Body Lift...whatcha know

Ok, load both barrels on this one. I'm wondering what you know about body lifts, your experiences, pros/cons...

I've read some people's opinions slamming body lifts and others who say if done right with good materials, it's a good and safe way to gain clearance.

If you have pics...post 'em.

If you have practical knowledge...share it.

If you have nothing but an opinion, well let it rip. I know you can't help yourself.

 

Pros? It's A cheap lift

Cons? Unsafe, looks tacky

 

I've never had a problem with a body lift.I ran them on a few trucks when i was younger but never off road.my brother has a 3" body lift on his dodge ram with 5" susp lift and 38s.truck has almost 300k of hard off roading miles and never a problem.

 

Thanks for your inputs, guys.

 

Body lifts are like fake boobs. When done right they are a cheap way to make something look better and maybe work better too. You get what you pay for though; so don't get too rough with the cheap stuff or you might tear em up.

 

I think this also depends on the type if body lift, and size. I have a 1" body lift, and so far has been great. I need a little extra for my tires.

So installed correctly, and a quality lift. I feel you'll be fine.

 

Interesting analogy. In a way, fake boobs are a form of body lift.

 

Looks tacky...well, that's subjective. I've definitely seen some that look tacky. I've also seen some body lifts that are very subtle (i.e. not really noticable unless making the effort to see the gap between the frame and body). The 1" lift could fall into this category...IMO.

Unsafe is another matter. If using quality hardware and spacers equivalent to OEM, is safety of a 1" lift a real concern?

What do you think, Krimson...do you have some experience to share on this matter?

 

It's a good question and why I started this thread in the first place. I hope to hear from some FJ owners who've done the 1" body lift and 35" tires to learn what they know.

The constraint the 1" lift is sometimes purported to help resolve on an FJ is the distance at the back of the wheel well from the tire. Moving the body up an inch should help add clearance when the suspension is at rest. What doesn't quite make sense to me is how the body lift helps when the suspension allows the tire to move up into the wheel well. The same clearance constraint will exist when that happens.

Actually, what has been shown to be effective is to chop the body mount, which is where the rubbing occurs. There's a number of ways to do the chop and you can find examples on some of the forums...if interested.

 

I won't argue against that logic. I put trust in Toyota engineers doing the "right thing" when designing their vehicles. The reason, in fact, that I own an FJ instead of a Jeep. I never really considered an H3, LR, or other.

 

i dont have many pics on my computer, but this has a 3" body lift, it just adds some body roll really image fail

 

I have a 1" and it is absolutely necessary and useful. I run 35" tires on a ~3" lift. Even with a 1 1/4" bump stop extension I was rubbing the back really bad when I stuffed those 35"s. Extending my bump stop 1" more would give me only about 2" of up travel before hitting the bump stop. I didnt want to give up any more articulation in the rear so I went with the 1" body lift. I can now stuff the rear with no rubbing. In my case the 1" absolutely made a difference and the negatives are nearly nil with just 1". I agree that 3" is bad news and that a body lift done simply to make your truck look bigger is dumb, but a strategically use 1" for functional purposes is fine. I have had zero issues with mine and If you look at my sig pic you know I don't just mall crawl this bitch.

 

Yeah, that bitch is hoppin.
I looked at your FJ Build and those meats look like they fill out the bushwackers nicely. Were you sporting the Spidertrax in those shots?

Which 1" lift kit did you go with...Toytec?