Body Lifts -Noob Question

[WY_75]

Why do the majority of people on this board dislike body lifts? It seems like the opinion of most is to remove them if the blazer/truck already has them, or don't get a body lift in the first place.

Why?


Thanks

WY_75

 

[1985_K5_Silverado]

I'm betting it's because some prefer to enlarge the wheelwells (rather than jack the body up) if they need room for larger tires.

 

[pauly383]

Lots of reasons , including keeping a low center of gravity , not having anything stacked that could break or come out , not having to weld extensions or bend anything , no gaps etc .

Sometimes it can be neccessary , like clearing a doubler without cutting the floor .

I always liked sky-high trucks growing up , but then I grew up and found out what wheeling was

 

[WY_75]

Thanks for the reply. I just wondered if there was a mechanical reason not to use a body lift. I thought it would help, because I don't want to trim any sheetmetal.

 

[George_Pimpdaddy]

I kinda like the idea of a 1" or maybe 2" body lift in the future for my 89 blazer casue i think that it would help on other projects like changing motor or tranny or even clocking the 241 TC. Also the gap between the frame and body could come in use at the truck wash bays to prevent cancer on the floor. The dislikes would be the bumper issue of it not looking right and a bit of fab work needed to have all the linkages and fan shroud and fuel tank hose made to work. Personaly im really leaning towards a 6" BDS lift and a shackle flip in the rear with a 1" or 1.5" body lift. Was thinkin about going 4" springs and 1" body lift too, just for the driveline issues with a 6" lift

 

[RubberFloorMat]

i dont belive in them because:

unsafe

****ty looking

unsafe

dont help you wheel

you always have to modify something to get em to work

if you cant clear the tires you want to run, you need to run a smaller tire, more SUSPENSION lift, or a new box of sawzall blades.

clearing a doubler is the only valid reason ive ever heard and then what is it, 1" or so?

 

[79k20350]

i dont belive in them because:

unsafe

****ty looking

unsafe

dont help you wheel

you always have to modify something to get em to work

if you cant clear the tires you want to run, you need to run a smaller tire, more SUSPENSION lift, or a new box of sawzall blades.

clearing a doubler is the only valid reason ive ever heard and then what is it, 1" or so?

Unsafe??? i have seen many guys on this bored run a 3" body lift for YEARS and beat the hell out of it with no problems. No its not the besy way to go but they can be useful. more suspension lift you say???? what if i have a great susp setup, flexs good, rides nice, and want bigger tires? cutting has its limits. no body lifts arent rght for every situation but thats complete bull$**** that there unsafe if they are properly installed. werent not talking about using hockey pucks... Im only going to be running a 1" body lift but i wouldnt hesitate to run a 2 or 3" if need be.

 

[RubberFloorMat]

well it was noob asking the question, and the uninformed have a tendancy to buy the cheapist stuff they can get.

which is unsafe, and anything over 3" is unsafe IMO i dont care who makes it.

 

[RootBreaker]

I wheeled one for years when I had 33's... now i am at a good point.... however I am 2" lower than what NJ allows as a max.... so I am going up 2" with a body lift in 1 or 2 months... I NEVER had a problem with them... and will always use them....... $65 for a body lift as I just spent $300 for new 6" front leafs... unless someone wants to trade me for a set of 8" leafs....


if they were " Unsafe " then the manufacturers would be sued and stop making them......

 

[darenofears]

they can also be used to put an 80s body on a 70s frame

 

[chrisb420]

just my .02 cents but some states lift laws go by only frame height so a body lift can help clear a bigger tire while not raising the frame as much. i have run 2 and 3 inch body lifts on several trucks that i beat the piss out of and never once had any type of failure due to the body lift.

 

[SUPER'BURB]

I run a 2" BL on mine now, it was installed by the PO who never wheeled. Aside from a little trimming I had to do to the bottom of the fan shroud (rubbed just a bit when twisted) I can't complain (anymore).

If I was to do a rig from scratch now I would use a 1" to minimize the gaps.

When purchasing a BL get one from a well known company and you should be fine.

 

[K5er4Life]

One thing that is forgotten is how easy they make to work on your truck. On this note however, I do have a 3 inch on mine and Im taking it down to a 1 inch from ord. i relocated my bumpers but they will be gone anyways now, and before I was worried about trimming but Im not afraid of the holy sawzall anymore. I will say that I have gone through about 3 700R4's and eveytime I yanked a tranny I was so glad that lift was on there. Made it real easy to get to the tranny bolts. I dont like the look of big body lifts and I do think they might cause the frame and body to flex a little more than without them. Guess it depends on your needs and wants from your truck. But as far as them being unsafe I have never heard of anyone having a problem with them, providing they were installed correctly. And with my truck although I havent beat on it really really hard I am not exactly easy on my truck, and I have driven many miles on the street with that 3 inch bl and have not had a problem.

 

[Greg72]

Lots of reasons , including keeping a low center of gravity ,

Actually that's a reason to USE a body lift.....


The heavy parts of the truck (engine, trans, xfer, frame, etc) all stay in the same position relative to CG, and all you move higher is the body itself.

A spring lift raises ALL of those parts higher including your CG.







I'd rather have a body lift, than lift blocks anyday.

 

[camiswelding]

and when you are doing engine and tranny swaps a bodylift might be the difference btween having to cut/ hammer on your sheetmetal/ tunnel and having the swap fit without frame surgery... and it nicer to bolt then hammer and cut