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DakUSA
DakotaEnthusiast
 
1/09/2004
10:01:25
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 Subject: Rancho Lift Sale!!!!!!!
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We are Having a Rancho lift sale this month. The price is 50.00 off our already low price. ALso our lifts come complete with RS9000X 9 ways adjustable shocks and Free Shipping
here is the link
for the 2000-2002 3" lift
http://dakotausa.com/eastcoasttruckin/product_info.php?products_id=38
here is the link for the 97-99 3: lift
http://dakotausa.com/eastcoasttruckin/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=14&products_id=32
Chris Lambert
Dakota USA
01 Graphite QC -- 4.7 Auto, Hotchkis, GTS Functional RamAir Hood, F&B 70mm TB, SpinTech True Dual Exhaust, Bed Rug, Leer 700, 18X9 Alt Wheels, SS Grilles, SS Bumper, Custon Leather seats, NR Auto gauges, Kenwood CD, 350 amp, JL 10" sub in console, DVD, Billit AC knobs
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price
Dodge Dakota
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1/11/2004
02:59:27
|  RE: Rancho Lift Sale!!!!!!!
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That doesn't seem that cheap. this place has them for 1229 plus shocks and I heard they will ship for free to most addresses. http://performancelifts.com/cgi-bin/cart/RS6590.html
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JUST ME
Dodge Dakota
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1/11/2004
09:16:46
|  RE: Rancho Lift Sale!!!!!!!
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Yea , but that`s WITHOUT shocks , if you want the 9000s they are $300 more.
Doesn`t seem so bad now does it?
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JES
Dodge Dakota
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1/12/2004
15:01:47
| RE: Rancho Lift Sale!!!!!!!
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OK -- shocks or no-shocks ... regardless. Speaking with some friends over the weekend about getting a lift, I was having a hard time justifying a suspension lift. From what I understand, this Rancho lift merely makes room for going from 265/70R16's to 265/75R16's (per Rancho). I've heard of some people going to 285/75R16's or 305/70R16's, but they had to cut up the plastic and still got some rubbing on the frame.
It's my understanding that, aside from the slightly increased tire size (which can be had from a body lift for far less money), there is no advantage to going with a suspension lift. There are no new springs ... no added articulation ... no improved steering or suspension geometry ... no benefit whatsoever off-road or otherwise (outside of tires that are about 1/4" wider).
If I'm missing the point totally here .. please set me straight ... otherwise, I think I'm just gonna have to go with the $200 body lift w/ gap guards and save $1500 or so (that's a lot of beer and pizza).
Eric -- http://photos.yahoo.com/jes_96
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lilthurmy03
Dodge Dakota
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1/12/2004
17:31:53
| RE: Rancho Lift Sale!!!!!!!
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yeah makes plenty of sense to me. i could understand if you already have a body lift, and wanna run even bigger tires. but i run 305/75/16's on my 01' dak. with just a 3 inch body and the TB's cranked an inch or so. yeah i did do some trimming, but hell, thats better than spending anywhere from 1600 to 2500 for a lift, plus install. just my 2 cents.
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forexfour
GenIII
1/13/2004
09:49:42
| RE: Rancho Lift Sale!!!!!!!
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To avoid argument for those who do not have the suspension lift I will only say Ground clearance is one advantage. Of course at the Diff it will remain the same but center ground clearance for the frame, I have 19" with 33's.
All other points will be argued due to the points you made. I will say ride, travel and off road performance are improved and it is not due to shocks only since I already had the RSX9000's before.
I myself went with it as most know for the enhanced off road performance of a suspension lift and it looks so much better than a body lift but it is all opinion. Finally I have wanted a lifted truck since I was a kid and I love my truck and worked hard for everything I have done to it. Cost was never an issue in anything I have done to it. I am not made of money nor do I have lots of it. I busted my ass to pay for all mods and researched each and came to my own conclusion. It kills me when someone throws out a comment you paid how much and or for that price I could have.... Those who e-mailed my privately to discuss this have agreed it was worth it to them and are glad someone takes the time to throw out all pros or cons without question.
You have done the research to come to your conclusion. Everyone has to decide for themselves what to do with their cash. Both lift options have their pros and cons you need to weigh them out yourself. Since most here are for looks only the body lift is the best option. I am not saying I can wheel circles around everyone but I can make it through most trails in one pass where others have to make a few. I do lack in power with the V-6 but I make up for it with mods as best as possible.
Chris
Never late for a Tee time or wheelin with my buddies! Always ready for both!!!Forexfour's home
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CanyonD
Dodge Dakota
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1/13/2004
10:54:13
| RE: Rancho Lift Sale!!!!!!!
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You might sell more of those lifts if someone could post pictures of before, after, and during the lift installation.
Step by step installation photos would be very valuable in considering this lift.
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CanyonD
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
1/13/2004
11:13:29
| More info on running 33's with the Rancho lift
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Hey Forexfour,
Nice D with the Rancho lift. Just checked out the pics on your website. I agree that a suspension lift is a better lift compared to a body lift.
I am curious to know your thoughts on 4 wheeling with 33's considering the relative weakness of the OEM front diff. All I have read leads me to believe that it is not very strong and I have seen a magazine article rate the diff for a maximum tire size of 31". I would like to put on the Rancho lift, but I am worried about the adverse effects of the larger tires.
I have a 2002 Durango, so I have the Chrysler 7.625 front diff, although your 2000 D may have the Dana 35 Hybrid that Chrysler used from 1997 till sometime in 2000.
Did you do the install? If not, how much to expect to pay for the install?
Can you comment on the problems of larger tires on the following issues:
Front diff strength.
Speedometer/Odometer acuraccy
ABS operation
Braking (I consider the 4 wheel OEM discs to be underpowered with the 265 70R16's as it is)
Fender trimming (how much and where?)
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forexfour
GenIII
1/13/2004
12:05:59
| RE: Rancho Lift Sale!!!!!!!
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Here are my thoughts to your request.
I run 33x10.5x15 for many reasons:
Upper ball joint relocation with thr lift. I have posted photo's before. On stock rims with Moog's very little clearance.
This brings the next reason. Change in Backspacing to accomodate wider tires creates more stress on the front suspention. I do wheel with Perpetrate who has a 98 Dakota with 12.5 and a body lift on stock rims. He has put more miles on and wheeled more than I since mine is a 2000. He has been running 12.5 for atleast a year but I do not know how long on stock. He has had no problems to date that I am aware of.
I wheel my truck and do not want any rubbing. Perpetrate still gets rubbing. If you have been to my site there is plenty of video showing this.
I have also ran 33x12.5x15 MT's on STOCK before I got the suspension lift and after I got the Hanson bumper. I had to replace my rack and pinion steering within 6 months due to leaking starting to show. Any signs of problems are fixed immediatly. I could have run it and babied it for who knows how long.
I had to change to Moog's due to cracks in the OEM ball joint boots. I did not have premature failure but I probably would have soon.
I do not feel that going with 33x10.5x15 MT's I lost any wheelin advantage from the 12.5's. I feel bottom line these trucks are not made to handle that wide of a tire or larger than a 33. Just my feeling about it. Some have had good luck on the road with themand others have had there suspension fall apart. Take your pick.
The Dakota is the best looking truck out there in my opinion.
I have a buddy with a 2002 Quad cab Dakota with very low miles less than 15K. A trail I frequently run, He blew his front CV on with 32x11.5x15 MT's. I pass this trail first pass always. All others have to take a few runs at it before clearing when dry and can not attempt when muddy.
Also Transfer case and front driveline problems with 12.5 wide. Just depends on how you use your truck.
I have Speedo corrected perfectly to GPS with the addition of a superchips programmer and a tru speed calibrator.
My fenders were trimmed when I was running 33's on STOCK so it was already done when the lift was added.
I do not have and braking issues. I did get a ABS/ Brake lite error but it was cleared by my mechanic and never return. He said it was a brake switch error code and only cleared it to fix it.
At my site I have the lift installation photo's but not step by step, Had to work so I could pay for it!
Also at my site I do have before and after photo's, if you cant tell which is which I cant help you.
I have video of my running the articulation rut at Hollister both with 33x12.5 on STOCK and after the lift was installed. One day I will clean my site up to make it easier to find them but my pages are setup by the trip dates. So if you check out video's on trip dated before march of 2003, I had not lift only STOCK suspension. Of course anything after that is lifted.
I will list my mods on my V-6 FYI:
Detroit Locker in the rear.
Air Raid fliter system
Flowmaster 50 series delta high flow (had a 40 but it was to loud for me).
Hi flow cat.
Moog's Uppers.
custom front drive line with greasable knuckles and shaft
I plan to have the rear rebuilt but hate down time if it is not having something done
Superchips programmer
Add a leafs
V-8 torsion bars.
3" Rancho Suspension lift
Magellan GPS for navigating off road.
CB for Comm
My wheelin buddy Kota (chocolate lab 1 yr)
I think that covers it as far as I remeber but I do have a list on a spreadsheet of all maintenance and mods included with all gas milage info for every fill up since June of 2002. This includes MPG, cost per mile.
Any other questions just ask. Got nothing to hide nor lie about. And could care less what anyone else thinks.
Yikes was this a long one! Sorry! No I am not a writer for a living.
Chris
Never late for a Tee time or wheelin with my buddies! Always ready for both!!!Forexfour's home
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forexfour
GenIII
1/13/2004
12:15:11
| RE: Rancho Lift Sale!!!!!!!
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I forgot to mention the Hanson Bumper (obviously)
Warn 9500 HS winch
Also I had the custom skid plate design created for everyone to use here is the link
http://www.djrescue.com/dakota/how%20to/00-03%20Dakota%20Skid%20Plates.pdf
I get request all the time for them so they must still be working good for everyone.
Chris
Never late for a Tee time or wheelin with my buddies! Always ready for both!!!Forexfour's home
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JES
Dodge Dakota
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1/15/2004
10:11:39
| RE: Rancho Lift Sale!!!!!!!
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The ground clearance I'll give ya ... the rest .. eh? When I did the susp lift on my ranger, all the springs, along with the shocks were swapped out. Made for a much better ride, more travel, and better performance. I can't see how one can get better performance, more travel, and better ride quality from the Rancho for the DAK, since you're not replacing anything .. just relocating everything 3".
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CanyonD
Dodge Dakota
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1/16/2004
14:01:57
| RE: Rancho Lift Sale!!!!!!!
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From your comments, it sounds like you haven't done much research on body versus suspension lifts.
I think the entire point of the Rancho lift is to keep the handling characteristics of the lifted D the same as before. Just because your Ford Ranger had crappy handling before you lifted it doesn't mean that D owners are looking to change the handling atributes of their vehicle. Most D owners like the way they handle. 3" of lift would be a big plus.
A suspension lift does more than just allow use of bigger tires. It gets critical undercarraige parts out of the way of rocks under your vehicle. While the rear axle and suspension anchor points dont move up, many critical parts of your drivetrain and vehicle(muffler, transfer case, front diff., gas tank, etc) do get additional clearance.
If you don't understand the advantages of a suspension lift over a body lift, you need to do alot more research. Body Lifts have some real drawbacks. If you do it yourself, be prepared for 10-15 hours of work and allow a week for the things you didn't know you needed when you started the job. Body lifts are considered very complex beasts. They have hidden gotchas during the install process. You need to address the gaps that exist after the lift is installed. They can look a bit goofy compared to a suspension lift if not planned out properly. If you pay someone to do the work, the cost of a body lift goes up dramatically. There are numerous other issues with a body lift that you should research before buying one. Body lifts are often done by folks that want bigger tires for street looks and are not as serious about real offroad performance improvements. Although a body lift with bigger tires is better than no lift offroad, a suspension lift provides dramtically better performance in the offroad catagory.
I am not saying that a body lift is no good, just realize that there are pros and cons to both types of lifts and you should have a bit more knowledge before taking the plunge.
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JES
Dodge Dakota
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1/16/2004
17:50:49
| RE: Rancho Lift Sale!!!!!!!
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Thanks for your input Canyon ... after installing over 20 suspension lifts ... and 14 body lifts, I'm quite aware of the advantages and dis- of both. My point is the 'advantages' of a Rancho lift are not worth the extra money. If I'm going to put a suspension lift on, I want the truck to perform better ... not the same. I'm aware you don't know me from Adam, but please don't tell me what I know and what I don't. I have a BS in Mechanical Engineering (with a core in Vehicle Design) and have helped design suspensions for a Jeep and a Ranger.
Through it all, I think I'm going with the body lift for the Dak and I'll be building a lift for the new Ranger ('94 -- not actually new, per se) ... or I might just build a boony basher buggy.
Anyway ... thanks for the input ... but I'm really not interested in participating in a pissing match with you about Ford VS Dodge or how much you know about suspension and body lifts. I know what works on both and what doesn't. So, please ... go spout off to someone else about how much they don't know. Have a great day.
Eric
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CanyonD
Dodge Dakota
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1/16/2004
20:39:27
| RE: Rancho Lift Sale!!!!!!!
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Wow JES,
Remember that you are the one that wrote:
" If I'm missing the point totally here .. please set me straight ..."
To elaborate you wrote the following passage in your post above:
"It's my understanding that, aside from the slightly increased tire size (which can be had from a body lift for far less money), there is no advantage to going with a suspension lift. There are no new springs ... no added articulation ... no improved steering or suspension geometry ... no benefit whatsoever off-road or otherwise (outside of tires that are about 1/4" wider). If I'm missing the point totally here .. please set me straight ..."
You claim that there are "no offroad benefits" to a suspension lift over a body lift. That is not true. A suspension lift raises the undercarriage of the vehicle and the body lift does not. This keeps critical undercarraige parts from slamming into rocks (many fools like me consider this feature important). The fact that you find no value in this feature does not diminish it's importance to people that care about offroad worthiness.
There are indeed advantages to a suspension lift that you seemed to be unaware of. This is why I responded to you. I was not trying to be rude, rather, I was trying to caution someone that appeared to be uninformed. You now claim to be an suspension and body lift expert (with dozens of lifts performed in the past). Your earlier post certainly did not give that impression. Since you appeared to be unaware of an important offroad benefit of the suspension lift, I thought I would try to (using your phrase) "set you straight".
I dont think anybody can "set you straight". It appears like you are permanently bent out of shape.
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JES
Dodge Dakota
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1/16/2004
22:09:51
| RE: Rancho Lift Sale!!!!!!!
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Thanks Canyon .. I'm 'set straight'. For 1,800 extra dollars, I can get my transfer case and transmission 3" higher than it would be with a body lift. Thanks for your help. :oP *hitting sarcasm button profusely* I'm thinking my $65 skid plate is a better option. Thanks anyway. Always good to see another point of view. Just a matter of priorities, I guess; spending that much money on something that doesn't give that much benefit just doesn't set well with me. Always lookin for a better mousetrap.
And, yes .. I do get quite 'bent out of shape' .. now and again. Especially, when, just because I haven't laid out all my knowledge in the original post, I get tagged as someone that hasn't done his research. I posted the original inquiry because I have yet to see a Rancho lift for a Dak. I suppose you're right .. I could have worded it better .. made a more pointed question or questions ... my apologies .. sincerely. I would have been better served asking, "Does Rancho give you the option of different torsion bars ... or leaf spring packs, or anything that will improve the performance of the suspension, such as geometry, dampening members, or even bushings?" Probably would have gotten a better response. I was in a hurry ... and reading my original post, I probably woulda taken me for quite an amateur also. Sorry. You sound very knowledgeable and I should heed your thoughts as important and relevant. Just so used to jagoffs on here flinging crapola that I've become one of them to a certain extent. I probably just got 'bent' from the diss on the Ranger. Much blood sweat and tears went into that truck only to have a blue hair cross the centerline and make a statistic out of it. UGH.
Well .. again .. my apologies ... take care.
Eric
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CanyonD
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
1/16/2004
22:42:23
| RE: Rancho Lift Sale!!!!!!!
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No diss on the Ranger from me. I consider it to be a very offroad worthy platform.
I just tried to explain that the majority of D owners dont believe the suspension feel and handling of a stock D needs improvement. Rancho is pricing the 3" lift a lot higher than many other lift kits, but that is the price of IFS lifts (expecially with the D steering system).
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