Lift kits 101

      Currently, I've been doing some research into buying a lift kit for my truck, and I've noticed a lot of confusion among people in the same situation. I'd thought I'd help by writing down everything I've learned so far.

      First and foremost, there are two basic types of mainstream lift kits:

Body Lifts

      Body lifts lift up a vehicle by simply using blocks to lift the body of the vehicle off the frame. This makes body lifts incredibly cheap, simple, and easy to install. However, they offer almost no performance improvements.

This means that body lifts are really designed for people looking to get a slightly lifted look, or to make room for bigger tires, without spending lots of money. It would be extremely uncommon to find a body lift kit bigger than 3 or 4 inches.

An example of a body lift kit.

Suspension lifts

      Suspension lifts are the real deal. Anyone serious about off road performance should get a suspension lift. They lift a vehicle by replacing and adding key parts of a vehicles factory suspension system. These new parts lower down the wheels from the frame, and allow bigger shocks. This allows the addition of bigger tires, and more wheel travel, which is how much the wheel can move up and down.

An example of a suspension lift kit. Note the bigger shocks.

       The suspension lift kit that I am planning to buy is produced by a company called Race Car Dynamics, and offers 5" of lift. The main reason I'm interested in it is that it has received extremely positive reviews from many people, and it adds additional equipment that other kits don't, such as traction bars, which act as a brace between the rear axle and the frame, and high quality Bilstein shocks. 

What the RCD 5" Lift looks like installed.