Sport lift

[2stroke]

I hate asking this, because I should be able to find it by searching, but I can't. I am wondering if anyone has pictures of an explorer with just a spring over axle conversion and matching front lift. Every SOA picture has additional lift whether its shackles or blocks or body lift. I have an axle and I will need to weld on perches either way. I would like to stay away from 33" tires if I can, but I wonder if 5" of lift and 31's would look goofy. For comparison my 94 b4000 is about 3" taller than my 93 explorer, and it looks about perfect with stock tires. I feel the explorer sits a little low. Also I prefer the rear about an inch tall than the front.

 

[malohnes]

SOA and 31's look just fine, IMHO, especially if you run aggressive AT's or MT tires (I love the look of my Duratrac's on stock painted steel wheels). I still have my warrior shackles on mine, but sagging rear springs mask the effect the shackles have.

 

[2stroke]

What I would like to do is SOA rear with 4 door leaf springs. In the front I would like a 4" lift, then add washers under the coils until it sits how I like. My guess is about 4.5" lift front, 5-5.5" lift rear. I would regear to 4.10, I already have the ring and pinion for the front and a whole axle for the rear. If anyone has a similar lift on 31's I would like to see pictures. With 33's its just more mass, and way more expense when it comes to buy tires. I can get a set of duratrac 31's for about $800. 33's are over $1000, plus possible fender trimming, and the wider tire could rub without wider wheels, etc.

 

[malohnes]

I think your idea is great!
The only reason to go for 33's is for ground clearance, otherwise 31's allow for more stuff when crawling. You'll want to make sure you've got the right spring package front and rear and that can be fiddly, but worth it so you can have the slight nose down look you want.

Love those Duratrac's man, great tires!!!

 

[2stroke]

Oddly enough, this one is mainly for looks. Stock height pretty much does all I need it to, but a bit more would be nice sometimes. I'll be running it stock for a while, I just can't find any pictures of an explorer 4-6" of lift and 31's.

My 94 is what I will be mudding with, and I only plan to take the sawzall to that.

 

[malohnes]

In my searches, nearly all the folks who put 4-6 inch lifts had 33's or bigger tires in mind, so its not surprising you can not find pic's of 31's with those lifts. Bigger tires are always sought after...hence the lifts. Ground clearance is nice but using your flex and articulation means it needs to be balanced with tire size. I'd rather be stuck with too small a tire than too tall...

Salt to taste my friend, just like cuisine!

 

[beepinX]

In my searches, nearly all the folks who put 4-6 inch lifts had 33's or bigger tires in mind, so its not surprising you can not find pic's of 31's with those lifts. Bigger tires are always sought after...hence the lifts. Ground clearance is nice but using your flex and articulation means it needs to be balanced with tire size. I'd rather be stuck with too small a tire than too tall...

Salt to taste my friend, just like cuisine!

+1 on this. Even here, most people do the tire upgrade immediately after the lift.

 

[2stroke]

I haven't bought any tires yet, or a lift for that matter. If I could find a set of tires I like in 33x10.5 I would be all over it, but the 12.5 width brings its own troubles. Besides being a little more to fit, they don't track as well through snow. Not a big deal, but 31x10.5's perform better for me. There are a lot more choices of sizes for mud tires, than all terrain, at least ones that aren't junk.