BT93's sloped BL thread

[MountaineerGreen]

Sheesh- I didn't expect so much controversy over a previously done modification.

I can't see how it will hurt anything, it gives tire clearance up front while eliminating most of the problems associated with a body lift like hitch, spare tire, rear bumper, fuel filler neck, etc. The body will still be supported, there will be more travel in the rear from using lift springs, and fender clearance in the front for the larger tires. It works for me

 

[gijoecam]

I can't see how it will hurt anything, it gives tire clearance up front while eliminating most of the problems associated with a body lift like hitch, spare tire, rear bumper, fuel filler neck, etc.

But all his gripes are about cosmetic stuff, not performance issues, and it can all be overcome with a little bit of time and some ingenuity. Putting a BL on the front and lift springs on the rear IMHO is cheesy at best...

 

[gijoecam]

With a suspension lift you have to drop the front differential and torsion bars negating the lift as you loose ground clearance.

The exact same thing could be said of a body lift. With either lift, the majority of the increased ground clearance is from the larger tires either install can facilitate. However, with a suspension lift, the frame rails are higher, increasing ground clearance to the frame.

all you had to do was link us all to the price page of the 4" superlift kit, wow is that expensive. while dropping the front assembly does negate clearance issues of the differential it does allow for clearance of the driveshaft, engine, trans, transfer case, gas tank.. blah blah you get the idea. it also eliminates getting high centered if youre a good terrain navigator.

A good suspension lift will out-wheel the best body lift every time. Sure, for the mild trails many of us do, both will perform adequate 95% of the time as it's the larger and more aggressive tires from which we derive the most benefit. But in that other 5%, a suspension lift will out-perform a body lift every time. The extra chassis clearance in the middle and on the ends makes a difference.

 

[Four0Sport]

all i know is that after the lift my friend cant say his subaru has more ground clearance than my explorer. not that i spent all the money on the lift just for that reason, but you know, its a good reason. haha

believe me, a BL was an option b4 i bought my suspension lift, but im confident i made the more practical choice. but then again, cant down someone elses decision, just argue it.

 

[bt93]

The exact same thing could be said of a body lift. With either lift, the majority of the increased ground clearance is from the larger tires either install can facilitate. However, with a suspension lift, the frame rails are higher, increasing ground clearance to the frame.



A good suspension lift will out-wheel the best body lift every time. Sure, for the mild trails many of us do, both will perform adequate 95% of the time as it's the larger and more aggressive tires from which we derive the most benefit. But in that other 5%, a suspension lift will out-perform a body lift every time. The extra chassis clearance in the middle and on the ends makes a difference.

GI THIS IS NOT A BALLS OUT TRAIL BEATER. I simply want a little lift at a fair price, I have wheeled this ex already and it performs the way i want.
I just want to get the tires out of the inner fenders a bit. That is all....

 

[bt93]

But all his gripes are about cosmetic stuff, not performance issues, and it can all be overcome with a little bit of time and some ingenuity. Putting a BL on the front and lift springs on the rear IMHO is cheesy at best...

heh heh

cheeeeese!

 

[gijoecam]

GI THIS IS NOT A BALLS OUT TRAIL BEATER. I simply want a little lift at a fair price, I have wheeled this ex already and it performs the way i want.
I just want to get the tires out of the inner fenders a bit. That is all....

Then if that's all you want, why not just use the body lift? You're going to have to go through all the same effort and then some to do the sloped body lift with the leaf springs... Why not just do a complete BL and be done with it then?

 

[bt93]

Then if that's all you want, why not just use the body lift? You're going to have to go through all the same effort and then some to do the sloped body lift with the leaf springs... Why not just do a complete BL and be done with it then?

I guess it's just a choice I've made. I totally agree that you gain NOTHING other than tire clearance with a BL. But you've gotta understand that I will not spend more on a suspension lift than the vehicle cost. It just doesn't make good sense. You argue good points, but we've gotta be reasonable here.

 

[Nick26]

Well to throw a little fuel on the fire here...

What's the reason everyone prefers a suspension lift over a body lift.... for frame ground clearance... now obviously the axles are only going to be as high as the tire size allows, but frame ground clearance is important. It helps departure angles, break over angle, and generally helps not getting hung up on stuff. This is the main reason I came up with this lift in conjunction with a SOA.

Now for those of you who question how safe it is, my truck has 150K and this lift has been on since like 80K, and it was a daily driver for quite a while. The basics are that the shorter the lift blocks are the less leverage there is on the bolt and body mount. Since the body mounts get shorter in the rear there is actually far less leverage on the bolts as there would be with a full 3" body lift. And finally the effect on caster is totally negligible, it's like saying a add-a-leaf is going to throw off caster.

BTW with a little work I did fit a 33" tire in the spare tire location.

 

[Nick26]

In addition, I'll throw this out there... I'll say my lift is safer and more reliable then the real 4" superlift kit... because it gets the same lift, if not more, and it requires no drop brackets and therefore reduces the chances that something is going to be knocked out of alignment. Not to mention it cost me less than $200 vs $1600 or whatever the super lift goes for now a days.

 

[bt93]

Dear gijoecam

don't be hatin!

 

[Four0Sport]

now that is funny

 

[bt93]

Front Done!!!!!!!! It went really well I did the body lift alone in about 5-6 hrs.

Rear tomorrow!

 

[mtwheelin]

lookin good

 

[trj360]

looks good so far...can't wait to see the finished product...

 

[Four0Sport]

LOL i was wondering how much higher the back would be. cause the SOA is generally a 5" gain. did you TT the front also? even with that you get what, 4" of lift total including the body lift. idk.. if i was going to lift a 2nd gen for tire clearance i would to TT, shackles, and 3" BL all the way around. but congrats on getting the front done, especially by yourself.

 

[Explorer_Phil]

looks good so far...can't wait to see the finished product...

Awesome...just awesome.

I'm subscribing to watch this badboy come together.

Personally, I'm thinking of doing the SBL and the SOA when my explorer has outlived its "daily driver" usefulness.

 

[bt93]

Got Rake?

 

[bt93]

LOL i was wondering how much higher the back would be. cause the SOA is generally a 5" gain. did you TT the front also? even with that you get what, 4" of lift total including the body lift. idk.. if i was going to lift a 2nd gen for tire clearance i would to TT, shackles, and 3" BL all the way around. but congrats on getting the front done, especially by yourself.

That is with the t-bars bottomed out. I plan to let them out a bit to prevent premature CV wear. But then again I may leave them and add shackles for around 4.5 to 5 total inches of lift.

 

[techieman33]

So Evan came over and didn't even help you?