Wanting to run 33's on my 93 YJ (need suspension education)

[dasgreif]

Have a 93 Wrangler YJ 4liter. Still has stock springs and shocks, and both are ready to be replaced, front springs run flat at the moment. Do some rock crawling with it and run trails at Joshua Tree here in Cali. Also is my primary transportation outside of my bike to work and school. She currently has 30s on her.

Thinking of having a 4inch lift put on it, but would like to maintain the factory ride as much as possible, along with trying to maintain some sort of mileage. ( GAS PRICES ARE CRAZY IN CALI ) Want the lift for both the additional clearance and as a base for future upgrades. This is my baby and it goes when I do, so after school when I can afford another vehicle, this will be kept. That and well, Jeeps just look better with larger tires.

Will a 4inch lift and 33s require alot of modifications to put on and destroy my mileage? If so what is the max lift/tires you guys would reccomend. And if I can put on a 4inch lift with 33s any recommended brands, atm I am thinking of Rusty's 4inch kit and having my local shop install it (4West).

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Rusty's has a 3.5" kit. Probably fit 33" tires if you keep the swaybar connected and stay onroad. They'll rub slightly offroad.

It's gonna kill you fuel mileage unless you regear the axles to get RPM's back to the stock range. No other way around it if you want the bigger tires.

 

[dasgreif]

At the moment she gets about 18mpg with the 30s on her. What is the largest size tire I could run without significant changes in my mileage?

At this time I cant afford to destroy my mpg. In the future she will be a father/son project, but I still have 4 more years of grad school where she will be my only covered transportation.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

18mpg with a 4.0L on 30" tires is almost unheard of, I wouldn't change a thing with the way gas prices are going. Most with the 4.0L are happy to get 15mpg.

If you want a better stance to the jeep, get some 31" tires with aftermarket rims with less backspacing. This will give the jeep a wider stance and the illusion of being taller.

Rusty's 3.5" kit is a good one. Got a break on mine by ordering two at once and having them truck shipped to a business address.

 

[TwistedCU]

Every inch of tire will reduce your power. It's a gearing issue. I ran 32" tires on a 2.5L and did pretty good with mileage, but much of that was highway miles and with the 4:11 gear ratio. If you don't have the $$$ to re-gear your axles, I would stay with 32" tires or smaller. If you are dead set on 33's, you can run them, but I would not go less than 4" of lift and expect to have 5th gear become virtually ineffective until you re-gear.

As far as kits, There are so many out there, and 10 people could give you 10 different recommendations. Being that you put ride quality a priority, I would say Rubicon Express' 4" lift. Go with the extreme duty if you have the $$. Keep in mind that you can also get a 3 1/2" kit like BDS or Rusty's and get 4" of lift if you run a 1" taller than stock shackle all the way around.

If you're looking to do it on a tight budget, Hell Creek Suspensions might be a good choice. Their 4" kit runs around $389 with shocks and is very complete. Hell Creek kits are essentially Rough Country lift kits but They use their own leaf springs, so you get a 4" lift instead of RC's 3".

Like I said - alot to choose from. Good luck and let us know what you decided and post some pics when it's done.

 

[hi_c]

yeah, if you want bigger tires, say g-bye to that 18mpg gas mileage. If you want to keep it mild, I'd go with a 2.5" lift and 31" all-terrains. You shouldn't lose too much mileage that way and your Jeep will look good. I have the Hell Creek kit and love it; I have 33's under it and love it; my mileage is about 13 mpg.

C

 

[MerkL]

I have a 3.5" Superlift, with 33's and I get around 14mpg, maybe 15 if I treat her real nice. If you decide to go with the lift for 33's I wouldn't recommend Superlift, since it is your main transportation. The springs are very stiff, like Rancho and Pro-Comp. I drive mine just about everyday, and it's bearable, but it's no pimp smooth ride.

 

[dasgreif]

Atm she does have aftermarket rims on her with the 30s. So has the wider stance etc. She still has OEM shocks and springs, both of which seem shot.

As far as the mileage she does 18 city and 21 hwy, but as I have had her since 95' she has undergone some engine and exhaust mods to get her hp and stuff up. Still wanting to add a K&N cold air intake, or just make a copy of it myself. Flowmaster exhaust. Also added an atomizer, from a diffuser that was being thrown away at the lab I work by, before the injectors.

One day I do want to regear her, stock transmission sucks anyway, upshifting into 2nd has allways been rough. Want to have a new transmission put in and Dana front and rears once the current transmission goes. But I know ZERO about transmissions, engines etc I can do, but transmission is out of my league atm.

So the largest I could probably go with her at this time would probably be 31s or 32s without altering her current performance or engine longevity too much? At this time I mainly want to lift her for some extra clearance and a more aggresive stance, not for technical crawling.

Outside of cruising speeds above 55, 5th gear seems pretty much useless as she is at the moment. She has 99,000 miles on her also as I try to avoid driving whenever possible and bike to work/school whenever I can.

Thank you all so much for your input on this. This was the first vehicle I owned and I want her to be around, no matter how many mods as I love to tinker, for as long as I am. Suspension is a somewhat unknown territory for me. I dont want to make an uneducated decision on this.

 

[88WRANGRED]

try add a leafs, may give you just enough of the lift you are looking for, won't notice much difference from the stock ride.

 

[Sully]

Off topic but what city?

 

[TwistedCU]

I used to run 5th gear on the highway everyday with 32's and 4:10 gears. It cruised at 70 mph.

Of course, I did burn up 5th gear eventually :evil:

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

You already have Dana axles front and rear

This 18 and 21mpg you speak of is unheard of in a jeep, I'm more than a little skeptical.

 

[currupt4130]

you could get lift shackles and a smaller lift kit, inch lift shackles and a two inch lift kit and put some 32's or 33's i have a 94 yj with a 2.5L on 33's and i havent regeared but i will when she sits higher and wider

 

[dasgreif]

Thanks so much for all this information. I have grown up messing with engines, but know ZERO when it comes to suspsension... outside of the physics behind it, etc. This is the first Jeep forum I have ever chatted in and it has been great.

Thinking it may be best to go with less of a lift and run 31s on her then to risk messing up the transmission or burning out 5th as I cant afford that while in school. Still may be able to get the clearance I need with the 31s and mebe a 3.5 lift, though I would really love to run 33s.

As far as the mpg, well the next time I am out in Peoria to visit my sister, you can check it out yourself. Or maybe I will go driving with Sully sometime, I have really been wanting to see some of the trails out here in Cali. As I said the engine is not stock and has been modified somewhat. Also I am very easy on her in my day to day driving, slow acceleration etc. My brothers 4cyl 2001 auto gets like 15mpg.

 

[hi_c]

Still may be able to get the clearance I need with the 31s and mebe a 3.5 lift, though I would really love to run 33s.

This is a good idea. See, most 3 to 4 inch lift kits are the same (if not cheaper) than 2" suspension lift kits. So what you do is get the 3.5" susp. lift and run 31's. You will have ample clearance and flex and you will have a good starting point for when you're ready to go to 33's. You could add a 1" body lift and a set of TJ flares and BOOM! you got the clearance to run 33's.

C

 

[bryanjeep]

Dont get any larger than .5" lift shackles if you do get them.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

What's your engine mods? I think we all could benefit from better mileage.

 

[red89yj]

i am totally dumbfounded by the mileage you're claiming bro- the most ive ever had was 15ish and thats with no top, no doors, no back seat, no spare tire and a light foot b/c i didnt want my transmission exploding since it was leaking all the fluid out of it at the time, but then again, that was with a stock 258 and the old carter.

 

[Snitty]

the only time i got anything close to that mileage was when i was being towed

 

[GreenReaper93]

Experience with Pavement Ends Tops?

I'm running 30's with OEM (4.0 5 speed) and get about 16.5 MPG city. The only way I know this (and will tell you so I don't get flamed) is my fuel gauge is slightly busted so I have to run by ye old trip odometer :wink: I'm sure there's more than enough jeepers here that know what I'm talking about.

In any event, Hi-C has the right idea with the setup he mentioned. It won't look goofy, and it's really practicle. What's the backspace you're running now with your aftermarket rims?