Lift and tires

[knixen]

In my opinion you can run 4:56 gears with 37s, I did for 18 months without any trouble. The gears were a bit hasty for off road use, but worked good. Only changed them because I found a tear in one tooth when installing a Detroit true track. (IFS front, no surprise).

The mpg on road were great, around 25 on my 2,4 turbo-diesel.

The thing is, which is stated here.. that with a locker and lower gears you'll have much more control of the car when wheeling it. Then you can do one obstacle, one axle at a time. Which is good for bother driver and car.

Now I run 5:29s on 36s. Very happy with this setup.

 

[wancho1]

I know everyone thought this thread was dead, but one more question. Would 33's and a body lift does as well off-road as 33's and a suspension lift? Why or why not. Thanks.

 

[2ndGenToyotaFan]

A good susp. lift would give more travel, which would help off road.... a bad susp. lift might not and could be worse than stock..... so the question is..... what suspension lift?

 

[wancho1]

I'm thinking either 3 in. body lift or 3 in. suspension lift. Can the stock suspension handle off-roading, I would upgrade the shocks.

 

[Tools R Us]

I'm thinking either 3 in. body lift or 3 in. suspension lift. Can the stock suspension handle off-roading, I would upgrade the shocks.

My opinion, experience on the lift type;

Bigger tires; The best all around improvement, they lift all parts of the truck, including the axles and bigger tires make rocks, obstacles seem smaller by rolling over them easier.

The drawbacks are; The bigger you go, the more mod$ to other systems (suspension, gearing, etc) are needed to successfully run them.

Suspension lift; Lifts the frame and everything attached. Allows for more suspension travel, flex, helps in keeping the tires on the ground, making for more traction and stability. Most significant front lifts also upgrade to high steer , eliminating the weak push-pull J-arm setup and track bar, making for a much more robust setup.

The drawbacks are; $$$

Body lifts; Only lifts the body, can help with tire clearance, has lower impact on center of gravity. Some have also lifted the drive train and gas tank making for a flat bottom.

The drawbacks are; Greatly increases the loads on the body mounts, overtime can lead to body cracking, mount failure. Only lifts the body, so the transfer case, frame, etc still have the same clearance as stock. Does nothing to improve the function or strength of the suspension. In the wheeling world seen as a cheap street poser lift, for those that want the look without function.

Body lifts have their place, making room of undercarriage components to be tucked up, tire clearance, etc. But I wouldn’t run them unless there was a need and then the shortest one that will get the job done, in the 1” range. They are very easy to make, some plastic rod, a saw to cut it, drill to punch holes and longer bolts. Roger Brown makes nice kits and has some tech on them;

http://4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/BodyLift.shtml
http://4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/BodyLiftKit.shtml