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learn me on body lifts

K30Blazer

K30Blazer

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so I started another thread about trimming fenders and got some suggestions of not to do it as my truck is too nice. Well I appreciate all the comments, and yes I do like the way my truck is, but I don't want it to get torn up by the tires either. I am thinking of a one to two inch body lift combined with my 4 inch suspension lift. I am not a big fan of body lifts as I find they look lame and I question their safety (sometimes not all times), so I have always been hesitant, but in this case what do you all think?
 
They are cheasy, go no more than 1" or your "good looking" truck will look like a hack job unless you go through and raise bumpers and all that. I personally do not like them and will not run one. You also have to do other little mods to make everything work under the hood etc. You improve clearance at the expense of other things.
 
I personally am anti-bodylift. I am of like mind of the above comment. 1" is the max I would ever remotely consider running. I seriously doubt that I will ever run one. I will shell out the money to raise the suspension more if I need to or cut more sheetmetal for clearence.

Harley
 
Well, I like body lifts cheapest 3in. You will ever get!!! Your ride stays the same!! If you don't have a body lift, your not as high as you can go. I have 8" of springs and am putting a 3" body lift In the am.

Oh shit.jpg
 
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whe u do a body lift it gives your truck more body roll and makes it more top heavy which leads to roll overs. my buddy has a 3 inch on his and he wants to take it off. its scary to ride in it with out the sway bar hooked up. it feels like he's goin to roll it on every corner. the truck came with it. he has a 4inch susp. lift and 3 inch body lift.
 
down4thakrown said:
whe u do a body lift it gives your truck more body roll and makes it more top heavy which leads to roll overs.
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Actually it would make it less top heavy since the center of gravity is lower. Only the body gets raised. When you do a suspension lift the frame, engine, tranny, and transfer case get lifted too.
 
While this may be true when comparing body and suspension lifts of the same height, a body lift + a suspension will have a higher COG than a suspension lift alone. It also fails to take into consideration spring rates. In addition to this, a body lift, by moving the body further away from the frame, places more leverage on the mounts and attaching hardware. I have never seen this addressed by any body lift. After riding in trucks 1,2, & 3 inch body lifts, some with no other mods & some with many, I wouldn't go more than an inch on my truck and am untrusting of more than two. Just my two cents.
 
I despise body lifts cuz i live in the rust belt and body mounts/supports tend to crumple and sink down and it doesnt work well with a body lift. Personally, i like the look of the diagonal cut on the rear of front fenders. I think it looks better then stock, reminds of Scout wheel wells. But a body lift is also a good time to put some poly body mounts in.
 
4wheelinfury said:
so I started another thread about trimming fenders and got some suggestions of not to do it as my truck is too nice. Well I appreciate all the comments, and yes I do like the way my truck is, but I don't want it to get torn up by the tires either. I am thinking of a one to two inch body lift combined with my 4 inch suspension lift. I am not a big fan of body lifts as I find they look lame and I question their safety (sometimes not all times), so I have always been hesitant, but in this case what do you all think?
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Not surprisingly, you will find the the people running body lifts will tell you they're fine, and those that don't will tend to caution you away from them. :haha:

That being said (and given that I run one) I can tell you that the body lift is a nice way to get that "last little bit" of clearance you need without going to a taller (and stiffer!) spring and will also keep your vehicles CG low.... remember, the engine, tranny and frame have not gotten any higher with a body lift.

Body lifts will require modifications to your bumper brackets (if you want them to look right) and you may have to lengthen your shift column linkage, make small adjustments to hard brake lines (for clearance), etc.

In order I'd suggest you tackle it this way:

1. Add suspension lift
2. Play around with zero-rates and shackle lengths (allows you to re-position the axles in the wheelwells too)
3. Body lift done last to eek out the final clearances you might need.
 
I used to run a 3" body lift but I saw the light and took it off.

It was an easy way to gain some extra clearance but with it I got bumpers that didn't come close to matching the body, a lot more exposed frame, and that weird gap where you can see through the space between the frame and body.

I think it would look better to tastefully cut your fenders than to put a body lift on.

I guess you could go through all of the trouble of relocating your bumpers but you gain no suspension articulation, stress your body mounts and have a misaligned fan and radiator shroud on top of everything else. :screwy:

I am sooo glad I took my body lift off. Don't miss it one bit.
 
Robert79K5 said:
I think it would look better to tastefully cut your fenders than to put a body lift on.

I guess you could go through all of the trouble of relocating your bumpers but you gain no suspension articulation,
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I believe he took "cut fenders" off his list of solutions he was willing to consider.

Given that, the only way to get more clearance is either with body lift or suspension lift.

I think we can all agree that a taller lift spring will NOT flex as well as a shorter, and flatter one....

SO:

Taller springs - won't flex as well, but no cutting and adequate clearance
Body lift - better flex, no cutting, adequate clearance.
 
Robert79K5 said:
I used to run a 3" body lift but I saw the light and took it off.

It was an easy way to gain some extra clearance but with it I got bumpers that didn't come close to matching the body, a lot more exposed frame, and that weird gap where you can see through the space between the frame and body.

I think it would look better to tastefully cut your fenders than to put a body lift on.

I guess you could go through all of the trouble of relocating your bumpers but you gain no suspension articulation, stress your body mounts and have a misaligned fan and radiator shroud on top of everything else. :screwy:

I am sooo glad I took my body lift off. Don't miss it one bit.
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DITTO! There is just too much screwing around involved with other systems of the truck, and I like having ALL of the fan pulling through the radiator. Electric fans would solve that, but now that adds to the expense.



Greg72 said:
I believe he took "cut fenders" off his list of solutions he was willing to consider.

Given that, the only way to get more clearance is either with body lift or suspension lift.

I think we can all agree that a taller lift spring will NOT flex as well as a shorter, and flatter one....

SO:

Taller springs - won't flex as well, but no cutting and adequate clearance
Body lift - better flex, no cutting, adequate clearance.
Click to expand...

Well given that he doesn't want to cut fenders, I would assume maximum articulation is also not a priority. I am a firm believer in function over form, but many people have their own views on that.
 
Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't a body lift provide the truck w/ more flex in the body? Also this would be a good oportunity to replace body mounts w/ polyurathane.
 
spearchucker said:
Actually it would make it less top heavy since the center of gravity is lower. Only the body gets raised. When you do a suspension lift the frame, engine, tranny, and transfer case get lifted too.
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That is wrong. The body of a truck is not mad out of material that is lighter than air and there for it will raise the center of gravity. It might not move it much but it will be noticable. It is simple physics.
 
jhellwig said:
That is wrong. The body of a truck is not mad out of material that is lighter than air and there for it will raise the center of gravity. It might not move it much but it will be noticable. It is simple physics.
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Maybe you miss understood what was being said. :rolleyes:
You have a truck at stock height. If you raise it 3 inches with a suspension lift you raise the body, frame, engine, tranny, and transfer case. If you took the same stock height vehicle and raised it 3 inches with a body lift you only lift the body. The COG with a suspension lift WILL be higher than the COG with just the same body lift since the frame, engine, tranny, and transfer case are not made of helium. That's physics 1A ... and also chem 1A mikey. :wink1:
 
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