GApathfinder Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Alright, I'm truely sorry if this has been answered, but I searched it and nothing came up, so I thought I should go ahead and ask. Also, let me point out I am a "noob" to the whole off road scene. I am a Drifting Fanatic and that is my forte. I can tell you all about parts for suspension, engine, exterior and interior and obviously, all that is totally different. So bear with me with this suspension question I have a 98 SE, 4WD. I want to lift it, really bad, but I don't want to spend a TON of money. I was looking on 4x4parts.com and they sell the lift kits, for like 700 bucks, but then they also sell the 2 inch lift coils by themselves, for 360 bucks. I was wondering, if I already have bilstein shocks in the rear, if I could get just coils to lift my car. or do I have to get the whole kit for it to work. If in fact, I must have the whole kit, where can I find the cheapest 2" kit? Thank you for any feedback, good or bad. I am just having a hard time understanding all of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01silvapathy Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Sure you can throw on lift springs with stock hardware (shocks and struts) Most just change it out when they get the chance to do it cause it makes things easier. I know when I did my lift all the stock suspension was still in place and needing repair/replacement so I just did a lift at the same time for a little more money. The front struts are no different from any other strut you can buy since they are all the same dimensions, just KYB is the best buy and performing. The rear shocks will work but will limit travel of the rear suspension until you can buy longer shocks. Im pretty sure they will work, if not just get some cheapo autozone ones or something thats long enough. I have procomp rear shocks on mine that have lasted 3 years and still work great....paid 75 bucks for both of them out the door and I have TONS of flex with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GApathfinder Posted August 15, 2011 Author Share Posted August 15, 2011 Wow, for real? awesome. That makes my life a lot easier lol. I have found some rear shocks that will fit a 2 for pretty cheap, so I will probably get those also. On 4x4 they recommend a Camber kit, do I really need that with a 2 inch, or is it just something extra to get along with a lift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 You may not need the camber kit. Many people do need it in order to get the camber back in spec, but you might not. You can order Ingalls camber bolts from other sources later if you find you need them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howie Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Old Man Emu lift kits are just a set of 4 coils, and they don't need a camber kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyrides07 Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 (edited) SERIOUSLY- SPEND THE EXTRA COUPLE HUNDRED AND GET YOURSELF ALL SET UP FROM THE GET GO! THERE'S NOTHING WORSE THAN STARTING A PROJECT (LIKE SUSPENSION) AND DO THE WORK TO FIND OUT YOU OPENED A CAN OF WORMS AND SHOULD'VE JUST INSTALLED EVERYTHING FROM THE BEGINING IMHO.... I'VE BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT TOO MANY TIMES LOL Sorry for ALL CAPS... caps lock was on OOPS! Edited August 15, 2011 by mattyrides07 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GApathfinder Posted August 16, 2011 Author Share Posted August 16, 2011 See that's my problem, when I looked Old Man Emu only had .5" lifts for my year model. I'm probably going with the 4 set from 4x4parts. From all the searching that I've done for lifts thats the best I can find. I should point out I want atleast a 2 inch. @Matty, I would do the whole set-up, but I don't have the money for it, which is why I wanted to make sure I was able to do just coils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I'm happy with my AC lift. Got more than the 2" lift advertised due to my "saggy ass" and worn stock suspension. Shoot, I made it to the rock garden (top of the mountain) on the Daniel trail at Uwharrie Saturday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 (edited) Old Man Emu lift kits are just a set of 4 coils, and they don't need a camber kit. The OME lift is not is high as the AC. The higher the "lift" the more the tire camber is thrown off which is why camber bolts are recommended by Automotive Customizers. Edited August 16, 2011 by devonianwalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GApathfinder Posted August 16, 2011 Author Share Posted August 16, 2011 Yeah, AC is my best bet right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dududuckling Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Also note that AC will actually give you 2.5-3" lift in the beginning and it settles down to 2"... still enough room to fit 32-33's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmons Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I got more lift out of the AC springs and very happy with the results. It will drive different however, not that soft ride down the road anymore FYI. You will love it. Now the next step is the SFD to get a total 6" of lift. LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GApathfinder Posted August 16, 2011 Author Share Posted August 16, 2011 That's great! I'm getting BFG Rugged Trail T-A's (32's) for my tires, so I'm sure they will fit fine. That full 6 will eventually happen I hope. maybe if my car is still running after a few years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyrides07 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 @Matty, I would do the whole set-up, but I don't have the money for it, which is why I wanted to make sure I was able to do just coils. Then SAVE for a little longer. I'm not telling you to spend the extra couple hundred $ for the hell of it. I've been building trucks for years and I'm telling you from personal experience- "You WILL hate life when your @!*% fails b/c you couldn't afford to do it all at once". If you think the couple hundred is too expensive now, think about what it's going to be like when the new springs work, but you find out one of the other parts you should've done at the same time goes out a month later.... only at that point it's not just the couple hundred $$$ anymore! It's the cost of the labor to take off and put on what you already paid for (probably 4 hours at $50/hr)... oh, and then hopefully it didn't cause something else extra to break. So now a couple hundred turns into EASILY a few hundred. -JUST SAYING! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom01Pathfinder Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Then SAVE for a little longer. I'm not telling you to spend the extra couple hundred $ for the hell of it. I've been building trucks for years and I'm telling you from personal experience- "You WILL hate life when your @!*% fails b/c you couldn't afford to do it all at once". If you think the couple hundred is too expensive now, think about what it's going to be like when the new springs work, but you find out one of the other parts you should've done at the same time goes out a month later.... only at that point it's not just the couple hundred $$$ anymore! It's the cost of the labor to take off and put on what you already paid for (probably 4 hours at $50/hr)... oh, and then hopefully it didn't cause something else extra to break. So now a couple hundred turns into EASILY a few hundred. -JUST SAYING! I second what mr07 is saying also. Save until you can get it all done at once. I piece mealed mine together and it cost me an extra $100-150 labor. I put new struts on my pathy 3 months before i got the lift...I should have just did it all at once. If anything use the money you are setting aside for wheels and/or tires and get all the necessary hardware for the lift...struts, OEM hardware, coils, camber bolts etc. You can always drive around on your stock wheels/tires for a while before buying new ones...I drove on mine for 2 months before i could afford wheels and tires Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GApathfinder Posted August 18, 2011 Author Share Posted August 18, 2011 I second what mr07 is saying also. Save until you can get it all done at once. I piece mealed mine together and it cost me an extra $100-150 labor. I put new struts on my pathy 3 months before i got the lift...I should have just did it all at once. If anything use the money you are setting aside for wheels and/or tires and get all the necessary hardware for the lift...struts, OEM hardware, coils, camber bolts etc. You can always drive around on your stock wheels/tires for a while before buying new ones...I drove on mine for 2 months before i could afford wheels and tires You guys have a very good point. Funny thing is, my tires are bald as hell and will probably be changed before I get a lift.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 You guys have a very good point. Funny thing is, my tires are bald as hell and will probably be changed before I get a lift.. That was my situation. I just pulled the trigger to order everything at once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick13 Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Maybe you could split the difference and order the KYB (not from AC, but find a deal some where on-line/free shipping) and wait on the rear shocks (those are easy to replace and can be found fairly cheap also). The reason I recommend the strut change is because you are probably going to pay a mechanic to disassemble/reassemble the stut with the new front AC springs, so you might want to change out the strut and the mount/bearings while he's in there. Also, I'd be careful of the 32" tires and make sure they will clear the strut. Otherwise you may be looking at increased cost for spacers (or rims with less backspace). If I had to do my 2" lift over I would have sprung for the spacers and gotten the 32's. Just saying... Now the next step is the SFD to get a total 6" of lift. LOL. That's awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GApathfinder Posted August 18, 2011 Author Share Posted August 18, 2011 I did do some looking on tires, and I found some 31's that I will probably do. As for the lifting part, the only thing is, I'm not paying for this. The rents are, so I'm not trying to break their bank. I'm going to hassle my mom about getting the whole kit, but I will probably not get that because of the price. As for tires. Tires are tires, can't get half of the tires done, so regardless of the price I gotta get them. Atleast that's what dad's tellin' me. (Parents are devorced, and this whole deal will be X-mas stuff from them). So, aside from what I really should do, I'm probably going to have to do just coils annd get some KYB shocks. ( car has KYB's on it, but I've been told to get longer ones to fit the lift) All that comes to about 400 to 450 bucks. Just above half of the full kit price. Note, if I convince her I will get the whole kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyrides07 Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 You don't need the whole kit because you said your rear shocks are new. But if you want the springs, for the front you WILL need: new struts, the OEM parts, and camber alignment bolts FYI Oh, and if your going with 31s on stock wheels (as am I for the moment) you will need front wheel spacers (about $100) or your tire will rub against the lower strut cup.... And, not to be mean, but get a job and help your parents pay for YOUR trucks parts!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GApathfinder Posted August 19, 2011 Author Share Posted August 19, 2011 I'm getting wheel spacers for sure. haha I'm working on that lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dududuckling Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 (edited) I might be wrong, but you might not need wheel spacers or lift to fit 31s. I have a 2" lift, but that doesn't change the tire-strut clearance. I fit 265/70/16 (30.6") on stock wheels without spacers. And if you rub the flares, you can always trim it. Edited August 20, 2011 by dududuckling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick13 Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Yeah, the only reason I didn't go 265/75/16 when I got my 2" lift is because they hit the strut. My 265/70/16 (measured 30.7" brand new) and sat nicely below the lower coil seat of the struts (no spacer needed). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyrides07 Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 my stock wheels are 15"... on my pathy I put them on without it and they rubbed completely. The wheel spacers pushed them out enough to not rub on the strut at all. On my old Xterra I had 31 BFG AT's and they fit stock. I had to trim the wheel well, but they fit stock... just my .02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick13 Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 But from the GA's photo, those rims are the tri-spoke alloys (16x7 with about 4.75" backspacing). Those are what I ran for over 3 years with 31's and never had rubbing issues. Just trying to save the guy some $$$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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