What are the effects you get from lifting your truck. Mainly 2wd trucks. Is the ride rougher and feel every bump you cross, lower mpg's what else

 

The repairs down the road, the constant wear and tear... Lots to think about before lifting, but as long as your aware of the issues that could come up you will be fine.

The ride also doesn't have to be garbage.. Most lifts ride as smooth or smoother than stock.

Mpgs will drop but where they ever great on these trucks I'm getting 11-12 mpgs on average with over 10" of lift and 38x15.50's, not great but not terrible IMO.

Just be aware of what your getting into and all will be great. Your definitely on the right site to do that!

 

-lower mpg, less performance towing and uphill driving
-higher center of gravity = corners waayyy worse
-parking is more difficult
-turning radius becomes worse
-wear and tear, stress on tranny/drivetrain
-tires = more expensive, usually wear worse
-dont even think about parking garages

But for most the upsides out-weigh those downsides
-much much MUCH better looks
-better offroad performance
-better visibility, especially in traffic

 

One great thing is only long legged chicks can climb in. Lol..

 

I've been rear-ended twice and backed into a lady once, and almost rear ended tonight...all three (and if there had of been a fourth) without a scratch...and I do mean literally without a scratch. None of them even as so much touched the bumper. Thank you Rancho!!

I don't know if it was from the sub-frame of the lift kit or the shock options available for the lift kit that made the improvement, but my truck immediately felt more solid going down the road than it ever did stock. While the higher center of gravity may have some merit, my handling actually improved drastically, which IMHO negated any loss from the higher CG.

 

In my opinion (and purely my opinion) and generally speaking, two major downsides are costs and repairs. And I am only referring to typical lifts and not some of the customized monsters that some members here have!

Obviously there are your initial costs such as the lift itself, bigger wheels/tires, etc but there are lots of ancillary costs such as labor, front wheel alignment, longer brake lines, etc. Then you have another category - upgrades: New brakes, ball joints, bearings, gears, bigger flares and so on....it can get super expensive very quickly, but hey, you pay to play.

Once the lift is on, then you move to maintenance and repairs. Bigger lifts, wheels/tires and so on can put a strain on the truck and stuff starts to wear out and even BREAK faster than you would expect. Just be sure you have money stashed for wear items like brake pads, bearings, ball joints, tie-rod ends, and worst off all, tranny issues. Sure, one can argue that these items will wear anyway, but in my experience, they will wear faster on lifted rigs with big wheels and tires.

I drove a lifted 2wd Chevy Tahoe for 6+ years and although I loved how my rig looked and drove, things started to happen once it got older. I blew a bearing on the passenger front wheel and luckily I was only doing ~10mph. I was able to get the truck to stop quickly but not before it tore off the front spindle (axle). Bam, just like that it was sidelined and I needed to buy new front lift spindles (only sold in pairs). Another time a zip-tie slipped and my steel brake line made contact with the 12.5" wide front tire. Bam, NO brakes while trying to exit the freeway. Luckily I was able to get it stopped safely, but I was out the cost of a flat bed tow from the middle of no where, in the rain, at night. Other things included tranny frying at about 175k (but that was not too bad due to the miles), lost an upper u-joint at the top of the drive shaft, replaced all of my steering components and front ball joints, needed to re-weld the upper control arm mounts, and so on and so on... It got to the point where I just felt the whole rig had become an unreliable money pit so I sold it and got into my F150. No more lifting 2wd trucks for me, although the Ford F150's are engineered SO much better than 2wd Chevy's that I wouldn't hesitate to lift one if I wanted...

But its not all doom and gloom...in fact its quite the opposite. If you have the time, energy and means to lift and maintain a lifted F150 then I say "do it"! They look so damn good! And if done right and the add-on parts are complimentary, you should be able to reduce the amount of issues going forward. I love how my truck rides and looks and I only wanted to fit 35's so my Rancho+1" is perfect for me. Now if you want to go with tires larger than 35's and lifts bigger than 6" or 8" then you are probably looking at more maintenance/repair costs down the road, not to mention initial costs to get into that world. But I am sure there are more than enough guys on here that will give you their take!

Good luck man!

 

well the upside... grandma wont want a ride to the store and the fat chicks cant get in

 

i agree with Jesso.... fat chicks cant jump!!!

on an honest note though, i love having a lift. as mentioned already, there are obvious pros and cons. it really comes down to what you want, what you do with your truck, how much you want to spend, etc. etc.

 

It seems tht the OP asked what the effects of a lift are...not what larger wheels will do to the truck. The really good lifts keep the same geometry of the stock vehicle. By keeping the stock geometry this puts very little strain on additional parts. A 2-3 inch level kit IMO puts more strain on ball joints and components due to the change in angles. A "real" lift, will probably lower your mpg slightly due to the effect that lift kits will raise and level your truck which removes the stock "rake" that original came with the truck.

Now bigger tires....thats a whole other story.

 

After my lift, it seems the only women who give me any attention is these tattooed hillbilly types, missing teeth, and they're always looking for a ride from the trailer park to see their probation officer.

 

you need to stop Ghost Riding in the trailer parks!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3izte...E0E990&index=3

 

Sounds like a plus to me!!!!

 

Haha you get more female attention, more visibility down the road, and the ability to completely ruin some punk ricer kids car if he leaves it unattended in the parking lot.