Zone lift help

[Chase0808]

Im pretty close to pulling the trigger on a zone 6" lift but after reading about them I'm kind of concerned about the front lift. Whats the purpose of a coil spacer rather than a new coil? Also, does that put extra stress on the UCAs? Anyone running this lift have any problems?

 

[brandonjansen]

The front end is lifted by a combination of a strut spacer and preload spacer with a Zone lift. Not a coil spacer as your truck (assuming it's a 1500) does not have a separate coil spring. The preload spacer can be removed from the equation if you use Bilstein 5100's, Fox coilovers, or another ride height adjustable strut.

On the rear you have the option of 3" lift coils or 5" lift coils depending on how you want the truck to sit and what you want your overall lift height to be.

 

[JB1]

If you don't want the strut spacer you can buy the fox struts that come as an option with the BDS kit or just buy the entire BDS kit for $4200.

Fox Part number 883-02-080 $1700

http://www.suspensionconnection.com...00-2015.html?gclid=CITOtdX7hs4CFZKCaQodbBoLAg

 

[Chase0808]

The front end is lifted by a combination of a strut spacer and preload spacer with a Zone lift. Not a coil spacer as your truck (assuming it's a 1500) does not have a separate coil spring. The preload spacer can be removed from the equation if you use Bilstein 5100's, Fox coilovers, or another ride height adjustable strut.

On the rear you have the option of 3" lift coils or 5" lift coils depending on how you want the truck to sit and what you want your overall lift height to be.

I know there are a bunch of threads and different opinions on this, but do you think ill be level if I set the bils to 2.1 with a 5" rear coil?

 

[brandonjansen]

I know there are a bunch of threads and different opinions on this, but do you think ill be level if I set the bils to 2.1 with a 5" rear coil?

That will partially depend on your truck's stock rake (they aren't all exactly the same from the factory). But yes, the Zone 6" kit with 5" rear coils and Bilsteins at 2.1" should sit very close to level.

 

[Drummin4jc]

That will partially depend on your truck's stock rake (they aren't all exactly the same from the factory). But yes, the Zone 6" kit with 5" rear coils and Bilsteins at 2.1" should sit very close to level.

Brandon,

I've got my bil's at 2.1 with 5" rear coils and didn't install the pre-loaded spacer. I've still got a little under 1 1/2" of rake on mine so I'd say he needs to set his at 2.8 to be level. That's what I told him through private messages. What's your take on that?

Adam

 

[brandonjansen]

Brandon,

I've got my bil's at 2.1 with 5" rear coils and didn't install the pre-loaded spacer. I've still got a little under 1 1/2" of rake on mine so I'd say he needs to set his at 2.8 to be level. That's what I told him through private messages. What's your take on that?

Adam

Your truck would have had an abnormally large amount of rake stock if that's how it's sitting now with that setup provided everything is installed correctly. Doing the math backwards, your truck would have had about 3.5" of rake stock which is definitely above average. Typically they're between 2.5" and 3" with some getting down to 2.25" and some up to 3.25". So on most trucks Bilsteins at 2.1" will have it sitting closest to level as you want to retain about 0.5" of rake on a 1500 to avoid looking nose high.

On your truck I'd check to make sure your rear coils are seated properly. They may need to be rotated 180° to drop into place; I've seen that before. And then I'd double check a few things on the front end such as verifying that your Bilsteins are in fact at 2.1" and not 1.4" and that your strut spacers are the correct ones for a 6" lift and not a 4" as I've seen that mistake before as well.

 

[AustinB]

My superlift has a 5" rear, bils at 2.8... still have some rake. Levels out when towing though.

(I dont know how much, I'm not the type to measure it)

If you want level, the 3" rear will give you best results. Imo.

 

[Drummin4jc]

Your truck would have had an abnormally large amount of rake stock if that's how it's sitting now with that setup provided everything is installed correctly. Doing the math backwards, your truck would have had about 3.5" of rake stock which is definitely above average. Typically they're between 2.5" and 3" with some getting down to 2.25" and some up to 3.25". So on most trucks Bilsteins at 2.1" will have it sitting closest to level as you want to retain about 0.5" of rake on a 1500 to avoid looking nose high.

On your truck I'd check to make sure your rear coils are seated properly. They may need to be rotated 180° to drop into place; I've seen that before. And then I'd double check a few things on the front end such as verifying that your Bilsteins are in fact at 2.1" and not 1.4" and that your strut spacers are the correct ones for a 6" lift and not a 4" as I've seen that mistake before as well.

I'll definitely check all that. Didn't want to hijack the thread but wanted to let him know what I've got going on with my setup. Personally, I like the rake. Like Austin says, it will level out when I tow.

Adam

 

[AustinB]

Also not to hijack

Brandon,

I've got my bil's at 2.1 with 5" rear coils and didn't install the pre-loaded spacer. I've still got a little under 1 1/2" of rake on mine so I'd say he needs to set his at 2.8 to be level. That's what I told him through private messages. What's your take on that?

Adam

If you have bils, the strut spacers should be thrown out in the yard (per instructions, not to be combined)... just fyi for anyone reading..

On your truck I'd check to make sure your rear coils are seated properly. They may need to be rotated 180° to drop into place; I've seen that before. And then I'd double check a few things on the front end such as verifying that your Bilsteins are in fact at 2.1" and not 1.4" and that your strut spacers are the correct ones for a 6" lift and not a 4" as I've seen that mistake before as well.

I'm 99% sure... though I'll double check if you have any doubt, that there isn't a difference in the strut spacers between the 6" and 4"... but that the only difference is the setting of the bils.

For example, the 4" lift instructs you to set the bils at zero (bottom line) and for the 6", theyre to be set at the highest setting. That gives you the extra 2" from the 4, to make it a 6" front.

And if you didn't have bils, the 4" lift just wouldn't come with the *preload* spacer.

(Was a while ago, but I think I remember cross checking the part numbers, and they're all the same.)

 

[Chase0808]

Also not to hijack

If you have bils, the strut spacers should be thrown out in the yard (per instructions, not to be combined)... just fyi for anyone reading..



I'm 99% sure... though I'll double check if you have any doubt, that there isn't a difference in the strut spacers between the 6" and 4"... but that the only difference is the setting of the bils.

For example, the 4" lift instructs you to set the bils at zero (bottom line) and for the 6", theyre to be set at the highest setting. That gives you the extra 2" from the 4, to make it a 6" front.

And if you didn't have bils, the 4" lift just wouldn't come with the *preload* spacer.

(Was a while ago, but I think I remember cross checking the part numbers, and they're all the same.)

Wow thats interesting. I guess thats why the price difference is only about $100. Im really stumped now though. Between the threads Ive read about people saying to set it at 2.1 and others that say to set it to 2.8 I have no idea what to do. I guess ill have to do it myself and just go back and adjust if necessary. I guess thats why they say every truck is different lol

 

[brandonjansen]

I'll definitely check all that. Didn't want to hijack the thread but wanted to let him know what I've got going on with my setup. Personally, I like the rake. Like Austin says, it will level out when I tow.

Adam

Yeah totally fair if that's what you want. I would still recommend checking a few things out just to make sure though. The rear coils being the main one as you want them sitting in the buckets and on the differential correctly.

Also not to hijack

If you have bils, the strut spacers should be thrown out in the yard (per instructions, not to be combined)... just fyi for anyone reading..



I'm 99% sure... though I'll double check if you have any doubt, that there isn't a difference in the strut spacers between the 6" and 4"... but that the only difference is the setting of the bils.

For example, the 4" lift instructs you to set the bils at zero (bottom line) and for the 6", theyre to be set at the highest setting. That gives you the extra 2" from the 4, to make it a 6" front.

And if you didn't have bils, the 4" lift just wouldn't come with the *preload* spacer.

(Was a while ago, but I think I remember cross checking the part numbers, and they're all the same.)

Woah woah woah... let's hold the phone here a sec. There's way too much incorrect information in this post.

If you have Bilsteins to install with the lift kit the strut spacer is most definitely not supposed to be thrown out in the yard. The strut spacer is still what's giving you lift, the Bilsteins only level the truck on top of that. Without the strut spacer your front end would only be lifted 2.1" or 2.8" (whatever height you set the Bilstein at). The preload spacer however does need to be discarded when using Bilsteins. But there's a BIG difference between a strut spacer and a preload spacer.

There is most definitely a difference in strut spacer size between 4" and 6" lifts. This does vary depending on the manufacturer of the lift however there is still a difference. Most lifts do not come with Bilsteins included and therefore those cannot be factored into your equation for this. Bilsteins need to be left out until the end when we're talking about leveling off lifts. Now a preload spacer that's included with the kit can be factored in. But even at that, strut spacers will still be a different height. Not to mention that the control arm drop brackets, steering knuckles, and differential drop brackets between a 4" and 6" lift are different as well. If they aren't you aren't getting a 6" lift, you're getting a stretched 4" lift which is not something I'd want to run if I was told I was getting a 6" lift.

I'm assuming that you're referring to Superlift products for all this information. I haven't looked into their full details as much as Zone or BDS but if that's the case, then the 6" Superlift is no where near on par with a 6" Zone or BDS kit. Both Zone and BDS will offer 5.5"-6" of lift with JUST their lift kit itself; no added Bilsteins. Then Bilsteins can be added from there for additional lift if wanted.

Wow thats interesting. I guess thats why the price difference is only about $100. Im really stumped now though. Between the threads Ive read about people saying to set it at 2.1 and others that say to set it to 2.8 I have no idea what to do. I guess ill have to do it myself and just go back and adjust if necessary. I guess thats why they say every truck is different lol

The information AustinB posted is by no means correct for all lift companies. It may be correct for Superlift as I believe that's what he's looked into but it is not correct for Zone or BDS. So I wouldn't base anything off that information.

If you want to figure out what to set yours at simply do the math. The first thing you need to know is how your truck sits stock. Measure all 4 fender heights to determine your stock rake. It should be somewhere between 2.5" and 3.25".
A Zone lift kit actually provides 5.5" of lift stock. 4.875" of that is from the strut spacer, 0.625" is from the preload spacer. When you install Bilsteins you do not use the preload spacer as you use the Bilsteins to set the preload. So right off the bat you would want to set the Bilsteins at 0.7" just to get to the equivalent of the Zone 6" lift stock.
If you install the Bilsteins at 2.1" you'll have a total of 7.0" of lift. With 5" rear coils that will remove 2" of rake. Typically on a 1500 you want to retain about 0.5" of rake to avoid looking nose high. So if you have 2.5" of rake stock, then Bilsteins at 2.1" would be a good option.
If you install the Bilsteins at 2.8" you'll have a total of 7.7" of lift. With 5" rear coils that will remove 2.7" of rake. So back to what I said above, if you have closer to 3.25" of rake stock then 2.8" would be a good option.

 

[AustinB]

Correction - preload spacer.

Zone doesn't list their part numbers.. so the only way to know for sure would be to call and ask (about the strut spacer size for both 4 and 6 inch kits), unless you have seen/installed both kits.

 

[AustinB]

There is most definitely a difference in strut spacer size between 4" and 6" lifts. This does vary depending on the manufacturer of the lift however there is still a difference. Most lifts do not come with Bilsteins included and therefore those cannot be factored into your equation for this. Bilsteins need to be left out until the end when we're talking about leveling off lifts. Now a preload spacer that's included with the kit can be factored in. But even at that, strut spacers will still be a different height. Not to mention that the control arm drop brackets, steering knuckles, and differential drop brackets between a 4" and 6" lift are different as well. If they aren't you aren't getting a 6" lift, you're getting a stretched 4" lift which is not something I'd want to run if I was told I was getting a 6" lift.

I'm assuming that you're referring to Superlift products for all this information. I haven't looked into their full details as much as Zone or BDS but if that's the case, then the 6" Superlift is no where near on par with a 6" Zone or BDS kit. Both Zone and BDS will offer 5.5"-6" of lift with JUST their lift kit itself; no added Bilsteins. Then Bilsteins can be added from there for additional lift if wanted.



The information AustinB posted is by no means correct for all lift companies. It may be correct for Superlift as I believe that's what he's looked into but it is not correct for Zone or BDS. So I wouldn't base anything off that information..

I just called Zone to clear this up.

The 4" and 6" lift definitely have the same size strut spacer (same part # 02267b).

The only difference between the 4" lift and 6" lift is that the 6" comes with a preload spacer.

Guess that puts Superlift back on par with Zone

Also. It is true that they will give you the 5.5-6 inch of lift without the bils installed. But once you get the bils, you discard the preload spacer, so now you're back to 4". So there is no additional lift on top of the 6". For the 4", as stated before.. there is no preload spacer, and the bils are to be set at zero. So you can have additional lift with bils on that one.

In other words, to upgrade from a 4" lift to a 6" (with bils).. you just set the bils at 2.8, get the 5" rear springs, and an alignment. The extra $100 for a 6" lift is them charging for the preload spacers.

 

[brandonjansen]

Correction - preload spacer.

Zone doesn't list their part numbers.. so the only way to know for sure would be to call and ask (about the strut spacer size for both 4 and 6 inch kits), unless you have seen/installed both kits.

I thought that's what you may have meant but with multiple references to the strut spacer I wasn't sure. Good to clear that up though

I just called Zone to clear this up.

The 4" and 6" lift definitely have the same size strut spacer (same part # 02267b).

The only difference between the 4" lift and 6" lift is that the 6" comes with a preload spacer.

Guess that puts Superlift back on par with Zone

Also. It is true that they will give you the 5.5-6 inch of lift without the bils installed. But once you get the bils, you discard the preload spacer, so now you're back to 4". So there is no additional lift on top of the 6". For the 4", as stated before.. there is no preload spacer, and the bils are to be set at zero. So you can have additional lift with bils on that one.

In other words, to upgrade from a 4" lift to a 6" (with bils).. you just set the bils at 2.8, get the 5" rear springs, and an alignment. The extra $100 for a 6" lift is them charging for the preload spacers.

If that's the case, it's a more recent change that they've done to their kit then as I know they used to be different from talking to guys that had installed both and taken measurements. I'd like to actually get measurements of struts spacers from guys with the 4" kit and 6" kit to see the difference. Because if that is the case then the Zone 6" kit must be sitting even lower than 5.5"
I do know for a fact that BDS uses a different strut spacer for their 4" and 6" kits as there are different part numbers for them. So really a generic statement for all lift brands can't be made as they aren't all the same.

The control arm and differential drop brackets should definitely be different between the 4" and 6" kits as well. It can't only be the addition of a preload spacer. If the drop brackets are the same then they're really cheaping out with the 6" kits and then really BDS is a far better option.

 

[misuracaf10]

Get the bds 6 inch with fox shocks it's just over 2k I believe . The coilover kit that's on every corner runs about 4200


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[6.7CumminsDrvr]

C'mon folks, are we really gonna go down this rabbit hole?

4" and 6" kits are different, they have different drop brackets and knuckles.........otherwise the 6" lifts wouldn't have the cv's sitting level. This whole strut spacer thing, who cares? 6" kits require a strut spacer AND a preload shoved in the strut to gain 6" of lift, ALL brands require this.

Can you bypass using the preload in the strut and use an adjustable shock or coil-over to get the additional 2" to hit 6", sure, lots of people do!

Reading this thread is starting to hurt

 

[AustinB]

4" and 6" kits are different, they have different drop brackets and knuckles.........otherwise the 6" lifts wouldn't have the cv's sitting level. This whole strut spacer thing, who cares? 6" kits require a strut spacer AND a preload shoved in the strut to gain 6" of lift, ALL brands require this.

Im not making this stuff up lol.

Here's superlifts part #s for the 4" and 6"... as you can see, the knuckles and drop brackets are not different.

Does zone do the same thing? .. I'm once again 99% sure they do.

 

[6.7CumminsDrvr]

Im not making this stuff up lol.

Here's superlifts part #s for the 4" and 6"... as you can see, the knuckles and drop brackets are not different.

Does zone do the same thing? .. I'm once again 99% sure they do.

Mmmmmmmmm, shoe taste yummy