Advice on soa vs. Conventional lift

[harle53]

i am taking my frame in this week for sandblasting and powder coating and have been planning on using the 4 inch safari lift from Man a fre. I am now considering do an SOA instead and just wanted some insight on pros and cons from people who have done a soa. I currently have a 2 1/2 lift and wondering if I would have to get stock springs and new hangers for doing the soa. I rad a good build up thread about 8 month ago and cant seem to find it, so any info and advice would help.
W

 

[badass]

First off this topic has been beat to death, you need to search, tons of threads on this...

Going SOA is like opening a big can of worms, along with the spring over, you will need a cv rear d-shaft, a cv front shaft, a beefy rear traction bar, and you will have to cut & turn the front axle. Then on top of that you will have to do something about your front steering components, whether you decided to stick with stock steering and use a double steering arm. Or go high steer. This s*** gets fawking expensive. There's even more s*** but you get the idea.

I myself have soa rear and sua front. very happy.

 

[dgangle]

Most SOA's will provide ~6-7" lift so 2.5 lift springs on top of that will be really big. Stock springs are or can be found for free and ride smooth as compared to ANY lift spring. 4" SUA's ride like crap, the degree of crap depends on whose springs one chooses to buy.

As written about eleventy billion times, a SOA is not cheap or easy if when done properly.


Lift springs can have their own issues but generally are a simpler and less expensive alternate.

Having said this it will open the door for some poor soul to chime in saying he did his SOA for $40 in a couple hours working on his back in the rain at night in a gravel driveway.

 

[vtcruiser60]

Having said this it will open the door for some poor soul to chime in saying he did his SOA for $40 in a couple hours working on his back in the rain at night in a gravel driveway.

Thank you for the morning chuckle....damn funny.

 

[harle53]

I have considered my options and have read the build up thread on soa, I just wanted some pros and cons from guys who have soa already. I am doing a complete frame off of a 68 fj40 for the first time and dont want to look back and regret any of my decisions. I know the soa can be an expensive endeavor but wanna do it right the first time, thanks for any input.

 

[dgangle]

Thank you for the morning chuckle....damn funny.

You are welcome!

At the risk of sounding like a salty bast#rd, I left out the

"...with nothing more than a gas wrench, Crescent wrench and a six pack of Keystone Lite."

 

[zuluzeugma]

You are welcome!

At the risk of sounding like a salty bast#rd, I left out the

"...with nothing more than a gas wrench, Crescent wrench and a six pack of Keystone Lite."

HAHAHAHA

My buddy really did SOA his 60 for $18... in 12 hours including C&T...


I swear, if this thread starts one more time, I'm going to plead for MOD status so I can delete this topic every time it starts. There is nothing new on this topic; in fact, there has been nothing new since about 1 year after this forum started. The only thing that has changed is that costs on some components have gone up in the past 7 years.

As I say every single time this starts: "GO SOA AND NEVER LOOK BACK"

Have a nice day and welcome to MUD

 

[slvrbck]

First off this topic has been beat to death, you need to search, tons of threads on this...

Going SOA is like opening a big can of worms, along with the spring over, you will need a cv rear d-shaft, a cv front shaft, a beefy rear traction bar, and you will have to cut & turn the front axle. Then on top of that you will have to do something about your front steering components, whether you decided to stick with stock steering and use a double steering arm. Or go high steer. This **** gets fawking expensive. There's even more **** but you get the idea.

I myself have soa rear and sua front. very happy.

Sorry to hijack, but what exactly are you running up front? 4 inch springs with the SR? I am thinking about doing the same setup for the time being, a buddy is doing a full SOA and I have dibs on his 4" springs. Thanks,

Chris

 

[rabid]

I think that desired tire size has a lot to do with how much you want to lift it. I have run many SUA springs on my truck over the years, and once I decided on over 36" tires, SOA was the right alternative. If you want to run 33's, an SOA lift will be way too much.

It might sound odd to make a choice based on tires, but they can clock in at 1-2K with wheels (depending on width, beadlocks, etc), it is a good idea to buy them once.

Look at ruffstuff's web page, I used his front components and they were MAY more stout than the mopar perches I put in the back.

Also, you will run into the SR vs non SR debate. Search and read up. That adds a new level to the project.

 

[harle53]

Sorry to hijack, but what exactly are you running up front? 4 inch springs with the SR? I am thinking about doing the same setup for the time being, a buddy is doing a full SOA and I have dibs on his 4" springs. Thanks,

Chris

currently I have 2 1/2 springs up front with SR and 4 inch in the back. the springs, I looked at man a fre's 4 in lift with the taller shock tower for more articulation, but a good point on basing my lift on tire size " i wanna stay with 33's"

 

[dgangle]

currently I have 2 1/2 springs up front with SR and 4 inch in the back. the springs, I looked at man a fre's 4 in lift with the taller shock tower for more articulation, but a good point on basing my lift on tire size " i wanna stay with 33's"

here is mine with MAF SR, 2.5" front 4" rear SUA with 33's flexin' it out in the driveway

 

[fieldsken1]

heres one

i put a safari 2.5 with shackle reversal and 4 inch springs in back. its the man a fre kit. i also put 2 inch body lift to get the height. it will clear 38 easy. plus i raised the motor up inside the frame for clearance so i had to do the body lift. i dont think it looks bad i have 35s on now

 

[camcruiser13]

soa for shizzle

get a kit from proffits

 

[Cruiserdrew]

I ran SUA for years, including multiple trips across the Rubicon and Dusy. Two years ago, I did a SOA with stock front springs and FJ62 rear springs. It's better off road.

An SOA truck is basically too tall for a daily driver. I mean, they tend to be huge and your neighbors will think you are weird for running a truck like that. If your truck is a third car then go for it, but if it's a daily driver, or even driven more than once per week, stay spring under.

 

[lcwizard]

The final question....... do you want to drive to the trail or trailor it? A spring under is usually drivable on a 400 mile trip, A spring over has to be carefully executed ( not cheap ) to be tolerable on a long distance commute.

 

[In2cruisers]

I swear, if this thread starts one more time, I'm going to plead for MOD status so I can delete this topic every time it starts. QUOTE]




Really???...........if your so tired of the topic, why do you bozo's.....even read the thread? Just so you can Bitch?? It plainly stated "spring over vs conv. lift" did you some how think there was going to be a naked girl handing out free beer that was going to hop on your lap if you opened the thread?
This forum is great and you all have a wealth of knolage to share.....so lets stop raging on each other......... go find the wife to share your sunshine with.

 

[Pighead]

I have to disagree with you again. Except for the part about the neighbors...
My DD is SOA, and rides better than a stock 40. I drive it to work, I drive it to Pismo.
No problem.

An SOA truck is basically too tall for a daily driver. I mean, they tend to be huge and your neighbors will think you are weird for running a truck like that. If your truck is a third car then go for it, but if it's a daily driver, or even driven more than once per week, stay spring under.

 

[SaveTheCruiser]

speaking as a newb also, I have only been on this forum a couple of weeks and haven't had the time to search all of the old threads.

It is extremely overwhelming the amount of information here that can help us attain our goal. Which is an awesome 40.

I for one welcome seeing a thread that helps me decide on what I am going to do to mine without having to search the database.

It isn't lazy on my part. It is convenient to have others post it up.

And now, thanks to this thread, I know that a SOA is not for me because I plan on making my 40 a daily driver doing at least 65 miles a day.

I also learned (without searching) that I do want the SR kit.

Thanks IH8MUD Forum dwellers.

You guys are the greatest.

And Harle53, keep fighting the good fight.

 

[xjnation]

I've only got $50 in my SOA. Well, I still need to spend $500 on steering, about $300 for the D-shafts, new u-bolts, Do my CnT, blah, blah, blah.... It adds up fast. In my opinion it is well worth it, though. Just the added arch in a lift spring will make it ride rough, ok roughER than a stock spring.

I think the steering is the biggest expense if you can do the work yourself. There is everything from Trail-Gear Histeer arms for around $129, but the ackerman is not figured, you will have to build or modify steering linkage, and they are cast. Marlin has a full setup including machined arms, all linkage and tie rod ends, about $400, I think. Its for later model (larger) knuckle pattern and they can custom cut the linkage lengths for any app. I don't know if they figure ackerman or not. Luke at 4x4 labs has the bling. Ackerman is figured in, arms are custom cut for WB, width, etc. Full kit is $550 and the tie rod is placed behind the axle (could be a problem on some engine swaps, maybe?). The cheap (as in inexpensive) alternative is to call overthehill4x4 and send them your stock arms. $75-100 and he will heat them, bend them into histeer arms, and PROPERLY cool them. You have to use stock steering linkage, which is not as strong as some of the previous alternatives, but is has worked this long, hasn't it?
It comes down to time and $$$. Do alot of research about what you want and have a plan before you start. Search function is your friend. Good luck. tim
p.s. If you have a earlier cruiser you might as well plan on doing a knuckle/disk brake swap to get the larger pattern. $100-$300 if you're savvy.

 

[Straightjacket]

I'm a soa believer,am doing it all myself,and suckered myself into I can spring over with just a little time and some fab. The most important thing is to have ALL the other expenses planned for, like xjnation said.Even if you can do it all yourself there WILL be other costs! Make sure you are aware before you start or your rig will be down for awhile.I'm down to drivelines,oh ya and correcting my steering geometry.It dosn't cost much to do it but can be a pain in the but.
Nick.