Want A Distinct Height Advantage Over Your Buddy’s Truck ?
posted in General Information |Planning to off-road as a means of getting around growing traffic congestion in your area? Want to make it harder for fat chicks, old ladies and pesky midgets to get into your rig? If any of these sound like your battle plan, you need a lift kit, son. We’ll help you sort it out.If your rig is still riding around at stock height, you need a lift—and fast. See, modern trucks are pretty much made for sporting a big set of rubber right off the assembly line. With the original donut size barely filling your wheel wells, your truck looks like an elephant standing on a stool. So, to fit the big tires that make your rig look right, you need more clearance, and that’s exactly what a lift kit gives you. In short, your rig plus a lift kit plus big tires and wheels equals awesome.Okay, so you’re saying that the idea’s great, but you’re probably wondering how a lift kit gets it done without busting under pressure or causing other problems, the way your neighbor’s homemade job did. A true lift kit modifies your truck’s suspension in any number of ways, depending on your factory gear. If you have leaf springs in the rear, count on some add-a-leaf inserts to the pack. Coil springs, in front or rear, are usually replaced by taller springs, thick spring seat spacers or both. Torsion bar suspensions usually substitute longer bars or tuned torsion keys. Plus, you may end up with new control arms, a-arms and steering components that relate your new height to the stock handling feel.Now that you know how a lift kit works, let’s look at the bigger boys making these badass toys. This should make picking the parts of your project a bit easier. We’ll start with one of the most recognizable names in lift kits: Skyjacker. Contrary to what you might think, the guys at Skyjacker aren’t into hijacking planes at extreme heights. Rather, they make great lift kits with all-around capability. They’re tough off-road, smooth on-road, and look clean everywhere. Next up is Rancho, a brand with plenty of cred in the truck world. Rancho is the off-road suspension arm of the same automotive giant that makes