Opinions on 3.5 inch lift kit?

[Stangman570]

there's also something called compromising... pretty easy to choose a slightly larger tire and mild lift that will still perform really well off road without completely ruining your fuel mileage and on-road driveability.

Bawaaa come off road with me in these Florida swamps and let's talk tire compromising after. Nah I get it, to each his own. Build it how you like it. Ones build and taste does not suit another to say other wise is foolish. But then again compromising and not taking a gun to a fire fight and showing up with a knife, well you get what you get.

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[doug910]

OP, why are you so set on gaining so much height? If you did a 2 - 2.5" lift, you wouldn't have to worry about maxing out driveshaft angles (and thus don't need to worry about a diff drop), and you would still have a 0.5" rake or so. The Fox 2.0 is a quality coilover kit that's relatively affordable and you wouldn't have to worry about weird brackets and stuff from the 3.5" kits. You can also max it out to 3", get yourself new control arms, and even add rear blocks in the future if you want to.

 

[RoadBoss]

Bawaaa come off road with me in these Florida swamps and let's talk tire compromising after. Nah I get it, to each his own. Build it how you like it. Ones build and taste does not suit another to say other wise is foolish. But then again compromising and not taking a gun to a fire fight and showing up with a knife, well you get what you get.

I get where you're coming from, and yes if I showed up to the Florida swamps with my truck it certainly wouldn't do too great. Also, if you decided to take your truck on a several thousand mile remote 4wd touring trip across the continent, or weaving through tight rocky/snow covered high alpine trails, you would certainly regret having your truck set up specifically to dominate the Florida swamps. It's like bringing an AR to a wrestling match. So really, in the end, who's compromising?

 

[RoadBoss]

Also, OP, I'll soon be installing the BDS rear shackle kit, actually to try and get a little rake back with a 2" front spacer lift since it's started to sag a big after adding a bunch of weight in the bed. I decided this would be much better than rear blocks because it also helps with rear articulation as well, and like you mentioned, pinion angle. Plus I believe the install should be a bit easier since you don't have to mess with the rear U-bolts. just a couple other things to consider.

I'm very curious also if anyone has installed the front diff drop kit. I would love to know what's involved as I haven't seen anything about it yet.

 

[RangerCoby]

OP, why are you so set on gaining so much height? If you did a 2 - 2.5" lift, you wouldn't have to worry about maxing out driveshaft angles (and thus don't need to worry about a diff drop), and you would still have a 0.5" rake or so. The Fox 2.0 is a quality coilover kit that's relatively affordable and you wouldn't have to worry about weird brackets and stuff from the 3.5" kits. You can also max it out to 3", get yourself new control arms, and even add rear blocks in the future if you want to.

I'm not set on these kits yet, that's why I asked for everyone's opinion. The feedback so far has me re-thinking things. I did look up the Fox kit again after it was mentioned. It's more affordable than I thought. I'm really thinking about going the coil over route.

My truck gets a lot of interstate miles and my off roading is mostly limited to when I'm hunting. Not exactly a mall crawler but not a hard core purpose build either although I would like to do some off road exploring in the future.

I really want to fit 33s or 34s.

 

[Rene Michaels]

Lots of things affect fuel economy. Good info here: "How Do Wheels Affect Gas Mileage?"

 

[doug910]

I'm not set on these kits yet, that's why I asked for everyone's opinion. The feedback so far has me re-thinking things. I did look up the Fox kit again after it was mentioned. It's more affordable than I thought. I'm really thinking about going the coil over route.

My truck gets a lot of interstate miles and my off roading is mostly limited to when I'm hunting. Not exactly a mall crawler but not a hard core purpose build either although I would like to do some off road exploring in the future.

I really want to fit 33s or 34s.

With a 2.5" lift, crash bars removed/modified, and proper offset, you will be able to fit 33s for sure. I've sank my truck to the frame in mud before with no lift/32s and I get by just fine.

 

[Stangman570]

I get where you're coming from, and yes if I showed up to the Florida swamps with my truck it certainly wouldn't do too great. Also, if you decided to take your truck on a several thousand mile remote 4wd touring trip across the continent, or weaving through tight rocky/snow covered high alpine trails, you would certainly regret having your truck set up specifically to dominate the Florida swamps. It's like bringing an AR to a wrestling match. So really, in the end, who's compromising?

Haaaaaaa RoadBoss now this is truly where we disagree. I have lived several years in Rio Rancho New Mexico and have had much experience and success on 33's and 35's that were wide tires. Driving on trails in the Sandias Mountains or over at Cedro peak and even out in the Desert and Arroyo's with MT's. My group always ran larger tires with excellent side wall protection. While pizza cutters on yours have their place to allow for nimble drive lines the larger wide tires always allowed us more contact and grip to help get over difficult transitions or the larger rocks. It was usually the pizza cutters guys that we had to wait for. I've been running this set up on my Tacoma for years and now on my Ranger and I get the best of both worlds. Truly dont think I would have much an issue keeping up with you on your trails and wouldn't have much regret doing so. For certain I would put a decent set of sliders on to help keep my rocker panels safe. However, like I said earlier if you build for off road fuel, mileage becomes secondary. I can't tell you how many times I have put back on my stock tires on the Tacoma to get my gas mileage back. Kinda looked like a fat chick with skinny legs with the lift and smaller tires, bawaaaa. Again we can debate this till the end of time, build what you like, enjoy it, learn and grow from the experience. There will always be multiple camps on the issue, large tires, skinny tires, AT's, MT'S, lift vs no lift. You modify your stock vehicle and your gonna get shity gas milage as compared to factory. Im running a tad bit larger than 33's and wide and have no need to regear like on the Tacoma to get my power back. Love this Ranger and the power level. My only true regret? Not going with 35's, lol.

 

[RangerCoby]

With a 2.5" lift, crash bars removed/modified, and proper offset, you will be able to fit 33s for sure. I've sank my truck to the frame in mud before with no lift/32s and I get by just fine.

You have a very convincing argument.

Are you lifted now? If so, which setup are you using.

Mud will likely be my most common obstacle. We get a lot of rain here and my hunting spots can get a little soggy at times. LOL.

 

[Stangman570]

You have a very convincing argument.

Are you lifted now? If so, which setup are you using.

Mud will likely be my most common obstacle. We get a lot of rain here and my hunting spots can get a little soggy at times. LOL.

RangerCoby, not to steal Doug's reply but for me I went with the 3inch front only. SST Cooper Pros are outstanding off road and even on road. One of the best performing MTs for wet pavement that I have ever ran. The siping are well engineered to move a ton of water and i have zero issues with take off or hydroplaning at highway speeds. Have you seen my other post on paint protection for the Hunting season here in NW Florida? I used 3 gallons of plasti dip and it was amazing to keep the brush contact off the Ranger. We run deer with dogs here and are always on the move down small tight pig trails to get ahead. Or heck even make our own trails when need be. Have to transition from sand, mud, to even deep water crossing at times. Our season is over and I've just recently peeled the truck with zero scratching of the clear coat.

 

[doug910]

You have a very convincing argument.

Are you lifted now? If so, which setup are you using.

Mud will likely be my most common obstacle. We get a lot of rain here and my hunting spots can get a little soggy at times. LOL.

No I'm not, haha. I plan on getting the Fox kit though sometime this summer. Just a matter of when I want to spend the dough

Just as @Stangman570 chimed in, there's plenty of people who have the coilover lift system to share their experiences. @Stage3Motorsports also has a review of the 2.0 system up and they have plenty of experience as well. https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/stage-3s-2019-ranger-fox-2-0-stage-1-package-review.6046/

 

[RangerCoby]

RangerCoby, not to steal Doug's reply but for me I went with the 3inch front only. SST Cooper Pros are outstanding off road and even on road. One of the best performing MTs for wet pavement that I have ever ran. The siping are well engineered to move a ton of water and i have zero issues with take off or hydroplaning at highway speeds. Have you seen my other post on paint protection for the Hunting season here in NW Florida? I used 3 gallons of plasti dip and it was amazing to keep the brush contact off the Ranger. We run deer with dogs here and are always on the move down small tight pig trails to get ahead. Or heck even make our own trails when need be. Have to transition from sand, mud, to even deep water crossing at times. Our season is over and I've just recently peeled the truck with zero scratching of the clear coat.

Yes. I did see your thread. I run raccoons with hounds.

Are you running a coil over or spacer? What size tires? I like your truck's stance!

 

[RangerCoby]

No I'm not, haha. I plan on getting the Fox kit though sometime this summer. Just a matter of when I want to spend the dough

Just as @Stangman570 chimed in, there's plenty of people who have the coilover lift system to share their experiences. @Stage3Motorsports also has a review of the 2.0 system up and they have plenty of experience as well. https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/stage-3s-2019-ranger-fox-2-0-stage-1-package-review.6046/

I did watch their YouTube video review of the Fox system and thought it was a good video. I will check out their thread also.

 

[Stangman570]

Yes. I did see your thread. I run raccoons with hounds.

Are you running a coil over or spacer? What size tires? I like your truck's stance!

Ohh yea brother, nothing like listening to the dogs at night for sure. I bought my Ranger back at the end of May, at the time noooo one had coil overs ready that were over 3inches. So I went the cheaper route and spent about $200 for the Readylift kit. I've had zero issues with it so far with a tad over 15k miles on it. I'm running a 17x9 -12mm off set wheel with 295/70/17's. Had to add the flares to help cut down on the sandblasting and mud off the sides. Here is what it looked like with out the bushwacker's. I'm still thinking about painting the letters blue on the tires, lol.

 

[RangerCoby]

Ohh yea brother, nothing like listening to the dogs at night for sure. I bought my Ranger back at the end of May, at the time noooo one had coil overs ready that were over 3inches. So I went the cheaper route and spent about $200 for the Readylift kit. I've had zero issues with it so far with a tad over 15k miles on it. I'm running a 17x9 -12mm off set wheel with 295/70/17's. Had to add the flares to help cut down on the sandblasting and mud off the sides. Here is what it looked like with out the bushwacker's. I'm still thinking about painting the letters blue on the tires, lol.

I agree, I love listening to dogs at night!

The FRL spacer is still on my list of options. I really like your truck with and without the flares! Your color is my 2nd favorite color on the Ranger. Those tires are nice also! Thanks for your feedback.

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