C of G
 

Extreme 4x4ing is not my area of expertise. I was out doing some pretty rough roads/trails. Went up a hill and realized suddenly nearly all of my body weight was now in my seat back instead of the seat bottom! Oh, what a feeling. Later, managed one of those "only 3 wheels touching the ground" situations. In a stock Cherokee.

My question is, by raising the overall C of G with a lift kit, does that not reduce the angle at which a vehicle will roll? The stock Jeeps seem to have great entry/exit angles etc. So why lift the body to extreme heights?

Cheers!

Re: C of G
 

I had a 89 xj stock with 235's I did well also had to watch where I went as ground clearance was poor and with small tires I got stuck more often, but once I did a Suspension lift of 3" and put 33" tires on it my clearance was much better got stuck less and was able to attack harder trails. I removed the rear sway bar but keep the front one attached while on the road to help stablize the vehicle, but once offroad I had quick disconnects and could flex better for those (when your hanging a wheel off the ground I am more aped to keep it on the ground all depending how extreme I would go.The higher you go the more sway you will have on the highways from the wind and when cornering you should watch it too. I found the 3" great for me, I did cut my fenders for the 33" to fit well (note the 89 cherokee is a Unit body so you cannot do a Body lift)I hope this helps

Re: C of G
 

If you are going to go up in height, go out in width as well. I did a 3 inch lift on my Cherokee, and reduced the back spacing on my rims by 1 1/2 inches. This proved stable enough for me when I was out in the bush having fun.

Re: C of G
 

Thanks, gents

Yeah, basically I'm wondering when or where the trade-off is for height. Here in the foothills of Alberta I've found myself on enough side slope, and even vertical, to think that any higher C of G would result in a rollover. Right now I'm at stock height with slightly larger Toyo A/T's. Maybe I'm already at the best configuration for what I'm doing because bumper and body clearance has not been an issue for what I'm doing. Does anyone have the specs for rollover/rollback angles or know the math/geometry for how height/c of g affects this performance?

I haven't owned a 4X4 in over 20 years. Last one was a Fo......, (sorry can't seem to get that word out now )
half ton. I'm just blown away by what this Jeep can do...stock! Heck, I'm gettin' places quads won't or don't like to go!

4everJeep!

Re: C of G
 

Some people seem to get a little carried away when they lift a vehicle. There are a lot of 12" lifted P/U's here in McMurray but they never go off the pavement.
With 4" and 33's there aren't to many places that you won't be able to go. Limiting factors would be torque and do you have locked diff's and recovery gear.
Anything over 6" of lift for just "off-roading" on a factory chassis your starting to get into dangerous territory.

Dan

Re: C of G
 

Thanks, WJ guy. That's what I've been thinking. Does Jeep publish roll over angles for it's stock set ups? Then I can just sharpen my pencil and try to do the cypherin' for the roll over angle at 4" higher etc.

Re: C of G
 

These are the numbers for my 2004 Grand Cherokee when it was stock,

Ground Clearance (Min): 8.7" (221mm)
Ground Clearance (Max): 9.1" (231mm)
Approach Angle: 37 degrees
Departure Angle: 28 degrees
Ramp Breakover Angle: 22 degrees

If your modified in any way you'll just have to do the math, think I'll do mine this weekend since I haven't done it yet, also I haven't figured out the roll over angle. When I figure out how to do it for a WJ I'll post the numbers.

Dan