and that would bring you in at about 700 bucks or so. for tire deals check tirerack.com my setup was about 1200 bucks for tires wheels lift and 5 hrs of my own labor.

i wouldn't run 33's with just a 2" BB...especially if he plans on disconnecting

 

[RUBICONVICT]

Check out 4x4groupbuy.com

Whatever you decide to go with check out www.4x4groupbuy.com. They have some good deals on lifts. A lot of the lifts don't have a price listed....you have to email them for the price but it's probably worth it. I know that after getting a lot of good advice on this forum I searched around for what I had decided to get (RE 3.5" lift) and found that 4x4groupbuy.com listed it for the same price as everywhere else but it came with free shocks and a free steering stabilizer which I just upgraded both for a little extra dough. So look on there to see if a lift that you were considering comes with some shocks. I would email Jason who is the president (his email is on the site) and tell him what you want to do and see if he has any deals for you. Good Luck!

 

[jbone303]

If you run 33's on a 2" bb you will jack up your front fender flares as i did. If your wheeling on basic trails i would run a good at 31' and a 2'bb lift your rocker should measure around 20" or so I was in the same boat about a year ago and only have about 1300 in tires, rims bb and swaybar disco's. Everybodys opinon is diffrent but all good. This forum is great and filled with great people who are more that willing to help. It has saved my butt many a times.

 

[4Jeepn]

I may have misunderstood our regulations...it says "street legal tires (4-ply tread, 2-ply sidewalls): snow/mud tires are not recommended" I am not mechanically inclined which is why I looked to the forum for help and appreciate all the advice that has been/will be given.

So where are the regs for? From how I am reading what you have written, you should be able to run and DOT approved tire.