Suspension Tech General discussion of suspension for the Ford Ranger.

Superlift question

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Old 07-18-2005
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Superlift question

On a superlift setup. From my understanding the superlift setup has a bracket/crossmember piece that goes inbetween the T-bar mount and frame right ? and a piece in the front that the suspension arms mount to right ?

How much ground clearance do you end up with in the front inbetween the front tires ? how much is gained ?
 
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Old 07-18-2005
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Not entirely certain, since I dont have one to measure, but I think since it uses drop down brackets to retain factory tbars, the crossmember and/or atleast the tbars are no higher other than the clearance gained by larger tires, which may only be 1" if you go from 31" to 33".
 
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Old 07-18-2005
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they essentially stay the same height as stock....all u're doing is an elaborate body lift with the superlift...not that its crap or anything, but u're just putting in bigger parts to lift u're truck up...

but then u throw on bigger wheels and u gain more room under there
 
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Old 07-18-2005
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Originally Posted by TippnOver
they essentially stay the same height as stock....all u're doing is an elaborate body lift with the superlift...not that its crap or anything, but u're just putting in bigger parts to lift u're truck up...

but then u throw on bigger wheels and u gain more room under there
Not entirely true. A body lift only lifts the body. The Superlift lifts the frame, which is good, but it does leave the tbars down there to get hung up on things still, but the frame is up out of the way.

The differentials only go up as tire size increases. Tire size can increase using either lift (body or suspension) but the frame will go up with tires of course, but in terms of lift, by suspension lift only, not body lift.
 
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Old 07-18-2005
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Basically the Superlift drops down all of your front suspension 3" which raises the rest of your truck up. As far as under-differential clearance, no lift is going to give you more of that. That can only be gained by using bigger tires. You could pretty easily fit 34s judging by how much room is left with my 33s. Hell, if you wanted, 35s would probably be possible.

It ain't the greatest picture, but you can kinda get the idea of what the lift does.

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There you can see the torsion bar drop bracket and you can kinda make out the differential and control arm drop brackets also. If you'd like me to snap a few more pictures I'd be more than happy.
 
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Old 07-18-2005
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wow, that looks nothing like i thought it would under there.....
 
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Old 07-18-2005
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So the only advanage a superlift has over a body lift is you wont get the frame/somebolted to the frame hung up off roading ? sounds to me all you are gaining is the ability to put bigger tires under there. Dare I saw it ...why is it any better then a body lift ?
 
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Old 07-18-2005
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Body lifts are great, don't get me wrong, but with this you won't get high-centered near as often, I still have use of my WAAG and towhooks, and I got another inch or two of suspension travel. Also, if you've ever seen a body lift gone wrong after wheeling, it's not something I'd want to deal with. Don't have any pictures on my comp, but I'm sure you could find some where the cab has slid forward or back, or has done a zig-zag number. It's bad news.
 
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Old 07-18-2005
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^^ ouch

that sounds bad
 
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Old 07-18-2005
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Originally Posted by Twoplusone
Pics of a broken body lift, here ya go: http://hometown.aol.com/fourbyracer/...age/photo.html

As far as the superlift goes, it also increases wheel travel, both front and rear. Not that this cannot be accomplished without the use of drop brackets, because it can, but it would not come in a package, tig welded kit. You would probably have to go to several different manufacters and fabricators to buy the equipment to accomplish this. It is a decent kit, but it has its draw backs, just as any other kit does.
but What was he doing when he broke it like that ? The site says pre-runner at the top. I would guess he jumped the truck in the air to do that.

I see what everybody means about high centering a super lift should take care of that. I see the difference now.
 
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Old 07-18-2005
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its your money...$160 vs $1200....but saying that, ill probably get the superlift because I cant really afford the rcd kit of my dreams
 
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Old 07-18-2005
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but the body lift is GREAT for the people just wanting a lifted stance, who take their rig light offroading...
 
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Old 07-18-2005
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James that is the exact picture I was thinking of when I said the "zig-zag" business. Thanks for finding it. I cringe everytime I see it!

All in all, the superlift is a great kit and I will 100% reccommend it to anyone. The price is a bit steep, but so is the price of a 4x4 over 2wd. I guess it's just a trade-off like anything else. I love it and IMO it was totally worth the money.
 
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Old 07-18-2005
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I think another benefit would be having added height to most of your mechanical parts ie motor, trans, transfer case and so on. There's less ability to do damage to them through water, rocks, or small - low flying ufo's.
 
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Old 07-19-2005
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Originally Posted by winks
I think another benefit would be having added height to most of your mechanical parts ie motor, trans, transfer case and so on. There's less ability to do damage to them through water, rocks, or small - low flying ufo's.
Yeah I was thinking that to.
 
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Old 07-19-2005
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I don't know why everyone bashes body lifts so much, i wheeled my truck at tellico and the front end has been 2-3 feet off the ground before and nothing has shifted nor broken. I had 35's and the only thing that would get hung up on the underside was the damn torsion bar brackets. And with a superlift those brackets look alot more prone to damage if slammed into rocks that the factory ones. The only lift i think worth buying for our trucks is the RCD since it replaces the torsion bars with coilovers.
 
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Old 07-19-2005
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I luv my RCD well worth the money spent. I couldnt stand scraping my bars on rocks when i just had a body lift and tires. But hey get a lift which ever way u go makes 4x4 so much fun. good luck with the lift idea its a good investment.
 
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Old 07-19-2005
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Hey GearHead61 do you think that you could snap a few pics of (well i dont know if you want to call them spindles) but they are pretty much like spindles just for a four wheel drive. I guess like a steering knuckle. But anyways I am curious at what the difference is between factory ones and the ones that they give you. Pretty much wondering if its any bigger and if its going to hit the wheel at the bottom. Thanks for the help!!

Edit: that is the ones that they give you with the superlift kit.
 

Last edited by nautiqueman15; 07-19-2005 at 11:25 PM.
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Old 07-19-2005
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You can call me Kyle

Basically the spindle is 3" longer from top to bottom. The hub gets moved down 3", but the tie rod ends and stuff stay in the same place to keep the same steering geometry. I don't have a side by side comparison to show you, but here is one i just snapped from under the truck. In regards to are they bigger? yes. Do they hit the wheel at the bottom? Nope. The LCA gets dropped down about 3" also, along with the front differential and torsion bars, so the spindle is just made to fill that gap.

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Old 07-20-2005
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Thanks kyle that is exactly what I was looking for!!
 
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Old 07-20-2005
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hey Kyle have you changed the front drive shaft?
 
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Old 07-20-2005
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Originally Posted by Gearhead61
You can call me Kyle

Basically the spindle is 3" longer from top to bottom. The hub gets moved down 3", but the tie rod ends and stuff stay in the same place to keep the same steering geometry. I don't have a side by side comparison to show you, but here is one i just snapped from under the truck. In regards to are they bigger? yes. Do they hit the wheel at the bottom? Nope. The LCA gets dropped down about 3" also, along with the front differential and torsion bars, so the spindle is just made to fill that gap.

hey kyle hows that cv shaft seal going there it looks like i might be leaking grease
 
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Old 07-20-2005
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how about a front shot of what the front end looks like you know under the front bumper
 
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Old 07-20-2005
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Neil, I have not changed the front driveshaft yet. These things cost money! lol

Zach, I somehow managed to forget the CV seal the first time I installed the lift in the stock knuckles, so that's probably from the day or two that I drove it (on the street of course) without those seals in there. I'm assuming you're talking about the metal ring that goes between the hub and the CV right? That orange stuff is just surface rust I think.

Ben, is this what you're looking for?
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Old 07-20-2005
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Originally Posted by Gearhead61
Neil, I have not changed the front driveshaft yet. These things cost money! lol

Zach, I somehow managed to forget the CV seal the first time I installed the lift in the stock knuckles, so that's probably from the day or two that I drove it (on the street of course) without those seals in there. I'm assuming you're talking about the metal ring that goes between the hub and the CV right? That orange stuff is just surface rust I think.
ok ya i was talking about the seal that goes in the back with the rubber on it. good thing you cought that it would have been costly!

ya you should have painted the spindles...
 


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