Do I have a lift?

S

SonomaYJ

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Apr 9, 2025
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Sonoma
Hi everyone,

I’m new here, but not new to jeeps(this is my fourth one over the years). Anyway, I just bought a 94 Sahara, which came with 185/70R17’s(approx 32.8”) tires. I’m trying to determine if it has any sort of lift, as the jeep definitely sits higher than my previous YJ, which was on 30’s, with a 2.5” body lift. Can anyone tell by the way it looks?

I’m not too convinced with the current wheels and tire combo, and plan on possibly going with stock “Jurassic park” alloys with 30-31” tires, but don’t want to have the jeep looking funny(if it does have a lift), with too large of a gap between the fender and tire, when I make the switch to the 30-31’s.

Future plans include replacing the rear bumper with something that looks a little more stock, as well as going back to the stock spare tire carrier.

Any help will be appreciated. If anyone has a Sahara with these stock fenders, and running 30-31’s, perhaps you can send me measurements between the fenders and top of the tires? Or perhaps a measurement between floor and running boards?

Thanks,
Joel

IMG_6942.jpeg
 
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SonomaYJ said:
Hi everyone,

I’m new here, but not new to jeeps(this is my fourth one over the years). Anyway, I just bought a 94 Sahara, which came with 185/70R17’s(approx 32.8”) tires. I’m trying to determine if it has any sort of lift, as the jeep definitely sits higher than my previous YJ, which was on 30’s, with a 2.5” body lift. Can anyone tell by the way it looks?

I’m not too convinced with the current wheels and tire combo, and plan on possibly going with stock “Jurassic park” alloys with 30-31” tires, but don’t want to have the jeep looking funny(if it does have a lift), with too large of a gap between the fender and tire, when I make the switch to the 30-31’s.

Future plans include replacing the rear bumper with something that looks a little more stock, as well as going back to the stock spare tire carrier.

Any help will be appreciated. If anyone has a Sahara with these stock fenders, and running 30-31’s, perhaps you can send me measurements between the fenders and top of the tires? Or perhaps a measurement between floor and running boards?

Thanks,
Joel

View attachment 123679
Click to expand...

Looks like maybe a 4-5" lift to me, especially with those tires.

If your YJ has a lift, there are a few things you can check. First, look at the suspension components—if you see aftermarket springs or shocks that look different from stock, then it likely has been lifted. You could also measure the distance from the center of the wheel hub to the fender arch; if it’s greater than the stock height (around 5 inches front and back for a stock YJ), then it might have a lift.

Regarding your plans for switching to stock alloys with 30-31” tires, that's a solid option! Many find that combination works well aesthetically and for on-road handling.

Looking forward to seeing how your build comes along!
 
Chris said:
Looks like maybe a 2" lift to me, especially with those tires.

If your YJ has a lift, there are a few things you can check. First, look at the suspension components—if you see aftermarket springs or shocks that look different from stock, then it likely has been lifted. You could also measure the distance from the center of the wheel hub to the fender arch; if it’s greater than the stock height (around 5 inches front and back for a stock YJ), then it might have a lift.

Regarding your plans for switching to stock alloys with 30-31” tires, that's a solid option! Many find that combination works well aesthetically and for on-road handling.

Looking forward to seeing how your build comes along!
Click to expand...

Thanks, Chris. Are you sure that you meant to say 5”?
5” doesn’t seem to be like much. Is this what you’re suggesting I measure?

Thanks,
Joel

IMG_6943.jpeg
 
Hard to say but that looks to be around a 4" lift. An easy way to tell if it's lifted or not is to look at the shackles and the leaf springs. You have stock shackles, so nothing to write about there, but your springs are arched significantly. Stock springs are almost flat. As such, you can pretty much always tell when it's stock vs not.
 
zebraranger said:
Looks close to a 4" lift to me too. This is mine with a 4" lift on 33's, the spring arch and fender clearance look close to what I have.
View attachment 123681
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Thanks. I took some measurements the other day, and came to the conclusion that I indeed have a 4” lift.

I measured 24” from floor to rocker panel with my 33’s. I read that stock measurement is 18” with 29” tires. So that’s a 6” height difference. Subtract 2” for the difference between tire size(tire diameter difference is 4” total, but only the side making contact with ground matters for this calculation, therefore subtracted 2”).

Thanks,
Joel
 
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