Useful Tips When Lifting Your Truck, SUV Or Jeep

If you are planning to go off-roading, you have to lift your truck to make room for larger off-road wheels and tires and ensure a more tangible performance when driving on sand and gravel and rock crawling. Lift kits will raise your truck or SUV by 1 to 3 inches using spacers between the body of your vehicle and its frame. Another option is suspension lift kits that allow you to go as high a lift as you want.

Important reminders when lifting a vehicle

Always go to a professional for installation

There are several online articles that will teach you how to use a lift kit in your garage. However, lift kits fundamentally change the ride itself, steering and handling. These changes can put unusual stress on the vehicle particularly if the lift kits were not properly installed. You will need a professional auto mechanic to install the lift kit according to your vehicle’s specifications to prevent damages to its suspension, frame, and body.

How to choose the right height

There are two kinds of lift kits – body lift kit and suspension lift kit. Body lift kids are limited to only 2 to 5 inches while suspension lift kits will allow you to go as high as 12 inches and more that will truly transform the look and feel of your vehicle. However, the higher you want the lift, the more expensive it will be because it will require a more complicated installation process.

It is easier and less expensive to install a body lift kit. The installation will require lifting the body from the frame to insert the spacers that will be held in place by several bolts. Installation of a suspension lift kit requires work on the vehicle’s suspension system and sometimes, the brake cables.

After the installation of a suspension lift kit, you will require wheel alignment because of the changes in suspension geometry. The way that the vehicle handles will be different so that it will take some time to adjust to the changes. Components like brakes, brake lines, and the length of the driveshaft must be upgraded.

If you plan to take the vehicle off-roading once in a while, you will probably require a lift of about 1.5 inches. If you will go off-roading every weekend, you may want that 6-inch lift. However, the higher the vehicle, the more difficult it will be to go in and out. The centre of gravity will also change.

If you will be using the vehicle to drive to and from work, you do not really need the extra height. A few inches will do for better ground clearance so that you can look down at the other cars on the road.

You can buy an aftermarket lift kit with parts and accessories that are specifically engineered to raise a truck, SUV, or Jeep. The performance of your vehicle will be improved including its stance and how people will view your vehicle on the road. The lift kits are rated the best in the market.