Hello again! I've been looking into doing a coilover conversion on my 2000 4wd ranger. I know I'll have to fab brackets too and bottom, but what else will I need? I want to achieve 2-3 inches of lift. I also would like to know what coilovers can be used. Thanks!

 

Check out ME00stepsides thread. He makes a full bracket kit and the thread has all of the coilover in for you need. But, be warned, coilovers ARE NOT A WAY TO LIFT YOUR TRUCK. They are for improved ride/ground clearance ONLY. They leave you with the same amount of adjustability as the torsion bars (1-1.5 inches) It you want that much lift, your ONLY options are a body lift or the superlift. Stay away from aftermarket lift keys/leveling kits, they are trash.

 

Like jimmy said. You are just throwing away $1500 or so on converting if you want to do this for lift. Its not ment for lift at all.

For 3-4 inches of suspension lift the only option is Superlift.

 

In my opinion, lifting the suspension of a vehicle isn't* a good* idea*. If you want to lift, use a body lift instead. (Note the asterisks)

Suspension lifts, as the name implies, raises the suspension of the vehicle. As a result of this, everything is now operating at the wrong angle. Driveshafts, axles, your boots, steering racks and all that are now at the wrong angle. As a result of running like this, these parts will wear out faster and could also cause uneven tire wear. It's bad enough that those big tires are expensive, it would suck majorly if they wore out quicker too.

In contrast, a body lift leaves the suspension alone entirely and only raises the body. Although you may run into electrical connectors no longer being long enough to reach where they need to go.

***Just to clarify, though, not ALL suspension lifts are bad. Just like many other mods, if you do it correctly then there's no problem. It's when it's done wrong that it's a bad thing. I can't shed much light on what is and isn't wrong to do in a suspension lift, but be forewarned that there IS a wrong way. Plenty of research, dude. Your wallet will thank you later.

 

No, that is completely wrong. An actual suspension lift will maintain factory angles. The superlift kit for the torsion bar Rangers maintains factory suspension geometry and ride quality. Running a superlift causes no more wear on parts than driving a stock truck. Hell, even a tbar crank is still within the suspensions intended range of motion, just the upper end of it.

 

I didn't say they're all bad. In my original post like I quoted, I clearly say NOT ALL suspension lifts are bad. The cheapie ones that don't maintain the factory angles are the bad ones and directly cause what I just described.

C'mon man. I accept I'm not always right, but at least don't chop what I post to make it look like I'm some bumbling anti-lift-ist.

 

I knew what you were trying to say, it just wasn't that clear. I wanted to clarify to avoid others getting false information.

I broke up your post because I wanted to quote the part where you were incorrect. Your whole post wasn't wrong, just parts of it.

 

If that's your intent, that's fine. I understand where you're coming from. I was going to be wrong about something eventually, I suppose.

 

lifts are bad......
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for your wallet...

 

Not a personal attack, just want to clarify and correct the incorrect information.

 

^^^ vista gets it. Lol.

 

I greatly welcome people to correct me if I'm wrong. I'll be one of the first to admit I don't know it all. Apologies if I've come off as harsh.

Although, in the interest of expanding knowledge, I would like to know a bit more, if you don't mind. In what I'll link, a youtube mechanic points out the flaws in (what I consider to be) a cheap/improper lift kit which is installed onto a GMC/Chevrolet truck. Even though it's not the blue oval, this is where I've picked up my belief.

I genuinely would like to know your thoughts.


*Just to add, I don't personally believe lifts in their very nature are stupid. They have their place just like every other mod out there. They sure are expensive, though.

 

That dude is an idiot, I wouldn't put a whole lot of stock into what he has to say. He is confusing different types of lift. The drop bracket that he points to and proceeds to blame for the poor cv angles is part of a proper lift kit. Proper lift kits maintain factory suspension geometry. The drop brackets, like the one he points out, move the axel and the LCA mounts down to maintain reasonable lower balljoint and CV angles. The knuckle has different dimensions than the factory one. It is taller and the hub is spaced out farther from the upper balljoint and tier of mount. This keeps reasonable upper balljoint and outer tie rod end angles. When a proper lift kit is installed, all of the suspension components function the exact same way as they would stock.

The actual cause for the poor suspension angles that the guy is freaking out about are caused by over adjusting the torsion bars, more than likely by using aftermarket torsion keys.

 

Makes sense. Thank you for explaining.

 

No problem. Always happy to share knowledge.