Rocky Road Outfitters Lift

[JWheeler331]

I have been researching lift kits for my 88 Comanche. I am wanting to run 33'' tires with as little cutting (hopefully none) as possible. 

 

I keep seeing that I need about 5 inches of lift to do this. Not many 5-6 inch lifts out there for the Comanche that I am finding. This will be the first vehicle that I lift and so I want to make sure I get what I need. 

 

I saw this Rocky Road Outfitters link and reading over it they seem like pretty good lifts. 

Jeep Comanche Lift Kit: 5-6" Jeep Comanche Lift Kit, OME (rocky-road.com)

 

Anyone have any experience with these lifts? How do you like it? 

 

Have other recommendations?

 

I am pretty open at this point. 

[Pete M]

well, first question is: what will you be doing with the truck afterwards? 

[JWheeler331]

16 minutes ago, Pete M said:

well, first question is: what will you be doing with the truck afterwards? 

Well, I’m in south Louisiana so not much in the way of rocks. Just some light off-roading, farm work. Would like to ride well on the road but be capable off road also. 

[Pete M]

I would stick to 31s and a 3"-4.5" lift.  33s are a headache, especially if you're not doing anything that actually needs them. 

[JWheeler331]

2 hours ago, Pete M said:

I would stick to 31s and a 3"-4.5" lift.  33s are a headache, especially if you're not doing anything that actually needs them. 

 

Buuuuuttttt........ if already having to do a lift might as make it like I want it right? 

 

This is not my main vehicle and only just a side fun project. I know there is not a whole lot of difference between 31s and 33s but I really want the 33s eventually so I'd rather just buy the lift one time. 

 

I had a 88 and 94 Toyota 4x4 on 31s and while they did me just fine there were a few places I went on our farm in North Alabama where I wished I had something just a tad bigger. 

 

 

[Smokeyyank]

Are you planning to regear it? If not I'd stick to 31's. OME makes great stuff. I've heard mixed reviews on rockyroad as the vendor though. 

[Pete M]

there's a LOT of difference between a 31 and a 33.  the MJ fenders are all sized for a 30-31, not a 33.  the axles are geared poorly for stock size tires, let alone 31s, and certainly not 33s.  plus axle and ujoint strength starts to come into play with 33s. 

 

are you sure an extra inch of tire radius was going to get you through whatever obstacle you wanted to try?  lockers are more important than tire size.  

[watchamakalit]

 

I was concidering 33s then I started looking at mjs with 31s vs 33s. 31s fit the truck better.

[JWheeler331]

19 minutes ago, Smokeyyank said:

Are you planning to regear it? If not I'd stick to 31's. OME makes great stuff. I've heard mixed reviews on rockyroad as the vendor though. 

I feel like eventually I need to regear anyways even with just my 31" tires on it so I am def open to regear. 

15 minutes ago, Pete M said:

there's a LOT of difference between a 31 and a 33.  the MJ fenders are all sized for a 30-31, not a 33.  the axles are geared poorly for stock size tires, let alone 31s, and certainly not 33s.  plus axle and ujoint strength starts to come into play with 33s. 

 

are you sure an extra inch of tire radius was going to get you through whatever obstacle you wanted to try?  lockers are more important than tire size.  

All points I will take into consideration for sure. My Jeep Wrangler has 35" tires on it with Dana 44/30 axles like my MJ. I assumed that 33" tires would be fine for it. I was thinking that the 5-6" of lift would be enough for the 33" to not rub. I am still researching all this stuff and how it relates to the MJ Jeeps so any information the more experienced people here share will def. be taken into consideration. I am not rushing into it. I have plenty of other project on the Comanche before I get to the lift. Just doing my research and asking questions now. 

11 minutes ago, watchamakalit said:

 

I was concidering 33s then I started looking at mjs with 31s vs 33s. 31s fit the truck better.

Thanks. 

[Pete M]

"no rub" on the street is different than stuffing a 33 while flexing and turning and flooring the gas is a whole other thing.  I have 33s and regret it.  (on that topic I have a 44/9" and regret those too.)  so much work for very little actual real world benefit.   but my truck was rusty when I built it and even more rusty when I started using it on trails so it's not like I was trying to preserve her.  of course, she was only like 15 years old then.  wasn't a collectors item yet.

[PIKE]

4.5" Rubicon Express Springs in the front. 33- 10.5r 15 BF Goodrich KO 

 

4.56 gears

 

Happy camper

[PIKE]

Front view on stock wheels.

 

 

[Pete M]

that tire width makes a world of difference.    JW, if you do 33s, do 10.5s.    

[JWheeler331]

25 minutes ago, Pete M said:

that tire width makes a world of difference.    JW, if you do 33s, do 10.5s.    

yeah that looks a lot better than the 12.5. 
 

thanks for showing Pike. How is it off road? 

[89eliminator]

i ran 33x10.5s for years on a 6.5" lift and still had to do minor trimming of the front fender flares.  the fender opening is just not big enough to fit a 33" or bigger tire.  

 

I also ran 4.10 gears in my 30/44 with those tires, it was a good combo.  

 

if your set on running 33s, id look into getting a 6.5" front lift for an XJ and then SOA the rear which can be done fairly cheaply.  

[JWheeler331]

1 hour ago, 89eliminator said:

i ran 33x10.5s for years on a 6.5" lift and still had to do minor trimming of the front fender flares.  the fender opening is just not big enough to fit a 33" or bigger tire.  

 

I also ran 4.10 gears in my 30/44 with those tires, it was a good combo.  

 

if your set on running 33s, id look into getting a 6.5" front lift for an XJ and then SOA the rear which can be done fairly cheaply.  

Thanks for the input. I’ll do a little trimming if I have to I guess. The more I look around at the bumpers I like it looks like there is not much out there that don’t require some type of trimming anyways. 

[PIKE]

23 hours ago, JWheeler331 said:

yeah that looks a lot better than the 12.5. 
 

thanks for showing Pike. How is it off road? 

Thank you,

 

Like others have said its all about what you want to do. I mostly drive on the miles of forest service roads in the Gila National Forest. Maybe there is a wash out or arroyo I have to go thru. Do I rub sometimes? Yes. But its not a big deal for me. I put added bump stops front and rear.

Gearing makes a huge difference as others have said. 4.56 was a good choice for me. 

Just got done converting from disconnect to one piece axle. 

 

 

 

[JWheeler331]

2 hours ago, PIKE said:

Thank you,

 

Like others have said its all about what you want to do. I mostly drive on the miles of forest service roads in the Gila National Forest. Maybe there is a wash out or arroyo I have to go thru. Do I rub sometimes? Yes. But its not a big deal for me. I put added bump stops front and rear.

Gearing makes a huge difference as others have said. 4.56 was a good choice for me. 

Just got done converting from disconnect to one piece axle. 

 

 

 

What kind of speed/rpm are you getting with the 33s and 4.56?

[PIKE]

I can go 70mph no problem. I will have to confirm the rpms at that speed next time I take it out. I was actually more concerned with first gear not being very useful at the time. I have a 1996 F350 Powerstroke with a 5 speed and never use 1st gear unless towing a trailer. 

I am very happy with the 4.56 gears and 33" tires.  I always use 1st gear and get good speed out of it.

 

I totally agree with Pete M on re gearing, made all the difference for my truck. Also have a Detroit Locker in the rear and a Trutrac in the front, perfect combination for me.

[PIKE]

On 2/8/2022 at 7:59 PM, JWheeler331 said:

What kind of speed/rpm are you getting with the 33s and 4.56?

2750 rpm at 70 mph

[JWheeler331]

2 hours ago, PIKE said:

2750 rpm at 70 mph

Nice. Thanks. 

[PlaneMech]

Interestingly enough. The original question was:

 

JWheeler331 asked: I saw this Rocky Road Outfitters link and reading over it they seem like pretty good lifts. 

Jeep Comanche Lift Kit: 5-6" Jeep Comanche Lift Kit, OME (rocky-road.com)

 

Anyone have any experience with these lifts? How do you like it? 

 

I'm interested as well. Has anyone used their kits?

 

 

 

 

[Tex06]

I've got the kit. Looking to install in the next week or 2.

On 2/7/2022 at 2:00 PM, JWheeler331 said:

Well, I’m in south Louisiana so not much in the way of rocks. Just some light off-roading, farm work. Would like to ride well on the road but be capable off road also. 

Where in south Louisiana? I'm in NOLA.