3.5" Suspension Lift Recommendations

I would like to hear recommendations as well as "gripes" about various brands of 3.5" suspension lifts. I am building a 1970 Bronco for mostly street, but some traill (no rock climbing) use. Bronco will have a 2 inch body lift, 351W making +/-400 HP and no hard top. I want the Bronco to ride level! I hate the front or rear drop! High in the rear - looks like a Wacky Racers cartoon ride; high in the back - reminds me of Spongebob Squarepants (dont ask why?)

I am ready to purchase the lift but not sure what brand to go with. Any comments, stories or recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

i run the wild horses kit on mine pretty happy with it ride nice flexes good . i drive mine every day

Thanks hdmc!

Let me rephrase the question - I am about to order the 3.5" suspension kit from Tom's Bronco Parts, it looks like the best deal on all the parts I need rather than buying from a different distibutor and needing to order other parts as well. Anyone else have this lift?

Are you planning to run a hard top, tools, spare parts, passengers in the back? Reason I ask is that alot of people who do that run 1" taller springs in the back to account for the extra weight in order for their rig to sit level when loaded.

I know your asking about Tom's suspension stuff, but I'll second WH suspension, it does ride very nice. I honestly think alot of the ride has to do with shock selection also, so avoid the cheap shocks that come in most of the kits...

needabronco said:

Are you planning to run a hard top, tools, spare parts, passengers in the back? Reason I ask is that alot of people who do that run 1" taller springs in the back to account for the extra weight in order for their rig to sit level when loaded.

I know your asking about Tom's suspension stuff, but I'll second WH suspension, it does ride very nice. I honestly think alot of the ride has to do with shock selection also, so avoid the cheap shocks that come in most of the kits...

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No hard top - I already sold it! But I will have a family roll bar, spare tire and sometimes passengers. This is basically a toy for the city streets, Sunday drives and beach weekends. How do I avoid the "cheap shocks that come in most of the kits"? Do I request better ones when ordering the kit or just buy better ones once I get the kit?

The way I did that was to buy individual components. That way I got the suspension system I wanted and ended up saving money(compared to ordering a kit, and only using parts of it). My coils are limited production, one off 3" CITI Motorsports from a friend (thanks Todd), the rear springs are WH 3.5" with 5/8" U-bolts, Superduty front shock mounts, custom made rear shock mounts, Lars Bars 6" extended radius arms (I made them), and Bilstien 7100 short body reservoir shocks(The most expensive part of the entire system, but well worth it). Overall cost was around $13-1400. And it's what I wanted to work best for my driving needs. It is built for all around performance, in all driving conditions. It should be a hair soft on the street, but do well in the dirt...

It sits almost dead level without the top on, I suspect a little squat loaded with the family in the back. If I don't like the amount of squat I plan to add an extra leaf, which should gain 1/2-1" of lift.

I did a fair amount of research when I pieced mine together, asked alot of questions, and rode in several well built rigs and compared components with seat of the pants data...

As far as just ordering a parts house 'kit' my personal favorite would be the WH System 16, but I would scrap the shocks and add Bilsteins in their place. That is close to what my suspension setup is, except the rear shocks are mounted to the frame in front of the axle, not inboard.