Lift advice and thoughts ?

First off I'd like to say hello everyone. I picked up my first XJ last year and have been doing preventive maintenance and small improvements since I took ownership of it. Here's my questions I figured you all would have some words of advice and knowledge on this topic.

I'm doing some research on some lifts I'm looking into starting the build the first of the year. Looking to stay below 4.5" for now and I plan on running 31's or 32's (stock 3.07 gears for now). My first thought was to get he rusty's off road setup with rims and tires because I'm currently running stock liberty five spokes and the backspacing isn't going to work for me with the 10.50 tire. The three lifts I'm on the ledge about are

1. Rusty's 4.5" with full leaf pack and tires
2. Rubicon express 3.5" w/bilstein shocks & full leaf packs
3. Iron rock off road 4" critical long arms w/ bilstein's & 3.5" leaf pack with shackle.

Anyone have any experience with these company's or products ? Any advice would be appreciated. I'm leaning towards the long arm kit for comfort and performance. The jeep is driven daily and I'm not looking for a ride to knock the fillings from my teeth haha.

Thanks,
Chris

Yes, if you go above 3" it is wise to use long arms

Yeah, from what I have learned and I don't mean to start a huge ordeal about it and correct me if I'm wrong but the long arms provide a smoother ride because of the larger radius the control arms could travel and maintain a more horizontal position before spring load. If that makes any sense.. ? Haha

Yup. The angle of the arm determines how much of the bump force is transmitted to the rest of the vehicle. So a long arm has half that angle. The rest is easy to figure

I ran a RE 3.5" lift on my 2nd XJ and liked it. That was quite a few years ago. I know nothing of their products now. I also had a Rusty's 4.5" lift and ran it for about 100K miles, with no major complaints like one mind find online about Rusty's products. However, as I've grown and learned. Spent a stupid amount of money on things. Only to discover I make not the best choices. I thinking piecing a kit together is cool. Steve can tell you 10 recipes for bastard packs. I'm lazy and lack time. So I bought my leafs. I choose Clayton leafs and fricking love them. The Rusty's leafs were cool. The bushing wore out wicked fast and went flat fast. Granted, I tow a few ton of compost on a regular basis as well.
I did drop brackets with my 3.5" lift and liked em alot. Yes they hang lower and can get in the way of clearance. But if you're the average cat and not wheeling wicked hard. They'll be fine. If you stick with short arms. Get adjustable short arms, like IronMan4x4 and the such. You can center your front axle better. I had fixed short arms and the axle was positioned slightly back. It handled a little odd and simply looked goofy.
There are alot of really good products out there these days. Even for a vehicle that is almost 13 years discontinued.
Now don't forget to budget for a few possible things. They are not always a must, but it's better to budget than to be surprised. A new panhard bar. Possibly a Slip Yoke eliminator. Some new U bolts for the rear leafs. Possibly longer brake lines. And shocks if a kit doesn't already come with it. And always do an alignment. You can find Youtube vids on how to do one in your driveway.
Lifting an XJ to achieve your goals is like the saying, "theres more than one way to skin a cat." Well....its true. Everyone here probably has a different experience with quite a few products and can give you an honest opinion on their take.
And good job on preventive work your doing. Your Jeep will go go go go as long as you give it a little lovin. BTW. I have the Bilstein 5100's now and love them. They are smooth and ride quite nice.

I haven't had any issues with the basic Rough Country lift that I've been running for over 5 years, however recently I swapped in 6.5" coils and dropped the shackle down a notch. My over all lift gain was less than 2 inches up front and a fraction of an inch in the rear.

So I'm a little disappointed with the RC leaf springs. Now I may just be expecting more out of a leaf spring than I should be, dunno. The 4.5" coils seem to have done well, and I wonder if the new 5 year newer 6.5" coils are softer. I know the ride is slightly smoother. I've never expected a smooth ride from a lifted 4x4, so this wasn't important to me.

Let me know if you would like a hand installing your lift as I'm only about an hour away in Winter Park, FL. I have no experience with lift kits, but would like to learn. I can turn a wrench and have at least done an engine swap before.

The Rubicon Express kits are probably one of the more "complete" kits offered on the market right now...that being said, your desire for ride quality will come into play here quite a bit. You obviously have a couple different options in this regard.
1.) would be to go with the IRO kit and enjoy the flex and ride quality that comes with a long arm set-up. However, Ive never been a fan of 3-link systems, just from a strength standpoint. 4 links will always be stronger than 3.
2.) like 4.3LXJ said.... stick with a short arm kit and go drop brackets. This isn't a bad set up really, in fact there are many XJ's running these in competition circuits (like team NAXJA at the King of the Hammers) ....granted, you'll have to be a bit more technical when it comes to tire placement when wheeling, but in my book, that will just make you a better driver.

Speaking from experience, doing a lift in phases is a great way to learn the jeep, the systems capabilities, and grow your own skill level in that particular vehicle. The one drawback to this is of course money spent over time, and upgrading certain components later while other are worn in the mean time.
You ARE on the right track though with choosing systems with full leaf packs. This will benefit you greatly in the long run. If price/budget is the one determining factor in what direction you'll be going, all I can say is really consider WHERE you want to end with your build. I had once said, I will never need anything more than 31's on a 3" lift....here I am today on 33's with 5" of lift.... thing change, and your build should take this onto consideration from the start.
Another avenue to pursue would be to focus on things like armor, recovery, gearing, and of course maintenance (ensuring the Jeep will continue to run STRONG for years to come) before you lift. A budget boost (spacers up front and shackles or SMALL blocks in the rear) will "get you by" as you add weight to the rig with things like sliders, skid plates, and bumpers/winch. Then your rig will be fully prepared for the kind of terrain that will open up to you with larger lift and tires.
Other things that you'll need to consider when planning a build is going to be the driveline...almost always, when lifting above 3" or so (and wheeling it), you will need to install a slip yoke eliminator kit (or SYE for short) and potentially shim the rear end to improve pinion angles...all this will not only strengthen the drive train, but will eliminate driveline vibrations as well.
I know this is a lot to take in, and honestly I could go on in depth much more than I already have, but if you take one thing away from all this more than anything, would be to do your research. You're off to a great start here, but get some face time with guys who have gone thru all this before, and get a chance to see some builds in person, and talk to the Jeepers in your area about their own experiences and advice.
Nothing beets a good afternoon of "talking Jeep" in person.
Good luck.

Wow, thanks everyone that was a lot of good information ! Really love that you all are so helpful. I will be beginning the actual build at the beginning of the new year thanks to tax refunds and such and saving the green backs. Armor and recovery options are definitely on the list as well as eventually replacing and building the axels. I've already started replacing the main things that help me every day and hopefully one less thing to give out on me while on the trails, like the brakes, clutch set, all the fluids ect.

Abebehrmann, I'm always game to meet new people and turn some wrenches. I will keep you posted before the project begins. I will be soaking bolts with a healthy coating of pb blaster before this project begins haha.

I'm going to look into the drop bracket option also, I don't really see it being a major problem for me and if people are using them in competitions I'm sure they would be more than sufficient for me.

Once again thanks everyone.