4 springs vs 2.5-3 springs and body lift for 33s?

TJim

TJim

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Hey guys!

The title is pretty self explanatory. Would you prefer 4” suspension lift or 2.5-3” suspension lift + 1” Body lift for running 33s?

Please let me know all the advantages and the disadvantages that you can think of!

*Lets just for the sake of the conversation assume that we are talking for maximum 33s tires and not going with 35s in the future
 
Its preference, trade offs and compromises any way you go. Since you asked about preference, I'll say I would prefer 3" SL + BL. My reason for that is you then have room for a tummy tuck.
 
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If you're planning on doing a tuck I'd go with the body lift, if you aren't a spring lift might be the right direction. As far as the gas tank skid, that's a bit of a loosing argument, 1.25" body lift and a raised tank essentially lowers the frame relative to the tank when compared to just going with the same lift with springs. The belly skid is very different because you go up more than the body lift height.
 
TJim said:
What about less shock travel? I havent calculated it yet? But is the difference noticeable?
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This is a good question.

I'm not sure here. My quick mental image of the differences only leave me with more questions than answers. Eliminating fender clearance issues, logically, the 4" springs would allow for more travel... but put the fenders back in the mix and you might be bumping all of that extra travel out.

My preference for 3"SL/1"BL is based almost entirely on the fact that I want a high clearance skid. I didn't consider the travel differences, but I'd like to know the answer here from someone with more experience.
 
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TJim said:
What about less shock travel? I havent calculated it yet? But is the difference noticeable?
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With a body lift you can actually fit a longer rear shock fairly easily. You simply have to wiggle the top of the shock through the hole in the crossmember and then bolt it to the top of the crossmember. If you grind the nuts off the crossmember, make or buy some spacers, and then bolt the top of the shock mount on top of the spacers and crossmembers you can mount it about 1.75 inches higher than the stock location before you run into problems. The caveat with this is that simply bolting on a longer shock wont exactly gain you anything unless you do your homework, cycle the suspension, and maximize the amount of uptravel and down travel by selecting a shock that has the right extended and compressed lengths, and stroke. I was able to take a rancho rs5000x and get 5 inches of uptravel and like 4.25 inches of down travel. This is probably the best you can do with cheap shocks mounted to the crossmember. After that the next leap would be to outboard tuned fox 2.0’s which you can read plenty about from other members here.
 
I may take a beating, but I like my 4.25 Zone lift. As previously mentioned, it addresses the driveline angles with the MML, leaves room for the Tummy tuck with the BL, and gives you 3" suspension lift. I like the combination of benefits it has to offer. Not that you couldn't go with better name brands and build your own kit just the same though.

By the way, I think I've had it on for about 15K miles/7 years, and I'm due to upgrade shocks, at the least. Take that for what it's worth. I would have went the more expensive route had it been a daily driver.
 
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Ron505 said:
I may take a beating, but I like my 4.25 Zone lift. As previously mentioned, it addresses the driveline angles with the MML, leaves room for the Tummy tuck with the BL, and gives you 3" suspension lift. I like the combination of benefits it has to offer. Not that you couldn't go with better name brands and build your own kit just the same though.

By the way, I think I've had it on for about 15K miles/7 years, and I'm due to upgrade shocks, at the least. Take that for what it's worth. I would have went the more expensive route had it been a daily driver.
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I don't think the rules of WTJF will allow beating on an Inca Gold owner. ;)
 
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I tried the 3" of lift and body lift for 33's thing. Its REALLY tough to make shocks work at that height. You run into a bunch of compromises, in either up travel or down travel. In my case, all the shocks that kinda fit rode like garbage to me too.

So, for me...I'd do the full 4" spring lift for 33's if I were to do it all over again. I know it restricts the tummy tuck and Tank skid lift, but the shock benefit is worth it. The difference between 3 and 4 inches of spring lift on the gas tank skid is negligible. The tummy tuck is more...but its a LOT of work. If you gotta do a tummy tuck, Pretty sure you can pick up about 2", going with a lo-pro mount and the "extra-clearance" skid from UCF...maybe you'd need Rokman's 1/2" body lift.
 
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TJim said:
Hey guys!

The title is pretty self explanatory. Would you prefer 4” suspension lift or 2.5-3” suspension lift + 1” Body lift for running 33s?

Please let me know all the advantages and the disadvantages that you can think of!

*Lets just for the sake of the conversation assume that we are talking for maximum 33s tires and not going with 35s in the future
Click to expand...
For that scenario, I prefer a 3”+1” lift because it leaves me more options like Gas Tank Tuck, Tummy Tuck, and causes less problems (I could get away with stick arms, I could use a MML to settle driveline vibes, et al.)

EDIT: I just read @Mike_H post ^ and I can empathize. I ended up using a spacer to get to 3.5”. At that height I had a good travel split with my Rancho 5000X and was happy with the ride. I went just about anywhere the guys in 35’s and 37’s went. I still miss my 33’s build, but just a little bit.
 
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How about a 4" SL and 1.25" BL with 33s? ;)
Willys).jpg
 
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Ron505 said:
I may take a beating, but I like my 4.25 Zone lift.
By the way, I think I've had it on for about 15K miles/7 years, and I'm due to upgrade shocks, at the least. Take that for what it's worth. I would have went the more expensive route had it been a daily driver.
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I've had mine for twice your miles with zero issues and mine is a DD. 🤫
 
I think we need to start another thread with a vote on what you have, where you think you heading and where you actually ended up.
And take it step a further, if you did proceed with initial plan, how long did it take you to get there.

This build with possibilities for the future approach, is a joke on wheels, jump on the bandwagon while everyone is hyping you up, worry later about the consequences. Especially when it is being pushed by those who are not even there yet.
Have seen it on every forum since 2016, end result is roughly the same: 95% of crowd watches the show, other 5% are prophets and blind followers.
 
eastbloc said:
I think we need to start another thread with a vote on what you have, where you think you heading and where you actually ended up.
And take it step a further, if you did proceed with initial plan, how long did it take you to get there.

This build with possibilities for the future approach, is a joke on wheels, jump on the bandwagon while everyone is hyping you up, worry later about the consequences. Especially when it is being pushed by those who are not even there yet.
Have seen it on every forum since 2016, end result is roughly the same: 95% of crowd watches the show, other 5% are prophets and blind followers.
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I started with 1.75” spacer lift and 31’s. Wanted to go to 33’s. I planned to do that with a combination lift approach because I wanted to leave the door open for future mods and a body lift is a great mod for the money. I also knew from that time that it was a way to build incrementally so that if I wanted to go to 35’s it would be a short step. That’s the way it worked out. The only things I bought twice were springs and shocks. It all took 4 years, but a Jeep is never finished. It’s on a journey just like I am.
 
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JMT said:
For that scenario, I prefer a 3”+1” lift because it leaves me more options like Gas Tank Tuck, Tummy Tuck, and causes less problems (I could get away with stick arms, I could use a MML to settle driveline vibes, et al.)

EDIT: I just read @Mike_H post ^ and I can empathize. I ended up using a spacer to get to 3.5”. At that height I had a good travel split with my Rancho 5000X and was happy with the ride. I went just about anywhere the guys in 35’s and 37’s went. I still miss my 33’s build, but just a little bit.
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Which ranchos did you use for 3.5” lift?
 
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