John's 1" Lift

[Matt]

Those bilsteins, depending on model, may be longer than the oem shocks. Not a big deal regardless.

And yessir.... used to be an ASE certified tech, now a mechanical engineer (B.S. working towards M.S.) w/aerospace cert.

[jjt250]

great- exactly the info i was looking for. i have the stock length MML in the rear as well with my BB. however, once i take out my BB and leave the MLL i was going to use her as a DD and towrig maybe. but i was curious how harsh the MLLs would be and how i would compensate for the boost they gave/give me. sounds like you found the right solution. thank you sir.

No problem! I don't think the MLL's were that stiff. Some people don't mind, others do. Part of the problem for me might've been the fact that I was stock in the front so I thought it felt a little bit unbalanced IMO. Also when going over bigger bumps, the MLL's just felt less willing to use travel (which makes sense) which made the ride suffer and gave a sort of harder landing. I also like the peace of mind of having less stress on the shock mounts, which weren't really designed to hold a lot of load. Although it probably wouldn't be a problem, this is what I tow a lot and it clearly has a lot of tongue weight:



This was a heavy one...


Bottom line, if you're willing to spend the extra money on Bilsteins, XK coils, and coil spacers, I think it is a better set up and I know I enjoy driving it much more now. I'll post towing impressions next time I have it hooked up.

Those bilsteins, depending on model, may be longer than the oem shocks. Not a big deal regardless.

And yessir.... used to be an ASE certified tech, now a mechanical engineer (B.S. working towards M.S.) w/aerospace cert.

Very cool! Also, I'll be sure to check the length of the Bilsteins next time I'm working on the Jeep (Thursday). I didn't notice a difference in length, but it would certainly be welcomed...

[paroxysym]

wonder what the biggest size tire you cam fit now, comfortably...

[jjt250]

wonder what the biggest size tire you cam fit now, comfortably...

Well I really want Goodyear Duratracs, but there really aren't many sizes available that I'm looking for. I was thinking 245/70/17 but Duratracs are still expensive, kind of heavy, and those are load range E which I don't need. I was thinking General Grabber AT2's because they have a lot more sizes, much cheaper, and lighter. I know you can do 265/65/17 on stock suspension but you'll probably want to run spacers. I don't want to run spacers until I get Moabs this summer and I want 1" Bora wheel spacers. So many tire decisions, but I do love the way Duratracs look and perform so I might just get those.

[jjt250]

So I have to take back what I said about CRD coils possibly giving more lift on other WKs. After a week of settling, I'm sitting at 19 inches in the front and 20.5 in the rear. I'm somewhat disappointed by this and now I want a bit more out of the front. I did some research and found that certain Commander coils (Hemi XK, I assume) have a spring rate of 601 lb-in (PN 52124207AA) whereas CRD coils have 473 lb-in (driver) and 433 lb-in (passenger). So now I'm considering picking up a pair of Commander front coils. If anyone is interested in selling me theirs, I might be interested. I just really don't want to disassemble the front again. That was not fun at all, but I hope this helps other people out who are looking for about 1" of lift.

I didn't find another WK to park next to this weekend, unfortunately. I see so many WK2s around, but WKs seem to be harder to come by now!

On another side note, tires look to be narrowed down to Goodyear Duratracs, Goodyear Silent Armors, and possibly Cooper Discoverer AT3s. Really leaning towards Duratracs in 245/70/17, but dang are they expensive, and so are Silent Armors! Five will cost at least $1000! Does anyone have a preferred place to buy tires from?

[paroxysym]

any recent pics?

[jjt250]

Ask and you shall receive!