Removing Lift, Seggestions?

[redwrangler02]

I know this seems like a Jeep owner's nightmare, but I think I am going to remove my 2inch coil spacer lift and 33" tires and drop back to 31's (I think that is the biggest tires I can fit without rubbing) and no lift. I feel like I have been spending too much money on gas and tires to warrant having huge tires and a lift to continue. I love my Jeep and will never sell it, and I feel like going back to stock (I bought the jeep with the lift on and have replaced the tires several times but always have had the 33's) will help take some stress off my baby. I almost never take it offroad, and don't plan to in the near future (maybe when I am older/ have finished with my degree/ have another vehicle I will use it as more of a toy) right now though it just doesn't seem practical considering what I use it for. So, that's my predicament, and I would love some feedback as to whether this is a good/bad decision on my part. Also, as I didn't put the lift on to begin with, a nod in the right direction as to how I would take it back to stock.

 

[Jason4x4]

A couple of things to keep in mind - some spacer lifts like Rubicon Express come with some other bits and pieces in addition to just the spacers (e.g. longer shocks) so you *may* need to swap out more than just the tires when you remove the spacers. You said your biggest concerns are fuel mileage and tire wear. A couple of questions - first of all, what type of tires are you currently running? (like, model? Mud terrain/all terrain or what?) The reason I ask is that going down from 33s to 31s would probably only improve your mileage by a couple MPG at best. I don't know that it would be enough to bother with removing the lift if I were you (and by the way, you can run 31s with the spacers still on although it might look a little goofy). If you are running a mud terrain type tire, I would definitely switch to an all terrain tire to improve your wear and they're also a lot quieter. If you're already running all terrain tires and you're getting poor wear out of them I would suggest checking your alignment/balance and pressure to make sure something isn't out of whack. Again, I don't think running smaller tires will necessarily make them last longer.

BTW, here's a picture of my '06 TJ with a 2" spacer lift on the stock 30" tires to give you an idea of what it might look like with smaller tires and keeping the lift.

 

[ljrubitm]

How long are a set of tires lasting you? ( in mlies ) As with any jeep you need to rotate, balance, and do an alignment all at the same time atless every 30K. On my jeep ( 06 Rubi 285/75/16 ) By doing this I've gotten between 35K to 40K on the tires I've had.
Check with tire shops around you. You could get a life time alignment for around $200. I have a 3yr for $125.unlimited

 

[54cj3b]

down size tires keep lift is my vote

 

[xt master]

2" lift with 31" tires does not look too bad.Also if or when you do go off road you will have no issue with rubbing then.

 

[83-cj-7=383-stroker]

keep the lift smaller tires its easier to switch tires and if u dont like it then u can put the bigger tires back on and dont for get if u go to a smaller tire have the speedo recalibrated

 

[redwrangler02]

I have only been able to squeeze out about 20k miles on each set of 33's I put on my jeep, even with rotating and balancing and all that. I'm almost positive that the lift I have on my jeep consists only of the coil spacers, as I still have the stock shocks on (which I probably need to change). I am seeing the trend of keeping the lift and just dropping down to the 31's and I think that is a good idea. Also, I have never recalibrated my speedo, it has been about 10mph off since I bought my jeep, hopefully dropping tire size will fix that a little, although I really don't mind it one way or the other. I have 4:10 gears in my jeep also, will this switch cause any major changes because of that? I am planning on making the swap this coming thurs of fri and will take a few pics before and after for everyone.

 

[Jason4x4]

I have only been able to squeeze out about 20k miles on each set of 33's I put on my jeep, even with rotating and balancing and all that. I'm almost positive that the lift I have on my jeep consists only of the coil spacers, as I still have the stock shocks on (which I probably need to change). I am seeing the trend of keeping the lift and just dropping down to the 31's and I think that is a good idea. Also, I have never recalibrated my speedo, it has been about 10mph off since I bought my jeep, hopefully dropping tire size will fix that a little, although I really don't mind it one way or the other. I have 4:10 gears in my jeep also, will this switch cause any major changes because of that? I am planning on making the swap this coming thurs of fri and will take a few pics before and after for everyone.

If your Jeep has been re-geared your driveability may suffer a bit from dropping to smaller tires. If you have the 4 cylinder though I think some TJs (and maybe YJs) came with 4.10s to make up for the lack of power. If you have the 6 cylinder I don't think you could get 4.10s from the factory unless you had the Rubicon model (someone please correct me if I'm wrong).

Anyway, according to Jeep Horizons :: RPM vs Gear Ratio Chart
that chart, your engine will be running a hair under 200rpms higher at 55mph with 4.10 gears on 31" tires as opposed to 33" tires.

 

[redwrangler02]

Yeah I have the I6 flavor, and my gears (I actually only have the rear set, the front is still stock, so no 4wd for a while, but I couldn't afford both at the time) were after market which I put in after the fact.. But, according to the chart, with 31's I will be running 2.444 which is dead center of the green portion of the chart, is actually better than what I'm getting now with 33's, being 2.296 (at least according to the chart)

 

[4banged]

I would look at changing the shocks...pretty sure tire wear will be much quicker if your shocks are not up to snuff...I just put on the re 2" spacer lift with their new shocks and its a BIG difference and mine is an 03 so yours are even older. The stock stocks I took off were in very bad shape even though the ride wasn't that bad I have to think they weren't doing their intended job.
Not to offend but if you strip your jeep down to a car to get 5mpg then why not just buy a car? It's never going to be a Prius ;-)

 

[83-cj-7=383-stroker]

I would look at changing the shocks...pretty sure tire wear will be much quicker if your shocks are not up to snuff...I just put on the re 2" spacer lift with their new shocks and its a BIG difference and mine is an 03 so yours are even older. The stock stocks I took off were in very bad shape even though the ride wasn't that bad I have to think they weren't doing their intended job.
Not to offend but if you strip your jeep down to a car to get 5mpg then why not just buy a car? It's never going to be a Prius ;-)

whatas gas mileage in a jeep i threw mine out the window the min i put the 383 in to it lol and 35's not to sound like a jerk but if i want gas mileage i wouldnt have baought my jeep thats what i got the buick for my jeep is a daily driver it sucks the fuell but it will go where ever i point it and not complain about it for the mileage differance between 33's and 31's i would personally leave the 33's on it when was the last time your jeep had a complete tune up

 

[redwrangler02]

It has been a while since a tune up, I probably need on soon. What would I look for in ordering new shocks for my jeep with the 2" coil lift? I feel like that would be a good investment.

 

[abe]

you know that if u are concerned with fuel mileage and tires here is some food for thought. u may drive on lets say a 29" tire and get 19 mpg. but u change to 33" tire and notice u r getting 14 mpg. this is because the tire rotation is slower and u may be getting the same mpg but its just not showing in ur odometer. i went from a 245/75/16 to a 265/75/16 and noticed the same thing this will help i hope. check out the site

Tire size calculator

 

[xt master]

I4 standard has 4.10 from factory in TJ's and I think YJ's.

Once you drop to the 31" tires your speedo will be off about 4 MPH,or atleast mine is with a i4 and 4.10 gears.

On average I get about about 17.2 MPG.

I check this with GPS because of my sppedo being off so I know it is accurate.

I wouldnt think the lift would cause the wear problem on the tires.What would cause some problems in tire pressure,type of tire,type of road,style of driving.If you do a lot of tight parking where you are turning the wheel with out moving will eat up a tire a little faster also.

 

[redwrangler02]

Well, my jeep has an I6, but that's beside the point. I have 4:10 gears in the rear and stock gears (3:?) in the front. I plan on putting 4:10s in the front when I get the cash. I will check that tire size calculator later when I get off work (computers up here have a ridiculous firewall on them). What will taking the 33s off do with the 4:10s? Because I originally put them in when I was planning on keeping the 33s, as my jeep was a dog with the stock gears and I couldn't even use 5th gear. Will it get better or worse on gas? Will there be a difference?

 

[abe]

truthfully I don't think that ur mileage is worse it just looks that way on the odometer. If it is worse then its prob too small to notice in ur wallet. But if u wanted gas mileage u should have bought a civic hatch back for ur daily driver.