Hi, I'm looking to get a 3" body lift on my truck but my dad is concerned that the CG shift will make driving to unsafe. I was wanderng if anyone knew the approximate numerical value of the CG shift in a 2003 Ford Ranger XLT or knew where or if I could find that. Any other tips on how I can convince my dad and prove to him that it is a minor change and is still safe woud be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

I believe I read it moves it up 1"? IDK. Show him pics of my truck...that should convince him to let you lift it! I've not been on my side and I drive it like a bat out of hell.

 

would a move of 1" affect the handling characteristics at all?

 

your not raising that much weight. so no biggie.

Something that usually works is....



C'mon, C'mon!

 

not much if anything in regards to handling differently.



be an outlaw and just do it. leave the house for a weekend, come back lifted. he'll learn that you do what you want. that worked for my parents when i started modding this truck and my other past trucks.

 

Its not noticeable at all IMO. Since your engine and tranny is still in the stock location to COG doesn't change much. Especially when you put on wider tires

 

I dont notice any thing different with my body lift. It didnt bother my dad when I put it on. He even helped. He thought it was a stupid idea but he actually likes it on there.

 

My mom was the same way at first, anti-mod ****. Now she wants to body lift our dakota lol!

 

^ Haha ya. My dad was against most of the stuff I did to my truck. He wants a limited slip and the grill mesh mod now for his F150.

 

lol i lowered my truck w/o permission and i got an earful when i got home at midnight after working on it for 11 hours. since i did it with out my moms consent the truck became "mine" wich meant she no longer paid half my insurance and gas

 

we lowered grant 4/5 when he was still in high scool.....dad saw it thedays after we pulled the alnighter and he said "say, why does it look so low?" lol...same story when I lifted it.....cept it got 7" and 35's in a couple days time. haha.

 

my dad (a former hot rodder with a '39 Ford Delux coupe w/ a '62 Vette engine) never liked me modding my old car, or my Ranger...but recently when I was doing my plugs, wires, and coil, I desnorkled my airbox...now he wants me to come over and do the "airbox mod" and cut the hole bigger...and I talked him into BFGs lol.

I've thought about seeing if he'd go for doing roller rockers with me haha


But in all seriousness, like Trent said, the amount of weight that is rising isn't much in comparison to the frame and running gear, and wider tires/wheels will help in the stability department

 

Its all about common sense driving. People can manage to keep one of these on all fours

you shouldn't have any problem handling that pick up if you drive it correctly.

 

Thanks for all your help guys. I'd just go do it without his permission but then I might not have a truck do drive lol. I've been talking to him and he's slowly coming around. So how do you think a 3" body lift, roll bars, and offroad lights would look on my truck? Any other suggestions?

 

it would look killer on there man...

 

do it.

 

your truck looks good now that the lift is on!
gotta get a light bar and tire rack on it like mine!

 

dude think about it this way,

If you lift your truck 3 inches you're gonna get new wheels/tires to make the lift look good, right? So let's say you get 32x12.50 tires and 15x8 or 15x10 wheels. Well now your tires are goin to stuck out 1-2 inches on both sides. Voila, you are now as wide as you became tall.

 

Get tires to go with the lift first...and paint your valance. Truck looks good though, I'm not a fan of roll bars, but everything else would look good.

 

IMO first thing you should do i paint that valance i think it would look killer in black lol