6" BDS Lift

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00'BlueSteel

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Not sure of your automotive past or what not so I don’t want to assume anything, I’m just trying to help but there seems to be some unrealistic expectations of lifting your vehicle and the aftermarket lifted industry as a whole. All lift kits have a specified wheel and tire combo that fits without rubbing. Most people ignore that and trim what’s needed to fit what they want. You are already cutting pieces of your frame off to install the lift, I wouldn’t lose any sleep over a little plastic trimming here or there that no one will ever notice. The biggest issue with figment is when running a wheel with a higher negative offset than the lift company designed for. You mentioned they should be able to design kits that work, well they do, it’s just most people don’t pay any attention to that and run whatever wheel offset and tire size they would like. The negative offset pushes the wheel and tire out further from the vehicle because the front wheels rotate on an arch the wider wheel now swings forward into the outter edge of the bumper and the back side on the fender well where they fire wall is. If you stay within the recommended wheel and tire specs you will not need to trim at all.

And as far as piecing stuff together, most of us do that because we enjoy the process of solving the puzzle and then intalling the parts ourselves. If you “perhaps have more money than sense” then just take it to the best 4x4 shop around you and tell them the wheel and tire combo you want to fit without trimming and that you want all the bells and whistles. And let them “do it right the first time.” Not sure why you are concerning yourself with all the details. You want turn key, take it to a shop and have them do it all or buy one that is already done. Easy peasy buddy.

And I hope you decide to pull the trigger, I have been daily driving my 00’ Sububran with a leveling kit and 33s for 3 years and I just moved up to a 7-9” Cognito lift and will be going to 35s or 37s soon. I wouldn’t go back to stock for anything. I love driving this thing, lifting it was the best decision ever.
 

Undeserving

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TTU- I am trying to figure out what's what. I looked at the BDS site and they offer a full coil over 6" suspension lift kit for $4,246. It includes Fox 2.0 coilover shocks. It comes with new control arms, etc. It looks pretty complete. Is this what you used?

http://bds-suspension.com/product?ma=5&mo=4&ty=1&yr=2015-2018

Even this is a bit confusing because it says in one place that factory 17&18" wheels cannot be used due to rod interference but right on the front page it shows tire fitment with 17,18 and 20" wheels. This is the crap that drives me nuts. either they work or they dont and these vendors seem to ignore the fact that some of us have exactly 1 vehicle and cannot afford to be left high and dry while we conduct their R&D once our junk is scattered in a couple couple dozen pieces across a shop floor. I happen to like my factory 18" wheels and would like to keep them if I could I dont necessarily want really wide tires. The factory 9.5" wheel with 285-75-18 ridge grappler would work just fine for me and I dont think I would have interference issues.
 
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ttusomeone

ttusomeone

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TTU- I am trying to figure out what's what. I looked at the BDS site and they offer a full coil over 6" suspension lift kit for $4,246. It includes Fox 2.0 coilover shocks. It comes with new control arms, etc. It looks pretty complete. Is this what you used?

http://bds-suspension.com/product?ma=5&mo=4&ty=1&yr=2015-2018

Even this is a bit confusing because it says in one place that factory 17&18" wheels cannot be used due to rod interference but right on the front page it shows tire fitment with 17,18 and 20" wheels. This is the crap that drives me nuts. either they work or they dont and these vendors seem to ignore the fact that some of us have exactly 1 vehicle and cannot afford to be left high and dry while we conduct their R&D once our junk is scattered in a couple couple dozen pieces across a shop floor. I happen to like my factory 18" wheels and would like to keep them if I could I dont necessarily want really wide tires. The factory 9.5" wheel with 285-75-18 ridge grappler would work just fine for me and I dont think I would have interference issues.

I used the regular 6" lift without the coilovers. They must have just added that option to their website, because a month ago when I was looking they didn't have it listed as an option (although I knew from research and talking with them that it was an option). The only difference in the two is the coilovers - the other kit comes with new struts and uses the factory springs.

I didn't want to spend the extra money on coilovers mainly because from the research I did, the reviews were mixed on how big of improvement they made. I opted to spend that money on Amp Research steps. I figured if I didn't like the ride, I could always add them later on (or if I just get the itch to do more improvements because they do look awesome with that external reservoir).

I will say that when I put the leveling kit on with factory 18" tires with Toyo RTs (I can't remember the exact size, but I think I posted the size in the "show off your Tahoe thread" in an earlier post), I did have rub on the upper control arm at full lock. That's part of the reason I added the wheel spacers.
 

Undeserving

Mitch and Murray sent me.
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Not sure of your automotive past or what not so I don’t want to assume anything, I’m just trying to help but there seems to be some unrealistic expectations of lifting your vehicle and the aftermarket lifted industry as a whole. All lift kits have a specified wheel and tire combo that fits without rubbing. Most people ignore that and trim what’s needed to fit what they want. You are already cutting pieces of your frame off to install the lift, I wouldn’t lose any sleep over a little plastic trimming here or there that no one will ever notice. The biggest issue with figment is when running a wheel with a higher negative offset than the lift company designed for. You mentioned they should be able to design kits that work, well they do, it’s just most people don’t pay any attention to that and run whatever wheel offset and tire size they would like. The negative offset pushes the wheel and tire out further from the vehicle because the front wheels rotate on an arch the wider wheel now swings forward into the outter edge of the bumper and the back side on the fender well where they fire wall is. If you stay within the recommended wheel and tire specs you will not need to trim at all.

And as far as piecing stuff together, most of us do that because we enjoy the process of solving the puzzle and then intalling the parts ourselves. If you “perhaps have more money than sense” then just take it to the best 4x4 shop around you and tell them the wheel and tire combo you want to fit without trimming and that you want all the bells and whistles. And let them “do it right the first time.” Not sure why you are concerning yourself with all the details. You want turn key, take it to a shop and have them do it all or buy one that is already done. Easy peasy buddy.

And I hope you decide to pull the trigger, I have been daily driving my 00’ Sububran with a leveling kit and 33s for 3 years and I just moved up to a 7-9” Cognito lift and will be going to 35s or 37s soon. I wouldn’t go back to stock for anything. I love driving this thing, lifting it was the best decision ever.

Blue-

thanks for the reply. Your points are all well taken. My background is varied but all from a much simpler time. I have had big jeeps (76 CJ spring over on 42" TSL) and large pick ups (2003 F350 on 36" PJs) but the common thread in those was solid front axles and leaf springs and simplicity. IFS is an unknown for me and my life is more complex now such that I cant have a vehicle in pieces till the following weekend nor will junk yard scrounging get my late model Burb back on the road. I can fully appreciate those who problem solve. I just prefer to pay others to do it when I know something is outside of my wheelhouse. Such is the case here. The catch is that I want it right and complete the first time. Your suggestion to find the best shop near me is a sound one. I am disappointed that the lift realized is so marginal. Hoenstly I probably should have bought a quad cab pick up instead of the Suburban.
 
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ttusomeone

ttusomeone

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Hoenstly I probably should have bought a quad cab pick up instead of the Suburban.

I was actually going to mention this in one of my previous replies. It seems like most trucks are made with wider fender well openings, which equates to more tire clearance with less lift. That coupled with the popularity of lifting trucks, there's a lot more options out there.

If I could justify a truck, that would be what I'd be driving right now. But a SUV meets my needs a whole lot more than a truck would, specifically the third row seat and enclosed rear. Not to mention that you see so many lifted trucks but not many lifted Tahoe's - I do like driving something that's unique and you don't see all the time. I probably pass half a dozen lifted Ford and Chevy trucks daily.

For what it's worth, with the 6" lift and 34s", my total roof height is 7'2". That's to the top of the bike trays mounted on top of the roof rack. I also wanted still be able to fit in parking garages, which I can.
 

yates ™

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The lift company does not determine what size tire fits on their lift unless they do not make a true sized lift, let's say 6" in this case. The problem of fudging the numbers around to have a 6" lift to fit, let's say a 35" tire in this case, is that now it is an 8" (throwing out a number) and you have people mad that they bought a 6" lift and it won't fit in the garage, parking ramp, etc. Also being in the 8" range can also change pricing. The vehicle is the #1 reason you can only fit this or that tire size and need to modify. Wheel offsets, as @ttusomeone said, is another issue to consider when selecting lift size.

The lack of the adjustable PHB and providing a bracket instead is fairly standard as it keeps the lift in a certain price point and most people will not notice the slight difference in side to side on the axle and be happy, same with reusing the factory trailing arms.

TL;DR: The lift kit market is fairly competitive and companies have to stay in certain price points while keeping profits in line so they can't offer everything and do so.
 

xHELLHOUNDx

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So which lift manufacturer or company is the most reputable and sells the most complete lift kit? I’m not going to spend $80K on a vehicle and put a half assed lift kit on it.
 

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