ok i have come down to 2 setups for this summers lift kit.

1. skyjacker 4" springs, hydro shocks for a 6" lift kit, black diamond track bars
this will cost me about $725 shipped and tax and i think is a better setup. i want the 6" shocks because then i can put my 2" spacers in to go higher if i want. i figure about 3.5" of lift this way.

2. just order the skyjacker kit and a matching rear trackbar. this will cost me about the same the problem with this kit is if i want to put my spacers in the shocks will be to short.

after talking to alot of people about this and even a local custom 4x4 shop, most have said to put in longer shocks to get better flex out of the suspension. i really like my skyjacker stuff and my brother has a 4" system on his f-150. never have really dealt with superlift. will it be bad if i just keep the longer shocks in and not go with the spacers too?

what would you do? and what would yopu think i would get out of these two lifts?

 

anybody? really looking for some advice here.

 

Any time you're talking that much lift for that little money, your going to sacrifice something. Figure out how much lift you "really" need and than go from there. I put the 2" OME lift on my 4dr and got 3.25", a cadillac ride and only spent $700. You've got the 3.2 gears, so throw in another 1200 installed and we haven't even gotten to tires yet. My point is, figure out how much lift is enough and then buy a quality kit. Spend your cash on your lift and your tires, the rest is fluff........jmho

 

I cannot in good faith vote for either setup. I just don't think they're complete kits -- especially for that much lift.

 

I have the a 3.5" (2dr) skyjacker kit and I am very pleased with its performance. I would recommend it to anyone, it rubbed the fenders a little bit at full flex but I put a 1" body lift and haven't had a problem since then. Good Luck with your JK.

 

What about 4in Superlift? 800 bucks shipped to your door with Bilstein shocks! Go Northridge!

 

why don t you say they are "complete kits"? if you mean by control arms, well then that isn t happening for awhile, because that is in the budget.

i know i need to do gears and that is also planned for this summer. as far as tires go i don t need to worry about that because no one can touch my prices i get at work and been there for 2 years so i have a account also.

i would really like to hear why some of you don t think they are complete kits.

 

how muck lift did you get out of this kit?

really sitting back and looking at it i might just get the superlift kit and rear track bar. they have nicer and adjustable arms to go with it down the road....

 

What you need to do is to think in terms of the changes that happen when you raise the frame further from the axles....

and, that it doesn't matter what brand of lift, or if its from using a hot air balloon on the roof, etc...its just the physics of the lift process.

The axles are attached to track bars which are then attached to the frame at their opposite ends. When you raise the frame....as the track bars are the same length as before, the axles are dragged over towards their frame mounts as the frame is lifted.

The steering is similarly attached to the pitman arm, which is also where the front is steered towards when the frame becomes further from the steering knuckles.

You have a front and a rear drive shaft...they are not that long, and when the end attached to the frame goes up, they have to drag the axles back to the frame to keep the same length, AND they have to go down to the axles at a steeper angle....the steeper the angle, the more likely it will vibrate/break....

and, when stuffing, the shafts have to be able to get short enough again too.

and, at full droop, the drive shaft may hit the skid plate...so a thinner shaft/notched plate may be required, etc.

When the axle is rolled in towards the frame, the pinion angles are changed, changing castor, and other steering alignment issues...these need to be able to be adjusted to a working range again, etc.

The braking system has both wires and hydraulic lines (E-Brake, Plus Anti-lock system, etc...) which run from the frame down to the axles....when the frame gets further from the axles, they have to stretch to reach...the higher you lift, the further they have to stretch down to reach...and there's only a few inches of slack from the factory....so longer WIRES and Lines come into play to make it work.

The front sway bars can be disconnected, but the rears pretty much require longer links to allow full droop.

Of course, shocks come into play as a limiting factor...measurements thus far indicate that you can't go to a shock that can't compress down to 15"...it has to go that short to maintain stuffage/uptravel articulation.

The brakes and other things are already needed to be lengthened/make some slack for when the shock is only extended to 23-24" to avoid breakage.

To ramp 1,000 on an RTI ramp, initial calculations indicate your shocks will need to be capable of working in the 15-27" range (12" Travel). If you use shocks with a longer compressed length, you will require longer bumpstops, robbing you of uptravel.

The shock's valving will be too light if the center of gravity is raised...you will need stiffer shocks to help damp the motion...especially rebound.

If you use coils that cannot compress to the 15" shock compression position, you'll need uptravel robbing bumpstop extensions as well.

ETC,

Any lift over 3-4" starts to make the above serious issues...regardless of brand.

So - when you look at a lift kit...you have to say, OK, what is this kit doing to compensate for the above things that are going to happen?

Steering linkage drag, track bar drag, brake system(s) length, drive shaft angles, joints/length/slide range, etc, shock compressed/extended lengths, shock valving, compression and rebound, brakes, linkages and so on, all need adjustment...and the higher you go, the more adjustment they need to work.

So, point by point, look at the lifts, and these points, and compare how they address each issue.

Some ways of addressing the issues are more frail/less sturdy, or only work at ride height, etc. Some address more of the working range of the lift, etc.

A "Complete" kit would address ALL of the issues, and I'm not sure such a beast exists...but, some come closer than others.

Anyway - the above is a brand free hit list - you can use it to go through any mods you're considering....and see if you're overing what you need to.

Most people do not...they buy a lift...and then "find out" that they need something else because of "XY and Z" happening, etc.


So - I hope this helps to narrow things down a bit, and allow at least an informed decision.

 

i get what you are saying but like you said there isn t a lift out there that makes a atempt at all of these problems.

like i said early i am really leaning towards the superlift now. if i go more than 4 inches, it will be one hell of a crazy ride. i can t even imagine 6 inches of lift. amd people are putting on 37's with the superlift kit.