need help understanding lifts

[jester1341]

this is a total newb question because i know almost nothing about 4x4s and offroading/boging/RoxCrawling

anyway, i did search for this and couldn't find what i was looking for

the question is...what is the main differences between suspension lifts and body lifts, aside from the obvious.

i read that it is advised against getting both, but at the same time lots of pepl seam to have done it

i was just looking around and saw that a 3" body lift for my 1st gen is only like 103.xx dollars.... well slap the S*^& out of me, i'd pay a hundred bux to sit 3 inches higher.

the medium i'm looking for here is that this will be my daily driver, but i wanna be able to maybe go get it dirty on the weekend too, possible have 'weekend tyres' and 'drive to work tyres'.......but just thoughts till i'm ready to burn that bridge

john

 

[Dan Whitaker]

If you are just wanting to fit bigger tires for ground clearance a body lift would be your best. You will need some friends to help lift the body.

Another solution would be an add-a-leaf and shackle lift for the rear and spring spacers for the front. This will give you about 2" of lift.

The reason both a suspension lift & body lift combined are not recomended is because the center of gravity change increases the chance you will roll over.

 

[jester1341]

okay fair enough, they are just different ways of lifting then??

i imagine i would go with a body lift for starters then.... now why does the body need lifter how exactlly do you achieve the 3" inch lift

john

 

[410Fortune]

the 3" body lift spaces the body 3" up higher off your frame then it sits now, during installation you have to support the body and lift it 3" dong one side/corner at a time.

Suspension lifts (not entry level like you are talking) increase the handling of the vehicle and the wheel travel.

For your use a 3" body lift will be a great place to start!
But you might consider a 2" budget suspension lift instead, or a combo of say a 2" body lift and a 2" suspension lift.

There are a ton of options and every truck is different.

2" is the max you can get out of your suspension without the need for a rreal lift kit, you can get 2" of lift just by using coil spacers up front, shackles in the back and then getting the truck aligned.

You can try a search for all these things here on this forum and read for days.

 

[BigSeth]

what do you consider a 2" budget lift for suspension, please link to one .

 

[410Fortune]

F-150 spring seats and shackles in the back
1.75" of lift and can be aligned

anything over 2" (even at 2") you are pushing it, meaning it may not be able to be aligned = not good, but every truck is different so some 2" spacers work on some trucks and wont on others.
I personally prefer the F-150 spring seats over metal spacers.

There are 2" lift kits on the market which consist of 2" coil springs basically.

let me do a search for you, but I suggest you get familiar with the search function if you are serious about doing this

start here:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166084&highlight=coil+spacer

 

[Lt.Jim]

A 2" budget lift for a first gen explorer is f-150 spring seats up front(about 15$per side) warrior 153 shackles in the rear (about 50-75$ for the set) and or add a leaf in the rear(about40$ for a pair)
If you do a search for f-150 spacers, war153, add a leaf you will find all the information you need.

 

[dirtyXplorer]

I dont know if they are any good, but I found cheap Xplorer lifts on this site...

http://www.fatbobsgarage.com/cart/index.php?p=catalog&parent=22&pg=1

 

[jester1341]

so i was looking at a 3" body lift for 103.xx and there is this kit that i guess is techniclly a suspension lift right?

now would one of them be better than the other? also what is a good tyre and size to start with that would fit well with a 2 or 3 inch lift... something i wouldn't run the tread off driving on the highway

lastly, i could theoreticlly get both of these eventually correct i mean even with the 3 inch body i am not moving any of the suspension so moving it 2 inches is the same no matter where the body is right?

john

 

[PnyPwr]

I have a 3" bl and 2" homade suspension lift

handles decent fits the 32's easily (no rubbing) ride is smooth and wheels better than my (multiple)budies (multiple)Cherokees.

 

[Dan Whitaker]

so i was looking at a 3"

so i was looking at a 3" body lift for 103.xx and there is this kit that i guess is techniclly a suspension lift right?

Yes. This is the spring spacer/add-a-leaf type lift I mentioned above.