Lift Kit Opinions

[gurdonc]

I am a newbie here and in the process of building my first Bronco. I was wondering if anyone had any input on lift kits. I am building my truck for mostly street and some light offroad. I am looking at the James Duff Hoop lift kit 3 1/2 inch and the Cage kit. Which would you all recommend and why? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[SteveL]

give BC a call. He's in texas. Save a couple $$ on shipping. I doubt you need hoops and double shocks. You could run the f-250 front mount with a single good shock and make a decision on the rear for your use. If mostly on highway use I wouldn't run the inboard rear shock hoop. I've been running BC's springs on both broncos for quite a while with good results. Ask for Chuck and tell him your uses for the bronco.

 

[Broncology]

From the two you mentioned I would go with CAGE. Not from experience, just from what I have learned about the company from this site. I would also consider BC Broncos as mentioned above. I will soon be buying BC's 3.5 lift system...I have heard nothing but great things about this company as well. I have struggled with which vendor to use for the past year and finally concluded with BC. Good Luck!!!;D

Chuck

 

[cbearly]

I am a newbie here and in the process of building my first Bronco. I was wondering if anyone had any input on lift kits. I am building my truck for mostly street and some light offroad. I am looking at the James Duff Hoop lift kit 3 1/2 inch and the Cage kit. Which would you all recommend and why? Any help would be appreciated.

gurdonc - First of all, welcome to the site. I just got done having the Cage 3 1/2" lift put on mine and I love it. I went with the cage lift, long arms, and double shock hoops up front. It drives good on the street, and flexes really well.

From what I understand, Jim Cole designed the Duff system, then broke off from them to start Cage Offroad and went on to re-design and improve the system. From what I have driven mine so far, I think he did a great job.

Here are some pics:
Edit - I'm running 35" tires and also have a 3" body lift.

 

[mtfit]

Cage, I also have the 3.5 kit, w/ their shocks, long arms, coils, and WH leafs. great combo for ride and flex.

 

[Orange Crush]

cbearly - I just ordered the same Cage setup minus the hoops. Do you have any pics on level ground? I'm interested in how that looks with the body lift and 35's. - thx

 

[gurdonc]

Thanks for the help, it looks like everyone is impressed with the Cage lift. I will definately have to give it a look. I also would like to see a picture of your truck on level ground too if you have one cbearly

 

[fwilder]

single shocks for sure.

 

[cbearly]

cbearly - I just ordered the same Cage setup minus the hoops. Do you have any pics on level ground? I'm interested in how that looks with the body lift and 35's. - thx

Thanks for the help, it looks like everyone is impressed with the Cage lift. I will definately have to give it a look. I also would like to see a picture of your truck on level ground too if you have one cbearly

What is this "level ground" that you speak of????:?

Ever since I got the Cage suspension on it I've been looking for boulders, ditches, and tree huggers to drive on, through, and over. ;D However, for my fellow bronco brothers I took some pictures in my driveway tonight.

 

[Projp]

You mentioned "light offroad".
I am currently running the Cage 3.5" with the Cage arms. Offroad it is a killer combo. The flex is great. On road there is serious body roll.
Before the Cages I ran 3.5" Duffs. They were noticibly stiffer which was good on road - bad offroad.
Since my machine is used 90% offroad I love the Cages, if however I was mainly on the street the Duffs win hands down.

PS. The Duffs were progressives made 7 or 8 years ago, so the current Duffs may be softer.

 

[cbearly]

Projp - do you have single or duel shocks up front?
I'm running duels in the front. This past Sunday I drove it up Rist Canyon, which has a lot of tight curves, and I was surprised that it had minimal body roll. I think having duel shocks in the front helps that a lot.

 

[Projp]

Projp - do you have single or duel shocks up front?
.

Currently running single Bilstein 5125's.
I am mainly comparing the Duffs with the Cages. When I took the Duffs off they were 2 " shorter than the Cages (uncompressed), in fact I called Jim to see if I had the right springs. When the weight of the Bronco was on them they ended up being the same height (compressed). The difference was that the Cages had, more, softer, coils.

 

[SaddleUp]

I like the Cage stuff myself but I don't go out of my way to recommend them for street and light offroad use. (It shines the most offroad) On the street they do have a nice ride but as mentioned above they tend to have some body roll in the corners. Especially if the tires are tucked up undrneath. I noticed a big difference when I widened my stance (less backspacing on my wheels) and again when I put the Cage shocks on. Both helped to cut down the amount of body roll in the corners. I suspect dual shocks in front would make it hardly noticeable now. As it is I just slow down some to take tight corners.

 

[bronco977]

I don't have any experience with Cage, but I installed a 2.5" Ultimate kit from Duff's. The kit was very complete, and the instructions were well written and easy to follow. When I decided to go with Duff's, I called them and was very pleased with the service. The guy that I talked to answered all my newbie questions, as well.