Sorry if this has been asked a zillion times before but its hard to search for.  Why would someone do a body lift over a suspension lift or vice versa?  From what little I know, it seems a small (1-2") suspension lift i.e. spacers, etc. would actually lift the whole vehicle giving better ground clearence gains than the same height body lift, and would be easier to do.  I'm thinking the downside is a suspension lift would have to be kept small before steering geometry (camber, etc.) starts to be affected.  So is it always best to start with a little suspension lift for the best bang for the buck (and effort) and then move on to lifting the body of more is needed?

Thanks!

A good suspension lift should be a priority because it not only increases ground clearance but also improves articulation, travel and off-road performance. Articulation will help you keep traction with an open differential by making a tire reach for the ground. 3" Kits like the Calmini or Boondox one do a great job of this.

A body lift does not improve ground clearance until you factor in the larger diameter tires you now have clearance for. It does however protect your rockers when hitting high center, etc. 

I did a suspension lift on mine first and then added a body lift for additional tire clearance. My wife's Kick just has a 3" suspension lift and 29" tires and works well.

Body lifts are basically for getting more lift, simply and cheaply.  Fit those big tires you "thought you could fit" and stuff like that.  On our Trackers/Kicks the frame is fully boxed with many crossmembers, making it very rigid and a solid mounting place for the body.  Meanwhile our suspension lifts are relatively inexpensive (ever priced a fullsize 4x4 IFS lift? ) and not terribly difficult to install so people consider suspension lifts first.  If I had assembled my Tracker I'd have likely not done the body lift due to not really wanting to have to get into all the complexities of it.

However on other vehicles, modern IFS trucks and such, where a suspension lift costs $1400+ just to buy and another $1000 to have a shop install as it is VERY complex the body lift looks better.  For many the body lift is therefore a viable option as at less than $800 installed they get 3" of lift and can fit bigger tires.  Also leaves you with a stock suspension and no more troubles than it will give you.
On the www.TheRangerStation.com forums that I read for my Ranger we often recommend body lifts to guys that want to lift their 98+ 4x4 Rangers/Mazda B-series.  There are four suspension lifts available for those things.  One is junk and $1200+, one is okay and $1400+, one is $2300 with a coil over conversion, and the last is a full 4x4 desert racing conversion that will set you back upwards of $5000 and you have to take the truck to the shop in SoCal.
Suddenly that $200 body lift and $300-600 worth of shop labor if you can't do it yourself sounds pretty good.  Either way you can fit 33's and with the body lift you can afford to buy some.

A good suspension lift should be a priority because it not only increases ground clearance but also improves articulation, travel and off-road performance. Articulation will help you keep traction with an open differential by making a tire reach for the ground. 3" Kits like the Calmini or Boondox one do a great job of this. 

Any idea how much more articulation is actually provided by these lifts over stock? For the price difference between a 3" body and suspension lift are you really gaining that much more travel?

Sean

Yes. Way more travel. If I remember right a kit like the Calmini or Boondox one provides about 40-45% more travel in front and in the back the difference is huge. Look at these pics of my wifes Kick with the Boondox 3" system. The tires are still on the ground and the Kick is sitting almost level dispite the fact one tire is on a 3' tall mound. I tried this same mound with stock suspension and the Kick put one tire way in the air and tipped to the side. Remember that keeping your tires on the ground is important to keeping forward momentum. Especially with open differentials.

OK by suspension lift I really just meant adding spacers to the coils, not a complex kit designed to improve articulation.  Adding spacers does count as a suspension lift because it lifts the whole truck not just the body right?  It just has to be kept small (1-2") so it doesn't mess up the suspension geometry too much as I understand it.

Yep, a body lift will let you fit larger tires, which in turn gives more ground clearance.  The body lift also gets your rockers and bumpers higher to prevent dragging.  Some people are concerned about the higher center of gravity associated with a body lift, but I have never heard of anyone flopping just because they put on a body lift.  I have a body and suspension lift and haven't seen any difference in handling on the street, which is where I drive faster.  Just my 2cents.

OK by suspension lift I really just meant adding spacers to the coils, not a complex kit designed to improve articulation.  Adding spacers does count as a suspension lift because it lifts the whole truck not just the body right?  It just has to be kept small (1-2") so it doesn't mess up the suspension geometry too much as I understand it.

if your going to do a suspention lift do it right spacers dont do much.you might ass well do a body lift.

if your going to do a suspention lift do it right spacers dont do much.you might ass well do a body lift.

Could you please elaborate on that statement?  What do you mean they don't do  much?  If I use spacers won't my undercarrige (frame, therefore transmission, etc.) all be raised instead of just the body?  What is the downside to a 1.5" lift using spacers?

What he means is that you will gain some height but just using spacers will not improve your suspension for off road use. If you failed to flip your strut mounts or use strut spacers or strut extensions and shocks with a longer stroke you may actually limit your suspension more. The nice thing about using an engineered system is that it is designed to optimize suspension travel. A good system will not top out your struts or shocks all the time and will handel big bumps well and also allow the rear axle to move without straining the rear upper ball joint and the IFS to work without damage to your cv joints.

If all you want is 1.5" of lift then you could accomplish that with spring spacers, flipped strut mounts and slightly taller rear shocks. Sky, Boondox and other vendors as well as some individuals on this forum make and sell spring spacers. My favorite ones are the "Dave Jones" design because they are automotive grade polyurethane and they are designed specifically for a TracKicks springs. Here is a picture and link. I just installed a set on a Tracker and they worked nice. Perfect fit on the spring.

http://www.boondoxmotorsports.com/zuk_suspension.html



You could always add lifting springs later as well as a strut spacer, rear arm kit, diff drop brackets and longer shocks if you would like to go higher.

Like Shredder says, flip the strut mount (or use strut spacers) and use longer shocks too. Otherwise you lose downward travel (sag) and the handling can get a bit nasty.

hey shredder- just wondering if you know which rear shocks they use one the boondox 3" kit.

derek

They are ProComp ES1000 shocks. The narrower tube of the 1000 series clears the lower shock brackets without grinding. So far we have been pleased with their performance on and off road. The damping seems a good match. They come with boots too. 

Thanks for the excellent and informative post Shredder.  Very educational and much appreciated.  Everyone else's replies aprereciated too!   

this is a great thread with great info

(just wanted to let it see light)