Best Buy Lift Kit for GEN 1

[LIL TANK]

I know that theres a lot of info on this subject on this forum however after two weeks of searching I'm left with a bunch of questions, I know that there is a lot of experience that all of you have to offer on this, so thanks in advance.. I'm new to Explorers so I lack a lot in experience of what works and doesent on these rigs. I am looking of advise and info as to which direction I need to go with which lift will best suit me.

I only want to clear 31s or 32s, stay away from body lifts, and I would perfer a quality sus lift kit that going to feel good to drive and work good on the trails. I just dont know what is quality. I know that asking "what ones the best" is a loaded question, thats why I'm looking for whats best for me. Its primarily a daily work truck that is going to see moderate four wheelin in the mountains, nothing too crazy, and lots of camping. I m want to keep mpg up and Im accoutning for either 3:73 s or 4:10s.

With that said heres the lifts Im looking at:

James Duff Stage One
http://www.jamesduff.com/broncoII/4wdsusp.html

Trailmaster four inch
http://www.trailmastersuspension.com/suspension/fordchart.htm

Superlift four inch
http://www.superlift.com/suspension/ford/90-EXPLORER.asp

Rough Country four inch
http://www.roughcountry.com/ford_83-97_midsize.asp+

Is there a more cost effective way to get four inches and proper clearence for the 31s or 32s with out using a sawsall to the fenders? I am on a budget on this.

For what I want, what lift is best suited for me, if theres others that I dont have posted up there that might be better please let me know.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[Lt.Jim]

Hello and welcome to the site. If you only want to clear 31s you can do a warrior 153 shackle lift in the rear and f150 coil spacers in the front. This lift wil net you about 1.5 inches of lift and you will clear 31s. This lift will cost you about $100 plus the cost of an alignment.

 

[redneckexplorer]

You can clear 31s without adding any lift at all.

 

[LIL TANK]

Wow thx for the fast replies... I didnt write it in above but I do want it also the truck to look mean, but to a point. I think that the look of 33s with 5in or more of lift is the look I want, but I also want to be practical as well. So I figured that a compromize would be a four inch lift with a little bit smaller tire would be some what best of both worlds. Five inches it too much for me and I think that the 32 in mudders is what I am going to stick with.

Now with the shackles and coil lift will that get me enough flex on the trail to get up some of the naster sections, or would the full on sus lift be better in the long run. I had a ZR2 that I did TT's and shackles to but I still found it to be a little lacking in some sections of trail and thats kinda why I want a full lift but unsure?

 

[410Fortune]

Best buy doesnt sell lift kits






















kidding!

 

[FROADER]

You can fit 33s with the 4" lift without any cutting. Get some 4.10s or 4.56s and you'll be very happy.

This is the Trail Master 4" 33s on 15x8" wheels with 3.75 backspacing. Good luck.

 

[little x]

Your not goint to get much flex out of the front end untill you put on extended radius arms. If you disconnect the sway bars and do the 2" lift Your truck will do pretty good off road (for something that size). Remember, If you really want 32's you'd have to do a little bit of trimming to fit them with only a 2" lift, so maybe 4" is more of what you want. But none of those 4" kits will give you any more flex then the 2" will. If you made me buy one of those lifts I'd probably go with the james duff. But as soon as I could I would purchase 2" lift leaf springs and use those with the shakles, instead of the add-a-leaf (which will make your rear end less flexi).

 

[FROADER]

Extended arms are a great addition, but not needed.

This is the same truck, same lift (no extended radius arms), with 35s going through the Rubicon without problems.

 

[410Fortune]

get the arms, needed or not they make a world of difference as far as ride is concerned and if you are installing a kit now, its the best time to install the arms, rather then doing the work twice

 

[unclemeat]

The rear spring over conversion is tough to beat. It cleans up everything below the axle. Of course you will need to lift the front 5.5-inches to compensate. I think that it is important to match the lift with your driving habits. If it just for looks and light wheeling I would go with the Superlift. That is what I have and I am generally satisfied. I you plan to do harder and more frequent wheeling the skyjacker kit may be better for you. When you are looking at price, ask yourself will I be satisified with this modification? Because doing something twice is always more expensive than doing it once and doing it right the first time.

 

[bikeboarder]

if you do the soa can you buy a 4" lift for only the front and then use f150 coil spacers to make it sit level

 

[LIL TANK]

Nice....Good info for sure.... Froader, what was used in the rear for your rig, do they give full replacement springs or are they add a leafs or shackles with that kit? I like how yours looks in the top pict, and thats what I have in mind for what looks I want, do you like it for daily driving and off roading? If you did it over again would you use the same set up?

The truck will only see the trails maby ever other weekend and at that its not going to be to wild I guess Im looking more for the looks than off road performance, but we got a ton of snow just recently and Im considering that, I dont feel like getting stuck in my audi any more, so thats another factor.

As far as price goes where does Trail Master fall, is it one of the upper cost kits or lower?

thx...........

 

[FROADER]

The Trail Master rear was all new spring packs. They were nice and soft and rode real good. There was a design flaw in the front drop brackets too. The passenger drop bracket punched a hole in the front pumpkin. It was easily fixed with some grinding, but you may want to check and see if they fixed that design.

The 33s were only on there for about 3-4 months. I had it as a daily driver/trail rig for 3.5 years with no sway bars and 35s, with no problems at all. I had a lot of trips on it as well. I bought the kit in 1999 and the price including the wheels was ~$1200 out the door. I have no clue how much the kits cost now.

Good luck.

 

[LIL TANK]

For now I think that Im just going to go with a good 4inch lift, unknown which one just yet. I plan on regearing and following what I have been reading in searches as far as which ratio to run.

Now that Ive narrowed down what size lift I want, all I need now is which lift to by, are they all close to about the same give or take a few dollars? For people that have lifts who's happy with what they bought and why or why not? Right now that Trail Master kit is what Im thinkin but not 100% sold just yet.