Bobakazi

Hello, the only 2 Toyota trucks I have owned both had a 3" body lift. (11 years). I have never had any problems with either, and I go wheeling on average once a month. I keep reading from some that over 1" is not good. Why? I would appreciate any input, especially from those who have had over 1" and had problems. I just have to wonder if certain lifts are crappy and instigate. Thanks!

Twisty

I also wonder this a lot....specially since so many people bag bodylifts....they are deffinetly the cheapest/easiest way to gain clearance for larger tyres while not effecting the COG by much.......I think anything more than 3" is getting dodgy but.

I ran 3" in my old 91 4runner, and even after a big roll-over, all the mounts were still in original condition, yet the truck was a writeoff. My current 4runner ran a 3" bodylift for about 3 years with no dramas, but I dropped it back to 2" to fit the V8, as 3" bodylifts aren't legal in my state of Oz. But the 3" is going back in this weekend for an upcoming show n shine, and will probably end up staying in.

Bobakazi

Thanks for the support, Twisty. They always get a bad rap, although so far I have never heard of real life cases where something went wrong only because of the lift. I would really appreciate both sides, to see what the odds are.

AH64ID

I put a 3" BL on my 99 ford ranger. The manners were HORRIBLE after. It has rediculous amounts of body roll. I had the 32's on prior to the lift so it wasnt that.

The COG is affected. While its only three inches highes, thats 3" more being appled to the suspension. It works like a cheater bar, unlike a susp lift where the weight is still the same dist from the suspension, pulling it the same in corners. A BL is similar to adding a bunch of weight to a roof rack..

Usually BL are strong, at least store-bought ones, so I am not suprised it survived a roll. There were no physical side affects, I just hated the handeling afterwords, and wont run one, mabye 1", but I fit 35's with a 4" and wont go bigger than 35's on the IFS so I dont need one...

cabbage

The blocks themselves are strong , but if not properly engineered (dont use brain), it can be too strong for the body(cab). Basically, make sure the blocks are at least the same diameter or more than the stock spacer.

Live n learn :pat:

I'd never do a body lift again... well, after you long travel, who would?

Bobakazi

Thanks Nala. No offense at all, but what about on a Toyota? Different makes react differently. I always have thought (with physics in mind) if you wanted a bunch of lift, but did not want your center of gravity to high (resulting in better chances of tipping) a suspension and body lift combo would be perfect. How was the handling affected? I did not even notice after I installed mine. Except I had to step up higher.

Bobakazi

Cabbage, I agree with the engineering. The only horror stories I have heard is where they are too small in diameter and go through the cab.

cabbage

Yup, so they should be fine if you know what ur doing

AH64ID

Toyotas might be different. I had excessive body roll at high and low speeds. I would guess its vehile dependant, but I think they are like putting a cheater bar on the suspension. IMO 7" suspesion lift, if we could, would provide better handeling than 4" and 3" BL. I like to stay as low as possible, which is why I trimmed instead of doing a 1" BL.

CraZyRunner

I have a 2" body lift on my 95 4runner i definately noticed an increase in bodyroll but i knew that it was coming and its a price you have to pay for more height in general, even with a suspension lift you still get more bodyroll (br) but i still have had no offroading problems at all. so why not do it? considering its an suv/truck who wants it to corner well, your not street racing in it, and its not lowered mexi-style.

Twisty

But if you had 7" suspension lift, thats a heap of extra weight thats 2-3 inches higher than its needs to be, which has to be worse in almost all circumstances......but a nice 7" supsension setup, would be very cool

I didn't notice any real change in the handling of my 4runner throughout it's different stages of lift....I think keeping the sway bars installed, the wide and offseted rims, and the Rancho 9000's adjusted right, they handle pretty good for a large truck. It does have more bodyroll than stock, but it also feels worse than what it is, as its exagerated by the bodylift (ie. if you took your seat out and sat on the floor, it'd probably fell like you have no bodylift, but sit up high with your head out the sunroof, it'd feel like heaps, if you know what I mean?? )

91ToyTrck

I had a 3" body lift on my '92 and that was my first mod. I had that and some 32x11.50 BFG ATs. I loved it with a passion. I wouldn't have traded it for the world. I have a different view nowadays. I'm only going 1-1.5" of lift and some 32s or 33s for this truck.

kyle_22r

body lifts tend to get a bad reputation because if not done properly the truck sometimes looks pretty ugly. well, that and the fact that 4 wheel parts got sued by some moron that rolled his truck and blamed it on the body lift.

if i ever did any lift on my IFS truck, it'd be a body lift, just enough to fit 33s.

spindleshanks

Body lifts are just fine. I'm not so sure a 3" body lift is a good idea though

tc

I agree with the leverage point - IMHO a body lift is WORSE for handling than a well-designed suspension lift because it increases the leverage of the weight of the body on the suspension.

All that being said, body lift + drivetrain lift seems to be a pretty sweet setup...

spindleshanks

And you can't beat the simplicity and affordability of a body lift! It's functional, cheap, and easy to install. Hell, you can get a body lift for under $200. A good one. I call that a bargain.

AH64ID

For the same price you can BJ spacers and shackles/coil spacers.....I just dont like BL's...

And yeah, if you do a drivetrain lift its pretty sweet for ground clerance, but that would make the leverage worse. Its all in how you use it...

Tanto

I put a 2" BL on my truck to fit 33's and I've noticed no ill effects at all. Perhaps the less weight of a Tacoma makes a difference compared to Runners as far as body roll goes. I went right through a knifed dune a week ago and all my body mounts are good to go. As long as you get a quality kit, it should be fine.

Bobakazi

The way I figure it is: sometimes in order to receive gains in one area, you might have to sacrifice a little somewhere else. Of course with any lift you are going to get more body roll than stock. Imagine if your rig rode 10' up. You would be leaning like a mother. Ever see a boat movie like "Perfect Storm" where the guy at the top of the mast is swaying all over the place? That doesn't make it so the mast is not worth having. I expect to have more roll than stock. I own a truck, not a race car, so I really do not care. I have 7" of lift, 3 of which are body, and I can still take back road corners at 25-30 mph over the posted speeds. I am happy with mine, and would never push anyone to agree. I used to always wonder in my last Toyota if it would spin out or roll first if I turned hard on pavement. It had a 3" body lift and 33x12.50s. After several years of wondering, I sucked up my balls, went about 50 in a parking lot, slammed the brakes and cranked the wheel. I did a nice 540 and drove home. I would not suggest trying this as it was scary as crap. And it is probably going to take me several more years to try that stunt in the truck I have now. All I am saying is that I personally think for the lift I got, which allowed me to install bigger meat, was well worth the little extra body roll I got. :beaver: Not sure why I put that smilie there, I just wanted to use it.

AH64ID

I wish you had that stunt on video....I have no desire to try that in my rig....

It is all preferance. You have no problems with them, I dont like them. Does that makes them good or bad, nope. Get a quality kit, know what you have...and most of all have fun with it. A BL is better than no lift...