Info on James Duff? (pictures?)

[Mainfraim]

I was kind of interested in putting a James Duff 2.5" lift on my '94, but I wanted to know what you guys thought of them. My father's main complaint is that he doesn't want it to loose balance (higher point of gravity) but I think it'd be great to be able to put bigger tires on it to make it look better. I was wondering if you guys had pictures of just the 2.5" lift (no body lifts). Also, how hard is it to install one. Tools wouldnt' really be a problem to get, just time. My main questions are: will the back be the same height as the front? will it really be that unbalanced? how hard is it to install this thing? what size tires will I be able to fit on it once installed? Is there something better?

anything else would be appreciated too. thanks.

 

[jimbo74]

Kris Guilbeux has a duff 2.5....he loves it.... they are nice kits...i would go with them but they dont make a lift big enough for me... they are very high quality

 

[Mainfraim]

What do you mean not big enough? Oh yeah, and does it make a big difference whether or not you use radius arms or drop brackets?

 

[jimbo74]

you will need radius arms no matter what... the drop down brackets are not needed if only a 2" lift... If a lift comes with them, you better use them or the lift wont work properly... i meant not big enough becuase i want a 4-6 inch lift and duff doesnt make one that high... or else i would buy a duff....

 

[Mainfraim]

Got it. Thanks.

 

[93XLT105tr]

with the James Duff lift it actually felt like my center of gravity was lowered, but that was probably due to the fact of old worn out shocks being replaced by new double shocks at all four corners. The lift looks really nice, but if i could do it over again i'd go superlift and put double shocks on it. It all depends on what size tire you are looking to put on there.
I absolutely loved the lift, my only qualms about it is that you can't really fit too big of tires on there. I got 33x14.5's on there, but there was no way id be able to fit anything close to that without a body lift and my sawzall. I'd say you might be able to get 32x10.50 on a 8" wide rim with some rub. But cutting your fenders is really easy, just point and cut.
I'll actually sell you my James Duff lift if you could wait maybe a week or two, cuz i will be going solid axle up front and swapping in a Dana 60 in the rear...
i don't know what you can tell from this pic, but you can see the radius arms and some of the double shocks in the front. This pic is just to give u some idea of 5.5 inches of lift and 33's, it's not really that big.
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if the pic don't work, here's the link:
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[93XLT105tr]

well geocities is being annoying so i made a page and put it on there...
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[BTRs X]

93XLT105tr,

Let me know if you still have the James Duff 2.5" lift for sale. I am very interested. Thanks.

dbdragracing@yahoo.com

 

[Kirby N.]

Heres a Pic of my 93 with JD 3' VR lift, and a friends 30' BFG MuddersDead Link Removed

 

[Kirby N.]

It is Big enough for me. I dont want a huge truck, just good offroad performance. I might get the radius arms in the future. For now i am working on the rear of my truck. It has Shackels and add-leaf. I hate how stiff it is, soon I'll switch to a Spring Over and 33x1050s

 

[Maniak]

We noticed the Duff coils really helped the ride (they are progressive springs).. The rear add-a-leaf didn't do much other than stiffen up the rear.. We replaced the rear add-a-leaf with OME-36 springs (2" lift)..

The OME rear with Duff front rides better than stock (in my opinion)..

Here is an install article.. this will let you know what your in for..
http://mark.legendz.com/install/duff-install.html

Here are 2 pics.. one is on flat ground.. the other shows the kind of flex we got out of the Duff kit (this is just the duff kit + war-153 shackles (we used shackles instead of the add-a-leaf when we took this picture)..

BTW.. the Duff lift alone 31x10.50's on 8" rim fits.. 32x11.50's on 8" rim will rub.. how much depends on your truck.. each truck is different.. 32's rubbed too much for us.. (we modified the lift to be 4" up front.. and 3.5" in rear)

~Mark

 

[Mainfraim]

I think our X will fit 31 x 9.5 with out the lift, so it'd be interesting to see what would fit with the lift.

BTW: do you have any more pictures of your X on flat ground? Closer perhaps? Looks good. Just not to sure I want to do it now that I read how much people buy different springs or shackles or brake lines and such. I don't want ot nickle and dime this thing to death. Maybe I'll just buy new tires that look better and be done with it.

 

[KEbert]

I have the 2.5" as well and I am very satisfied. Sometimes I wish it was a little bigger because I have scraped my gastank skidplate a few times. As for the difference in COG and rolling it, mine rides and handles better now. Without swaybars! Since I removed the swaybars I do notice more sway but I have never felt unsafe going around a corner. Mine is the stage 1. I think it is all that is needed. Dual shocks aren't really necessary unless you plan on racing or jumping, which I don't recommend. I have Bilsteins and my single shock works a hell of a lot better than 2 of their shocks.

If I had to do it again, I would have waited and saved more money and either got a Skyjacker stage II 4" and 32's or done everything involved in the lift at one time. But since I am not getting rid of my lift, I do plan on modifying it. I want to make some coil spacers that are 5/8" and 7/8" in size. My passenger side is a wee bit lower than the driver's side. I also want to have a longer main leaf made and have mine rearched to 3". Maybe in the future fiberglass fenders as well and run 33's.

Here is a pic of it flat on the ground. It looks a little different now but this is with the lift and 31's.

As for flex without longer radius arms, I think my truck does just fine. I have done some pretty challenging trails and I have yet to have a wheel come more than 6 inches off the ground. It is not nearly at full flex in this pic and has a lot more travel to give.

If you have any questions feel free to ask. I am very satisfied with the lift. It is very high quality and makes a huge improvement to the vehicle.

 

[Tmajors31]

What is the part number for the Bilstiens you are using with that lift? I am looking at buying this lift, and wanted to get bilstiens for it, but can't find any. Thanks!

 

[Mainfraim]

KEbert. thank you so much for the pictures. Those are exactly what I wanted to see. It looks great.

 

[Maniak]

I found another pic..

Here is the 2.5" duff lift.. with OME rear springs instead of the add-a-leaf (3" lift in the rear.. but normal 2.5 up front)..

 

[KEbert]

The part number is BE5-6215-HO. For the rears you have 2 options. One is to get rears for a lifted Ranger. Two is to use regular Explorer size ones and put then where the swaybar mounts and eliminate the swaybar.
Here are two more pics I dug up.

 

[Kirby N.]

How do you guys get the actual pictures to show up?