Lifting my 99 2 door

[horrorcosmic]

A few of you said to come here and i'd probably find the answer to my question so here it is broken down..

i went to 4 wheel parts for a bid and they wanted 5 grand for a rancho 4 inch suspension lift and a set of four 33" BFG AT's..the guy said both of those items with installation and wheels and such would come out to 5 grand. Im graduating from high school soon and i wanted it to be a graduation gift that my parents and i would chip in on.. i was expecting a lower price since 5 grand is out of my range..my tahoe is worth 5 grand for gods sakes.

my question is.. is there a cheaper method of doing this maybe going somewhere else? my buddy thats pretty experienced with off-road vehicles and such told me not to goto 4 wheel parts. The guy at 4 wheel parts was basically implying that the tires and wheels alone would cost 3 grand. I've been to websites that have a build your own tire + wheel package and with 33"s it comes out to 1200-1500 range.

[fco_gonzo]

I avoid 4wheel parts like I aviod STD's. their stuff is way over priced and they only want to sell you procomp tires and lifts. Keep looking around I paid just under $4000 for my lift, tires, wheels and labor.

btw, think I paid about 900 for wheels and 1200 for tires.

[992door]

you could do a Rough Country 6" lift for just under $1000 install should be somewhere are 500-600. For wheels just keep looking around 4wheel parts has some good deals some times i got my wheels for 500. and for tires you could try onlinetires.com they have some good prices. 5K is crazy. If you get some of the wheels and tire packages that you are looking at you should be able to get it all done for right around 3k all together

[fco_gonzo]

i forgot to mention look up some wheels and tires on craigslist.com

[horrorcosmic]

Thanks for responding guys,

How would i go about this through the internet? If i got the lift and everything shipped i don't know anything about lifting a truck so where would i take it in?

[96ProCompTahoe]

uh they installed my procomp 6" lift for $1600.

i walked out of the door with wheels, tires, lift, headers, and CIA for just over $3K. (jamboree deals of course, but still)


I would avoid the indianapolis IN store like the plague though.

[horrorcosmic]

I don't know where else to call theres not many big 4 wheel stores in my town ( fresno california ). If you got your 6 inch procomp for 1600 with installation thats a deal. the dude wanted 2k alone for a 4 inch rancho lift and it sounded like the rest would be tires + wheels which would be 3k which is totally unrealistic.

[hapyspaz]

I've actually heard some horror stories from some of my customers going to 4wheel parts and being told that they would only sell/install the lift with a package of wheels & tires, and they could only put por-comps on the wheels.

Hit up your local tire/wheel shops. Call around local mechanic shops asking if anyone has experience installing lifts. There is almost always a small 4x4 shop just outside of every city, just a matter of finding it. Wave down people with lifts and ask them where they had their work done. Dealerships will also install lifts, just an FYI.

[96ProCompTahoe]

they are giving you a bunch of B/S on your quote. i will say that the shop guys up here seem to be pretty damn good at what they do. the store manager in Indy is just NOT what a store manager should be. HORRIBLE service and several calls to get my rims exchanged last time. (which i get to do again in a couple weeks...) also got a bunch of shit from him when i had to have the rear end rebuild after the second gear set they sold me was bad. (but they sold me all the new better gears and other crap at cost with a little help from Max)

but if you want i can dig out the paperwork and PM you some prices on what i payed on my lift, wheels, and tires in a week or two when all that crap gets unpacked.

honestly i would sway toward a ProComp or Dick Cepek lift. (BDS if you have the money) the rancho lift sticks you front wheels out a noticeable amount more than the rears, and the Rough country is sub par from what i have seen.

[horrorcosmic]

Thanks bro i really appreciate it. Whenever you can is fine no rush.

[992door]

Rough country is sub par from what i have seen.

why do you say that i have only heard good things

[bowtiefreak]

I have hear good things about RC, but mainly on NBS trucks. OBS kits from Extreme (dick cepek) and pretty sturdy

[horrorcosmic]

hey bowtie how much did you spend on your lift, tires, and wheels all together?

---------- Post added at 03:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:14 PM ----------

Ok i called this other place and they had a bunch of ads in the paper. they were having deals on lift kits and tires and it said for a chevy silverado a lift kit would be 1999 for a 6 inch. the guy wants 4100 for everything, 33's and a 4 inch lift. he said the lift cost 2700 alone which doesn't make sense because why would a 6 inch be less than that? and 4 wheel parts had the lift by itself for 2 grand and this place has it for 2700. i still think i can get cheaper elsewhere

[horrorcosmic]

Ok, theres this guy selling his 6" Procomp lift for 1200 bucks. I called him and he said its strong but it has 40,000 miles on it. he said hed sell me the shocks, gears, and everything for 1200. I'm a kid and im paying for a little bit of it but my dad doesn't want to because its used. but it would definetly make it easier price wise to get the lift and the 35's. It would end up costing like a grand less if i bought the kit from him. What do you guys think about buying used suspension kits?

[bowtiefreak]

My kits was about 1600, tires were 900 (but three get one free). Install was done over a period of time. Then added gears at one point. Costs keep adding up

[horrorcosmic]

Thats the price im looking for. Did you buy it all at a place or online and do it yourself?

[bowtiefreak]

Bought the lift direct from Extreme suspensions. Installed ourselves. Had the gears done locally. Basically bought stuff at all different times from all different places.

[96ProCompTahoe]

not sure if you'll be able to get used gears to work or not. they'll already have a wear pattern on them from the original truck. every rear end isn't the exact same on patterns. that and they probably beat on them to get them out.

[horrorcosmic]

bowtie, did you buy this one?

http://www.extremesuspensions.com/store/product.php?productid=16239&cat=267&page=1

OR

http://www.extremesuspensions.com/store/product.php?productid=16159&cat=267&page=1

and did u add the $300 shocks? and that steering stabilizer thing or are those both not neccessary? For the cheapest overall way should i order one of these and have it installed?

[bowtiefreak]

Stage 1. I have the dual shock hoops and the stabilizer. Their shocks suck though

[horrorcosmic]

So can i get better shocks cheaper somewhere else?

it seems like getting parts from different places is a pretty good idea

as far as tires go should i look for a place that has a buy 3 get 1 free special? or a tire package that comes with the wheel and everything?

[bowtiefreak]

Shop around is the best answer I can give you. The tires were a special Pro-Comp was running. But yes you can get good deals on tire and wheel packages. If you are going to go with bigger tires, I highly advise gears. 4.56 or 4.88 for 35" tires is a great fit.

Shocks: everyone has their shocks they love. You also get what you pay for. Bilsteins are a good shock and that is what I am going with soon. You do not need a dual shock up front, it is mainly for looks for the most part. A single good shock serves it's purpose just fine.

[horrorcosmic]

The guy at this place gave me a good deal on everything but he said the same thing, that ill need gears in the future. He said that he can get me gears for 1700 but the thing is im already pullin strings as far as money goes to get the lift kit and the tires..so i dont know what to do..

[bowtiefreak]

Save and do it right. You can do the lift now and run small wider tires if you want. what gears do you have in there now 3.73 or 3.42?

[horrorcosmic]

How shortly after i lift it do i need to get new gears? If it can wait a year i can make up the money but it sounds like it needs to be done quick... If i get a 4 inch suspension lift on 33's will i need new gears then or is it just with the 35's?

[horrorcosmic]

I'm not sure if i can do a 6 inch with 35's because i only have 7 safe inches in my garage..anything higher than that won't fit. a 4 inch on 33's would barely fit in at 7. My parents don't like the idea of parking it outside because of break ins what do you guys do?

[haks310]

You will need new gears with the 33s also. You'll be looking at a 4.56s for either application.

[bowtiefreak]

I used to run 33" on the stock 3.42, it was fine. once I got the 35" on there it needed new gears. I do hear a bunch of guys still running stock gears on 36" though. It is just tough on the tranny.

[horrorcosmic]

Ok so the gears don't matter with the lift just the tires..I have 31's on there right now when i bought it from the owner he had put it on there so they're a little bigger than stock. I think i should be fine with 33's as far as gears go.