| LIFT KITS (Suspension and Body types) |
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| Lift kits. The very 1st thing you notice about a truck. "Wow! He's way up there!" And the feeling you get when you hear things like that is enough reason in itself for alot of people to lift their trucks. But not only does it turn your grocery getter into something to be Feared and Respected but is a gotta have item for a Hardcore 4x4. Theory of Mudding: The bigger the better. Why? Simple, there are 2 things that actually get you stuck. Your front/rear ends and your bumper/grill. When either/both of these reach ground level you find yourself stuck(more or less). The only way to fix this problem is to raise the height of the axles. And there is but ONE way to do that....with bigger tires. The taller the tire you run the more clearance you have underneath. This allows you to go through even deeper mud without bottoming out. Trouble is, taller tires won't fit on stock trucks. The wheelwells have to be raised to give the tires clearance. That is where Lift Kits come in. The higher you lift your truck the taller the tire size you can run. As a general rule, "X" inches of lift allow you to run "X" size tires: (based on an average 70's Model Chevy 4x4 without trimming) 0" = P's or 33" 2" = Q's 4" = R's or 14/35's 6" = 15/38's 8" = 17/40's 10" = 18.5/44's(very tight, not recommended) 12" = 18.5/44's And when used with a 3" Body Lift you can go one size higher. A 12" and a 3" will let you run the biggest...Boggers! As far as which lift kit is right for you, you need to know what size tires you plan on running. And a word to the wise: you can run 35's with a 12" lift but you can't run 40's with a 4" lift. Eventually, you WILL want bigger tires. It's just part of that Mud Bug infection we all have. Much easier and cheaper to go for it NOW instead of later. But I also understand that at times we just can't do that, nomatter how bad we want to. Other things get in the way and we have to make do with what we have. You basically have 2 options. Either buy an entire complete kit brand new and be done with it(can be very expensive!) or else you can use the buddy system. That's how I got my first lift kit, a spring here, a shackle there, parts from anywhere. Maybe you'll get a few ideas from my homemade lift kit story. I wanted to lift my truck very badly but just could not afford the parts to do it with. Well, I had a friend that knew a guy that had all kinds of spare parts(he was BIG into Mudding). So we went and visited him. Turns out he is desperate for a computer system. Just so happened that I had one like he had been wanting. Next day I went back and swapped him my system for a TRUCKLOAD of parts! I wound up getting a set of 6" rear blocks, set of Skyjacker 6" front springs, Dropped Pitman Arm, 2 sets of stock 1 ton springs, a 203 Transfer Case that had been rebuilt, pair of KC's, Rancho double steering stabilizer, COMPLETE 1 Ton rear end with 4:11's, extended brake lines, two single 6" re-arched leaf springs, and all kinds of U-bolts and other mounting hardware. And $150 to boot! We took the $150 and stopped by Skyjacker on the way home and picked up a 4" body lift and a few odds and ends. I already had a set of only 2 week old Q's on my truck. They pulled real good but just couldn't hang with the Big Dawgs, so they got sold to a friend for $400. Had another friend that just got 44's on his so I wound up with his old set of 40's. Needless to say, in a week, my stock little truck had become a beast. And really without having to pay for any of it! It don't get any better than that! |
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