The Benefits of 4x4 Suspension Lift Kits: Taller and Better
If you had to sum up off-roading in a word, you could say, “Bigger.” The inclines? Bigger. The obstacles? Bigger. The thrill? Much bigger. So, it only makes sense that your vehicle should be bigger. Or, as it were, higher. That’s where lift kits come in.
But if you’re new to the off-roading world and you’ve got a car with reasonably high suspension, you may not see the need to lift your truck’s suspension. But when you understand the benefits of suspension lift kits for 4x4s and how important balancing your vehicle is, you’ll be raring to roll your sleeves up and elevate your ride.
What Is a Suspension Lift Kit?
Some people want a taller ride for purely aesthetic purposes, so they get the body lifted a few inches. Suspension lifts are different. They involve lifting the vehicle's entire suspension, giving your vehicle anywhere from four to as many as 18 inches of height.
The Benefits of Suspension Lifts for Your 4x4
Bigger Tires
A taller suspension allows you to install much taller wheels and tires on your truck. Along with improving your car’s look and appearance, this helps improve your car’s handling in all terrains. The bigger the tire, the more of it that connects to the ground. This improves your car’s ability to brake and handle slick conditions.
Improved Clearance and Angles
Along with helping you handle rougher terrain, tall tires allow your car more clearance. They allow you to have wider angles of approach and departure as well as breakover angles, which are several angles along the body of the car.
- Angle of Approach: The angle whose vertex is the center of the car’s body and its two arms rest on the front bumper of the car to the bottom of the front wheels.
- Angle of Departure: The angle whose vertex is the center of the car’s body and its two arms rest on the back bumper of the car to the bottom of the back wheels.
- Breakover Angle: The angle whose vertex is the center of the car’s body and its two arms rest on the bottom of the front wheels and the back wheels.
The first two angles determine how steep of an incline you can climb up and drive down, while the latter tells you how steep of a convex you can drive over without damaging the bottom of the vehicle or getting stuck. Since the body of your rig and the valuable equipment on its underside are both lifted higher, you’ll be able to travel over tall obstacles without damaging your vehicle.
Visibility
When you’re traveling through peaks, mud, and foliage when off-roading, visibility is almost always hampered. With a few extra inches, drivers can usually see over more obstacles. This helps drivers avoid colliding into foliage or other drivers. Good visibility increases safety when it’s time to hit the trails.
Aesthetic
When you install a lift kit on your vehicle, it simply looks cooler. Between the increased height and the bigger tires, you can’t help but make an impression, even when you get home from off-roading.
Note
A suspension lift can take your vehicle to incredible heights. However, many states have laws about how high you’re allowed to lift your car. States determine appropriate car lifts in several ways. For example:
- In New Jersey, you can only raise the suspension up to four inches taller than factory specifications.
- In Missouri, the front bumper can’t be taller than 24 inches and the back bumper no taller than 26 inches for vehicles 4,500 pounds and under.
- In North Dakota, a vehicle cannot be higher than 14 feet total, whether loaded or unloaded.
- Here in Oregon, the headlights must be no more than 54 inches from the ground.
What Does It Mean for a Vehicle To Be Well-Balanced?
When it comes to suspension, you may hear the term “well-balanced” thrown around. When a person is well-balanced, they have their weight evenly distributed on both of their feet. In the same way, a vehicle is well-balanced when its weight is evenly distributed across all four tires. This has huge implications for your experience off-road and on.
The Importance of a Well-Balanced Rig
Cornering
When the weight of a car is unevenly distributed, handling is thrown off during turns. For instance, when the weight is unevenly distributed toward the front of the vehicle, it may have the tendency to understeer, while having the weight distributed toward the back would have the opposite effect.
When you lift the vehicle’s suspension, you raise the vehicle’s center of gravity, which has a different effect on steering. When you turn a corner with a high center of gravity, more weight is placed on the outside tires. This results in body rolls that can help you when off-roading but become dangerous when you get back on the road if you don’t know how to handle your vehicle.
Tire Wear and Tear
Going back to the example of an ill-balanced human being, if someone decided to walk with all their weight on their right foot for an entire year, what do you think would happen to their shoes? One’s soles would be far more worn down than the other. Now imagine trying to run with two pairs of shoes of different heights. It wouldn’t be exactly easy on your body.
The same is true for out-of-balance cars. When the weight is being pushed to one side or the other too much, the tires wear out unevenly. You may not notice when you’re driving over rocks, but when you get back on a flat road, driving unevenly can damage the suspension you recently painstakingly upgraded.
Tips for Correcting Balance and Handling Issues in Lifted Trucks
There are ways to help correct turning other than simply getting used to how it handles when you turn. When you’re buying your 4x4 suspension parts, look into getting an upper control arm. These small devices will help readjust the steering geometry that may have been thrown off by lifting the truck. Your 4x4 will turn like a dream on-road and off.
