I was reading through our clubs forums and decided to ask the fellas running lifts a simple question. Is the Extra 3 in of lift really worth it in the end? Seems like there are countless problems w/centerlinks, then if you go HD steering you have problems w/the steering box. It just seems as if the cons might outweigh the pros. The reason i'm asking is that i got about a grand coming back in taxes and have been considering a lift. Let me know your guys' experiences and opinions. Thx

It's worth it if you’re going to use it. You’re modifying your truck from factory specs and with that you’re going to have to beef up some parts if you’re going to wheel it hard along with added maintenance. The steering components being the main part that fails quickly after a lift. The steering systems on the market do address the weakness and work well but they do require regular maintenance if you want to get the most life and best performance out of them. Also when you leave the highway and start going over big rocks through sand/mud/water/dirt your going to stress and wear the components a lot more than Sally soccer mom running little Johnny around town. A lot of the guys you’re reading problems about push there trucks hard and that’s causing stuff to wear out quicker.
I don't believe the lift is causing the steering boxes to fail. Mine started to show early signs of failing while I was still stock and now 30k miles later its toast 25k miles on the lift.

Would I do it again absolutely.

After hanging out here for a few years, offroading a few dozen times, and watching others tackle tough terrain, I have to admit I tend to think the 'big' 3-inch lifts are more for show and less for go. Not to say that those with the lifts don't 'go', it's just I think there are other things out there that would have a greater benefit to getting going when the going gets tough aside from high clearance.

I've seen more trails where lockers and T-case gears would do more good. If were to tackle hard trails more often, I think I'd rather get those along with under truck skid plates and sliders than bigger tires and a suspension lift.

IMHO, that is.

yeah but you need the lift to clear the tires.

Install a 3" body lift and save for a SAS someday.

It all depends on the wheeling you do as to if its worth it.

If you just need the tires to fit, then a BL is absolutely the way to go....and, a SL does NOT give extra tire clearance when stuffed, only at ride height conditions, etc. (Only the BL gives tire clearance under all conditions)

If you need a bit more ground clearance, beyond the 1/2" of tire lift per additional inch of tire diameter....then a SL makes some sense.

I've always believed that no matter how high you will lift, it will never be high enough to never hit...so armor is first, the lift is second...sliders and plates can get you over things that a lift alone would make a mess of.

Lockers and T-case gears are another good example of a real performance boost....although the downtime and cost can also be prohibitive.

So - if you need the extra wheel travel/ground clearance, a SL is great....otherwise, the $ should go elsewhere.

Again - ground clearance is a mostly rock thing...and if you are on rocks, you need armor...if you only have a ~$grand...maybe plates and sliders should be #1 before a lift.

Yes - a rear ARB locker is BY FAR the best mod for the money to make your truck better offroad (well, maybe after swapping HT's for MT's).

I went for the body lift to help avoid some of the problems you mention. It doesn't change the steering geometry and is therefore easier on stuff (though with the bigger tires you'll still wear out the stock stuff and risk breaking it more than if you were totally stock).. plus it is cheap.

I'm opinionated as hell on this one. I built my Frontier through all iterations outlined below, and then I SAS'd.

My Xterra has lift, Steering, Sliders, and tires on it now. Would have gone in a different order regarding the lift, except I already had most of the parts to do it left over from my Frontier, and got the other stuff used for a song.

Yes, the lift is worth it as long as you add steering. I haven't heard of many steering box failures - I have heard of defective ones that probably would have failed regardless of the suspension setup. An extra 3" under the frame makes a huge difference in the rocks - I'm in Arizona and rock crawling is what we do). You also get additional flex in the back for a slightly better RTI with a lift. AND....if you go with a tire 2" taller than stock, that's another inch.

Lifting IFS gives you much better clearance under the pan as long as you don't have the suspension cycled upward...this will get you over more stuff without banging though.

If I were getting another new truck for wheeling, and keeping the IFS - here's the order I'd buy parts.

CB (far superior to FRS on group runs)
Full Belly Skids
Rear Locker
Sliders
Lift/Steering
Tires (buy after the lift so you don't buy two sets)
Tcase Gears
Bumpers, other misc. armor
Front locker

Or just skip a few steps and SAS it. Those driver drop waggy axles will get harder and harder to find over the years. I've bought 3 already (sold one) and am picking up 6 more for the SWANKy crew in the next week or two. Better nab them while you can.

The single most effective mod you can do for offroad ability is a rear locker. Good tires and Tcase gears follow, however, if you're not wheeling the rocks, you probably don't need the gears. Guys with manual trannies really benefit from the gears in the rocks.

Lifting/modding for looks is stupid. Why degrade the handling and accelerate wear and tear on your truck for no reason? Keep it stock and enjoy the reliability.