Rusty's vs Rough Country

RecklessRandy

New Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2011
Location
Greensboro
So I just got a new cherokee and was wonder which suspension is better. Im looking at the Rusty's 4.5" add a leaf or Rough Country's 4.5" add a leaf. Rusty's comes with the adjustable track bar and 6 degree shims, Rough Country does not include either with their lift kit. But the Rough Country is cheaper, I will have to buy the track bar, drop pitman arm and shims.
I was also planning on adding a 2in spacer in front and a 2in block in the rear, dont know if that would affect the performance of the suspension.
 
Probably better off with rough country but I am a Rubicon Express guy since that was the lift I went with. My RE add a leaf is still holding up great after one year with a dozen trail rides and a few times with a trailer behind it. I don't know when they are going to be back in business but it should be soon. And don't be too impressed that rustys comes with an adjustable track bar. They are no good. Maybe for a mall crawler.

Look around and don't rush into it. There are tons of XJs in greensboro with a few different suspension lifts, check em out. I have the 3.5" Rubicon Express lift, shoot me a pm if you want to check it out.


Nick
 
I have the RE 3.5 lift on my XJ too, but with the full leaf packs. I am happy with the RE lift. I have seen nick's in action and it is very capable. I would agree with nick, shop around.:driver:
 
Personally, I have ran rough country, rustys, rubicon express, skyjacker, and teraflex kits over the years. Rubicon Express makes a great kit, but its pricy, and currently very difficult to get. Ive never had an issue with rough country, and will run them again, Rustys is another story, not had good experiences with them.

Since Kevin is going to make you long arms, buying a kit is going to be a waste of your money. If I were you I would order 3.5 RE rear springs and get a nice shackle (Im fond of these http://www.ironman4x4fab.com/Products/RLS.html) and order 5.5 RE coils.

Your gonna want to get an SYE too.

Don't spend 60 bucks on a drop pitman arm, go to Pull a part and get one off a ZJ, its cheap and works perfectly.

While your at PAP grab a v8 zj tierod and drag link, $17 upgrade that will make a huge difference. Prolly not a bad idea to replace the TRE's or atleast carry spares.

Blocks are bad, you don't want spring wrap, get a shackle instead like the one I posted above.

Ironman4x4fab does badass work and is a vendor, so check them out for a tracbar too.

http://www.ironman4x4fab.com/Products/TB.html
 
I searched for the longest time for a lift and i was exactly where u are at. I have a 1990 xj and i was stuck between rustys 4.5 inch full suspension lift kit and rough countrys 4.5 inch full kit. I chose rough country because i heard that people had problems with rustys and rough country was cheaper . Im really impressed by the rough country lift... it rides good an the trails and the road. They even threw in the extended brake lines and that wasnt even advertised with the parts list for the kit. If i had to choose again id say go with rough country. U wont be let down.
:beer:
 
Yeah I decided to do the Rough Country, I looked for the Rubicon Express lifts but couldnt find what I wanted. And I havent heard one bad thing about Rough Country's lifts yet. But if anyone has had a bad experience with them or like a different suspension better thats kinda cheap let me know.
 
I would not buy a kit at all. Spend a little more money and peice it together with good parts.

I would buy control arms from Iron Man, Springs from Rubicon express, Track bar from Rubicon Express, build your own rear spring pack (2wd s10 leaves with XJ main leaf), and get the track bar bracket from Rustys. Get a set of TJ brake lines from Russel and a set of shackles. Will only cost you a little more than lift already together from one company but will be 10x better than any cheap lift.
 
Im considering that route. But I cant find anywhere that sell the 5.5" Rubicon Express coils. But Id like to have 6 or 7 inches of lift either way I go. How much lift will the s10 bastard pack give me?
 
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