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Lift Height Opinions

A

airemdwn

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I am having a "friendly" discussion about how much lift is TOO much. A friend is going to lift his 89 k5 and he asked me what lift to use. I told him 3 inch Tuff Country and if he wants a bigger than 36"tire use an ORD EZ inch and move the axle forward and a little trimming he would be set to crawl and be totally streetable. Well i had no idea how strongly people had different opinions. Hes getting every response from at least 8" to the very old 4 +3!
I said "free country, You do what u think but u dont need and u wont want 8" of lift for east coast wheeling in the woods.
What is the general opinion , is a 4" lift better than a 3" in the real world? I have a 6 and i may do a 3. Would i be disappointed in my own advise?
 
Function dictates design! I have 6" sespension lift and A LOT of trimming. I run 38s that do not rub and the rig is still road worthy and the center of gravity is low :-)

What is he trying to acheive with his lift? Looks? Big tires (what size)? etc.
 
I have 8" lift front and 9" lift rear with 37's and love it. Not huge, but bigger than the average 6". To each their own and 8" lift works great for me in the woods
 
4 + 1 and trimming and I run 40s....

It won't wheel worth **** on 8" IMHO.
 
In my opinion anything higher than 8-10" is out of the question. I tend to like a 6-8" in the looks department, but for functionality i would have to say 4-6" with trimming etc.
 
Asking a question like that WILL get tons of different answers, opinions, facts and fantasies. The only "correct" answer is to build the rig for the terrain.

All I can add is for tight, woodsy, New England trails I like as low lift as possible with body trimmed for tire clearance. And I run trails rated from mild to moderate to moderately hard.
 
blazer and 4" can = rear c/v drive shaft

blazer over 4" will = new shafts and c/v rear shaft.

your 3" plus zero front moved and zero rear stock be good combo .

but I think 4" for basic bolt on and go = good win to start.

thing with moving front forward is push/pull steering don't like it much that short. almost have to do crossover and that's 4" min lift.

up here in the north east I say unless mud only 4-6 range = great.

but blazer I would do 4" and 1" body lift from ord or diy4x and new body poly mounts but on rust belt vehicle could be can of worms for body lift.
 
I have around 7-8 total on 39.5s, and I was looking at it today thinking, "looks too tall". I'm hoping the springs will settle even more once I can start beating the snot out of it.
 
496truck said:
Asking a question like that WILL get tons of different answers, opinions, facts and fantasies. The only "correct" answer is to build the rig for the terrain.
Click to expand...

Winner ^^

It's all about where you are and what you're going to do with it. My K5 has 8" on it but it's fine down here because it's mostly flat and muddy, any real rocks or hills are 4+ hrs away.
 
I think under 4" will cause trouble if you want crossover and/or high-steer.

I ran 2.5" front springs with 3" rear springs for a few years on 37's and liked it.

Then ran about 5" from 52's front, shackle flip rear and zero-rates. Had good clearance with 38's.

Now I'm building a crew cab and I'm going with 4" plus 1" body lift running 37's. This is more of a mild trail rig.

Overall I would prefer short as practical.
 
Anything over 6 inch is too Much in my opinion. Ask my girlfriend she'll tell you the same. Lol. Jokes aside, anything over that will be really stiff ride and will not articulate Very well. You will have more driveshaft issues as well. Cheap and say with the least problems is 4 inch with trimming fenders for clearance. It really depends on how big a tire you Plan on running. 4 inch is good for 35s and minor trimming or 38s with total hack job on inner and outer and firewall. 6 inch is good for up to 37 with minimal trim job and 39-40 with major trimage. All depends on how you drive it and what terrain as others said.
 
As I've been playing with my suspension over the last coupla years my truck has gone up and down a bit. I ended up about 3" suspension plus 1" body pucks.

More lift looks impressive and all that, but is invariably hard to actually make work, get into, and drive. I would say as little lift as possible, so 4" or so assuming you're gonna do crossover.

-- A
 
My first lift on the K5 was 4" lift back in the mid-90's when it was a daily driver/very mild off-road rig. Since that time it has morphed into a trailered off-road only rig (though still licensed and spends some time on pavement between trails). Still have a 4" lift and very happy with it. The truck has gotten bigger but have just trimmed the fenders more to make room for tires. Currently running 39.5" tires on the 4" lift and have no desire to go bigger.

Advantages to a 4" lift
- very little to no driveshaft and steering modifications required
- crossover steering will work
- keeps center of gravity relatively low
 
sweetk30 said:
i know a guy that did 4" and 3" body then cut the rest and ran 44" tires :thumb:
Click to expand...

Sheet metal is overrated anyway :waytogo:if you don't care about shettmetal you can have minimal lift and huge tires. :D. I tend to like my sheet somewhat together with minimal cutting.
 
tho it may perform well, too big a tire, with too little lift just looks goofy.. disproportionate...

for 38's to like 42's I like to see 5" to 8" total lift.. trim as needed..
 
4" lift and a little trimming in the front fenders works perfect with my 37" tires. I think it looks just right.

IMAG0291.jpg
 
I have 4" and running 38" boggers. Just trimmed yesterday and so far doesn't rub. But, like ryoken says is does look little goofy. It rides like a lumber wagon, gonna change out the springs and get little more lift....
 
nvrenuf said:
Winner ^^

It's all about where you are and what you're going to do with it. My K5 has 8" on it but it's fine down here because it's mostly flat and muddy, any real rocks or hills are 4+ hrs away.
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Agreed down here you can get away with more height. I run approx 6 inches and my tires still rub and that is with trimming and 37's. I do not mind trimming as long as it is tasteful and not a "hack" job. No pun intended.
 
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