Don't buy new bolts. Don't buy new keys. Crank yours almost all of the way and enjoy. It doesn't kill your ride and it looks good. Crank them so the truck sits MAYBE 1/2" higher in the front because of them settling the front end will go down some.

 

i realize that, i'm asking about the future... if i want to lift the truck by 3 inches of suspension i mean... i don't want to raise my truck off of that cradle, with all of it, as i want the ground clearance... if i have to go to high angle CV's, i will...

 

prekeys are only for 2008 and newer trucks..

you say you've maxed the bars and your only sitting level? its hard to say, i dont think 71k on #1 bars is thaaaat much, but im not too sure either.. perhaps they are starting to sag a bit?? maybe someone with some tbar knowledge will chime in...

and theres not too many options for lifting our rangers.. just go for a bodylift

 

no, that's not what i'm saying... i am going to level it this week, and get an alignment right after...

i am ALSO going to be doing a suspension lift in the near future... i'm planning on doing chevy shackles... and for the front, i need to do something, i don't priticulairly want to raise the body and frame of the truck, off of the diff cradle, and change the driveshaft angle. i would prefer to change the angles of the lower a-arms and cv shafts, by cranking the hell out of the tortion bars, OR put different keys in,

what i am asking, is: is there any benefit of raising the truck by means of putting aftermarket keys in VS just cranking them all the way, or putting longer bolts in, to get more lift off of the bars and stock keys?

 

It's not just a matter of "running high angle CV's". If you use those after market keys and do the 3" of lift you won't be running any CV's for long because they're going to bind like hell. Trust me and anybody else who backs up this statement, Don't use the aftermarket keys. Somebody back me up on this.

 

IMHO there is NO benfit from using those keys. Binding, super fast wear, and just all around fukc shti up. If you do a shackle in the rear and max your t-bars you should be sitting nice and level. You might have a SMALL rake but it would be nothing like what you have now.

 

ok gotcha.. when i hear suspension lift i think of the superlift kit.. thats really the only other option of lifting the front... other than cranking the bars..

to answer your question, skip on the aftermarket keys.. they DO gain lift for cheap but at the expensive of the rest of your suspension components.. they just allow you to squeeze more height out of your stock suspension, thus creating the bad cv angles etc.. not to mention the ride quality similar to a dump truck or lumber wagon...

so just crank away on your current bars and see where that gets you... and i dont mean to sound like a broken record, but be cautious whenn cranking.. too much and you might not enjoy the ride..

 

also for the record, a bodylift doesnt change any angles at all ... just spaces the body from the frame.. very practical..

 

i hear ya about the cranking... so the aftermarket keys, don't do anything that cranking doesn't? IE, you would be paying for something that you could do for free, with what you have stock?

there is really no way to get better between the wheel clearance, out of my truck, on the front... other than tires, is there? the rear is obvious...

 

yeah basically.. the aftermarket keys will allow you to crank your bars a little bit further than your stock ones.. so youll gain a bit more lift but in turn it rides like a brick and beats up your suspension components.. so its not a wise investment... so you might as well just crank the stock ones.. same deal..

and to your second question.. no... superlift or crank bars

which brings me back to suggesting a bodylift!!

 

i just don't priticularly like body lifts, they look cheesy IMO, and it takes a good amount of work... not really something i can do at home with what i have... i would much prefer a suspension lift which could give me more travel... which would be re-arced rear springs, or longer coils (coilover suspension) and i don't know about ttb trucks... i don't think there is anything (superlift just moves everything down, and doesn't do much different, than a body lift really, although it will lift the frame off the ground more...)

 

fair enough.. but a properly done BL'd ranger will look exactly the same, (if not better because the torsion brackets arnt hanging down) as a superlifted ranger... have a look at my album.. to the average joe its very hard to tell how the truck is lifted.. also its questionable how much travel you gain with the superlift, if any at all...

anyways, enough of my ranting!!! just dont overlook bodylifts!!! i was never a fan of them myself until i did some research and learned a little bit about lifting rangers. they are a fraction of the price and basically the same outcome!

 

ya, i hear you about the ttb lift, vs body lift as the superlit just moves all the components, it doesn't make them work differently...

i think it was like 1 inch BL is fine, you can't see the gap, but anything more than that, often shows the gap between the body and the frame, and i hate that, then people make the skirts or what ever, and have to adjust the bumpers...

 

I have my bars cranked to the max with pre-keys. The ride is rough i will admit but nothing I can't handle. And I think the top of my wheel well is at 36" right now.

And I was the same when it came to body lifts, always hating them. But after seeing a few and learning more about them they arent that bad. Doesn't give you any frame clearance but at lest the bumpers and stuff wont rub in deep ruts or big rocks

 

true, i've got an 05 edge bumper going on my truck on monday though... so it's all good :D valence will be off within a week probably... and i'm just not sure where the fogs are going to go... but i got an STX grill going on too, so i can put them in there... somehow...

 

just curious why do you have to take the weight off the suspension before ya crank the t-bars? i didnt do that when i cranked mine. what can it cause it to snap the bars?

 

you can snap the bolt off and it just makes it alot easier to crank the bolt in

 

i don't think it's snap the bars, i think it's snap the bolt... extra load on it...