Back in 1999, we bought a used '94 Cherokee Sport. It was destined to be our daily driver since our family was growing and my Ranger could no longer carry all of us comfortably. The plan was to relegate the Ranger to off-road-only use and the Cherokee would remain pavement-bound except for the occasional foray on an easy forest service road. But that's not how it turned out. The Cherokee was being used for much more off-roading than we had expected. For the use to which the Cherokee was now being used, it was geared too tall, needed taller tires and needed more suspension articulation.

BDS Suspension www.bds-suspension.com Email: hard@bds-suspension.com 100 S. Michigan Ave. Coldwater MI, 49036   Phone: (517) 279-2135 Fax: (517) 278-2316

Not long after that, a careful inspection of the under carriage revealed a bent axle tube which gave us an excuse to swap in axles from an '86 Cherokee that happened to have lower gears (3.55 vs 3.27). This improved the gearing situation but we still needed to improve ground clearance and articulation, while maintaining road manners since this was still a daily driver. The other reason for lifting the Cherokee was to make room for a set of 31" tires which would be enough to let us access the majority of trails without putting too much strain on the Jeep's drive train.

Cherokee owners, like most Jeep owners, are blessed with a huge variety of aftermarket support. That meant that it took a lot of time to research the products that were out there. Making the best choice for our requirements wasn't easy and we spent a lot of time trying to find out what each kit came with and what peoples' experiences were like with the various kits. After a lot of research and much consideration, we chose on the 3" kit from BDS Suspension.

The package consisted of new coils in the front, add-a-leafs in the back, shocks all around, a track bar relocation kit, and a transfer case drop kit. While we were at it, we also ordered their sway bar quick disconnect kit. We chose the BDS kit for its completeness and the fact that it was an excellent value. The friendly and capable folks at North Shore Off-Road handled the installation of both the suspension kit and our new BFG 31" All Terrains.

The BDS 3" Pro-Ride kit.

The stock set-up. Note that the sway bar link has already been disconnected from the axle.	Doug is removing the top nut for the sway bar link.	The new coil spring and quick disconnect sway bar link are in place. All that remains is to attach the track bar re-location bracket and the shocks.
The track bar re-location bracket has been mounted to the axle. Now it's time to work on the rear suspension.	The stock rear end.	Re-assembling the leaf spring pack after inserting the add-a-leaf.
Bolting in the rear shock absorbers.	Here, you can see the add-a-leaf, spring clamp, shock absorber, and 1" lift block. This block is only needed for Cherokees with badly sagging springs...like ours.	The last part of the lift is the transfer case lowering spacer which fits between the uniframe and the cross member.
Now that the Cherokee sits three inches taller, it's time to mount the 31" tires BFGs.

The combination of 3" of lift and 31" tires makes the Cherokee noticeably bigger than a stock Cherokee.

Here's another view.

As advertised, the kit gave our Cherokee a 3" increase over its original height. Actually, it was a little more than 3" but that could be because the original springs were sagging a bit. The resulting lift provided the perfect amount of height to fit our new 31" tires. There were no rubbing issues with the tires at full compression and the Cherokee was still low enough that its stable highway manners were preserved.

Ground Clearance Measurements (inches)
	Before Lift	After Lift	After Lift and Tires
Front Diff.	8.25	8.25	9.25
Rear Diff.	8.5	8.5	9.5
Transfer Case Cross Member	8	11	12
Top of Front Fender Well	32	35	36
Top of Rear Fender Well	33	36	37
Front Bumper	19.25	22.25	23.25
Rear Bumper	18.5	21.5	22.5

Off road, the new shocks soaked up minor bumps much better than the old shocks. Larger bumps are still harsh but most importantly, the suspension no longer bottomed out (which happened all too frequently before). I should point out that our Cherokee is usually loaded with all manner of camping gear (notice in the photos that we make use of the roof rack as well!), so it's not too surprising that it was bottoming out.

At full compression, there was no fender rubbing. The 31x10.5 tires tucked into the fender wells perfectly.

The longer shocks allowed for much more droop.

North Shore Off-Road www.nsor.com Email: info@nsor.com Ph: (604) 988-7677 Toll-Free: 1-800-661-6679 Fax: (604) 988-3366 1440 Columbia St. North Vancouver, B.C., V7J 1A2

On the trail, the performance was roughly the same until the sway bar was disconnected. Once the full articulation of the front coils is released, performance increased markedly. No longer were we relying on the rear axle to do most of the flexing. In particular, we noticed that we were far less likely to get "crossed up" and end up with a tire hanging in the air. Not long after the install, I had an opportunity to test the Cherokee on a 30 degree ramp, where I scored a 582 RTI. This translates to about 850 RTI on a standard 20 degree ramp. Since a stock Cherokee will score only 400 on a 20 degree ramp, this was a huge improvement. While most of this is due to the sway bar disconnects, the suspension travel also played a part.

Disconnecting the sway bar is easily accomplished by removing the 4 locking pins (2 per side), removing the connection tubes, and raising the sway bar out of the way (I use a bungee cord to keep it out of the way). This is best accomplished while the vehicle is on a flat, level surface. Similarly, reinstalling the connection tubes and lock pins must be done on a level surface. A hammer (or a rock, if you're desperate) can help maneuver the sway bar into position, or you could use a jack to compress the suspension. Either way, it's a simple one-person process.

There's no way we would have been able to cross this washed-out section of road with the old suspension and tires.

The BDS suspension allowed our Cherokee to keep all four wheels on the ground, providing us with a big boost in driver confidence when tackling off-road obstacles.

So, the kit accomplished its purpose of improving off road performance. Now how about road manners?

On the road, the Cherokee is much the same as before. The few extra inches of height may not seem like much, but they do give a somewhat better sightline; you get more of a "looking down" feeling. The truck also rides much firmer, more truck-like. But it is still quite responsive to fast maneuvers. In fact, that truck-like ride probably helps because with the added height, the additional firmness in the suspension helps keep the body roll in check.

In summary, I highly recommend this kit. Our goal was to make our daily driver more capable off-road while retaining its on-road manners and that's exactly what we got. We got the performance we wanted at the price we wanted. What more could you ask for?