Tillamook State Forest (Oregon) 5/19/07

[nwquadriders]

Finally got out to play and test out the new lift on the LJ. A couple pictures will look familiar as I had to go back and see if I still fit under the tree on the Cedar Tree trail. I had about an inch to spare until I dropped my rear passenger side tire down off the rock. It was a great trail though, finally opened up after being closed for repairs due to landslides and erosion all of last year. My wife and I spent a good 5 hours out on the trails yesterday and I even had her drive the Jeep for her first time on a couple of easier trails...but now I'm afraid she's "hooked" and will want to drive on the harder trails too Anyway...here's a couple of pictures of the Short Bus in action. I love the new lift, and the pizza cutter tires performed awesome

[moneypit]

Looks like a great time. You are a lucky man to have a wife that wants to go along much less drive. Soon she may be asking for her own Jeep. Thats about as good as it gets!
How do you like the on and offroad handling of the R.E. lift. It's one my son in law is considering for his Rubi? Did you install it yourself? I also noticed you went with 33X10.5 tires. What made you go that way? You have wheel spacers on right? Doesn't this give you enough clearance for 12.5" wide tires? Sorry for all the questions but we were both at a run this weekend and he had to by-pass some obsticles because of his clearance. He just kept saying "I NEED A LIFT" !
Sorry for the hijack.

[nwquadriders]

moneypit said:

Looks like a great time. You are a lucky man to have a wife that wants to go along much less drive. Soon she may be asking for her own Jeep. Thats about as good as it gets!
How do you like the on and offroad handling of the R.E. lift. It's one my son in law is considering for his Rubi? Did you install it yourself? I also noticed you went with 33X10.5 tires. What made you go that way? You have wheel spacers on right? Doesn't this give you enough clearance for 12.5" wide tires? Sorry for all the questions but we were both at a run this weekend and he had to by-pass some obsticles because of his clearance. He just kept saying "I NEED A LIFT" !
Sorry for the hijack.

With the spacers, I've got room for 12.5" wide tires, but I really didn't want them. I guess that's just a personal preference thing. I like how the 10.5" tires look on the Jeep, and the Spidertrax Spacers gave me a little bit wider stance. The Jeep looked really narrow before putting them on, and with the added height, I figured a little more width would be a good thing. I was very impressed with the tires yesterday. I aired down to 14 pounds, and no matter what I drove on, I never had any issues.

The extra ground clearance is incredible. I'd grown accustomed to dragging my belly skid and my rear bumper on certain obstacles. I didn't drag once yesterday, and I was sure that it was going to happen a couple of times.

The ride: Night and day difference between the 2" BB and the 3.5" Superflex Lift. I have the RE Monotube shocks, and the ride was very comfortable all day. The way that the wheels/axles moved (articulated) under me was great. In that picture of the hillclimb, I looked at the hill and said, "AH CR@P"... There were 3 to 4 foot deep holes alternating from side to side with big rocks thrown in just for good measure. 1st Gear in 4-lo, and I swear the body of the Jeep stayed nice and level as the running gear just worked its way thru things. I did that hill a few times picking different lines (one time I did it in reverse...), and you couldn't wipe the smile off of my face.

[moneypit]

Hey, thanks for the reply. You made sense out of my questions. Just one more question, did you do your install? If so any troubles or things to look out for? Thanks, Steve

[nwquadriders]

moneypit said:

Hey, thanks for the reply. You made sense out of my questions. Just one more question, did you do your install? If so any troubles or things to look out for? Thanks, Steve

I didn't do the install... I had it done by a local shop while I was on vacation this Winter. Looking at it, it doesn't look like it would have been too difficult if you've got decent jack stands, air tools, and someone to help you out. I think the hardest part would be the rear track bar relocation bracket. The shop that did mine, actually welded the bracket on and coated it to match the other parts on the Jeep. It looks like it belongs there, as opposed to just "bolted on".

[moneypit]

Thanks, I did my OME lift on mine but never done control arms ect. Maybe I'll get a quote first fron a local shop.....sometimes it can be a motivator.

[nwquadriders]

moneypit said:

Thanks, I did my OME lift on mine but never done control arms ect. Maybe I'll get a quote first fron a local shop.....sometimes it can be a motivator.

The price difference on parts was huge for me depending on if I had them do the install. My parts were cheaper than I could find on line, and he only charged for 3 hours of shop time (about $250). If I'd have bought the parts alone from him they would have been about 15% more expensive, and If I'd bought my parts online or from a catalog, his labor bill would have been closer to $500. So...I got a good deal on both by helping the local shop out with some business.

[moneypit]

Good point...We just put a 1" BL and sliders on my son in laws Rubi. The BL was about $140.00 delivered. I then found my receipt from my tummy tuck and BL the shop installed on my LJ. He charged me $75.00 for the same exact BL and $75.00 to install it. So our 3 hours in the garage earned us $10.00. Not really worth it other then the satisfaction of saying we did it ourselves. Guess when we deciede on which lift we want I'll call the shop before ordering.