[experament-u2]

hi all
iv done a bit of searching but the majority of responses come back with a 2" body and a 2" suspention lift as the best option. i dont want to do any gaurd chopping (asside from the standard cuttin of outriggers and going nuts with a hammer on the seams)

im looking at running small 31s on a 92 sierra
im looking for a cheap way to do it atm
initually i was looking at a 2"body and making up some extended shackles. very cheap, a little dodge tho
the other option is saving a bit more and go a 2" suspention lift (probly ome) and throw a 1" body lift in on top to give teh tires some room to breath.
or running a 65mm efs lift and just exstening bump stops

[Gwagensteve]

There's no need for any suspension lift at all to run 31's with a 2" body lift. There's no need to bother with extended shackles, they will serve no purpose with your setup.

The suspension lift is there for ride comfort, it's not clearing the tyres. That's what the BL is doing.

Steve.

[SierraDan]

I have a 2" spring lift with 31's. Have only cut the outriggers off and folded the seams to fit. I have also extended the front bumpstops.

[jonno_racing]

i used to have 32's on a zook with no lift at all... before it got pintarerd. was quiet easy.

[experament-u2]

SierraDan what kind of ride do you get with this set up? and how does it flex iv checked out your build thread looks good mate

[SierraDan]

It rides shit in the back cos I got some dud short springs, but even then that's comparing it to a luxury road car. Its a short wheel base Sierra, so you can't expect anything amazing! But I'm pretty happy with it, not planning to go any higher at this point, as it's not slowing me up. Flexes alright I could play around with spring packs and RUF set up(which I will be just not today), but I used to drive a pajero with the torsion bars wound right up, so I've picked up good offroad skills with wheel placement and line picking so this flex thing is a new luxury for me




Flexes better than this! ^^^

[dave91]

if you can even call that flex!!

[SierraDan]

Then my statement remains true

[stockman]

I'm running 1.5" lift with 31's.
The rears just start to scrub in the picture:



If my springs were not shagged I would of gone for a 2" bodylift.

[experament-u2]

i think i might go down the road of a suspention lift and 31s, i liek the idea of a bit more confort and my springs are pritty much flat atm.

[Gwagensteve]

And that's going to fit your 31's how

I know I sound like a broken record, but if your suspension lift is functional, and by that I mean it travels properly and the axles will still reach the bumpstops, your 31's are going to massacre the guards just like having no lift.

If you space the bumpstops, your ride degrades because you have reduced compression travel. If you have 2" lift and 2" bumpstop spacers you have the same compression travel as an unlifted sierra, and that's generally the cause of the rubbish ride.

If you are prepared to run smaller bumpstop spacers and smash/cut the guards, you can run 31's with no body lift, but lots of people don't want to cut guards to clear tyres.

Steve.

[SierraDan]

I'm cutting mine to bits when my loan is paid off!
I like zook low and wide..

[JrZook]

Gwagensteve wrote:

And that's going to fit your 31's how

I know I sound like a broken record, but if your suspension lift is functional, and by that I mean it travels properly and the axles will still reach the bumpstops, your 31's are going to massacre the guards just like having no lift.

If you space the bumpstops, your ride degrades because you have reduced compression travel. If you have 2" lift and 2" bumpstop spacers you have the same compression travel as an unlifted sierra, and that's generally the cause of the rubbish ride.

If you are prepared to run smaller bumpstop spacers and smash/cut the guards, you can run 31's with no body lift, but lots of people don't want to cut guards to clear tyres.

Steve.

This guy!

[experament-u2]

Gwagensteve wrote:

And that's going to fit your 31's how

I know I sound like a broken record, but if your suspension lift is functional, and by that I mean it travels properly and the axles will still reach the bumpstops, your 31's are going to massacre the guards just like having no lift.

If you space the bumpstops, your ride degrades because you have reduced compression travel. If you have 2" lift and 2" bumpstop spacers you have the same compression travel as an unlifted sierra, and that's generally the cause of the rubbish ride.

If you are prepared to run smaller bumpstop spacers and smash/cut the guards, you can run 31's with no body lift, but lots of people don't want to cut guards to clear tyres.

Steve.

thanks for the good tech Steve

so you would get beter flex with the body lift because the tires have the room to move/tuck up? but i would be left with standard ride

where as with the spring lift+bumpstops the suspention has limited uptravel and in effect limited down travel (i think with the limit of compression on one side of the springs)

[SierraDan]

I have 30mm bumpstop spacing on the front of my sierra. Rides perfectly fine to me.


Tucks up well, no contact on the guards other than just rubbing on the firewall which will be fixed by moving the diff forward.

[Gwagensteve]

You've pretty much got it experament-u2.

All other things equal, total travel drops with bumpstop spacers.

It's easy, cheap, and works (and no offence to SierraDan, whose setup is sound) but so is a BL, and a BL leaves stock travel intact, and I think that's important when you're dealing with stock shock mounts and stock springs.

Of course as you add droop, the compressed wheel comes up further too - adding bumpstop spacers and then fitting the longer shocks that the bumpstop spacer allows then compounds the problem as the tyre then kicks up into the space you thought you'd created by fitting longer shocks to get the lost travel back.

This isn't a problem with a BL - that 50mm can't be eroded.


I run 50mm spacers on the front of my junk, with 100mm shackles, OME front springs and commodore shocks. It's terrible - it rides rubbish and I don't even think it travels very well. It would clear 31's easily - ( I can run 35's with the cutting I have done, which isn't much.) I can't really take the spacers out because then I have to do heaps more cutting and make new shock mounts for shocks that are rubbish - it's a temporary cobble up until I sort the front properly, likely with coils.

Bumpstop spacing is always a part of the cars I work with, but we're running tyres 34" or bigger and body lift, lots of cutting, firewall moving etc is all also part of the formula.

Steve.

[SierraDan]

Gwagensteve wrote:

It's easy, cheap, and works (and no offence to SierraDan, whose setup is sound) but so is a BL, and a BL leaves stock travel intact, and I think that's important when you're dealing with stock shock mounts and stock springs.
Steve.

None taken, its just an easy out for me as i want to stay low and avoid cutting at this point.