Best lift

Fitting oversize tires, raising and lowering, suspension modifications...

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drewman
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Best lift

Post by drewman »

I am looking to lift my s-10 this summer and am wondering what the best lift would be for my application. I want to be able to fit 31 or 32in (if possible) tires with no rubbing issues. I off road almost every weekend, but the truck is also my daily driver. I am also wondering if it is better to get new rims or to use spacers to solve the proble of the rear tires sitting so far in the fender wells.
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Post by quickbiker »

You just gotta do allot of research and decide for yourself. There are a few options out there now. From body lifts, susp lifts, to SFA's. It's out there, just gotta do some searching. Check out the CC home page here for allot of info. And of course my page, :lol:



I went with wheel spacers cause I had problems finding back spacing that would work the way I want it and with rims that would fit right without hitting the calipers. I sent back 2 sets of rims, including a nice set of Welds. I just gave up and went with spacers, saved me money anyhow.



Here is my setup: http://www.angelfire.com/me4/bikes_n_4x ... /index.htm
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Post by quickbiker »

Oh, and anything more than 31's, even with susp lift, you'll need to do trimming, unless you went really high with SFA or maybe that 6.5" lift that highroller has. I'm not sure if he did any trimming or not. And lower gears would be nice with anything over 31's. Allot of things to consider.
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Best Lift question

Post by Doogy »

While we are on the topic I thought I would capitalize on membership expertise/experience also. I am considering gaining 6" ...................in lift height including larger tires and a BL,or suspension, lift options. I would definitely prefer a suspension lift but have concerns about drivetrain and suspension stresses. I think it was quickbiker that mentioned front drive shaft vibration after lifting and I spend alot of time on the highway and Point A-B driving. My truck will be more show than go to be honest. I will take it off road but it won't see any rock crawling in the middle of the bald a$$ prairies. I am sure I won't go bigger than 31" tires as I prefer not to ripping apart the diffs to use a lower ratio. I will however need to tow with it. What combination/recommendations does anyone have?
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Post by HenryJ »

I guess my question would be how much do you want to spend on the lift?



a2b has proved what can be done with no more than a bodylift and some minor trimming.



Quickbiker is a good example of the TM 5" lift.



I do not do enough "wheeling" to consider myself an extreme example, but feel that my combination works really well, for what I do.



I agree that there is no combination using 31" tires , and the stock SFA, that will have no rubbing issues. As Hobie pointed out the rear wheel wells are barely over 31".

As for the frame rub, there is why the Zr2's are 3" wider (and they still have rubbing issues)



If you are in it for the "look" or "big head turner", probably better go with the 5" or better lift.

The two inch body lift does little more than make it look right (doesn't really stand out that much in a crowd)



Each has it's advantages and disadvantages. You will have to decide which makes most sense for your terrain/use.

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Re: Best lift

Post by a2b »

drewman wrote:I am looking to lift my s-10 this summer and am wondering what the best lift would be for my application. I want to be able to fit 31 or 32in (if possible) tires with no rubbing issues. I off road almost every weekend, but the truck is also my daily driver. I am also wondering if it is better to get new rims or to use spacers to solve the proble of the rear tires sitting so far in the fender wells.


so you need the TM5". best kit out there. i have never heard one thing good about the other lift for our trucks.

if you get rims, they cant have anything less than 5" of bs whether your 31's or 32's. and if you get 32's get them 10.5" wide. not 11.5. that will kill your fenders. and yes you might have to trim a bit.

you can check out my member page and see what trimming i have done.
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Re: Best Lift question

Post by a2b »

Doogy wrote:While we are on the topic I thought I would capitalize on membership expertise/experience also. I am considering gaining 6" ...................in lift height including larger tires and a BL,or suspension, lift options. I would definitely prefer a suspension lift but have concerns about drivetrain and suspension stresses. I think it was quickbiker that mentioned front drive shaft vibration after lifting and I spend alot of time on the highway and Point A-B driving. My truck will be more show than go to be honest. I will take it off road but it won't see any rock crawling in the middle of the bald a$$ prairies. I am sure I won't go bigger than 31" tires as I prefer not to ripping apart the diffs to use a lower ratio. I will however need to tow with it. What combination/recommendations does anyone have?


if its show, and you tow with it, then i say, just do the BL. it looks way better IMO. other trucks look funny sometimes but i think the CC looks right when you do the BL. then i would just put some nice 30's on. they wont rub at all and you wont have to crank your t-bars to get the 31's on. also, what gears do you have? 3.42 or 3.73...if you tow, you dont want to go to heavy and tall tires and lose torque and power due to your tires. FYI, tow in 3rd
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Post by Doogy »

Thanks A2B and HenryJ

:D I am only towing about 2400 lbs but may move up to a larger camper in a few years. I am sure I won't be pulling more than 4000lbs.

Cash is always a consideration but like everyone, if it costs more to get the job done right, it may prevent me from running into future problems from trying to go the cheap route. My gears are stock 3:42. I know what you are saying about not running in O.D. when pulling I have heard of a few situations where guys have blown up their trannys pulling with the weak O.D. gear. My neighbor has a full size and just spend $4000 CDN on a reman. replacement.

I keep leaning toward the 5" lift that quickbiker has. Especially seeing as he has posted his installation in detail. I love the look of the height of his rig. I wonder what it would look like with 30" tires :thumb:
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Post by a2b »

Doogy wrote:Thanks A2B and HenryJI wonder what it would look like with 30" tires :thumb:


i think the tires will look too small, but mabey if you had some like wide 30's. like 30 by 11.5 :shock:
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Post by Doogy »

I keep telling my wife that width is always more important than length.......or in this case hieght. :lol: Thanks for the input. I appreciate the recommendations. I would love to rush out and start lifting the thing, but I think I will have to wait a bit to rack a few more miles on it and make use of the warranty. I would appreciate any additional opinions.



Cheers, 8)
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Post by Rusty »

a2b wrote:
Doogy wrote:Thanks A2B and HenryJI wonder what it would look like with 30" tires :thumb:


i think the tires will look too small, but mabey if you had some like wide 30's. like 30 by 11.5 :shock:


I don't know. I have 9.5x30's on mine and it doesn't look bad. Hey, they're bigger than what it had stock. When they wear out, I'll try 31's. By then I won't be too timid about a little fender trimming.
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Post by a2b »

GaryH wrote:
a2b wrote:
Doogy wrote:Thanks A2B and HenryJI wonder what it would look like with 30" tires :thumb:


i think the tires will look too small, but mabey if you had some like wide 30's. like 30 by 11.5 :shock:


I don't know. I have 9.5x30's on mine and it doesn't look bad. Hey, they're bigger than what it had stock. When they wear out, I'll try 31's. By then I won't be too timid about a little fender trimming.


cool, ya you are probably right, it didnt look to bad with the stock rims and the 2'BL. i dont know what i was thinking.

here's mine with stock rims and tires but with the BL

Image

that looks so much better than stock. so ya, throw some 30" meats on their and have at it.
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Post by Rusty »

Allow me to slightly refraise. It wouldn't look too bad with REAL 30's on it. As I posted about the HPPIII, I measured my tires and found my 30's are really 28.25"! I feel cheated! While they do look slightly bigger than stock, I still had enough room that I though 31's would be easy. Where BFG tends to run large for the marked size, Cooper goes the opposite direction. Heck, by Cooper's measurement, I probably could have got 33's on it, stock!
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Post by a2b »

i thought i remember our stock tire being 28.5?



my31" bfg at's are 30.5. i know that alot of tires run big. i didnt know they ran that small
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Post by Rusty »

Well, I measured them 2 different ways and both ways I came up with 28.25". I just measured one of my old tires (still mounted on wheel and inflated) and got 28" but they are badly worn down so they may well have been 28.5 when new.



Needless to say, I'm p***ed as h*ll about this. Funny thing is, they really did look bigger. Maybe it's the side lugs the stock tires didn't have that just made them appear larger. Whatever. I guess that's what I get for not researching things a little better.



I rethinking the TM 5" lift but it's not gonna happen anytime soon. Maybe by then these things will be worn down enough that I won't mind adding the cost of BFG MT's to the cost. At least if someone else here learns from my mistakes though.... :x
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Post by Rusty »

Speaking of mistakes, I have only one word to say in my defense:



DUUUHHH!!!



It just occured to me that when I was measuring my old tires vs my new ones, well the new ones are on the truck, the old ones weren't! I'm trying to figure out why my 30" tires only measure 28.25". Well, for a start, I should have tried getting that 4000 pound truck off of them! Surprise! Found another inch plus of diameter! Amazing how that worked! :roll:



Pardon me folks while I put this paper bag over my head and fade away in total embarrassment!
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Post by quickbiker »

:lol:



And also, the old tires will measure smaller cause of wear. My 31's are probably more like 30's or less now! and probably when they are bald, they'll be 29's. :roll:
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Post by a2b »

ya you aint lying. i have 3 used tires i bought off a guy and then put a new one with it. its at least 1" taller than the other 3 :lol:
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Post by Rusty »

What got me should have been obvious. My new 30's are listed as 29.35" height, which they are if you measure them mounted, properly inflated, and most importantly, OFF THE TRUCK. Even at 40psi, the weight of the truck is going to flatten the contact area of the tire, reducing the effective height by as much as an inch or more. What I was doing was following the instructions for the Hypertech PP3 to find tire height which needs to find that effective height for speedometer accuracy.
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Post by quickbiker »

OK, stop the madness! :lol:



All I did was punch in 31" cause I had 31's. :?
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Post by Rusty »

quickbiker wrote:OK, stop the madness! :lol:



All I did was punch in 31" cause I had 31's. :?


Actually, just a simple "Aww, SHADUP!" would have worked fine. :lol:
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Post by a2b »

quickbiker wrote:OK, stop the madness! :lol:



All I did was punch in 31" cause I had 31's. :?


ya i have noticed that paul always keeps things simple and doesnt let himself get worked up over minor details, i like that about him :wink:
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Post by Rusty »

a2b wrote:
quickbiker wrote:OK, stop the madness! :lol:



All I did was punch in 31" cause I had 31's. :?


ya i have noticed that paul always keeps things simple and doesnt let himself get worked up over minor details, i like that about him :wink:


Uh, and your point is? :lol:
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Post by Warnoffroad »

Go SFA and pushin some 35s :D
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Post by quickbiker »

warnoffroad wrote:Go SFA and pushin some 35s :D


But I dont' think the hypertech goes beyond 33's. So I gotta stick with 33's. :lol:
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Post by Warnoffroad »

Oh really!?!? DANG!! are you sure? what about gears, will it go up to a 4:88
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Post by quickbiker »

No, I think 4:56 is max. I will check on all that stuff though and get back with info later. But then I thought -6 was max on shift point change, and it seems the more I got, the more it adds, so who knows. :?
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