4'' Rough country lift with 30 inch tires?

[ThisGuyUKnow]

So I really need new springs my Limited 's original springs have about seen the end of their life and my MTs are getting low on life and are too loud for me. I was going to wait while and I wasn't really about a lift of more than 2.5 inches and I was also planning on buying a set of 31s however I found this stuff on CL
http://quadcities.craigslist.org/pts/2374007201.htmlhttp://quadcities.craigslist.org/pts/2374007201.html
http://quadcities.craigslist.org/pts/2349131929.htmlhttp://quadcities.craigslist.org/pts/2374007201.html

i eventually plan to go 3.54 with my axles and i looked on the calculator and although I think that 31s would be best suited for that ratio, the 30s put me almost in the same rpm ranges i was shooting for. I am not planning an making a hard core off roader so I was actually looking for more like 2.5 inches of lift and have been consider yj springs however this IS a 4'' lift that is complete and can be had for less than the price of either a yj or cj lift new so may be worth it.

So here are the questions....

How does the 4' rough country lift handle/feel? I know its for a cj so its got the 2inch leaf in the front... will it have really that much noticeable difference between a yj 4'' lift in ride quality?

Does anyone have pics of a W/T cj with 4'' lift and 30 inch or 31 inch tires?

Has anyone tried out good year wranglers? Are they worth picking up or should i wait for some other tire deal to pop up on CL which i know it will...

Thanks in advance guys

 

[Kane]

I have some answers or opinions if you will. That lift is a good deal but Rough Country springs are pretty stiff and ride hard, at least the ones I have been in. Also have you ever seen the monster trucks when they crew puts on the little wheels to load them into the rigs? That's what your Jeep would look like with 30's and that lift.

Those rims are nice but I hope you realize that they are a 5x4.5 bolts pattern and not the 5x5.5 that you need for your CJ. So basically you will be buying $750 used tires with rims you cannot use. You would be better just buying new tires for less.

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

I have some answers or opinions if you will. That lift is a good deal but Rough Country springs are pretty stiff and ride hard, at least the ones I have been in. Also have you ever seen the monster trucks when they crew puts on the little wheels to load them into the rigs? That's what your Jeep would look like with 30's and that lift.

Those rims are nice but I hope you realize that they are a 5x4.5 bolts pattern and not the 5x5.5 that you need for your CJ. So basically you will be buying $750 used tires with rims you cannot use. You would be better just buying new tires for less.

I should have been more clear about the tires. I was thinking about making a deal just for the tires. I am aware wrangler rims don't swap over.

Soundslike rough country is not only higher than I want but is also more suited for a offroad only vehicle with ride quality.

 

[Rescue Diver]

I agree with Kane. 30" tires would look tiny with 4" lift. I'm running 33" tires with 4" rough country springs and they look perfect together. I also have 3.54 gears and before I did the 4.0 head swap, it was way under powered for that tall of a tire. The rough country springs live up to their name. They are very stiff! With the light weight fiberglass body, I couldn't even get the springs to compress at all. It was like having the axles bolted directly to the frame!. I removed the second longest leaf from both rear springs and it settled down a little, but I still wouldn't call them comfortable. I plan to eventually replace them with something that's a little more civilized. The one plus with them being that stiff is that she corners like she's on rails!

 

[BigAl77cj5]

Also somthing I am not sure that anyone realized but is obvious that lift says it fits 1953-86. there is no way. the lift for your jeep should be 76-86. they changed spring sizes a lot over the years and that lift would not fit that many different jeeps without a lot of fab work. If you want to do a 4 inch I would at least run 33's. Or if you don't want to go that high just get a 2.5 and run 31's or 32's. You could run the 30's stock with no issues. My dad had 32's on his stock CJ7 , they just barely fit.

 

[AussieCJ7]

Here is a crappy cell phone pic of a RE 4.5" lift and 31's between installing the lift and getting wheels/tyres

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

Here is a crappy cell phone pic of a RE 4.5" lift and 31's between installing the lift and getting wheels/tyres

I found a guy selling some used 2 inch lift springs from a 79cj for 100 bucks. they are used and rusty so I am not going to get the full two inches i am sure but should work till I can afford to buy a new setup.

Can you have leafs sand blasted?

 

[dalefan88]

heres mine with 2.5" lift and 31" tires

http://www.jeep-cj.com/gallery/files/1/0/6/106.jpg

 

[Rescue Diver]

I found a guy selling some used 2 inch lift springs from a 79cj for 100 bucks. they are used and rusty so I am not going to get the full two inches i am sure but should work till I can afford to buy a new setup.

Can you have leafs sand blasted?

Yes. If you're going to the trouble to disassemble them and get them sand blasted, go ahead and paint them good and install some teflon pads between them so they flex more smoothly!

 

[elwood blues]

I know I'm a little late chiming in on this one, but like others have said, 30's with 4" of lift will look tiny. Heck, I run 30" x 9.5" x 15" on stock suspension

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

Yes. If you're going to the trouble to disassemble them and get them sand blasted, go ahead and paint them good and install some teflon pads between them so they flex more smoothly!

how do i disassemble the spring and where do i acquire these pads?

 

[Rescue Diver]

how do i disassemble the spring and where do i acquire these pads?

With the springs removed, you take the bolt out that goes through them, and bend the keepers out that keep them aligned. Then they just come apart. You can buy a roll of the plastic(Teflon some times) pad material from a number of sources on the net, and cut it to length. Just run a pad the full lenght of each spring to separate it from the one above it. I located a spring shop here in KC that sells the material, but I'm sure you can find it elswhere with a few internet searches. I haven't done this upgrade yet, and don't plan to until I buy better springs than my rough country, but it's supposed to make springs ride a lot better, with much more articulation. Setting the springs up to get maximum flex, so all 4 wheels stay on the ground as much as possible is what it's all about!

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

With the springs removed, you take the bolt out that goes through them, and bend the keepers out that keep them aligned. Then they just come apart. You can buy a roll of the plastic(Teflon some times) pad material from a number of sources on the net, and cut it to length. Just run a pad the full lenght of each spring to separate it from the one above it. I located a spring shop here in KC that sells the material, but I'm sure you can find it elswhere with a few internet searches. I haven't done this upgrade yet, and don't plan to until I buy better springs than my rough country, but it's supposed to make springs ride a lot better, with much more articulation. Setting the springs up to get maximum flex, so all 4 wheels stay on the ground as much as possible is what it's all about!

Interesting observation....

I have a Limited which supposedly came with "softer" riding springs over stock.... I couldn't figure out what that meant because the springs looked like any other cj springs. Well since you mentioned about the teflon I noticed that the Limited springs have plastic spacers between them.

I just got the springs sandblasted.... Took a total of 20 minutes and I spray painted them black... Man they look so much nicer. I am going to hold off on the teflon for now till i get these under and see how they sit... Since they are used I want to be sure I am going to keep them or just use them temporarily till i get around to buying a whole kit.

 

[Rescue Diver]

Interesting observation....

I have a Limited which supposedly came with "softer" riding springs over stock.... I couldn't figure out what that meant because the springs looked like any other cj springs. Well since you mentioned about the teflon I noticed that the Limited springs have plastic spacers between them.

I just got the springs sandblasted.... Took a total of 20 minutes and I spray painted them black... Man they look so much nicer. I am going to hold off on the teflon for now till i get these under and see how they sit... Since they are used I want to be sure I am going to keep them or just use them temporarily till i get around to buying a whole kit.

Pretty much all springs have plastic spacers at the ends. Do yours instead have full sheets that go the entire length of each spring? If so, that's really cool for stock!

Some of the after market spacer material is made out of some kind of really tough plastic. I forget what it's called? When I looked it up about 6 months ago, it was around $30 for a roll big enough to go between each leaf of all 4 springs. I wish I had book marked the site. I'll go see if I can find it again.

 

[Rescue Diver]

Found it already. The material is called Delrin.

Where can I get teflon leaf spring liners? - Off-Road Forums & Discussion Groups

It won't do much for springs like Rough Country that are too heavy or stiff for the weight of a CJ, but it'll make good springs slide much easier on each other so they give maximum flex and will help keep them from sticking when hitting a bump.

I will definitely be doing this upgrade, but like I said, I plan to wait until I have springs worthy of the effort.

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

Found it already. The material is called Delrin.

Where can I get teflon leaf spring liners? - Off-Road Forums & Discussion Groups

It won't do much for springs like Rough Country that are too heavy or stiff for the weight of a CJ, but it'll make good springs slide much easier on each other so they give maximum flex and will help keep them from sticking when hitting a bump.

I will definitely be doing this upgrade, but like I said, I plan to wait until I have springs worthy of the effort.

they run the length of the leafs... So now we all know what jeep did to the stock Limited springs...

 

[giantsfan]

i agree w everyone else 4 inch lift would look silly w 30 inch tires, but as far as the leaf springs being hard, (as far as drive goes) maybe it has something to do w the fiberglass body im runnin those springs on my 79 w a steel body and they r way better than the originals i took off, i also did the shackle reversal so dont know if that helped out alot also, good luck.

 

[Rescue Diver]

i agree w everyone else 4 inch lift would look silly w 30 inch tires, but as far as the leaf springs being hard, (as far as drive goes) maybe it has something to do w the fiberglass body im runnin those springs on my 79 w a steel body and they r way better than the originals i took off, i also did the shackle reversal so dont know if that helped out alot also, good luck.

You're running 4" Rough Country springs with a fiberglass body CJ? So am I and they were so stiff in the rear before I removed two leafs that they wouldn't compress at all, even if I bounced on it. Everyone complains that these things are already too stiff on a stock, much heavier metal body. A light weight fiberglass body will make it much worse.

If yours aren't too stiff, maybe Rough Country redesigned them???

 

[dalenelson]

Which two leaves did you remove? I have a superlift with 6 leaves. top two are the long and wrap around and the other four. I was told not to remove the two top or the very bottom leaf. also two of the leaves that I probable would remove have the clips riveted to them- so if I remove them what do I do about the missing clips?

 

[Rescue Diver]

Which two leaves did you remove? I have a superlift with 6 leaves. top two are the long and wrap around and the other four. I was told not to remove the two top or the very bottom leaf. also two of the leaves that I probable would remove have the clips riveted to them- so if I remove them what do I do about the missing clips?

Mine had 5 leafs. The second from the smallest looked out of place. The other 4 were evenly spaced, while the second from the bottom(second shortest) split the difference in spacing and had no clips riveted to them, so they were the logical choice.

Removing them helped soften the ride some, but wasn't enough to make them ride like a higher priced set. Removing them also made absoltely no difference in ride height since I'm not running spring over axle, and there is still no more sag without them.