body lift or suppension lift

chevyman125 · 01-16-2009, 05:18 PM

i am thinking about putting a lift on my 1996 chevy 1500 short box step side reg cab i was only gunna put a 3 inch on it should i just put a body lift or a 4 inch suppension???

Blackwolf14804 · 01-16-2009, 07:27 PM

Both have pros and cons, I'd go with the suspension lift, get the frame higher

98k1500 · 01-16-2009, 07:41 PM

If you dont have much money do the body lift, if you can afford it do the suspension lift. The real only down side to the suspension lift on an IFS truck is that due to all the drop brackets that you need it gets expensive fast especially if you want to go tall, I dont think that 3 inches will cost too much,

chevyman125 · 01-16-2009, 08:56 PM

ya i think just for three inches i might go with body just wanted to see what everyone thought, how hard is it to instal a body lift will i need to extend my gas hose from my cap to my tank??

98k1500 · 01-17-2009, 11:18 PM

not sure either way , i dont think you will need to, but dont hold me to it. generally body lifts are fairly quick and relatively painless. will just need a couple of buddies to help lift the bed to slide in the spacers and i would take all the cab bushings loose and do the the blocks on one side at a time get a hi lift jack under the pinch weld and after loosening all the bolts jack on side up at a time and insert the spacers, if you do it that way you may not even need a buddy to help.

stumpuller454 · 01-18-2009, 09:22 AM

i`ve looked into body lifts before, you can just by the blocks seperatley, but if you spend the extra dough the company should provide a kit that contains bumper re-mounts, inner fender skirts, gas tank extentions and hopefully detailed instructions.

IMO buy the suspension kit, out of all the body lifts i`ve seen on these trucks very few actually looked good, i`ve only seen one that is actually hard to tell if its suspension or body,

chevyman125 · 01-18-2009, 02:16 PM

i can buy the body lift kit for $330 but that does not come with the back bumper witch is dumb i have not found one body lift that comes with the front and back bumper bracket. i am worried my 265 tires will look weird on my truck i would like to upgrade to at least 31's. i priced out suppension lift kits they are way to expencive like a four inch is $1500 bucks.

bradrhale · 01-19-2009, 08:20 AM

if you wanna play, you gotta pay. you state that you have 265s on the truck and might upgrade to 31s. well, if my calculations are right considering that you are running 265/75/15, you are running a 30.6 in tire. 265/70/15s should be 29.6 inches. i dont believe 31s are going to do you justice. my nephew has a 96 with a 3in body lift and is running 35s with no rubbing. looks great too. BIL has a 98 with 33s. but his are a 12.5 and stick out like a sore thumb.

03chevy · 01-19-2009, 08:26 AM

if you are going to do it yourself go to ebay and look for Top Gun Customz that is where i got my sys. lift. alot cheaper than buying it from a shop.

tdyer · 01-19-2009, 09:17 AM

From your truck picture, it looks like you have a 4X4, so you can run 265/75/R16 with stock height. Not all trucks come that way, because the tire size upgrade was an option. If you lift it 3 inches, you can clear 33X12.50's. You may have to shave off a little of your air dam.....not a big deal.

As for the lift, it sounds like you just want to clear your new tires. If so, body lift is cheap and easy. Search for a kit that supplies all the necessary relocation pieces. You need to extend the filler neck for the gas tank, relocate the emergency brake cable, split and extend the fan shroud, extend the gear shift shaft (requires welding), relocate the transfer case linkage, relocate the front and rear bumpers (a lot of people leave the rear where it is). I think I covered it all, but it's been a while, since I did mine. I wasn't able to find a kit that included the rear bumper relocation brackets (probably because not everyone wants it). I also bought the "gap guards".....this is key to making it relatively unnoticeable that you have a body lift. the large gaps created are a dead giveaway. Most people don't realize mine is lifted.

Some kits come with one set of bed spacers that are steel instead of plastic. This is for more strength on your main cross-member. These need to be welded into place, but you can take it somewhere, as your last step. For mine, I took my gear shift shaft to a friend to be welded, then when I had everything else completed, I brought the truck to him to have the two supports welded in.

This is not as difficult as it sounds. Don't be scared away by my description. I did mine in a day by myself (with the exception of the welding). Definitely get the larger tires if you do it, you won't be happy with 31's. Go to ntwonline.com. They have a lift/tire fitting chart, if you're not sure.

Good luck.

Todd

01-16-2009, 05:18 PM	#1
chevyman125 Full Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 31	body lift or suppension lift i am thinking about putting a lift on my 1996 chevy 1500 short box step side reg cab i was only gunna put a 3 inch on it should i just put a body lift or a 4 inch suppension???

01-18-2009, 09:22 AM	#6
stumpuller454 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Grande Prairie, AB Posts: 2,043	i`ve looked into body lifts before, you can just by the blocks seperatley, but if you spend the extra dough the company should provide a kit that contains bumper re-mounts, inner fender skirts, gas tank extentions and hopefully detailed instructions. IMO buy the suspension kit, out of all the body lifts i`ve seen on these trucks very few actually looked good, i`ve only seen one that is actually hard to tell if its suspension or body, __________________ SUPERCHARGED 454 K2500 GMC! 450hp and 600ft/lbs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ27RJHfJKE "sailing with Captain Morgan often!"

01-19-2009, 08:26 AM	#9
03chevy Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: jax,fl Posts: 1,186	if you are going to do it yourself go to ebay and look for Top Gun Customz that is where i got my sys. lift. alot cheaper than buying it from a shop. __________________ A dirty mind is a terrible thing to waste!

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01-16-2009, 07:27 PM	#2
Blackwolf14804 Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Almond, NY Posts: 87	Both have pros and cons, I'd go with the suspension lift, get the frame higher

01-16-2009, 07:41 PM	#3
98k1500 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Manhattan,Kansas Posts: 320	If you dont have much money do the body lift, if you can afford it do the suspension lift. The real only down side to the suspension lift on an IFS truck is that due to all the drop brackets that you need it gets expensive fast especially if you want to go tall, I dont think that 3 inches will cost too much,

01-16-2009, 08:56 PM	#4
chevyman125 Full Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 31	ya i think just for three inches i might go with body just wanted to see what everyone thought, how hard is it to instal a body lift will i need to extend my gas hose from my cap to my tank??

01-17-2009, 11:18 PM	#5
98k1500 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Manhattan,Kansas Posts: 320	not sure either way , i dont think you will need to, but dont hold me to it. generally body lifts are fairly quick and relatively painless. will just need a couple of buddies to help lift the bed to slide in the spacers and i would take all the cab bushings loose and do the the blocks on one side at a time get a hi lift jack under the pinch weld and after loosening all the bolts jack on side up at a time and insert the spacers, if you do it that way you may not even need a buddy to help.

01-18-2009, 02:16 PM	#7
chevyman125 Full Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 31	i can buy the body lift kit for $330 but that does not come with the back bumper witch is dumb i have not found one body lift that comes with the front and back bumper bracket. i am worried my 265 tires will look weird on my truck i would like to upgrade to at least 31's. i priced out suppension lift kits they are way to expencive like a four inch is $1500 bucks.

01-19-2009, 08:20 AM	#8
bradrhale Senior Moderator Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 8,030	if you wanna play, you gotta pay. you state that you have 265s on the truck and might upgrade to 31s. well, if my calculations are right considering that you are running 265/75/15, you are running a 30.6 in tire. 265/70/15s should be 29.6 inches. i dont believe 31s are going to do you justice. my nephew has a 96 with a 3in body lift and is running 35s with no rubbing. looks great too. BIL has a 98 with 33s. but his are a 12.5 and stick out like a sore thumb.

01-19-2009, 09:17 AM	#10
tdyer Full Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 16	From your truck picture, it looks like you have a 4X4, so you can run 265/75/R16 with stock height. Not all trucks come that way, because the tire size upgrade was an option. If you lift it 3 inches, you can clear 33X12.50's. You may have to shave off a little of your air dam.....not a big deal. As for the lift, it sounds like you just want to clear your new tires. If so, body lift is cheap and easy. Search for a kit that supplies all the necessary relocation pieces. You need to extend the filler neck for the gas tank, relocate the emergency brake cable, split and extend the fan shroud, extend the gear shift shaft (requires welding), relocate the transfer case linkage, relocate the front and rear bumpers (a lot of people leave the rear where it is). I think I covered it all, but it's been a while, since I did mine. I wasn't able to find a kit that included the rear bumper relocation brackets (probably because not everyone wants it). I also bought the "gap guards".....this is key to making it relatively unnoticeable that you have a body lift. the large gaps created are a dead giveaway. Most people don't realize mine is lifted. Some kits come with one set of bed spacers that are steel instead of plastic. This is for more strength on your main cross-member. These need to be welded into place, but you can take it somewhere, as your last step. For mine, I took my gear shift shaft to a friend to be welded, then when I had everything else completed, I brought the truck to him to have the two supports welded in. This is not as difficult as it sounds. Don't be scared away by my description. I did mine in a day by myself (with the exception of the welding). Definitely get the larger tires if you do it, you won't be happy with 31's. Go to ntwonline.com. They have a lift/tire fitting chart, if you're not sure. Good luck. Todd