Body Lift or Suspension Lift?

[VegasTrailRider]

I am looking for guidance on which lift I should do.

Vehicle: 03 Sahara 5 speed with stock rims and 55K miles

I want to put 33's on the jeep for a better look and a little more ground clearance. For the time being I only plan on light to moderate (trail ratings of 1 or 2) off road use. No rock crawling or extreme wheeling plans. Jeep is used about 90% on road as daily driver.

My thoughts are a 3" body lift to fit the tires and maybe down the road as I become more experienced with my vehicle start looking into more extreme trails but way down the line.

What are the negative impacts or long term disadvantages of doing body lifts?

 

[VegasTrailRider]

1997 - 2006 Jeep TJ Wrangler 2.5" Suspension / 1¼" Body from Rough Country.



I tried to post the link but I do not have enough posts yet

I am thinking about this as a solution.

Any thoughts?

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

That combo suspension/body lift is a decent option, I wouldn't go any higher than 1.25" on the body lift. Anything taller is pretty booty fab, leaves unsightly gaps between the tub and the frame as well as adding a lot of leverage on the body mount bolts.

Also consider a 2" coil spacer (budget boost) kit along with a 1" body lift to clear 33" tires on a budget.

 

[TerryMason]

A body lift just jacks the tub up off of the frame using spacers with a long bolt through the center. The downside of a body lift is that the taller you go, the more stress is placed on the bolts connecting the frame to the body. It may seem fine when you install it, but a 3" lift can sheer off these bolts if you ever get rear ended, hit a curb, or even slam on the brakes.

Bounty is right - do a 2" budge boost and a 1" body lift

 

[ljrubitm]

Jeep TJ Suspension Lift

 

[cali_92]

suspension.

 

[jps4jeep]

2" budget lift and nothing else. if you plan on wheeling then add the 1" body lift.

 

[VegasTrailRider]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I am gonna look into the BB and BL options as well. If the price is close to the BL and Suspension kit from RC I think I will go with the suspension option for better articulation for when I do hit a trail or too.

 

[offroadterra]

If you do more then 2" for a body lift, you might have to extend your transfer case lever, radiator fan shroud might have to be moved, brake lines extended, The plate where your shifter may have to be modified to get into 2nd. Suspension will be the way to go, Brake lines will be the only thing needed to be extended if you go high( sounds like you won't need that)

 

[RangerRick]

I agree with the above posts, more than 1 1/4" of body lift is not only dangerous but is definitely booty-fab fugly. Usually followed by ultra bling-bling rubber band tire shod 22" rims and lots of hoopty chrome doo-dads like the crown air freshener on the dash and palm tree chromed license plate frame. Chrome twin exhaust tip, chrome pinch molding around the doors, wheel wells and the ultra hideous electro-plate chromed twin wiper set. Rubber duck radio antenna bent over by the wind. All this topped off with genuine fake zebra skin seat covers, tazmanian devil mud flaps and curb feelers. That's it, it's making me so sick im about to puke right now so please don't go there with your Jeep......

Rick

 

[VegasTrailRider]

Damn Rickster, have you been looking at my wishlist? You just described my perfect vision of what I am hoping to make my jeep look like.

Ok now that the crap is done, anyone have any issues with Rough Country components?

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Rough Country has good parts for the price.

 

[TJ_Jeep]

This is what happens when you have a body lift and have a minor wreck.....

 

[camsyj95]

Yeah well all I got say about body lifts is that they're a piece of crap! My jeep has a 2" body lift on it right now from the previous owner being a cheapass. But anyways long story short my jeep leans to one side now because i took a somewhat sharp curve one morning and heard the passenger side start to give way. The bolts through the body lifts were breaking under the stress of going around a curve and now 2 on the passenger side are missing must've fell out going down the road. So yeah definitely go with suspension lift, its both stronger and safer in the long run

 

[TJ_Jeep]

All i know is soon as i get the money saved up im going for a nice 6 inch long arm suspension lift, putting the body back where it belongs.

 

[VegasTrailRider]

Well after reading alot of information on this, all advice is to keep a body lift at a maximum of 1.5 inches. Anything more changes too many factors in performance.

The RC kit is only a 1.25 BL and a 2.5 SL which is the route I think I will go for now.

Just got to find a decent place to have this kit installed in the Vegas area that will not cost me an arm and a leg and that has the skills to do the job right.

 

[TerryMason]

Take a stab at the body lift yourself. It's not that hard, especially if all the bolts come out without breaking. It won't take that long either.

The suspension lift will take a bit longer - probably a full day, but both of these can be done with common hand tools and no experience. You can spend the money you save on a new tire or two.

 

[MT_D]

I hate body lifts. I think the gap between the frame and body looks crappy, and thats goes for all vehicles. Plus a body lift gets you nothing except space for bigger tires.
So that said go all suspension. You get ground clearance, and its a better setup for when you get ready to do more offroad.

 

[Jason4x4]

I agree that body lifts look like crap, but I'm planning on adding a 1.25" body lift with my 4" short arm and 1" riser motor mounts so I can run an extra clearance belly pan. I hope it doesn't look too "ghetto". :redface: