Originally Posted by
Ascinder
...I am looking at moving to 33's and pretty much my main concern is durability. Then somethings to consider with 33's are the loss in torque, braking ability, and acceleration you will suffer. So I recommend, the braided brake lines, AND deeper gears (I have 4.77's which are rare but you can still find 4.56's or 5.38's - stock VX has 4.33's). I have read:"OME 912's and a t-bar crank= cheap, blissfull lifting". And others complaining that doing the same thing equals weird noises, grinding, CV boot replacements WAYYY to often, etc. I want to do it right the first time, homefully minimizing the amount of bash and slash needing to be done to the front fender wells. Right now I have plenty of questions for lifting, so here they are:
1.Ball joint flip: I understand the point of the bj flip is to decrease angle(stress) on the CV joints NO! and make the VX easier to align once lifted, right? YES! So what about the (ball joint) spacers on Independent4x.com? Do I throw these on in addition to the flip to decrease the angle further? Also do these (ball joint spacers) fit the VX (they don't have it listed there), and is more thickness better? The reason I ask is that I have machine shop access, so I could come up with something thicker and less $$. I wouldn't go any larger than the spacers I4x makes but don't have a better answer than, they have more experience with it and if more was better they would have made bigger ball joint spacers. Perhaps the size they sell works for the more extreme lifts because a simple ball joint flip seems to work for 2" to 3" lifts perfectly.
2.Rear shocks:Some people have reported using longer rear shocks when doing lifting for more travel. Independent4x sells shock post extensions. I love the stock shocks and see no real reason to replace them ever(for the stuff I do at least). To me these extensions look somewhat flimsy. Am I going to have issues with them, and will they allow me to retain the originals no problem? I have no experience with these extensions, however, keep in mind the expense of purchasing replacement OEM VX shocks - they are very pricey! I, personally, have not seen the perfect replacement shock for a lifted VX in all my searching. Bilsteins and Rancho 9000 series shocks seem to be the top contenders though. I am considering longer shock towers and longer Bilstein shocks (about 2.5" longer in the down stroke) because I installed the low profile front "droop" bumpstops which give around 3/4" extra travel. The post extensions you mention are not needed for a normally lifted VX though.
3.Bump stop extensions: I undersand that we should get bumpstop extensions when lifting, but all I see at independent4x are low profile stops. Where are we getting these elusive extensions? Lifting is not what you are compensating for when extending bump stops, it is instead the larger diameter tires making contact with the wheel well. I installed a universal 4" poly bump stop from Energy Suspension by using the backing plate from the original bumpstop and bolting them to each other, and then the frame. You could use some square tube steel as well though and make your own extensions like everyone else does to use the stock rubber bumpstops. Speaking of Energy Suspension, check out the sway bar poly bushings they offer for our application by searching our forum for part numbers.
4.Differential drop brackets: I have seen older posts referencing these to further decrease CV wear. These posts also said they were pretty pricey. There was mention about having some custom fabbed or even adapting the stock ones. Is there a source to buy these or could someone estimate how much they would cost for a custom job or how hard they are to make with a well outfitted shop? EDIT: Ascinder and I have both fabbed our own diff drop brackets now, as well as BigMeatVX. Kits for this no longer seem to be available. See our galleries or do a search under modifications to see pictures and descriptions of what we all did.
5.CV joints/boots: I saw mention of some chromalloy high angle shafts but no mention of if they were made for the VX or where to get them, or how much. They would be really pricey - you perhaps could get your stock pieces cryogenically frozen to make them stronger but I am not sure. I also saw mention of some kevlar reinforced boots that were more durable. I have heard about them too but not for the VX, I don't think. Most people seem to use the Mecatech CV boots from Indy4x {Ascinder shredded these a couple months after installing them. See gallery} How often do the boots and/or shafts fail after lifting on average. Sometimes, boots just fail no matter how much lift, or they get sliced or something. I have heard of a 2 year life span but I haven't researched much into it.
6.How much banging on the rear of the front fender well are we talking here? I just bought this vehicle and the last thing I want to do is hit it with an ugly stick/hammer to any great degree. If you use the stock offset wheels, you have less material to remove from the body. Any wide tires, tall tires, offset wheels, or wheel spacers would call for things to get more and more dramatic. I fit 32.3" tires on my 18x8.5's with 0 offset by using a -2.5" lift. Lots of clearancing with a sawzall at the wheel well was required. I removed around 2.5" of material behind the cladding by cutting and hammering and then I coated around the OEM primered body seam with bed liner from a spray can. I trimmed the wheel well liner extensively. I wanted a low C-of-G and bigger tires so I took the slash and dash route versus extra lift.
7.Poly spacers: I talked with Ldub who uses 1" spacers for [extra lift on] his wheels. I love the look of his VX, but if I had the diff drop brackets, wouldn't 2" be better for wheel well clearance/less beating with the hammer. You can only lift the front end so much before you make a very unstable VX with 0 down travel. And to get there you would have to reindex your torsion bars. So 2" poly spacers and OME 912's would give more lift in the rear than you would want in the front, IMO. Also, I have read that these can fall out at high levels of travel. Is there a good way to ensure that this doesn't happen? The coils and/or the spacers could fall out, yes, but you can easily wire them in place or use HD zip ties to secure them.
In addition to the above mentioned mods, I am probably going to throw on the beefed up tie rods and brake line kit (AHHA! Didn't see this in the first read - good plan) from independent, and maybe some rattlecan work since I'll have stuff apart anyways. Is there anything else I should put on at this point while I've got everything else going on. I would really prefer to do this all in one fell swoop. Sorry for the extremely long post, I just want to try and do this right the first time and minimize the snags right off the bat. [color=red]
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