NST Spec Body Lift Kit (2 Viewers)

[Killacaviar]

These photos are in N.

All done… lift is in, aggressive BM done and bumpers reattached. Rear bumper needs some love but front went in nicely.

I told myself when I installed the Slee sliders I would never remove them, but I’m thinking maybe there is a way to notch the mounts and raise everything one inch.

Any other ideas to fill that gap?

With that said, lots more room for bigger tire shenanigans. If I was staying with 35s I could probably remove my bump stop spacers and gain another inch of up travel since my rear shock mount is raised and my front has lots of spacer.

@MTKID well done on the kit and this thread made the install a breeze. I’ll get more photos tomorrow.

 

[lx4dp]

Thanks @MTKID, excited to get to work.

View attachment 3689069

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Killacaviar - we need your Wheel and Tire specs ... this is dripping sexy buddy!

*Edit: also send us a pic or two of your tires so us "Off Set Junkies" can see how flush your setup is

 

[Killacaviar]

H and N making those 35s look small

 

[TeCKis300]

H and N making those 35s look small

You know what you need to do.

 

[razzman1]

This thread has me intrigued. How much tire do you all think would fit with a 1 or 1.5" BL with NO other suspension mods? One of the slightly larger than 33" 33s? Bigger?

 

[TeCKis300]

This thread has me intrigued. How much tire do you all think would fit with a 1 or 1.5" BL with NO other suspension mods? One of the slightly larger than 33" 33s? Bigger?

Dream bigger. 33 - 35s don't really need a BL or suspension mods if you get the other important parameters right like wheel offset.

BLs come into play for aggressive offsets or larger than 34/35s.

Then again, BLs look great if aesthetics is the goal when paired with a suspension mild lift. Definitely works better than a big suspension lift that tends to get geometries out of wack.

 

[YellowJacket]

@MTKID, thank you again for building this kit for us to purchase. I received my 1.5” from you and I’m having a friend help install it next week.

I wanted to ask you and anyone else knowledgeable, is there anything left unsaid about tips and tricks to install these body lifts before we get started on my installation?

 

[MTKID]

This thread has me intrigued. How much tire do you all think would fit with a 1 or 1.5" BL with NO other suspension mods? One of the slightly larger than 33" 33s? Bigger?

That’s been a pretty common question, and unfortunately, the body lift doesn’t single-handedly make a taller tire fit. It does help fit a taller tire. The problem is still allowing the taller tire to turn, and primarily there is a majority of work to be done behind the front tires.

@TeCKis300 has been the definitive reference thread I like to share for anyone seeing what it takes to fit a 35x12.5 tire under the LX. And he accomplished all of that work without a body lift, until recently doing a small body lift and getting onto 37’s. However, I think he would agree that the work he did to the underside of his front fenders might not of have been necessary had he already done the small body lift, or until he made the move to 37’s.

So what I try to tell everyone is fitting a taller tire is easier with a body lift but it isn’t a one stop shop/cure-all. You can picture gaining improved clearance, as it pertains to the tires, as 1” or 1.5” additional space at the top of the fenders. Making less work in that location, whether that is cutting a fender or rolling a fender or folding the liner tabs up inside. Or even better, when combined with those things, you can maintain all your up-travel with taller tires. Which is very important for IFS. (I won’t go into other means to increase travel or move the available travel down to compensate) The rear fender is also more difficult to modify because it’s a multi-layered edge, so even though lifting the back is easier without compromising CV angles (like the front), it is also great to try to keep the overall center of gravity as low as possible.

And to circle back to your question… I tell people 1” body lift should be good up to 35”, and 1.5” for anything above that, but as you can see by our responses, there are some variables (the biggest of which is wheel offset IMO), and still some work that needs to happen to make anything fun like these sizes fit. Also, some may prefer to simply put their rig on 35’s with the 1.5” body lift. Others, like @TeCKis300 have chosen to do the extra work to make 37’s fit with only a small body lift. With NO other modifications, these body lifts would be merely an aesthetic choice over a narrow 34” tire on a 25-35 offset.

This is my perspective.

 

[MTKID]

@MTKID, thank you again for building this kit for us to purchase. I received my 1.5” from you and I’m having a friend help install it next week.

I wanted to ask you and anyone else knowledgeable, is there anything left unsaid about tips and tricks to install these body lifts before we get started on my installation?

Some things I might say are to be patient and methodical about the removal of all the trim panels. Don’t go gorilla. Especially with those two front door sills with the wires attached for the LX backlighting.

Extra patience for the radiator drop brackets. Especially the lower ones, but the 1.5” is easier IMO to reach than the 1”. Space is just really tight there.

Next, for a complete install, you’ll still need to supply any wanted filler trim or bulb trim, if you already have aftermarket bumpers.

If you have the OEM rear bumper, you’d need some support to slide inside the rear bumper to support the step. This isn’t included because so many have aftermarket bumpers already.

I should also look back and see if I mentioned releasing/disconnecting the inner fender splash guards. They won’t stretch enough.

Having someone help is wonderful. You can work together on each side of the vehicle, carefully pulling trim panels and bounce ideas off of each other if something isn’t obvious but if you get stumped, feel free to reach out.

 

[teejnut]

I need to install my 1.5" BL too, just been too hot here in SoCal.

Does anyone know where the body mounts are described in the FSM? I can't seem to find it.

 

[MTKID]

I need to install my 1.5" BL too, just been too hot here in SoCal.

Does anyone know where the body mounts are described in the FSM? I can't seem to find it.

I thought I had a complete volume too with 5 thick books but I couldn’t find it either. Maybe it’s in an entirely different “body” volume I didn’t purchase yet?

So I just crawl around like a blind person and figure it out

 

[teejnut]

Dug around some more and did find this under Body Repair - Body Panel Replacement - Outer Panel Installation Torque

 

[MTKID]

Dug around some more and did find this under Body Repair - Body Panel Replacement - Outer Panel Installation Torque

View attachment 3719561

Thank you for sharing it @teejnut

And don’t forget that one short, unique bolt in the middle behind the middle row.

 

[Valgrind]

What are your approach angles now with the different height body lifts? Would be cool to hear some before and after on different people's setups.

 

[MTKID]

That’s a really good question. I don’t know if anyone has measured that yet. The initial results with an aftermarket bumper already installed wouldn’t be any different, because they’re attached to the frame, but the stock bumper goes up with the body and certainly improves angles.

 

[Valgrind]

That’s a really good question. I don’t know if anyone has measured that yet. The initial results with an aftermarket bumper already installed wouldn’t be any different, because they’re attached to the frame, but the stock bumper goes up with the body and certainly improves angles.

I haven't committed to an aftermarket bumper, frankly, Dissent is the only one I like. I am certainly smacking the stock front bumper on stuff now.

 

[MTKID]

I haven't committed to an aftermarket bumper, frankly, Dissent is the only one I like. I am certainly smacking the stock front bumper on stuff now.

You will certainly benefit from a Dissent bumper for clearance, but if the bumper isn’t really designed for a body lift, the body lift won’t give you any extra approach and departure angles since all aftermarket bumpers merely attach to the frame which doesn’t move up (unless, of course, we’re talking about it’s placement with a larger tire under the rig vs a smaller diameter tire).

 

[Valgrind]

You will certainly benefit from a Dissent bumper for clearance, but if the bumper isn’t really designed for a body lift, the body lift won’t give you any extra approach and departure angles since all aftermarket bumpers merely attach to the frame which doesn’t move up (unless, of course, we’re talking about it’s placement with a larger tire under the rig vs a smaller diameter tire).

That's a good point if the bumper does not move up with the body. What's the difference like for stock bumper?
Not talking about larger tires bc yes that is easy to figure out.

 

[TeCKis300]

That's a good point if the bumper does not move up with the body. What's the difference like for stock bumper?
Not talking about larger tires bc yes that is easy to figure out.

Details of how to lift the factory tuperwear along with the body lift earlier in this thread.

To your question, I don't have objective measurements of how much more approach and departure. But when combined with bigger tires, suspension lift, body lift, it's pretty significant that wheeling hard with the stock bumpers works just fine.

It's been said a strong wheeling rig capable of 6-7 difficulty trails needs to have approach/break over/departure in the high 30s*. BL def goes a way to get there.

Yes! At least for the 1" BL, it should be able to drop back in with all tie points setup as factory. The 1.5" is probably doable too for the front but rear would be tight or require more cutting.

For those on factory Tupperware, I would highly recommend removing both front and rear bumpers to install the BL. Better access and less frustration installing the BL, but you'll need to modify some key things to take advantage of butt and face lift.

Front:​

The bumper shell will go upwards with the rest of the body as the upper part is mounted and supported by the front sheetmetal. What needs to be modified is the lower brackets and crash bar foam that are tied to the frame that stays in place relative the body lift. Note that the factory design has compliance in the bumper shell and brackets to accommodate body to frame movement.

There are 4x brackets total (2 each side) riveted to the back of the aluminum crash bar. Secured by 2 rivets each. Take off the crash bar, drill out the rivets, and relocate the brackets 1" up (or whatever your BL lift size is) . Conveniently, the rivets are 1" apart. So locate the lower hole of the bracket up, and drill a new hole to secure. If you have rivets, do that. Just as easy to install back with M6x20mm bolts.
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Trim the crash foam. This takes a bit more creativity, but you'll need to essentially cut out the underside foam where the bumper shell is lifted by 1". The lower horizontal foam surface gets trimmed 1". As it transitions to the vertical faces, something less than 1" (maybe .5"). I found a multi-tool with a wide and long blade makes quick work of this. Don't mind that my bumper foam is shorter as I have a custom winch install but the principle is the same
View attachment 3607762

 

[Valgrind]

Details of how to lift the factory tuperwear along with the body lift earlier in this thread.

To your question, I don't have objective measurements of how much more approach and departure. But when combined with bigger tires, suspension lift, body lift, it's pretty significant that wheeling hard with the stock bumpers works just fine.

It's been said a strong wheeling rig capable of 6-7 difficulty trails needs to have approach/break over/departure in the high 30s*. BL def goes a way to get there.

Reading through your earlier posts I want 37s now lol... maybe not if it's my only daily still but it would be fun.

Moreso wondering for the the order of modifications. I read you said to do it early. Currently on 33s with stock height, but i'm installing 2in Bilstien/ome setup soon. I am probably not moving to new bigger tires soon, and keeping the stock bumper for a while.