Lift limit question?

[Megawatt]

I am new to the ranger IFS and I just ordered a super cab fx4 so I have a couple months wait. My experience is from years on a wrangler SFA climbing rocks on a mountain. My questions below are in reference to keeping at least the same quality of stock ride or performance once lifted. If you had enough money to do a lift correctly what would your answers be? I am not looking for the “pay any expense“ answer with super expensive parts we can only dream of.

For instance a SFA rig can be lifted with an inexpensive lift spacers, but not changing to longer shocks will limit travel and the angle change would affect the ride quality. So it would be incorrect to recommend only a 3” spacer lift for a Jeep, IMO. When I lifted my JKU I added 8 adjustable control arms and drove it for 87,000 miles everywhere in 7 years. I lifted it correctly and improved the stock ride and never had issues of concern No matter how hard I drove it in MOAB.

I will ride out in the Mojave desert. I do not want any rubbing or unfavorable angles, and I want to be able to go where I want to without having to worry about full lock turns or reverse (I understand this is more an issue of tire dimensions). Because the final drive ratio is 3.73 I will not go above 32.5” tire. My JKU was 35” with 3.73 ratio so I am familiar with how it performs so I am not looking to regear, I will just keep tire size smaller.

1. At what lift in inches is a change of the UCA needed?

2. When does stock drive line (shafts, boots, etc) become impacted in performance with x inches of lift? As in what drive angles become a long term issue?

3. Any other issues (upgrades needed) to consider when doing a 3” max lift?

Thanks in advance for reply’s. I am sure to mod my ranger when I get it, just trying to get educated before delivery.

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[Frenchy]

So hopefully I can provide you the best answer on this. I myself own a 2019 crew cab 4 by 4 sport model. Yes it is an XLT no I do not have the FX4 package. I myself took some time to decide on what I was going to install on my truck for a lift or level. Why did it take me a bit of time? Well I wanted to make sure I was going to get the right stuff for my truck for going off-road while keeping my truck good enough for a daily driver. Originally I was going to go with a fox kit and probably find either blocks are shackles depending for the rear because 4 off-road you're better to lift the truck versus just leveling it. It wasn't much longer after that that old man emu by ARB released a lift kit for the Rangers here in the United States. I decided to pick that kit and I can tell you I am very impressed. You get shocks on all four corners along with new springs for the front and the rear. The front gets lifted 2.4 in and the rear gets lifted by 1.6 in. It does not come with any control arms or any other parts because no other parts are really necessary. On top of that I also put bigger tires on. The tires I went with are 265 70 17 Bridgestone Dueler a t Revo 3. Overall I'd say it's a good combination but I do plan on getting bigger tires in the future when my tires do wear out. How has the right quality been? The right quality overall has been very nice compared to stock. Can I still tow with this suspension? Absolutely I can. I actually have towed 5500 pounds with it and it did just fine. How well is the clearance going off-road? The clearance is very well and it could be a little bit better with bigger tires which is why I'm considering that in the future. Now you're probably wondering why I only went with the old man emu lift kit versus other lift kits. It's quite simple when you think about it. This lift kit provided replacement leaf springs for the rear which allowed better articulation in the rear versus if I were to just add blocks or change the shackles. I was able to prove this in one little area in Colorado for off-road both stock and modified. Mind you I don't have a locker in my truck.

I should also add that for most four-wheel driving the most practical lift kids are going to be between 2 to 3 in overall anything higher than that starts to make the vehicle unsafe to drive.

I hope this helps you out. And here are some pictures of the truck.

 

[Megawatt]

@Frenchy thanks for the reply and pics. I have been around the off road game to know that anything ARB Is legit. I will keep them in mind, already looking up the website. Your rig is looking good!

 

[Frenchy]

@Frenchy thanks for the reply and pics. I have been around the off road game to know that anything ARB Is legit. I will keep them in mind, already looking up the website. Your rig is looking good!

Your welcome. Also Stage 3 Motorsports has a bunch of different parts avalible for the Rangers. They are a dealer for ARB as well.

 

[onobeka]

With stock UCA, your down travel will be limited compared to stock height. It may not be an issue for you, if you do not plan to do crazy offroad.

 

[HoosierT]

With stock UCA, your down travel will be limited compared to stock height. It may not be an issue for you, if you do not plan to do crazy offroad.

Yes to that, get upgraded UCAs if you really plan to flex. I have Stage 2 suspension from Icon with billet UCAs and I couldn’t be happier.

 

[Megawatt]

With stock UCA, your down travel will be limited compared to stock height. It may not be an issue for you, if you do not plan to do crazy offroad.

Let’s just say I can see UCA will be in my future I am not going to try to do things I did in my Jeep but I would like to go where I want to go and not have to turn around.


@HoosierT do you have a thread on your build and what you have done to your rig? It’s looking good ??

Thanks for the reply guys.

 

[Frenchy]

I will state that with Old Man EMU UCA's are not required. Just some information for you. If you feel like doing so later there is nothing wrong with such but it isn't needed.

 

[HoosierT]

I will state that with Old Man EMU UCA's are not required. Just some information for you. If you feel like doing so later there is nothing wrong with such but it isn't needed.

Not just OME, most lifts at 2.5" or less support stock UCAs including Icon who sells a stage one with no UCAs. However, their stage two kits comes with extended travel coilovers which take advantage of the extra travel an aftermarket UCA supports.

 

[HoosierT]

Let’s just say I can see UCA will be in my future I am not going to try to do things I did in my Jeep but I would like to go where I want to go and not have to turn around.


@HoosierT do you have a thread on your build and what you have done to your rig? It’s looking good ??

Thanks for the reply guys.

Thanks! I do have a build thread. Probably needs updated at this point after adding skids and such but it has most of the details in it.
https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/hoosierts-lightning-blue-ranger-build.2251/

 

[onobeka]

Thanks! I do have a build thread. Probably needs updated at this point after adding skids and such but it has most of the details in it.
https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/hoosierts-lightning-blue-ranger-build.2251/

Well, if the aim is to drive it only on smooth asphalt, then indeed one could probably go with even 4" lift in what the UCAs alone are concerned. Yet, if the truck is going to go offroad (and I am not talking fireroads), stock UCAs loose drown travel, because they are angled down and getting closer to their designed limit, which is the strut tower. There is benefit in it though, CV angles are changed by a lift, stock UCAs will prevent a very critical angle, because they will limit it. With an aftermarket UCA, the droop will be greater (because the UCA has way more clearance due to the round tubing). In that respect the truck is way more capable offroad as it can flex more, yet the CVs are in danger. No matter how you slice it, lifting is a compromise. The proper way to regain the stock offroad capability (and increase it due to the lift by also adding bigger tyres to some extent) is:
- proper lift (no spacer) with longer coils;
- UCAs;
- diff drop.

Are all needed? No, but it depends on the application. For on-road driving and gentle offroad, you do not need all of that. But, may I remind you, the title of the thread is "lift limit question" . That's why I am insisting with the explanation.

 

[Megawatt]

....., the title of the thread is "lift limit question" . That's why I am insisting with the explanation.

Thanks for the details. This is exactly the education I am after.

 

[daniel3507]

Does anyone know the open and close length of the Icon extended travel and OEM struts? I have Icon Tubular UCA and will be buying OME front struts but I'm curious as to how much difference there is between the 3. All I can find on the Icon is a 35% increase which is significant.

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