how high of a lift should I get?

[sweetpeet]

I have a jeep CJ5 almost everything is stock and I want to get a lift. the only problem is that I don't really know how high I should lift it. I mean I could lift it as high as I wanted and I'm not thinking how high based on terrain. The big issue here is that Ive heard that most jeeps that have been lifted too high flip very easily. now if I can I want to put around an 8.5" lift on it. 5.5" of the lift will be in lift blocks under the suspension and 3" will be in body lift. so is what I've heard true or is that just BS?

 

[Rubiconrich]

No, No No, Hold one First let me say this you have a short wheelbase Jeep
with a short rear drive shaft. I would say go with a 4" lift and 1 " body lift 33" tires. Never use lift blocks on Jeeps they are for full size trucks not Jeeps. After 82-86 the Jeep axles are wide track this is better.

 

[Rubiconrich]

You did not say what Year CJ5 55-71 or 72-82

 

[sweetpeet]

its a '86 CJ5

 

[SteelHeadz]

CJ5 production was from 1954 thru 1983. Are you sure its not a CJ7?

 

[xt master]

The 3" body lift is really scary.Hit a bump or something the wrong way and off comes the body you wont have to worry about rolling then.

 

[jps4jeep]

in my experience on a cj5, We ran 4" YJ BDS springs in a Spring under configuration, some trimming and fit 36" tires. It also added a couple inches to the wheel base.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

A lot depends upon what you are going to do with the Jeep. If it is a CJ5 I say stop at 2-1/2" of lift but 4" is the max. A wide track CJ7 I would stop at 4" and may not even do that. This is based on years of driving Jeeps and the fact that CJs will fall over on their sides if not handled properly. This is what allowed Ralph Nader to single handedly kill the CJ by forcing it out of production with law suits although his actions were nothing short of a terrorist act under the name of "consumer protection" to me.

I am sure some of you will disagree but let's face it the frame width of the CJ is much narrower than any of the Wrangler series. Widening the frames did improve vehicle stability so if you want to go big, go wider and do it in a Wrangler.

 

[jps4jeep]

Can you provide some numbers that show a CJ frame is narrower than a YJ frame and how that relates to the vehicles stability please?

 

[Collin the Hen]

Can you provide some numbers that show a CJ frame is narrower than a YJ frame and how that relates to the vehicles stability please?

:yeah-that:

 

[Saddle Tramp]

Can you provide some numbers that show a CJ frame is narrower than a YJ frame and how that relates to the vehicles stability please?

I don't have a CJ & a Wrangler handy to measure at the moment but the book says the front measurement for the CJ is 698.50 mm & the front measurement on the YJ is 843.60 mm making the YJ wider by 145.100 mm (5.71"). The back without measuring is a little harder to figure because the frame dimensions are given to body mount locations and not the frame with. From rear body mount to rear body mount on the CJ is 1104.900 mm & the YJ is 1147.50 = 42.60 mm (1.68") difference. Again the body mount locations between the two frames may not be accurate. That not withstanding, the front portion of the frame is almost 6" narrower.

Steering a vehicle means turning the front wheels, lets say to the right, allows the weight of the vehicle to "roll" or "dip slightly from inertia and compress down on the spring that holds the axel to the frame on the left side compromising the vehicles stability. To reduce the action of inertia most vehicles certainly CJs, have a stabilizer bar that connects the frame to the axel on both sides so when the left side starts to roll the roll is minimized by the support of the stabilizer bar. I said minimized not stopped because with any vehicle if you try to turn too fast into a corner inertia takes over and over you go. The frame spread comes into play here because the farther the sides of the frame are from the center of the vehicle the more force it takes to allow the vehicle to dip. It's like a fulcrum point to combat the inertia that is trying to keep the weight of the vehicle from turning. Imagine you have two tables that are both 6' wide. On one of the tables the frame of the table is 2' from the center of the table on both sides (or a 4' wide frame) and the other is only 1' from the center of the table on both sides (or a 2' wide frame). On the 4' wide frame the table hangs over only 1' from the side of the frame and on the 2' wide frame the table hangs over 2' from the frame. Which table is going to be more stable? The 4' wide frame table of course as it will take more weight or pressure pushing down on the edge of the table to make the table fall over because the fulcrum point (the frame) is closer to the action/force. It's the same thing with the inertia that is pushing down on the vehicle as you start the turn.

Now I'm not a physics teacher and I may not have this 100% technically correct but you get the idea, and we haven't even started to talk about being "top heavy".

 

[SteelHeadz]

Ahmm, the thingy that controls the "Sway" is called a sway bar not a stabilizer bar. That CJ measurements you have is based on what year?. 698.50mm=27.5 inches, thats not even close to what my CJ's measurement. Does that mean i dont have a CJ?

 

[jps4jeep]

Its called torque steer, roll or dip is not the accurate term. Second, I have swapped a number of yj body's onto CJ 7 frames; I had to move 1 body mount on each side. I think your trying to refer to a CJ 2/3/or early 5's and comparing to a YJ, which is kinda pointless because the there were years inbetween production.

I don't question your knowledge or the physics principle you present, 100% correct, but you’re comparing apples and oranges.

And I am not even going to touch the Ralph Nader Propaganda your spouting off. I have seen you post this on other sites and I think you just have a little knowledge about a big subject and created an agenda based on such.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

Johnny-

I know CJ7 tubs & YJ tubs are close even though I have not transferred one myself but the tub is on the back half (or 2/3rds) of the frame and the front clip covers where the frames differ. I just measured the front of the frame on my 1978 CJ5 and center of frame rail to center of frame rail is about 27-1/2", the back is about 35-1/2". Not long ago I also owned a 94 YJ and I parked the CJ & the YJ front bumper to front bumper and the extra width on the YJ frame was very apparent. This is why CJ fenders will not fit on a YJ unless you cut the bottom of the fenders to allow for the frame.

I may not have used all the proper industry terms as I said I am not a physics teacher but I think the points I made are still correct in why in my opinion it is best to only lift a CJ so far. It is generally agreed that a CJ has to be driven properly or they can be tipped over. As the center of gravity is raised off of the ground with a lift the less force or torque steer it takes to tip the jeep over while turning (or being off camber for that matter) and in addition the closer the support or pivot points, in this case the springs, are to the center of the frame the less force it takes tip the jeep over. This is one of the major reasons why the YJ frame was widened at inception because it helped make the vehicle more stable and as we know Jeep had been under fire for the stability of the CJ.

As far as my "spouting" off about Nader on other boards I may have said a thing or two about him once or twice before but never has that been the body or agenda of the conversation. What Nadar did to Jeep is done and nothing will ever change it. I do know a lot about the Nadar/Jeep issue however because I bought my first CJ5 in 1971 and the subject is/was near and dear to my hart so I followed it. Ralph Nadar has no more right to tell me what I can and can not drive than the Sierra Club does and they want to take away my full sized American made SUV. In fact, as the Sierra Club does not have the ability to sue a manufacture to death such as Nadar they lobbied the insurance industry to do their dirty work but that’s another post.


Kriss

 

[Collin the Hen]

:scratch: Oh, yeah.

CJ's for the win!!!