Lift Kits

[scotty]

Hows it going folks?
Can anbody offer me some advice on lifting your surf.
I've been on L.A Supertrux website and it baffled me as to how much you can do.
Whats better , a body lift, a suspension lift or a leaf spring lift?.
I've noticed that the prices vary from one to another quite alot.
Has anybody out there lifted theirs, what lift did you go for, how much do I have to save, how do you find it & where did you get it done?.
Doing the work myself is out of the question as i dont know one end from the other.
Is there anywhere in Scotland or North England that does lifts?.

Well thats my list of questions for the moment.
Speek to you all again soon.
Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Scotty.

[TonyN]

Basicly....

body lifts,

Cheap, easy, leaves suspention parts alone. sometime needs work done to the wiring/hoses/bumper mounts/steering shaft/radiator.

If worked hard offroad causes extra stress on the points of the body where the mounts fix due to extra leaverage.

Suspension,

Dearer, not so easy, alignment needs resetting. but no need to alter wiring/cooling hoses, bumper and radiator mounts but brake pipe may need extending. better in the long run.

Personally, I'd go 2" max with a body lift, any bigger needs a suspension lift, or combo of both.

Leaf spring lift is for pickups/MK1 surfs, you need a IFS lift (independant front suspension) longer coils on the rear, lowered diff brackets on front.

[JimL]

Leaf spring lift is for pickups/MK1 surfs, you need a IFS lift

Me - I didnt know you couldnt do that to a 2nd gen surf. A friend asked ME (haha) how to get 12 inches of lift (dont laugh). I told him I reckoned he needed a beam axle on the front to do that which he could get off an old pickup. Ok with the beam axle you wouldnt be using leafs I know. Was I talkin thru my arse Tony??

[TonyN]

Me - I didnt know you couldnt do that to a 2nd gen surf. A friend asked ME (haha) how to get 12 inches of lift (dont laugh). I told him I reckoned he needed a beam axle on the front to do that which he could get off an old pickup. Ok with the beam axle you wouldnt be using leafs I know. Was I talkin thru my arse Tony??

Your right, IFS lift over 6 or inches look silly cause the front diff is still down on the ground.

Switch a solid front axle in and the sky's the limit! well, 12" is OK anyway. Anything that big gets REALLY stiff on leafs, but is really cheap and simple (considering others options)

4 link and coils will ride better, but be totally custom built and expensive to sort out as it quite compliacted.

See, your learning fella!

[laser_jock99]

A 2" suspension lift is a feasible DIY (I did it myself and I'm no mechanic). The next stage is a 4" suspension lift which is not a novice job. Body lifts- anymore than 1" on an auto is tricky even for the pros.

If you have £2k to spare do the 4" professional lift. Otherwise it's £500 and a 2" DIY lift.

[Morr]

Basicly....

body lifts,

Cheap, easy, leaves suspention parts alone. sometime needs work done to the wiring/hoses/bumper mounts/steering shaft/radiator.

If worked hard offroad causes extra stress on the points of the body where the mounts fix due to extra leaverage.

.......

Also, if the vehicle is to be used mainly on tarmac, this is a better option, as it causes less change (raising) to the centre of gravity compared to the suspension lift.