Lift kit question

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

pearce

New member
Joined
Jan 5, 2011
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
I have a 89 ford bronco and I want to get a 4 inch lift on it. I want to be able to put 33's on it with space to spare. How much will a 4 inch lift effect the stability? I usually drive to school and back ,but I also do a lot of off roading.

 

Seabronc

New member
Joined
May 22, 2004
Messages
7,315
Reaction score
35
Location
North of NYC
If your front springs are in good condition and not compressed, you don't really need a lift kit to put 33's on most Broncos. I had them on for several years with no lift at all. Usually with a 4" lift you would probably want to put 35s on it. Also, when going to 33s and above you should use a wider wheel than the stock ones you are now using. People stuff them on stock rims, but that actually voids the tire manufacturers warranty. Check the specifications for whatever tire you plan on using, lift or not. Specs for a typical 33 inch tire http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=****+Cepek&tireModel=Radial+F-C+II&partnum=325QR5FC2OWL&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes&tab=Specs Note the rim width spec 8.5" is minimum, your stock wheels are 7.5".

The higher you push the center of gravity, the easier it is to make a vehicle roll if you do nothing to effectively widen the wheel base, like wider tires. That being said, all vehicles like the Bronco and SUVs are easy to roll in a panic situation. All you have to do is to swerve sharply in one direction and then immediately swerve in the opposite direction. If your suspension is in proper condition, and you increase the tire width, you probably won't have much effect on the stability at all. Just be aware of what causes rollover accidents. On grades you go perpendicular to the grade not parallel, that is not always possible off road, so "Watch It". Take a look at this http://mb-soft.com/public/rollover.html

http://www.treadlightly.org/page.php/responsible-four/Recreation-Tips.html?gclid=CMCE06HLpKYCFcbc4AodhBquoA

http://www.ajeepthing.com/jeep-driving-tips.html

http://www.askmen.com/cars/car_tips_150/184_off-road-driving-tips.html

http://www.4x4abc.com/jeep101/index.html

http://www.offroaders.com/info/winterdriving.htm

This is only a small sample of the information out there, hope you enjoy the reading :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Not trying to convince you not to do the lift, just educate yourself in general. The more you know about what you are doing the safer you can be.

Good luck,

:)>-

 
Last edited by a moderator:

Krafty

New member
Joined
Feb 17, 2007
Messages
1,063
Reaction score
5
Location
Ontario Canada
I have found that when pricing it out, the 6" lift is more cost effective, for example a roughcountry 4" lift with blocks for the rear is $469

where as the 6" lift with rear blocks is $499, not a bad way to spend an extra $30.

the kits with rear springs are 4" $759 and 6" $779, again not a bad way to spend 20 extra bucks.

for clarification the kits with "blocks" use a 3" block with add a-leafs for the 6" , just the 3" blocks for the 4"

for the new springs option , the 6" uses the 4" springs with a 2" block, and obviously just the 4" springs for the 4" kit.

you can take this with a grain of salt if you like but from what I know actually removing the old leafs completely are a pain in the ass,i've done add aleafs and blocks and they're not bad. another option is getting a sky shackle flip kit for $150 which gives you about 4.5 " of lift on the rear without having to unpack or change your springs.

my next mud truck will have a combination of the 6" kit with the shackle and various other components to get the height I want at the lowest possible price.

 
OP
OP
P

pearce

New member
Joined
Jan 5, 2011
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
If your front springs are in good condition and not compressed, you don't really need a lift kit to put 33's on most Broncos. I had them on for several years with no lift at all. Usually with a 4" lift you would probably want to put 35s on it. Also, when going to 33s and above you should use a wider wheel than the stock ones you are now using. People stuff them on stock rims, but that actually voids the tire manufacturers warranty. Check the specifications for whatever tire you plan on using, lift or not. Specs for a typical 33 inch tire http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=****+Cepek&tireModel=Radial+F-C+II&partnum=325QR5FC2OWL&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes&tab=Specs Note the rim width spec 8.5" is minimum, your stock wheels are 7.5".

The higher you push the center of gravity, the easier it is to make a vehicle roll if you do nothing to effectively widen the wheel base, like wider tires. That being said, all vehicles like the Bronco and SUVs are easy to roll in a panic situation. All you have to do is to swerve sharply in one direction and then immediately swerve in the opposite direction. If your suspension is in proper condition, and you increase the tire width, you probably won't have much effect on the stability at all. Just be aware of what causes rollover accidents. On grades you go perpendicular to the grade not parallel, that is not always possible off road, so "Watch It". Take a look at this http://mb-soft.com/public/rollover.html

http://www.treadlightly.org/page.php/responsible-four/Recreation-Tips.html?gclid=CMCE06HLpKYCFcbc4AodhBquoA

http://www.ajeepthing.com/jeep-driving-tips.html

http://www.askmen.com/cars/car_tips_150/184_off-road-driving-tips.html

http://www.4x4abc.com/jeep101/index.html

http://www.offroaders.com/info/winterdriving.htm

This is only a small sample of the information out there, hope you enjoy the reading :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Not trying to convince you not to do the lift, just educate yourself in general. The more you know about what you are doing the safer you can be.

Good luck,

:)>-

Thank you for all of the good info. My bronco has just been rebuilt so it has fresh springs on it. I saw a picture of your truck and i was wondering if that is a picture with 33's on it. Also, what size rims do you recommend with 33 inch tires.
 

Shadow_D

Active member
Joined
Mar 16, 2004
Messages
1,087
Reaction score
3
Location
Schenectady, NY
In general you would be wise to go with a 6" lift rather than a 4" lift. Most people who have opted for the 4" later regret it and wish they spent the FEW extra dollars and gone with the 6".

Good Luck...

D

 

Seabronc

New member
Joined
May 22, 2004
Messages
7,315
Reaction score
35
Location
North of NYC
Thank you for all of the good info. My bronco has just been rebuilt so it has fresh springs on it. I saw a picture of your truck and i was wondering if that is a picture with 33's on it. Also, what size rims do you recommend with 33 inch tires.
Yes the picture in my avatar has the 33s on it. Any picture of my truck with the blue with white stripe are with the 33's on it. Right now I have 31 x 10.5s on its, As far as the wheel rim width goes, I had 8.5s. All 33 x 12.5R15 specifications require minimum of 8.5 to a maximum of 11 in. rim width. 12.5s will get a slight rub on the rdius arm in a hard over turn.

Good luck,

:)>-

 
OP
OP
P

pearce

New member
Joined
Jan 5, 2011
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
What rim size would you recommend with 35 inch tires? Also what is the best suspension lift kit brand?

 
Last edited by a moderator:

Seabronc

New member
Joined
May 22, 2004
Messages
7,315
Reaction score
35
Location
North of NYC
What rim size would you recommend with 35 inch tires? Also what is the best suspension lift kit brand?
Go to this site and enter the size of tire you are thinking of using. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/SearchTires.jsp In each tire description you will find a column marked "Specs", click on that. That will give you the design specifications, two columns will tell you all you need to know about the rim width that the engineers designed the tire to fit on. "Rim Width Range" and "Meas. Rim Width".

The first is the minimum and maximum designed safe rim width range and the second tells you what rim width they used to generate the rest of the measurements. Going outside the "rim Width Range" voids the manufacturer warranty and leaves you on your own if you do so. I have seen people stuff tires on too narrow of a rim and get away with it, but if a bead pops and causes an accident in which someone gets injured or killed, they are off the hook.

Good luck,

:)>-

 

Staff online

Members online

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
22,509
Messages
135,878
Members
25,108
Latest member
Utahstroke
Top