GQ lift opinions

[timbotim1003]

Hay guys just want some opinions on 5"spring lift vs 3" or 4" spring lift + 2" body.

[SuperiorEngineering]

My opinion is Forget the body lift , it achieves nothing apart from making you more top heavy and prone to falling over on a steep sideslope, you are better of putting it in the suspension 3,4,or 5 inch depending on what you are doing with the truck, something like a beach driven truck does not need any more than 3 inch , vehicles that are driven in rocky areas benefit from having some additional lift .
Clarifying what i said is for flex and handling you will get that from suspension not from a body lift, body lifts give you additional clearance for tires but their are better ways around that than body lifts.

[micks troll]

Aree as above,
even though I have a 30mm body lift, only put in for clearance of my sliders design. I run 4" king springs and 30mm packer for a bit more clearance and it's worked for 7 years! (Put packers in 3-4 years ago). Now run 36s as play tyres and will cut guards out before anymore hieght is added. would change the old springs/spacers to flexys when money permits but works fine now
Horses for courses!
What do you want to do with your 4wd

[steel]

A vehicle with 5 inch suspension lift will be more top heavy than the same vehicle with 5 inches of lift achieved with 3 inch suspension and 2 inches of bodylift.
Body lifts can be a good option for clearing larger tyres, especially if you dont want to loose wheel travel during compression stroke by fitting bumpstop extensions.

You will get better flex with the larger lift, but having said that there are ways of setting up suspension with 2 inch lift and same travel as 5 inch set up. Handling however will be better with a lower lift most of the time.

I personally have fitted 2 bodylifts to 2 of my own vehicles and never had a problem, although others have, and i think they are a good option for some vehicles.

The best reason to go the 5 inch spring lift ( and this is as long as you dont extend your bumpstops ) is because of the extra stroke in compression it allows you to drive alot harder, drive rough terrain faster and land bigger jumps without bottoming out the suspension

[mhgill]

I've been thinking about this for a while and on a budget, 3" spring + 2" body is the best way to go IMHO.

How can you say a body lift makes you top heavy? A spring lift makes you MORE top heavy. Sure you can cut guards to fit wheels but not everybody wants to do that.

Anymore than 3" you'll need drop arms or drop boxes. longer rear control arms, panhard rods, brake lines, RTC dampner etc etc, It really ads up.

[steel]

I've been thinking about this for a while and on a budget, 3" spring + 2" body is the best way to go IMHO.

How can you say a body lift makes you top heavy? A spring lift makes you MORE top heavy. Sure you can cut guards to fit wheels but not everybody wants to do that.

Anymore than 3" you'll need drop arms or drop boxes. longer rear control arms, panhard rods, brake lines, RTC dampner etc etc, It really ads up.

Yep, you're right.

[Yom]

Thats all well and good but I still can't see the point of a 2" bodylift and a 3" lift. Your roof might be as high as a 5" lifted vehicle but your chassis still hangs down where a 3" lifted vehicle would.

It doesn't make sense. If you want to protect the body get barwork for it. If you want to be able to drive over big things, get the chassis and axles higher.

[turbo gu]

Thats all well and good but I still can't see the point of a 2" bodylift and a 3" lift. Your roof might be as high as a 5" lifted vehicle but your chassis still hangs down where a 3" lifted vehicle would.

It doesn't make sense. If you want to protect the body get barwork for it. If you want to be able to drive over big things, get the chassis and axles higher.

Agreed. Plus a body lift can cause problems with brake, fuel lines plus radiators and fans and floors cracking

[SuperiorEngineering]

Agree with yom and turbo Gu , their will be a lot of different opinions on this post , at the end of the day read all the posts and make up your own mind, based on goods and bads of each setup as to what you want from your truck.
Ive done countless body lifts to vehicles and fitted more suspension kits to 4x4's than most guys ever would , i have had 4x4's with and without body lifts but i would never have a body lift in a 4x4 again.
My opinion and i am sure the next post will be totally opposite.

[steel]

Agreed. Plus a body lift can cause problems with brake, fuel lines plus radiators and fans and floors cracking[/quote]

Brake and fuel lines, and radiator fans are all things that should be sorted as part of the bodylift. they don't " cause problems ".

Floors cracking is something that commonly happens on GQ's even without bodylifts. I believe alot of bodylifts are incorrectly installed and that is why some people have problems.

Anyone know of a GU that has had problems with bodylift?

[SuperiorEngineering]

Agreed. Plus a body lift can cause problems with brake, fuel lines plus radiators and fans and floors cracking

Brake and fuel lines, and radiator fans are all things that should be sorted as part of the bodylift. they don't " cause problems ".

Floors cracking is something that commonly happens on GQ's even without bodylifts. I believe alot of bodylifts are incorrectly installed and that is why some people have problems.

Anyone know of a GU that has had problems with bodylift?[/quote]

So if we now know they have weak floorpans why lift the cab an extra 2 inch's and put additional stress on the floor pan.
Wouldn't you agree that this is going to put more stress on the floor even if it is fitted correctly ?

[micks troll]

Anymore than 3" you'll need drop arms or drop boxes. longer rear control arms, panhard rods, brake lines, RTC dampner etc etc, It really ads up.

NO you dont need longer rear control arms or a rtc dampner thats a crock. If you do a 3" you should still get adjustable panhards as it'll push the diffs out to the side and if you have flexy 3" you'll still need longer brake lines. (Trick to this is buy a longer rear and use the rear brake line for the front!) you can get castor bushes which you'll most likely need for a 3" also. Ive only recently put drop boxes on my setup to gainbetter flex from the castor bushes. You can do a half as#ed job on a 3" or do a proper job and get 3", 4" or 5" kit all the other arms and tierods help strengthin more than anything which you'll want in the end anyway.
In the end a suspension lift isnt just shocks and springs if you do it properly over 2"
RTC dampners in my oppinion mask underlying problems when my bushes are flogged I'll know were as the RTC covers them up more so.
M2cs

[SuperiorEngineering]

I've been thinking about this for a while and on a budget, 3" spring + 2" body is the best way to go IMHO.

How can you say a body lift makes you top heavy? A spring lift makes you MORE top heavy. Sure you can cut guards to fit wheels but not everybody wants to do that.

Anymore than 3" you'll need drop arms or drop boxes. longer rear control arms, panhard rods, brake lines, RTC dampner etc etc, It really ads up.

I will try to make this clearer for those who do not understand what i tried to explain earlier .
We are talking about 4wd's so usable suspension is what is needed or we would be driving cars offroad.
Now if we have usable suspension at any given height we choose than "if" we were to than add a body lift to the vehicle than it would be more top heavy than what the original " usable suspension would be".
If this is not true than maybe we should all take out 2 inchs of suspension and add 2 inch body lifts.
This is Fact not an opinion.
I am not saying dont fit a body lift , they have their place in the industry ,but i am explaining that they are not usually needed and why.

[canuck]

A 1" body lift does make some mechanical work easier - like pulling the tranny.

[steel]

[quote

So if we now know they have weak floorpans why lift the cab an extra 2 inch's and put additional stress on the floor pan.
Wouldn't you agree that this is going to put more stress on the floor even if it is fitted correctly ?[/quote]

No i would,nt agree, if the lift blocks are welded to the chassis like i did with my Rangie it should'nt put additional stress on the floorpan

[SuperiorEngineering]

[quote

So if we now know they have weak floorpans why lift the cab an extra 2 inch's and put additional stress on the floor pan.
Wouldn't you agree that this is going to put more stress on the floor even if it is fitted correctly ?

No i would,nt agree, if the lift blocks are welded to the chassis like i did with my Rangie it should'nt put additional stress on the floorpan[/quote]

That is certainly a different way to do a body lift.

In QLD ( as "timbotim" location is the gold coast as posted at the start ) it would be illegal to weld the body lift blocks to the chassis,not to mention the extra work of prepping , welding and rustproofing the chassis.
IN QLD, DOT rules state that original mounts must be retained so it would be impossible to weld the body blocks to the chassis on a nissan as you have the rubber insulator between the floorpan and the chassis mounts , I would have thought rangies were the same type of system but i have never taken notice.
If you can do it in WA it certainly is a different approach but i dont think it is the way most would consider doing a body lift.
Body lift kits are sold as bolt in, i have never heard of a "weld in" body lift kit.

[coxy321]

Hay guys just want some opinions on 5"spring lift vs 3" or 4" spring lift + 2" body.

Can i ask why you need 5" of lift???

[waandy]

it all depends on what u want to drive, what tyre size you want to run, how much cash you have to spent etc.
i put a 4 inch coil lift in my shorty and its great but has taken alot of time and effort to set up right. i think rear arms are a must, as if you push hard you will bend or break them. adjustables are a must with big lifts if you want it to drive nice with no vibs. if you really want to go a 5 inch coil lift remember that you will need other parts to make it work right.
i will be going a 2 inch body and 3 inch coil in my new car as it will be cheaper and keep the majority of weight lower.
i have also chopped my rear guard out to clear 35s, which if you can do a neat enough job no one will ever no

[RED24]

correct me if im wrong in saying that a body lift will cause more cab movement which intern creates more weight movement when on angles which leads to problems.


why do a body lift when you can achive great things from doin the suspension correctly

as for price i have learnt from many mistakes that the cheap way out leaves you wishing you chose the right path in the first place

also why would people not listen to the people who get paid to know about this stufff

[RED24]

Hay guys just want some opinions on 5"spring lift vs 3" or 4" spring lift + 2" body.

Can i ask why you need 5" of lift???

i am asuming he wants to run 35's correctly no scrub and still achive as much flex as possible

[timbotim1003]

Hay guys just want some opinions on 5"spring lift vs 3" or 4" spring lift + 2" body.

Can i ask why you need 5" of lift???

Sorry for not getting back

Its to clear 35" rubber but dont see the point in a boby lift maybe in a shorty but in a lwb. I think the rear end could be set up better to decrease tyre rub.
I seem to see 5" kits that arent set up right with springs, shocks and bump stops. Springs that fully compress before the bump stop do their job and not only that the shock isnt fully compressed either on tuck.

Yes the centre of gravety hire in the truck but lwb GQs are a big truck and can handle it when set up rite.

I think its all about diff angles and engineering your truck to make it all work correctly and my opinion is that a body lift isnt engineering. if you achieve good diff angles you will increase driveability and a level body through ruts.
I also see 3" trucks trying to drive deep ruts lifting wheels and having to lock in .

in the end im asking for a friend, i drive a 6" lifted hilux surf.
thats why i think a 5" is better than a 3" with a 2" body.

[coxy321]

Hay guys just want some opinions on 5"spring lift vs 3" or 4" spring lift + 2" body.

Can i ask why you need 5" of lift???

i am asuming he wants to run 35's correctly no scrub and still achive as much flex as possible

5" of lift is definately NOT needed to run 35" tyres, and extra height doesn't always equate to extra travel. Having the correct springs/shocks/geometry and components better suited to flex will obviously net a better gain. We all know the GQ/GU radius arms lack for travel as an example - so fit an X-link or 5-link.

Sorry for not getting back

Its to clear 35" rubber but dont see the point in a boby lift maybe in a shorty but in a lwb. I think the rear end could be set up better to decrease tyre rub.
I seem to see 5" kits that arent set up right with springs, shocks and bump stops. Springs that fully compress before the bump stop do their job and not only that the shock isnt fully compressed either on tuck.

Yes the centre of gravety hire in the truck but lwb GQs are a big truck and can handle it when set up rite.

I think its all about diff angles and engineering your truck to make it all work correctly and my opinion is that a body lift isnt engineering. if you achieve good diff angles you will increase driveability and a level body through ruts.
I also see 3" trucks trying to drive deep ruts lifting wheels and having to lock in .

in the end im asking for a friend, i drive a 6" lifted hilux surf.
thats why i think a 5" is better than a 3" with a 2" body.

I think you'd be hard pressed to get a GOOD setup from any one manufacturer. It also depends on what the owner wants to use the car for.

If he's that keen, he can call someone like Shane at suspension stuff and get a completely custom setup to suit his needs.

[steel]

also why would people not listen to the people who get paid to know about this stufff

I would be careful just blindly following advice from people JUST because they are in the industry

[timbotim1003]

Obviously everyone on this page is an engineer, I wonder how many people actually put engineering and geometry into their trucks instead of bolt on kits and off the shelf parts. It is possible to achieve a low centre of gravity and excellent driveability with a lifted truck.

[SuperiorEngineering]

Obviously everyone on this page is an engineer, I wonder how many people actually put engineering and geometry into their trucks instead of bolt on kits and off the shelf parts. It is possible to achieve a low centre of gravity and excellent driveability with a lifted truck.

Yes very true,
That is why we have a comp truck that is designed around that thinking, although we have gone one step further and designed all the parts to be "off the shelf Items Now" and the truck has taken podium places 22 out of the 23 comps it has entered in, that is pretty hard to beat!
You can rock crawl it, high speed drive it, recreational drive it and even drive it to the shops ( hope the cops dont see it)
and No body lift
http://www.superiorengineering.com.au/i ... ?pag_id=10

[bogged]

5" of lift is definately NOT needed to run 35" tyres, and extra height doesn't always equate to extra travel. .

Best post in thread.