After I installed my 32 x 11.50 Goodyear MTR's, I ramped my XJ to see if I had any problems hitting fenders. At first I hit the plastic fender flare, so I removed it. The contact location was the portion of the flare along the forward edge of the wheel opening.
After removing the flares, I made contact with the forward edge of the wheel opening. In order to solve this problem, I removed a portion of the fender on the front side of the wheel opening. That was all I could do at this point because I did not have a chance to ramp my XJ again after I cut the flare.
Saturday, 22 July 2000
When I made my trip to the Badlands to ramp my XJ, I brought along sheet metal snips and a grinder with cutting and sanding wheels so I could take care of all the fender trimming in one day.
I ramped three times. The first time I ramped, I found out that my rear tires on the off ramp side would make contact with the rear side of the wheel opening.
In order to solve this problem, I made a horizontal cut along the top of the of the rear section of the wheel opening about 1/2" long. Then it was hammer time, i.e., the fender along the wheel opening under the cut was hammered back into the wheel opening.
Now, with the rear fenders trimmed, I ramped a second time to see if I could ramp without hitting any fenders with my tires. With the rear tires free to move, the rear leaf spring from Rubicon Express 4.5" lift kit (actually was 6" of lift) was almost able to completely extend to stock shackle. The spring had a slightly negative arch and the Doetsche Tech shock supplied in the kit was not quite completely compressed. The front side off of the ramp showed a lot of droop, and the front axle achieved a very nice angle. However, my front tire on the ramp was contacting the top of the wheel opening. I had hoped I would not have to trim anymore up front, but that is life.
Out came the grinder and more of the front fenders were cut as seen below.
With material removed at the top of both front wheel openings, I ramped a third time to see if I had finally achieved clearance for my 32x11.50 Goodyear MTR's. To my satisfaction, I had clearance at all four tires. The rear tires would now compress until the shackle was completely extended and the shock was now completely compressed. I had maxed out my rear wheel travel, and both rear tires had clearance. In the front, the side of the axle with the tire on the ramp was limited by the bump stops and other side of the axle again showed very nice droop.
I had at first believed that my rear springs were too stiff and would limit my articulation, but after 8 months with them installed, they have gradually softened up to the point that the shocks can be completely compressed and the shackles fully extended. They still ride a little rought, but they also provide good stability on the trails. This is especially so when traversing high angle off camber sections of trail. My hat goes off to Rubicon Express. I have not installed BPE's or cut any material off of my front spring pads to achieve more travel. I did not have a tape measure to determine RTI, but I would like to note that the ramp I used at the Badlands Off Road Park is a 30° ramp.
All that is left to do at this point is determine what fender flares to use up front, and to modify the rear trim which I removed that is normally located between the wheel opening and the bumper. I am going to try and modify the stock front fender flares by cutting off most of the front portion of the flare so it resembles a TJ style flare. For the rear trim, I am simply going to cut off some of the material on the forward end of the trim so it will be even with the actual fender and provide clearance for the tires.
Special thanks go out to John, Matt, and Scott, who helped me ramp and trim my fenders. Without them I am sure it would have taken a lot longer and been a lot harder to do.
