[94SJ70Zook]

I'm a newbie and have posted the same question in the newbie section but I guess the experts come here.

I want to lift my Sierra. What's the best way to do it. A 2" body lift and a 2" lift kit (springs and shocks etc) or both.
What are the pro's and con's of doing either or both.
I want to get some lift and put some Sunnies on with some bigger tyres. (31's)

Would love some advice. Sorry if its an old topic.

Thanx

[tanshi]

whats the best way of doing it? or whats the easiest way of doing it?

the two questions dont have the same answer.

the best way to do it is a virtual lift (guard chop) and RUF (search) and as little lift as you can get.

[Gwagensteve]

Have you done a search? This topic comes up about every hour.

Steve.

[94SJ70Zook]

Thought there might be a short answer

[Gwagensteve]

Afraid not. The "right" solution is a little bit different for everyone. Some people refuse to body lift, others refuse to cut a guard, some people refuse to bumpstop space.

Their reasons might all be legitimate based on the way they use their car and the terrain they drive.

Full ruf and virtual lift is what I would consider the "best" way, but this is very involved and can't be easily reversed for sale, for example. It's also fabrication heavy.

[94SJ70Zook]

Ok gotcha thanx.

I don't really want to cut guards

[charged88]

I did 2" body lift to run 31s no need to raise bump stops either, was the cheapest and easiest way to do it, took about 2hrs with a hi lift jack.
you will need to hammer the body seams flat in the front wheel arches.

[pezz]

Another option, no lift, 30x9.5x15's and spend that money you have for the lift on some transfer gears

[charged88]

Transfer gears are over rated lol vitara 5.12s and 31s are sweet.....

[tanshi]

charged88 wrote:

Transfer gears are over rated lol vitara 5.12s and 31s are sweet.....

should we ignore that that path actually is harder and more expensive than doing it properly with transfer gears?

[charged88]

tanshi wrote:

charged88 wrote:

Transfer gears are over rated lol vitara 5.12s and 31s are sweet.....

should we ignore that that path actually is harder and more expensive than doing it properly with transfer gears?

Ha, not saying its the best route at all! (4000rpm at 100 is not ideal),
but i disagree it being more expensive than transfer gears, I picked up my vitara thirds for 150 for both and well only bothered to put the gears in the rear sierra carrier. so it took an afternoon to put them in.
Transfer gears are a hell of alot more expensive.

[tanshi]

unless you are able to build diffs correctly your asking for trouble putting diff gears in your self.

most diff shops will charge $300+ per diff to set them up propely. and leaving them in the alloy housings is just plain retarded.

guarentee transfer gears are easier to fit and cheaper. plus give you the best outcome. nuff said

[94SJ70Zook]

is there a way to do a lift keeping mostly stock

[5ierra]

charged88 wrote:

Transfer gears are over rated lol vitara 5.12s and 31s are sweet.....

I've had a Sierra with 5.12's and stock transfer gearing and it was an absolute piece of shit. I purchased it this way and it was the first thing I changed.

5.12's will only get you the right rev's for highway driving, off-road they are shit and provide woefully little reduction.

Why is rock crawling/4x4'ing so difficult for people to understand. 4x4 IS ALL ABOUT CONTROL!

All the lift you provide to the body is ultimately doing jack shit, except raising your center of gravity, thus making the car less predictable & harder to control. (INB4 reply: Only a 1" body lift should be considered in a sierra, and that is ONLY to fit a 1.6 engine other than this I don't see the need, & I do realise longer springs inevitably means lift, but you can get alot of length in there with pretty flat springs)

Same concept with bigger tires and incorrect gearing, 5.12 & a stock t-case will pull similar revs on the highway to 3.7's & 5.14:1 tcase gearing, difference being offroad you have all the control benefits of low range gearing. I was absolutely astounded by my 6.5:1 tcase gears the first time I used them, it completely changes the cars capabilities.

At the end of the day, its your car, you butcher it however you want, but, I would argue that if you found a nice bloke on AZ, as many of us have before, you will be able to pay them to help you do a virtual lift & RUF (would think $500 would get both of these done, at least that's close to what I have been quoted before).

This is about the same price you would pay for a 2" lift & bodylift, and thats only if the lift and bodylift are second hand.

Just my2c.

[tanshi]

94SJ70Zook wrote:

is there a way to do a lift keeping mostly stock

there are plenty of off the shelf lifted springs, but dont expect them to be comfortable, or allow for much flex or performance offroad.

Old man emu, efs, kings, etc

[charged88]

Ha ha got some haters!
I went that way as it was the cheapest and I wanted to have a go at setting up a diff.
Its cheap but you get what you pay for so its not awsome but acceptable

[5ierra]

charged88 wrote:

Ha ha got some haters!
I went that way as it was the cheapest and I wanted to have a go at setting up a diff.
Its cheap but you get what you pay for so its not awsome but acceptable

Well, two ticks ago you were saying it's all "sweet".

Why not say this from the begining, rather than lead old mate up the garden path.

[tanshi]

Im happy for anyone to do what ever to their cars. I however take exception to offering dodgy half assed advice to newbies who dont know better

[94SJ70Zook]

hahah classic guys, punch on!

love the passion

[charged88]

So changing diff gears is dodgey!?
righto, by the way it did start off as a joke, I guess you dont interpret things the way I do.
All good ive had a laugh

[tanshi]

If you dont know what your doing then yes its dodgy

[charged88]

Yes if you don't know what your doing, fitting diff gears, fitting transfer gears, sitting on a toilet, using a forum is going to be dodgy. Ha ha sorry couldn't help myself!

Changing diff gears or transfer gears do the same thing, choosing what ratios and whether you can fit them are going to decide if they are suited to your driving techniques /track conditions and their reliability.

I did it the cheap way, I'm happy with the result and It's been reliable for 12months so far.

[jdk81]

Diff gear installs aren't for everyone, as its a fair PITA.
However, it is a sensible option. It relieves stresses on the drive shafts and transfercase.
Like every build, there are compromises to be made.

As per which diff gears
5.12 diff gears are probably the worst option available to install in a sierra.
Sierra ratios 3.7 or 3.9
4.57 from LROR
4.3, 4.625, 4.875, 5.12 (from mixture of vits and GV etc)

Just because every man and his dog says 6.5 xfer gears are the best option, doesnt make it so.
Dont be afraid to be different. I personally find 6.5 gears to be way too low in low 1st.

Have a play
http://www.lepayne.com/gears.html

For a sierra on 31s, I like the look of 4.3 diff gears (from GVs), and 4.16 xfer gears.


Back on topic

As per lift
The current thinking from many, is that tyre lift is the only good lift.
Every other type of lift is a compromise
Body lift
Suspension lift (via bolt on, or some fab work)
Virtual lift (guard cutting - no lift, but "damages the car irreversibly)
A 1" body lift for the 1.6 is a compromise too, as a 1.6 can go in without a lift, it just requires some more work (custom driver side bracket instead of the BenT one, or lower the engine via engine mounts)

As above, there is no solid answers, most are dictated by your skills, way of problem solving, and desire to keep it reversible.

My choice would be a neat RUF and neat virtual lift.

[31zook]

Move your front axle forward 25mm, fit a 25mm bump stop spacer in the front and bash your seems over. Im pretty sure that the rear clear 31s with only a small bump stop extension.

And the most productive way to move your axle forward is to do a RUF.

[SierraDan]

I'm yet to use a bumpstop extension in the rear of a sierra for 31's. I had no bumpstops in the blue one for a while

[Gwagensteve]

X2. Bumpstop extensions are very rarely required on the rear.

Steve.