4X4 Lift: who knows the best Answer

[Pete Knippen]

My 2010 ST 4X4 Limited, Sits Lower than my 2001 did, Both stock. I like to give it a little lift. A few inches would do it, Whats the best easy way ?

 

[Tom Schindler]

Spring spacers, and that is a big "if" in itself.





Tom

 

[Yardsale]

It's supposed to sit lower; different use vehicle, different suspension.



"Best" and "easy" are not often compatible. Cheap and easy go together.



You need to decide what you want to do well.



If you want off-road performance, "best" is upgrade the suspension and, potentially, taller tires. "Easy" is some sort of lift (spring spacers are probably the easiest), but that won't get any batter performance. In fact, it'll be worse because it raises the static height and reduces the available wheel down travel. I had a truck like that, once; rode like crap on the street - suspension would top-out on drops and ruts.



If you want street performance, don't raise it (unless you also widen the track, and maybe increase the anti-roll bar stiffness, to compensate for the raised CG and roll center). Then you will have bearing wear and scrub radius changes to keep in mind.

 

[Pete Knippen]

Good answers, Ill be more specific, Not looking for "High" performance In NE Fla. I do a lot of Just riding the beach, it sinks in softer. thicker sand and drags the belly more than I like. a few inches is all Im looking for. I was hoping ti see if there any air shocks available. I c

ould not find any nine for the ST

 

[Yardsale]

Even with front and rear independent suspension, there is only one way to raise the low parts - taller tires.



While air shocks won't raise the hub centers, they will raise parts between them. They can ride rough, though. Maybe air bags that can be deflated when not needing the increased height would do what you want (stock ride and height when deflated, and more clearance when needed). Not sure they are available for the front, though.

 

[swshawaii]

Pete- 2001 stock front and rear ground clearance is 6.7 inches, 2010 is 8.5 inches.

 

[Gavin Allan]

Wider tires so your Trac doesn't sink so deep into the sand?

 

[Yardsale]

In sand, flotation is what's needed. Wider tires will get that, as will de-pressuring the current tires. Some people go down to 10 or 12 PSI, there is the risk of the tire bead separating from the rim. 15 PSI should work.

 

[blksn8k]

From my experience the Rancho Quick Lift shock/spring combo has worked very well. I also installed, or more accurately, had the dealer install, a set of 265/65/18 BFG A/Ts on the factory Limited wheels before I took delivery of the truck in 2007. I am on my second set of those tires at just over 99k miles. I installed the Ranchos myself a little over a year ago. Prior to installing them I always experienced a rear tire rub on large bumps or dips in the road surface when towing or hauling heavy objects in the bed like my ATV. Living in Ohio its kind of hard to avoid that kind of stuff. The truck now handles better than stock even with the slightly higher ride height. The Ranchos are nine-way adjustable although I have never messed with the settings. The original front shocks also had what I call an axle tramp issue, especially at low speeds over pot holes or even speed bumps. The frontend would bang extremely hard on shock rebound. That was also cured with the installation of the Ranchos. These mods also required an SCT tuner to correct the speedometer due to the larger diameter tires and a four wheel alignment after installing the Ranchos. Not cheap mods by any means but worth every penny, IMO.

 

[Yardsale]

The Ranchos are nine-way adjustable

...



blksn8k,



On my '01, I have the shocks set to 3 at rear and 6 at front. Maybe start with these and make changes. Noticeable difference between settings (7 in front was jaw jarring).

 

[blksn8k]

Thanks. I might try some different settings but I am not unhappy with where they are now. The next time I tow my enclosed trailer I will probably try something different. That is one of the other advantages of having the Ranchos. You can adjust for the conditions.

 

[user 66791]

I have an Adrenalin and accomplished what you are trying to do by replacing the tires with a wider higher model. I went with Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza P265/50R20 tires and that is wider and taller than the stock Scorpion P255/50R20 (which have a terrible short life expectancy which I ran into at around 25K).



Once I replaced those stock tires the truck looks a lot better, rides a whole lot better and I feel less of the bumps of the road.