PRO's and CON's....HELP

gairbear · Post by **gairbear** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 7:21 pm

OK...I'm kinda trying to decide what to do here. Should I,
A: get a 6" SL
or
B: Go SFA

I need to know how cost involved each is...and if I go SL, exactly how bad is the Ball joint prob....and .....j....jse.s.er...help!!

LOL

Thanks
Gair

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 7:49 pm

What do you plan to do with it? What type of terrain?

gairbear · Post by **gairbear** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 8:54 pm

well right now just a bit of mud...But that's because of lack of lift and lack of places to go///I'm going to be moving back home to TX soon where there are quite a bit more places to go....I'd like to be able to get through that rougher terrain...though..honestly..I don't know for sure how rough it will actually get....my brother (former jeep owner) says I'll at least need to get a 5" lift and some 33's, though I'd hate to spend that much $$$ only to realize that I'll need to go SFA. Ya know?

Blaze One · Post by **Blaze One** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 9:23 pm

I have thought of this my self , Is this going to be a daily driver ? , are you going to need to have alot of articulation ? When you go with a sfa , you are most likely goin with a tire larger than 35's , so you would also need to change your gears front and rear . ( depending on the axle you get for the front ) Also , if I am not mistaken you could go with the 5-6" ifs lift and replace you balljoints with a heavy duty aftermarket type to help with that problem , And when you go with a 35+ tire you will need to have a fairly stout axle in the rear aswell . So if you go with a SFA swap , it will be way more than a IFS . and if you don't need a SFA then why do it . I don't think you do since you did not mention anything about rock crawling/ heavy articulation .
my advice would be to buy a trail truck with a sfa already for a couple thousand and then build it up stronger in the long run . Good luck though .

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 6:08 am

gairbear wrote:....I'd like to be able to get through that rougher terrain...though..honestly..I don't know for sure how rough it will actually get....my brother (former jeep owner) says I'll at least need to get a 5" lift and some 33's, though I'd hate to spend that much $$$ only to realize that I'll need to go SFA. Ya know?

I know. You may want to wait for a third choice. It might be a long wait though.

Blaze One wrote:my advice would be to buy a trail truck with a sfa already for a couple thousand and then build it up stronger in the long run .

That may not be a bad idea if you have the room for a second vehicle. I saw a Wagoneer for sale in the NW for $600. Heck you could always use the axles for the crews conversion if you change your mind.

quickbiker · Post by **quickbiker** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 6:44 am

If it's your main vehicle, daily driver, I would not do a thing to it. It's great in stock form, well, maybe some rear spacers! lol. If you got a second ride that you can depend on and want to seriously have fun with your CC, do SFA!!! Or just get a Rubicon or a H3. lol

Post by **HenryJ** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 7:03 am

quickbiker wrote:If it's your main vehicle, daily driver, I would not do a thing to it. It's great in stock form...

That may be the best advise available

Just some minor tweaks to make it a little more driveable and aesthetically pleasing.

gairbear · Post by **gairbear** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 9:03 am

hmmm....I'm thinking maybe just do the 6" SL.

thanks guys

bwenny247 · Post by **bwenny247** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 1:58 pm

little late on this but i'll throw my $.02 in

with an IFS lift you are more likely to break things because the suspension is more complex/involved and weaker. If you want to go through the thick stuff

go SAS.

Look at the people who have had their lifts the longest. Coffee, Bubaloo, Quick......all gone SAS. Lifting a truck is not practical for the everyday driver...I'll repeat, lifting a truck is not practical. It goes against all rational thought....but it looks cool

LOL
Gas millage will suffer, and you will break/wear out parts. It's a lot of fun going wheelin' and seeing what your rig can do. Takes a special kind of mentality to put a lot of money into a truck and then go out, break it, put more money into it, and then break it again.

If you want to wheel it hard regularly, once a week or so, then go SAS.

gairbear · Post by **gairbear** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 3:25 pm

thanks for the advice bro.

anything else? anyone?

coffeedrnkr · Post by **coffeedrnkr** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 3:36 pm

lifting trucks costs a lot of money.......yea....

depends on if you want the look or the go and if you are daily driving.

if you just want it to look good then go ahead and get the 6" superlift and make sure you buy ALL moog or better ball joints and steering joints so you don't regret it later.

but if you find that you really want to go and beat your truck offroad then don't even go ifs lift, I have been there done that and broke or wore out at least one suspension part per week. It may seem like a lot of money for a SAS but I guarantee that if I knew then what I know now I would have spent the extra bux to start out with and not gone through even messing with the ifs.

I took my truck out this weekend and beat the sh!t out of it and it took all of it and never complained (I haven't gotten pics up yet but will in a little while once I make my movie) but if you really want to go offroading then it is worth the extra money, if not then do the ifs lift.

gairbear · Post by **gairbear** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 5:56 pm

OK...so the SL is gonna run about $1700...Plus install.$$$$.plus ball joints and steering joints $$$$$ So...I'm guessing a little under $3K total,,,ish

what's a SAS gonna run me....all said and done,,with someone else doing it...(I just don't have the know-how or the equipment) what are we talkin' here...ballpark fig.????

coffeedrnkr · Post by **coffeedrnkr** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 9:07 pm

ummm, quickbiker would be a good person to ask about that b/c he is having his done

I did mine myself and I KNOW it saved some money (though a shop probably could have done it A LOT faster)

I can't really tell you b/c I didn't keep that good of a track of what I spent on it but I am pretty sure it was under 2,000

quickbiker · Post by **quickbiker** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 9:48 pm

There are so many variables when doing SAS. There are cheaper ways, and more expensive ways. I'm going kinda "middle of the road" way. I really don't have time to do it myself, and have fortunately found someone that does lifts the way I like it, which can be the difficult part when finding someone to do the lift. The hardest part if finding someone you can trust and like their work. I am going with both front/rear swap. You can stick with the stock rear and get a cheaper front end. And I am locking F/R.

So, their are many variables. Just gotta sit down and put it all on paper, figure out your "must haves", then price it out. And don't forget wheels and tires.

quickbiker · Post by **quickbiker** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 9:52 pm

Also, there is excellent in depth spill on IFS lifts in September's edition of Petersen's 4wheel & Off-Road rag. They some it up very good. Dunno if it's still on the rack or not.

quickbiker · Post by **quickbiker** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 10:05 pm

September, Volume 28, number 9

http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/toc/thismonth/index.html

Cover Section: Lift Your Late-Model Truck

A Bigger, Better General
Tips for choosing a GM IFS lift

Ford Suspension Compendium
25 years of lifting the IFS Blue Oval

The Dirt on Dodge
Lifting late-model Rams and Daks

Big Toys
Options for Toyota IFS trucks

quickbiker · Post by **quickbiker** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 10:14 pm

This would be a good IFS lift: http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/brandpages ... index.html