How far should i jack up my '88 jeep comanche?
7 Answers
It's a mater of taste, I personally don't like lift kits... If you go serious off-roadin that's another thing, in which case get whatever you think will be best for the trails you take.
lift it 5 inches and slap on a set of 35s!!!!!!!!! thats what i would do, i got a 77 cj 5 with 5 in lift and 35in tires but remember wide tires look good but really suck on paved roads they want to follow the grooves
It all depends on how big of tires you want, and what you're going to use it for. i have 31x10.5's on my stock comanche, and they only rub a little bit. but i only use it for a daily driver, and occasionaly playin around a little bit. Usually on the cherokee's and comanches, you have to do some trimming with as big as 33's. the link below has a tire fitment chart, that will tell you what tires fit with what size lifts. Lifts and bigger tires will affect mileage too. if you have an auto tranny, it'll be worse than a manual too. if you like the mileage and just want it to look better, i would just go with a budget lift. it's about 1-2 inches of lift depending on what you buy, and they're usually just shackles in the rear, and coil spring spacers on the front. i'm ordering mine on thurs. for 40 bucks out of quadratech. that would be enough to clear a 30x10.5 pretty good for an everyday driver, and wouldnt hurt your wallet as much. Or, i had 30x9.5's on mine and it looked good and didn't affect the mileage much. it also doesn't reqiure any lift. http://www.jpmagazine.com/techarticles/wheels/154_0807_updated_jeep_tire_fitment_guide/index.html
You first need to decide what you are going to be using the jeep for. is it your daily driver? is it a weekend warrior? is it just a toy? Once you figure that out then come back, let us know and ask that same question again.
Lifting it isn't going to have a hugely detrimental affect on your mileage, but your choice in tires and gearing will. I'm running a Rubicon Express 4.5" Superflex with 31x10.50's, and currently I'm pulling 300miles city with 360 freeway on my 31's with the AX15 (5-spd).. I could fit 33's with plenty of clearance while offroad (trimmed the fenders as well), but 31's are widely regarded as the largest tire you should go with factory gearing. I had 33's on my last XJ and I got a whopping 160miles to a tank and a rather large loss of power, using factory gears. Stepped the gears up for 4.56's and picked up to about 250/tank (added some power goodies at the same time, which help increase mileage if you don't utilize the newfound power all the time) and got all the power back. I'd say go with the RE3.5"Superflex or SuperRide and stick some 31's on it. Homebrew some quick-disconnects for the front swaybar and ditch the one in the rear (believe Jeep stopped putting them in the rear on the post 96 models). Should give you a good daily driver/weekend toy combination
