To lift or not lift

tackettbrnco

So i asked in another thread about leveling kits and got some great answers. Now my question is should I put a 3 inch lift on my Bronco? Ive read alot of post of how great the sasquatch stock suspension is and im very pleased with it myself. I don't want to screw the on road ride up either. Came across this on fabtech website and wanted to know everyone's thoughts. What issues could I run into with this kit (link below) or just issues in general with lifting my ride. Im inclined to leave it as is but man it sure would look sweet with a lift but I need offroad function as well. Not rock crawling function but decent offroad ability. Any experience and advice would be greatly appreciated to this new Bronco owner.



https://fabtechmotorsports.com/prod...front-shock-spacers-rear-shock-spacers-k2383/

I am not interested in lifting my Sasquatch. Over the decades, I’ve driven 3 generation of the competitor. I lifted the first 2, loved the off-road ability but hated the highway manners. The 3rd was not lifted and had 33” tires; very capable, but still scary above 65 MPH. My Badlands Sasquatch is really good on the trail (short of extreme rock crawling) while having comparatively great highway manners. So my view is don’t mess with a good thing. I’ve only owned 2-door models, your experience with a longer wheelbase may differ.

tackettbrnco

So i asked in another thread about leveling kits and got some great answers. Now my question is should I put a 3 inch lift on my Bronco? Ive read alot of post of how great the sasquatch stock suspension is and im very pleased with it myself. I don't want to screw the on road ride up either. Came across this on fabtech website and wanted to know everyone's thoughts. What issues could I run into with this kit (link below) or just issues in general with lifting my ride. Im inclined to leave it as is but man it sure would look sweet with a lift but I need offroad function as well. Not rock crawling function but decent offroad ability. Any experience and advice would be greatly appreciated to this new Bronco owner.



https://fabtechmotorsports.com/prod...front-shock-spacers-rear-shock-spacers-k2383/

For mall crawling and light off-road use it will be fine.. I see it comes with UCA's and a trackbar bracket but you'd probably also need to address the cv-axels if you went with 3 additional inches.

Downsides? Less MPG, a slightly rougher on the road ride and the cost of the kit. Especially if you need to address the cv-axels..

Are you dead set on 3"? Also, depending on what size tire you plan on running, the additional 3" lift might look a bit goofy with the stock 315's on it...

Maybe consider a spacer lift that's less height. Anything under 2" and you should not need need new UCA's, nor a trackbar bracket and you won't really need to worry about the cv's... The stock 315's would not look super goofy with a 1" to 2" spacer lift either.

For a spacer lift, I'd personally try and stay at or under 2".. If you want to eliminate most of the factory rake, go 2" front and 1" rear..

My .02

If you lift it and put 37” on it, when you wheel it take a couple of tie rods with you. I take a tie rod kit with me and I roll stock suspension. Lifting these things is possible but it changes the geometry so you will need to consider your UCAs, CV, tie rods, steering rack etc. not that you have to do anything with these parts other than UCA, but you might need to upgrade them or risk something breaking on the trail. Could you lift you bronco and just replace your UCA and add 37” and wheel it on some tough trails without problems? if you are careful absolutely you can do it. But just get a little over zealous with the skinny pedal with the wheels turned just right and you are doing a trail repair. What is too much skinny pedal? Only the Bronco can tell you for sure. If you are doing mostly street driving and occasional fire road trails you should be fine. And you can always upgrade as needed, when needed. My next Bronco I will probably lift it and add 37s but I gotta pay this one off first, I am not getting rid of it.

As a minimalist (and cheapo), I would opt for caution and sleep on any decision. It's always prudent to establish a need before buying anything. Wait until you actually NEED to make a change, IF or WHEN you've struggled off-road with your current setup. That way, you'll be better prepared to know how (or if) to spend your money on a lift. JMHO

So for me the stock Sasquatch setup was great and did everything I asked of it. I did notice at King of the Hammers this year that at higher speeds through the whoops it quickly reached its limits. And being the geek that I am I had already been doing a deep dive on suspensions. My issue I was running into was that on almost every suspension I looked at I was gonna be jumping up a minimum of 3” in lift and was also looking at the need to replace all the other suspension components. In my years long deep dive I saw that Bilstein was coming out with a new suspension that was Bronco specific.

Now for me the other companies made great products but I wanted something that gave minimal lift, stayed With 35” tires, and most importantly was great on road, desert running, rock crawling, washboards and whoops. When my rear shocks started leaking and no fix in sight, I pulled the trigger on the Bilstein 8112 DSA+. I also got a set of Icon’s tubular ICA’s for the extra flexy moments. Now this suspension is not inexpensive, but I didn’t have to change everything else.

I got an excellent suspension that has already shown itself to be vastly superior to the stock Bilstein system and I was able to stay within the stock geometry. I know that Dobinson makes an excellent suspension that is right up there with the Bilstein’s. I would definitely keep and extra set of tie rods or upgrade to one of the many quality brands of tie rods that are available. Again this is what I went with for my specific use of my Bronco. If I was ordering my Bronco right now I would go with the upgraded Hoss 3.0 Fox system along with the HD tie rods and steering rack and be done with it.

BuckYeah

As a minimalist (and cheapo), I would opt for caution and sleep on any decision. It's always prudent to establish a need before buying anything. Wait until you actually NEED to make a change, IF or WHEN you've struggled off-road with your current setup. That way, you'll be better prepared to know how (or if) to spend your money on a lift. JMHO

Very good advice. Thank you

TK1215

So for me the stock Sasquatch setup was great and did everything I asked of it. I did notice at King of the Hammers this year that at higher speeds through the whoops it quickly reached its limits. And being the geek that I am I had already been doing a deep dive on suspensions. My issue I was running into was that on almost every suspension I looked at I was gonna be jumping up a minimum of 3” in lift and was also looking at the need to replace all the other suspension components. In my years long deep dive I saw that Bilstein was coming out with a new suspension that was Bronco specific.

Now for me the other companies made great products but I wanted something that gave minimal lift, stayed With 35” tires, and most importantly was great on road, desert running, rock crawling, washboards and whoops. When my rear shocks started leaking and no fix in sight, I pulled the trigger on the Bilstein 8112 DSA+. I also got a set of Icon’s tubular ICA’s for the extra flexy moments. Now this suspension is not inexpensive, but I didn’t have to change everything else.

I got an excellent suspension that has already shown itself to be vastly superior to the stock Bilstein system and I was able to stay within the stock geometry. I know that Dobinson makes an excellent suspension that is right up there with the Bilstein’s. I would definitely keep and extra set of tie rods or upgrade to one of the many quality brands of tie rods that are available. Again this is what I went with for my specific use of my Bronco. If I was ordering my Bronco right now I would go with the upgraded Hoss 3.0 Fox system along with the HD tie rods and steering rack and be done with it.

Ill look into that!!!

My Bronco was one that was on hold for the rear shock replacement. They fixed it and since it was a new 24 and newer models had been released i got a killer deal. Would you guys ride the stock shock till or if it screws up or start looking into the Bilstein 6100 shock?

I know im asking alot of questions but man I love this vehicle. Always loved the Bronco since I was a kid and im still in shock I finally pulled the trigger and got one!!!

tackettbrnco

My Bronco was one that was on hold for the rear shock replacement. They fixed it and since it was a new 24 and newer models had been released i got a killer deal. Would you guys ride the stock shock till or if it screws up or start looking into the Bilstein 6100 shock?

I would ride with it, use it and see the capabilities of these bad boys! If you are gonna go off road, I would upgrade skid plate coverage first. Rear differential, rear shock/lower rear trailing arms, front of the lower trailing arms and for the transmission cross members.

TK1215

I would ride with it, use it and see the capabilities of these bad boys! If you are gonna go off road, I would upgrade skid plate coverage first. Rear differential, rear shock/lower rear trailing arms, front of the lower trailing arms and for the transmission cross members.

While drooling over the Next Venture 7000 Series kit, several ‘pages’ down, I discovered I do NOT have transmission cross members… how about that… I really need to look at the manual. 😝

tackettbrnco

My Bronco was one that was on hold for the rear shock replacement. They fixed it and since it was a new 24 and newer models had been released i got a killer deal. Would you guys ride the stock shock till or if it screws up or start looking into the Bilstein 6100 shock?

I bought 6112’s for my 2dr Sasquatch because of my rear safety recall. I only have installed the rears to date. But wow I can’t believe the difference in on road ride comfort and control. The floaty marshmallow feel is gone. Road imperfections are vastly improved. This is night and day with a 1/2” lift.
Super excited about having the fronts installed.

Pivot

While drooling over the Next Venture 7000 Series kit, several ‘pages’ down, I discovered I do NOT have transmission cross members… how about that… I really need to look at the manual. 😝

I think the cross members are only on the 2.7 engine rigs

TK1215

I think the cross members are only on the 2.7 engine rigs

They are.. I have the 2.3L and do not have them..

Like Tim said I would roll on the stock suspension until you need/want to change that out. Skids are a great place to invest. I can’t remember your Broncos specs and trim that will help a lot with knowing what to add. I mean you may need more skids than what Tim mentioned. Air compressor and hoses I use every time I wheel, molle panels for the cargo area and lighting are other areas I would upgrade before I messed with suspension. But don’t be surprised that you start off only driving dirt roads and then find yourself pushing your rig and yourself on Hells Revenge or Top of the World in Moab. And keeping track of where each bit of trail damage occurred and the memories of that trip. These things can be addictive. You have been warned.

Lots of great perspectives here and fantastic info as always. I have owned various Jeeps for 20+ years and for me, once I started with lifts that was “the point of no return” and the mods then became more & more extreme and the vehicles became more & more purposeful. I would only install a “real” lift on a vehicle that would be my exclusive off-road rig and plan to use it weekly and maintain it accordingly.

Jakob1972

Like Tim said I would roll on the stock suspension until you need/want to change that out. Skids are a great place to invest. I can’t remember your Broncos specs and trim that will help a lot with knowing what to add. I mean you may need more skids than what Tim mentioned. Air compressor and hoses I use every time I wheel, molle panels for the cargo area and lighting are other areas I would upgrade before I messed with suspension. But don’t be surprised that you start off only driving dirt roads and then find yourself pushing your rig and yourself on Hells Revenge or Top of the World in Moab. And keeping track of where each bit of trail damage occurred and the memories of that trip. These things can be addictive. You have been warned.

You are so very correct!