Lift or armor? Which is a must at first?

[adventure_is_necessary]

I posted this on my build thread, but I wanted to open this up to all who may not see it. Looking at spending a larger chunk than I'm used to, so I'm trying to prioritize what is needed first. Looking at adding a lift, rock sliders/skid plate/high clearance trans crossmember. I feel that the protection is needed either way, however my main concern is with the added weight reducing my ground clearance even more. This aside, if you had to chose on a new rig whether to add rock sliders, a skid plate, and a high clearance crossmember, or to add a solid spring lift and high end shocks first, which route would you consider and why?

 

[Mike W]

It really depends on the vehicle. What is vulnerable on a WJ?

Have you encountered a need more more lift yet or is it preventative? Did you already put different tires on? How much are you going to sacrifice comfort and center of gravity with the lift?

plenty of things to consider before mods, keeps the brain healthy. :D

 

[adventure_is_necessary]

It really depends on the vehicle. What is vulnerable on a WJ?

Have you encountered a need more more lift yet or is it preventative? Did you already put different tires on? How much are you going to sacrifice comfort and center of gravity with the lift?

plenty of things to consider before mods, keeps the brain healthy. :D

Truthfully I am trying to avoid a lift as much as possible to preserve the driveability on road. To do that, I plan going with the WJ OME spring lift with Fox shocks that will yield approx 1.5-2in of lift, but the springs will be heavy duty to handle the extra weight. From what I hear, all OME kits aim to preserve stock driveability or better with the slight lift and better spring rate. For sure will need the rock sliders once the lift is on for the side step built in to access the roof rack. The skid plate will protect the tcase and the high clearance crossmember will reduce what hangs below the frame rails by about an inch or so. I know I need new shocks, but don't want to buy factory replacements if I'm going to turn around and lift it within the next 6mo to a year.

 

[TerryD]

Look at what you are doing with it and decide which suits your needs better. Currently, I'm taking roads and trails that I'm wanting to run at stock height in my Xterra. However, I was bashing my step tubes and had even moved one side back and up quite a bit. Before I have a repeat of the flattened rocker panel on my XJ Jeep, I ordered a pair of sliders.

Get out and see where you have the need to upgrade. I'm working on a budget lift just to gain some clearance underneath until I get armored up, then I'll be ordering custom springs that are rated for the weight of my Xterra at that point.

 

[Mike W]

Sure sounds like you have a good grasp on what is important. The load carrying aspect is a very smart thing to consider. Probably more important than the lift.

I don't have any lift modifications, but its a bit of a cheat since LR4 has air suspension and you can get a decent lift at the push of a button, or a larger temporary lift with a bluetooth tool I carry. I do have full skids, but it is probably overkill other than to protect the air suspension compressor and tank that is tucked up in the frame. I don't want to end a trip if I get into something really fun though, so the skids are piece of mind. I like a lower center of gravity though. (It's also a lot of work to actually lift these things with mods, people don't always consider full articulation, rubbing, bump stops, etc.. plus I bought this thing for maximum comfort.. so messing with it is just not a good idea.) Lately I have been describing most of my trips as touring though rather than the O word. Once I up my game for a few years, and get some extended trips...maybe I can stomach that.

I agree with @TerryD though. Getting out there is more important to figure out what you need. I went 4 years (fairly novice trips) without anything but small sliders. I've since swapped those out for beefy ones and full bumpers and skids. I guess I hope do to more advanced trips soon, otherwise my rig is overkill for now. I guess in my case it wasn't a real 'need' yet, but I planned ahead. Sometimes the time for the build exceeds the time for trips, and upgrades seem to just happen. oops.

 

[slomatt]

I'll 2nd (or 3rd) getting out on the trail and basing your upgrades on that experience. If you drive cautiously you can minimize the risk of damage and determine what, if anything, you need to change on your truck.

That said, I would recommend a reasonably small investment in the following before hitting the trail:
- Solid front and rear recovery points.
- Recovery strap and shackle(s).
- First aid kit.
- Fire extinguisher.

From there it really depends on what kind of trails you are going to run. If you are going to be rock crawling then having an on board air compressor will allow you to air down for a smoother ride and better traction. I would also prioritize sliders in that case.

Your WJ is already quite capable from the factory, though they do have fairly small tires which results in low factory ground clearance. I had a ZJ and a friend has a WJ and with small lifts, 32-33" tires, and rock sliders both trucks did great on the trail. But, as noted above I agree with first taking the truck out stock and seeing what (if any) mods you need for the types of trails you are going to run.

- Matt

 

[adventure_is_necessary]

I'll 2nd (or 3rd) getting out on the trail and basing your upgrades on that experience. If you drive cautiously you can minimize the risk of damage and determine what, if anything, you need to change on your truck.

That said, I would recommend a reasonably small investment in the following before hitting the trail:
- Solid front and rear recovery points.
- Recovery strap and shackle(s).
- First aid kit.
- Fire extinguisher.

From there it really depends on what kind of trails you are going to run. If you are going to be rock crawling then having an on board air compressor will allow you to air down for a smoother ride and better traction. I would also prioritize sliders in that case.

Your WJ is already quite capable from the factory, though they do have fairly small tires which results in low factory ground clearance. I had a ZJ and a friend has a WJ and with small lifts, 32-33" tires, and rock sliders both trucks did great on the trail. But, as noted above I agree with first taking the truck out stock and seeing what (if any) mods you need for the types of trails you are going to run.

- Matt

Most of my experience on the trail has been rather mellow and have only scraped the crossmember once or twice and that was early on in my off-road experience. I've since learned how to approach obstacles in a manner better suited for my rig. I have made some minor upgrades, all outlined on my build thread linked in my signature. Front and rear recovery points, recovery strap and shackles, first aid kit, shovel, ax, jack. I don't have an extinguisher yet but it is on my list. I have slightly larger tires than stock, maybe 29.5-30in. Aside from minimizing the low hanging parts on the rig, I haven't seen much of a need (yet) for anything in addition to the crossmember. I also don't have access to many trails around me aside from plenty of gravel/dirt roads that get pretty gnarly at times, but the one trail near by I can make it over the obstacles without getting hung up. I generally travel to places and end up checking out their trails and back roads.

I do want to know what you all would do first, my situation aside. This is just to get an idea of how to prioritize my upgrades.

 

[Joey83]

Armor.

 

[4wheelspulling]

My vote or 2cents. I would get rocker protection first, with the rock sliders or rocker armor. If you dent up your rockers, it can get expensive fast to fix. Rock sliders are cheap insurance and the first thing I would upgrade! The rest can come down the road, as you see and decide what is your needs. Benz.

 

[nickburt]

As others have said, depends on your needs and you seem to have most of your priorities sorted already.
Personally, I'd spend on protection first, assuming your current suspension set up is sound.
My L200 sat and rode fine when I first started, so under body protection and rock sliders went on first, before I spent on a lift. Unfortunately, any decent mods on Jap/US rigs in the UK is expensive compared to LR kit.
On the Defender, the suspension needed sorting badly, so that got done first and it's still waiting for protection - which will come soon.

 

[family-overland]

Armor at first. 2 or 3 inch of ground clearance won‘t help you out there if your transfer or gearbox fails after getting hit.


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[The other Sean]

Armor at first. 2 or 3 inch of ground clearance won‘t help you out there if your transfer or gearbox fails after getting hit.


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This. Having full skids and sliders means I don't worry about every ledge, bump and thump as I make my way down the trail. The first few times out on the trail I had no protection and I had no fun. Every thump I was convinced was damaging something.

 

[000]

You’re already probably loading down the truck with camping gear, so adding a few hundred pounds of armor is just going to tax the stock suspension even more. If your suspension is taken care of you can pick away at the armor in the order you prioritize as most important as you can afford it and just keep the vulnerabilities in mind when you pick the trails you plan on running. It’d be easier to buy an armor piece one at a time but impossible to add a spring here and a shock there. Just a thought... driving around with overloaded suspension sucks,and isn’t safe.


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[Handsome Devil]

I will just say that I own an H3 which has torsion bars for the front and I can raise/lower within a few inches of stock relatively easy. Because of this I’m used to measuring ride height regularly. I installed Schwartzy skid plates which are 1/4” thick as well as rocky road sliders. All of the added equipment is very heavy. The point is that after everything was loaded, the stock, tired suspension from 2006 didn’t even lower an eighth of an inch. To this day I haven’t actually “lifted” the vehicle. As a matter of fact, the only suspension that’s been replaced is the shocks.


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[Borfoo3]

I’ll vote on a good lift..

As mentioned before, armor will tax your suspension, possibly reducing ride height. It will also tax everything else with the extra weight depending how far you go with it.. which equates to less gas mileage, worse acceleration, longer stopping distance, more prone to digging and getting stuck...etc.

A lift gives you more capability with less of the cons imo.. until you decide what armor is necessary.

At this stage, I’m assuming your probably still getting a ‘feel’ of it all and choosing your lines cautiously anyways

 

[adventure_is_necessary]

Since the above posts have a consensus of getting a lift, I'm gonna go that route as I have a skid plate on the way and a high clearance trans crossmember (no real added weight yet). Anyone have an opinion on good shocks? Looking at either the OME shocks to go with the springs, or Fox shocks.

 

[Borfoo3]

Fox over OME any day for me

Always seemed to me that the Aussie shocks are harsh for anything but the heaviest of rigs

Or save up and go KING!

 

[TerryD]

It depends on what you are doing. I like Bilstein myself for a DD/wheeler. I have a friend with a full OME setup on his 4Runner and he's completely happy with it. It does offroad and farm truck work. Research your particular vehicle and see what is thought to be the way to go for what you are doing. In the Xterra market, OME rear springs aren't highly thought of but in the Cherokee world I came from (98 XJ) they were a very good option and recommended. I ran their heavy load leaves on my Cherokee and was extremely happy with them.

 

[000]

Since the above posts have a consensus of getting a lift, I'm gonna go that route as I have a skid plate on the way and a high clearance trans crossmember (no real added weight yet). Anyone have an opinion on good shocks? Looking at either the OME shocks to go with the springs, or Fox shocks.

I did the full ome lift on my Tacoma and got swapped it out for icons after about a month. I did keep the Dakar leaf pack in the rear, but got rid of the rest. I have been very happy with the stuff from icon.


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[adventure_is_necessary]

My rig is daily driven, so I need something that'll perform well both on and off-road. I've head nothing but good things about the OME springs for the WJ, but question the shocks. I was looking at Fox solely for the fact that they come highly recommended, and they're also one of the best suspension makers in the cycling world.