7 inches of "out of the box" lift

[VXorado]

I just installed a 3" body lift yesterday & thought it would be a good opportunity to show how much lift you can get out of a VX without major modification.

First off, sorry for the dirty VX. I did some test driving on a bumpy dirt road to check for noises & rubbing.

3" body lift + 4" suspension lift (IFS has no downtravel left) with 35x12.5x15 MTR tires.





7" of lift makes the 35s look small-ish, I'm pretty sure Boarzhead has a similar amount of lift to fit 37s.

I took pics after the bodylift to show the amount of "out of the box" lift you can get but I don't recommend running your VX with 4" suspension lift. The IFS with no down travel makes the ride extemely rough & the increased angle will wear out ball joints and CVs quickly. To fit 35" tires, you need about 4-5" lift without extreme wheel well cutting. IMO adjusting the vehicle's height with a body lift & suspension lift is a best way to go.

Today I adjusted the suspension lift down 2", which should give me 5" of total lift. I have a 2" diff drop so the CVs are completely level. Now the rear axle has a reduced pinon angle that should stop u-joint vibration I was getting with the 4" of lift.

The 35" tires fit nicely & I have the same ride quality that I had with 32" tires. I left a little rake to anticipate some extra weight in the back.

The end result with 5" total lift:

[H3_VX]

Awesome! I like how it looks in the final pic. Congrats on a sweet rig!

[VXorado]

Thanks, my VX has been a work in progress for a while but its getting there...

[nfpgasmask]

So wait, do you have a diff drop? How the heck do you have your CVs so straight?? Looks good. How hard was the body lift? Does it mess up your shifter or steering at all? What does it entail?

Bart

[VXorado]

So wait, do you have a diff drop? How the heck do you have your CVs so straight?? Looks good. How hard was the body lift? Does it mess up your shifter or steering at all? What does it entail?

Bart

The cvs are flat because i have a 2" diff drop & 2" ifs lift.

The body lift is not hard it just takes some time. I took pictures of the whole process and will post a how-to soon.

[twalker920]

Awesome! Nice job. Wen need to have a little Denver/Front Range meet up sometime soon.

Can I ask what brand/model lights you have in the rectangular slots by the front plate? The big ones are Hellas, right?

I was thinking along the same lines to have some small driving lights and big fogs on the front. Right now my headlights just don't quite cut it.

[RickOKC]

Both 7" & 5" lift looks great, VXorado!

But I gotta ask... how tall are you?!? I "lifted" my VX 1.5" by adding bigger tires and I can *just* get in comfortably. When I read 5" & 7" lift, I immediately pictured myself climbing in head first & crawling across the driver's seat until I could upright myself. A dopey image, but it made me laugh!

[Ldub]

D U D E...

[BigSwede]

I had a similar experience with 4" suspension lift...I didn't mind the ride so much (then again, the RS was not my daily driver), but the rear driveshaft didn't like it. It is much happier at 3".

Did you clearance your lower control arms a bit to make a 2" diff drop?

[VXorado]

Awesome! Nice job. Wen need to have a little Denver/Front Range meet up sometime soon.

Can I ask what brand/model lights you have in the rectangular slots by the front plate? The big ones are Hellas, right?

The big lights are hella 500 & the little ones are cheapo autozone lights that fit nicely & work surprisingly well.

Both 7" & 5" lift looks great, VXorado!

But I gotta ask... how tall are you?!? I "lifted" my VX 1.5" by adding bigger tires and I can *just* get in comfortably. When I read 5" & 7" lift, I immediately pictured myself climbing in head first & crawling across the driver's seat until I could upright myself. A dopey image, but it made me laugh!

Ha thats funny because I'm 6'6" and I was just saying how easy it is to get in the VX now that it's "sized correctly"

[VXorado]

Did you clearance your lower control arms a bit to make a 2" diff drop?

no but its close, anymore than a 2" diff drop and the green cup will hit the control arm at upward travel.

[ZEUS]

Yeah the 5" lift looks great! What mods did you have to do to fit the body pucks? Radiator and fan working alright together? Steering shaft? Shifters? Gas filler? Could you also lift the fuel tank or would it hit the frame?

[VX KAT]

But I gotta ask... how tall are you?!? I "lifted" my VX 1.5" by adding bigger tires and I can *just* get in comfortably. When I read 5" & 7" lift, I immediately pictured myself climbing in head first & crawling across the driver's seat until I could upright myself. A dopey image, but it made me laugh!

Ha thats funny because I'm 6'6" and I was just saying how easy it is to get in the VX now that it's "sized correctly"

Looks great in the end shot, looks just right. Rick, he's a frickin' giant (well, compared to you and me ).... in Moab in 2009 my flag pole on my Yakima BASKETwas sagging, and the metal connector kept coming unthreaded....I ask Jon for some help, after trying to jump up at it to fix it...since it's about 9" above the roofline....Jon walks over and tightens it all up, and it was basically at his arm level! Sure appreciated his height that day!

[pbkid]

HAHAHA!!! its done sir... good job.



we still on schedule to go test it out?

[Grif]

That looks fantastic. Almost "too high" tho. Perhaps more offset would balance the look.

Awesome job, look forward to your "How I did it"