01-05 Sport Trac 4x4 Lift Options Discussion

[TmacTrac]

I would go with a 31 or a 32. and width-wise, your 7" wheel should be able to fit a 10.50-11.50 wide tire. I think they make a 33" tire that is skinnier than 12.50, but im not sure about the duratracs. a 285 is about a 32.5. I have 285/75/16 BFG A/T's. they are a really good tire, but i bought mine used, and they are worn down to about 31" now. But they last long, and are good for when you're not running those mud grapplers, and the duratracs would be a good choice too.

 

[OffTrac]

Personally, I thought the 265/75R16 was the perfect size for the Trac, even with the lift. Smaller than that would look way too small, though, imo. I was still getting 17-19 mpg with them and they stuffed into the wheel wells perfectly, rubbed nowhere and went anywhere (that I requested).

I only switched for more ground clearance, and well, cheap 35s with 95% tread...c'mon. Why not.

 

[Gse Brent]

Yea im thinking either 31x10.50R15s or 265/75-15s as my summer alternative to my 33x13.50x15s. But i also wanna convert to 4.56 gears.

 

[OffTrac]

You'll probably want to up the tire size from a 265/75 if you're doing 15s.

Btw, why smaller tires in the summer?

 

[TmacTrac]

Nitto should make a "Snow-Grappler" tire. With snow plow designs on the tread, and snowflake designs on the sidewall.

 

[Gse Brent]

Nitto should make a "Snow-Grappler" tire. With snow plow designs on the tread, and snowflake designs on the sidewall.

Haha! that would be a great idea. I do alot of road trips in the summer. I live in Delaware and drive back and forth to south of the outer banks and drive to key west once a year. So i put alot of miles on in the summer as opposed to the winter. And i dont wanna drive from up here to south florida on mud grapplers, i haven't even been over 60mph yet on them haha.

 

[OffTrac]

Makes sense.

 

[TmacTrac]

i haven't even been over 60mph yet on them haha.

what? you havent heard? nittos are known for their insane capability at high speeds! nottt. all these idiots around my town are all about racing their trucks, with the heaviest tires they can find on their trucks. haha, its a little redundant.

 

[OffTrac]

I've seen some reprogrammed diesel F350 dually's on 35s pull some pretty amazing launches. There's two guys in my parents' neighborhood with nearly identical F350s that will pull off the line about as quick as my '69 Cougar would. These are completely different animals than a 4.0 ST on 33s, though, lol.

 

[TmacTrac]

Oh heck yeah. Those, and the F-250s have some real power. Especially the lighter ones, those things will go.

 

[Gse Brent]

Just trying to feel this out.......
SOA conversation, whats it entail exactly besides swapping the leaf springs from the bottom to the top? What else is involved and how much lift do you gain? I've seen John Rocks post about it awhile ago. Is there anything involved with the driveshaft? And can you do anything to the front to compensate besides everything i've already had done? TT and BL.

 

[OffTrac]

Wasn't going to mention it until finished, but since you bring it up... I've been thinking about going SOA when I get the new wheels/tires on (whenever they decided to show up). To compensate for the enormous lift, I have been thinking about sloping the body lift. There's a few really good threads on it. Search that and you'll get a good feel for what is involved. That would help with any need to modify the front.

Chad also has a pretty good thread about doing SOA on STs. From what I remember, you'll just need to buy new perches. Relocate the lower shock mounting points. I don't remember there being any problems with driveshaft angles on our trucks. Been a while since I looked at it, though.

The only thing that has really been holding me back from doing it is that I would either have to buy new lift blocks when I go solid axle, or remove the body lift altogether. Not that either of those would be terrible but it's just something I've had to consider.

 

[Gse Brent]

I'd always love more lift but i don't know how i feel about the soa conv. It makes it look really slanted down in the front without doing a sas of course. And yea you might really need it with those 35s.

 

[OffTrac]

Sloping the body lift would bring the rear down by 3 inches to offset the 6 inches or so gained from the SOA. In the front with 3 inches from the BL and 1.5 from the TT, I think it'd end up pretty level. I think...

Anybody see any flaws in that reasoning? I'm seriously considering doing this but wasn't going to say anything until after it was all said and done and had a write up to go with it. Since it came up, though, I guess a discussion before I butcher my truck might be a good idea, too.

 

[shooterdude199]

I don't think the lines on the body will match up. Remember on a truck the cab is separate from the bed. So in a way it can possibly work with a "unibody" design but I wouldn't recommend it. I don't really even suggest body lifts in general. I'd do it right and get a used superlift. 1000 bucks maybe even less.

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Yeah I wouldn't try and slope the body lift on a Sport Trac especially since the bed curves under and around the back of the cab. It's easier on the Explorer because as Shooter stated is one piece body to work with wher as with the ST you have a seperate bed.

You could always be the first to do it to a ST like I was the first to build a swing out tire carrier for the ST.

 

[OffTrac]

I don't see why that would cause a problem as long as the pucks are cut to the same size on both sides. I'll have to look at it more. Still on the table.

I wouldn't put a Superlift on my truck if it was given to me. I definitely wouldn't waste $1,000 like that.

 

[shooterdude199]

It's not about that. Remember the body lift is spacing the body of the vehicle off the frame (which IMO is unsafe and is why I don't like them). So a 3" body lift is lifting the body off of the frame 3". If you wanted to slope from the front to the rear 3" from the front to say 1"-0" in the rear that makes the front of the truck and the back of the truck out of proportion. With an soa it's a "suspension lift" using suspension components (our leafs) to do so. So it's almost like breeding a dog with a cat or apple with an orange. But it simply won't be proportional. There is a thread somewhere in the depths of this forum but I believe it's for an explorer not a sport trac.

 

[OffTrac]

The point is to make the spacers progressively smaller. Basically, the SOA will slope the frame up and sloping the body down will level it out. The separate bed may make it a little more difficult and require more exact measurements but the concept doesn't change at all.

I'm not sure what you're getting at with "out of proportion."

 

[MidnightRebel07]

I say go for it. If it works on the Explorer's than theoretically it should work on a Sport Trac if done right.

Hell, everyone told me I couldn't put a swing out tire carrier on a Sport Trac with the stock bumper but I did and it looks like it came from the factory, or atleast it will by the end of the week once I get it sanded down and painted (weather permitting).
:wavey::notworthy:mattmoon: