[burnboy]

ok lately ive really been thinking about getting a tahoe and jacking it up. I have a few basic questions.

I see all of these 6-9'' lift kits in trucking magazine for 1300+. do these lift the whole truck or just the back? To lift the front would i just use shocks?
Also what about an axle flip kit? could i just use this to raise the back up really high?

Lastly a body lift. I know these are really cheap but how hard would it be to install?

Thanks in advance for any help guys.

 

[MuddyS10]

i think all of the suspension lift kits raise the entire vehicle, and NO, simply shocks up front will not raise it lol. axle under conversions can be done, but its cheaper to get an add-a-leaf kit and longer shackles to raise the rear. flipping the axle will result in a lot of problems if not done correctly. body lifts are the easiest, it mainly consists of unbolting the body, raising it, inserting the lift parts, and bolting it all bac together. how much lift do you want?

 

[fmfredrider501]

well youre going to want to lift the front too unless youre just lifting the back maybe 2" or so. if not youre going to slide out the front of your seat when driving down the road. to lift the front on an IFS vehicle is a little complicated. you will need more than shocks unless youre just cranking the torsion bars up. those expensive lifts lift the whole rig and the reason its so costly is all of the drop down bracketry for the front suspension. an axle flip kit would lift the rear about 4-6" and you would definately need to do something to lift the front too if you did the axle flip.

 

[burnboy]

im looking for a 6-9'' lift and a 2-3'' body lift.
so would my cheapest and easiest bet be to get the axel flip kit and some triple hoop shocks up front?

 

[MuddyS10]

wow...thats a HUGE lift...the easiest wont be the axle flip - you have to weld on new perches, new shocks, extend brake lines, plus, add traction bars (axle-under's have a lot of problems with that when mounted on a thin pack like the s-10 has). you need a complete suspension lift - not just triple shock hoops. You need, basically, an entirely different front end suspension, which a few companies make. also, with a lift that tall, you're going to be lookin at some terrible driveline angles - dont expect anything to last very long. Usually a lift that high is only used for serious off-road beasts, with 44's, ect ect. Do you NEED that much lift, or just WANT it? ALso remember how high the centre of gravity will be, how bad the gas mileage will be, things like that. If this is a daily driver, a 12" lift isnt that good of an idea. I dont mean to turn you off the idea, but its a lot harder than slapping the axle under the leafs and getting some new shocks, and hoops.

 

[burnboy]

what do you think the highest i can go is and not have to lengthen cables, wires and redo a lot of stuff? im talking basic bolt on? of course i don't need this lift but i want this lift

 

[MuddyS10]

i think with all the suspension lifts, cables/lines have to be changed, all BL's need brake lines lengthened, ect ect - theres some amount of modification required for each level of lift. How mechanically inclined are you, or were you going to have a shop do the work? the easiest way to go is a BL (which im doing soon, if i can find a damned ZR2 kit), just unbolt and lift body, insert spacers, lower and rebolt body. thats really simplified, but a BL is really easy. Do you want the lift for functionality, or actual usage, and if you;re actually going to use it, for what (i.e. mudding, rock-crawling, ect)?

 

[burnboy]

ill do a little offraoding occaisonally but i just mostly want it for looks and show. Im not very mechanically inclined but i have friends that can help me. Id rather not do just a body lift because they don't look as good imho.
im looking to spend about 1500 total on the lift alone plus tires etc.... are there any good sites for newbies to learn a lot off of? thanks

 

[MuddyS10]

unless you have a shop, a free weekend, and your friends are very knowlegable about IFS, i wouldnt recommend doing a suspension lift yourself, its just too complicated; its probably going to cost a good bit to have it installed. Body lifts dont look as good, most of the time, but im doing a 2" BL, and a 2" AAL (add a leaf) lift in the rear. Ive got a stock height ZR2, and i just want a little more air underneath me. How much will you be driving this vehicle? there's a guy on here named pyros### (dont kno the exact numbers) but he's done a good bit of suspension work i think, so you could probably PM him and ask about it. Actually, i knew almost nothing when i joined on here, and ive learned a LOT just browsing through threads and forums, reading stuff that didnt pertain to me at the moment, but would eventually.

 

[a2b]

ya dont hold your breath on that budget for that much lift....looks like all you can afford is aal, tbars, bl and some 31's or 32's.....just the 5" kit is at least a grand...

try searching forums on such topics by usinng the search function, you will learn soooo much

search here on this forum

and here
s10 ext

and here
zr2.com

and you will find more than you need.

you can search pirate4x4.com and find more than you will need to know, but dont ask questions like you just did or they will flame you..

good luck!!!

 

[burnboy]

let me rephrase my last post, sorry. im looking to spend about 1500 on the lift alone and then i can spend more on tires and shocks if needed. what is aal? add a leaf? t bars? how much lift would i get off aal? and would it be easier to flip the axel in the back? also for the front what all would be involved?

 

[fmfredrider501]

yes AAL=add a leaf, that might get you 1.5-2.5" of lift in the rear. t-bars are your torsion bars...AKA your front springs. if you want to spend 1500 just on the lift honestly i would take a saturday, go to a junkyard and get some good buys and do a solid front axle swap. its stronger, flexes more, very upgradeable, and less expensive than IFS stuff. now if you get good buys and have a friend who is a real good welder do the swap with your help and whoever else, you should be able to do it for under $1500 and the thing is when you do that the lift for it is as big as you wanna go. but if you still want IFS the trailmaster lift is like 1100-1300 with shocks, but like said before can be tricky to install. but if you decide to do the SFA swap get tons of info and pix, and plan ahead bigtime before you start, it will make it alot easier.

 

[MuddyS10]

ok. an add a leaf is a kit where you add either a long leaf, or a short leaf to the leaf packs in the back. usually it results in about 1.5-2.5 inches of lift in the back. torsion bars are the bars that run from the lower control arms to about the middle of the frame. they replace the coil-overs on earlier 4x4's. you can crank them up (change the setting) to add about 1.5-2.5 inches of lift in the front. unless you are prepared for a LOT of fabbing, and welding, switching to an axle-under IS NOT, i repeat, NOT a good idea. it would be better for you to get leafs that are arched differently (ZR2 springs, or such) and add a leaf, then get longer shackles (what connect the rear of the leaf springs to the frame). If you buy a lift system, like from superlift, trailmaster, skyjacker, ect, it is a complete kit for front and rear. You will not need to fab any parts for the front. DONT fab any parts for the front. its a bad idea, unless you're a mechanical engineer with really good welding skills. it sounds like you are going about this the wrong way - go to a few suspension websites, and browse through them. you'll learn a lot. you really need to do some research before you attempt a big lift like that. also, have you realized what the vehicle is going to handle like after you lift it that much? its going to be terrible. a big lift, like you want, is usually only necessary if you plan on hard-core wheeling. i know you said you wanted it for show...how long have you been thinking about this? if you really want a liuft that high, im pretty sure superlift has a 9.5" suspension lift. it will be the complete kit (im pretty sure). this is also not a DIY project - be prepared to pay a good sum for installation. how much will you be driving this vehicle? in what conditions? do you have the mechanical skills to fix something if it breaks?

 

[MuddyS10]

haha he beat me to it...a solid front axle swap would be great, and a lot more pratical than a big IFS lift, but is also very mechanical, and detailed.

 

[burnboy]

this will be an everyday vehicle. driven in all conditions. i have above average mechanical skills. Do you all think a 6 inch lift would be more reasonable? what is ifs? i think i would be happy with a 6 inch lift 3"bl and some 36'' tires or so. remember this is a tahoe and not a blazer.

 

[burnboy]

http://www.sounddomain.com/member_pages/view_page.pl?page_id=194631&page=2

theres a pic of a tahoe with a 6 inch lift 3"bl and 36' tires just like i want.

 

[fmfredrider501]

whoops i forgot, the trailmaster 5" lift is for S10's....i dunno if they make one for tahoe's or not. but the tahoe still has IFS (independant front suspension)

 

[MuddyS10]

if its an everyday driven vehicle, i would highly recommend against a lift that high. Max lift i would be comfortable driving would be a 5" SL and a 2" BL. after that, the centre of gravity is just too high for city/highway driving. im not sure about the rear axle - get under it and look - if the axle is above the leaf springs, you COULD (but shouldnt) do an axle under swap. i thought you meant a tahoe model blazer. i really cant help you with full-sizes. but, and im not trying to be sarcastic or mean, if you don't know what IFS or torsion bars are, you really need to read up on vehicle lifts, and in particular, IFS lifts before you buy anything, especially if you want to do it yourself.