The Definitive Guide to 2021+ Bronco Ride & Lift Heights with Wheel & Tire Sizes

[the poacher]

King Kong?!? Is that a future trim level? Will you be able to get factory 37's some day?

It would certainly not surprise me if this becomes an option. Ford will want to stay one step ahead of Jeep of course.

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[lakesinai]

The spring part numbers are all different, depending on if you have a 2.3, 2.7, MT, AT, hartop, softtop, etc. The asterisk reference to the foot notes shows you will use one of the "dash" numbers on the front and one on the rear.

Thats good. Some "experts" were saying in a video but the first thing they would have to do is add an extra shim in to account for the extra weight of a larger engine it sounds like that was some premature speculation

 

[the poacher]

Take a look at @ZackDanger's post, he explains the challenge with your solution.

Hey North7,
There are definitely challenges in going from a Badlands 33" to a 37", lot of parts would need to be changed over. However, my take on information provided is that the increase from a 33" to a 35" is only .43", and a 1" puck would not require you to make any other changes. Do you disagree?

 

[the poacher]

From what I've been able to piece together, I suspect a small spacer to bring the BL up to the Sas height (.4 inches) would probably be okay... if you just want to mimic the same height as sas... but you may also need an additional bump stop to prevent rubbing on full compression. (It's said/understood that Sas has both increased height but also decreased articulation compared to BL).

Hey ZD, you bring up a good point. As the Sas has decreased articulation, would the concern not be more with droop rather than compression? Being that you may have to decrease your droop?

 

[buzpro]

We can finally answer the ongoing Bronco question, "how much lift" does each trim level have compared to the others?

Now that we have the Ford General Specifications document, Bilstein Coilover Information and Ford Part Number information we can finally get a clear and complete picture on what the stock Bronco lift dimensions are and what is possible to lift each trim level. In this discussion the goal is always to maintain maximum functionality of your Bronco for off-road use. If you want to do something for looks only, you may be able to bend the rules a little and do a budget lift, but you want to be cautious of tire rub, binding, CV joints and steering component damage or other unintended consequences.

Vaughn Gittin Jr. said something to the effect in his Hells Revenge interview video, to put 37" tires on the Sasquatch you need to go up 2 inches and out 2 inches. Going out 2 inches most likely will require new control arms. On the other hand, Ryan of 4WP, only recommended new control arms when doing a lift 3 inches or higher. Further, he prefers a +35 wheel offset to maintain the ideal scrub radius to minimize wear on components. While this thread cannot possibly address every variable, these are general guidelines that each manufacture will handle differently, depending on the lift kits they offer.

Each of the below tables can be read separately to understand the information or points made within that table. Some data is repeated in other tables to provide clarity or present the information in a different way to make it understandable to the most number of people. This thread is intended to help newbies and experienced alike, with those more knowledgeable forum members helping others learn the ropes of suspension modifications and lift. Please post any corrections or clarifications you feel are needed.

Thank you to @ZackDanger, @Razorbak86 for their knowledge shared and for some of our unnamed friends of the forum.

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great info, THANK YOU

Q: to get the least amount of stress on any/all relative components connected to the wheels, isn't it better to get as close to ZERO offset as possible? I mean a ZERO offset is that point where all the forces on the wheels and tires are directly downwards and there are no tangential forces on lets say the wheel bearings.

can anyone who was involved with these tables comment on this plz.

(I don't understand why Ford went with +55 offset from the factory)

 

[ZackDanger]

Hey ZD, you bring up a good point. As the Sas has decreased articulation, would the concern not be more with droop rather than compression? Being that you may have to decrease your droop?

Yeah. Good point...

The spindle strut rod on the Sas shocks is longer than the BL... which would decrease compression (and prevent rubbing on the 35")... but you would probably also have to decrease length of travel but a commensurate amount to prevent CV binding?

The fact it's a a longer rod helps explain why early on sometimes people said it was a 10mm bump stop and others said it was a 10mm lift... truth was it was both.

So to get a Sas look out of BL, you would need a 10mm spacer, but then you would need to limit downward travel, so you could do straps or something?

That is if you want maximum usage... if you aren't ever going to hang a wheel out off the ground, then you'd probably be fine cheating it a little.

 

[edgeflyer]

Interesting, thanks for the info! If it's swapping springs that won't be bad at all. Weren't there some pics showing that the exterior reservoir was flipped on the sas vs badlands on the shocks? I would think that would make them different part numbers unless it's just bolted on differently. Also wasn't sure if those were welded or bolted on.

I wouldn't swap just springs unless you can find the actual spring rates and know that they are close. Ford spent a lot of time making sure the valving matches the springs. You may wind up hurting ride quality or tire life using a Squatch spring on a base shock. Buy the whole strut assembly.

 

[Bikeric]

I learned a ton about IFS and Ryan from 4WP, in both his video(s) and his conversations here, really opened my eyes to some things.


The problem is that with an IFS, when you add lift in that way, without taking other things into account, you reach the limits of the front axles and CV joint angles.

I come from the Toyota side that has experience with IFS and lifts. With Toyota's that get lifted +3" you need to also install a "Diff Drop" to correct the CV axle angles. These are very cheap on a Toyota, but could cost some coin and even require some grinding on the Bronco from the pics I've seen.

I could see an aftermarket bracket being designed to replace this:

I could also see some weld-on extensions for this location here:

 

[Raptor.Tremor.Bronco]

Alright I get that 37s work with a 2" lift but does that mean the suspension can fully cycle up and down without smashing the fenders?????

 

[ZackDanger]

Alright I get that 37s work with a 2" lift but does that mean the suspension can fully cycle up and down without smashing the fenders?????

Isn’t that the point of the 2” lift?

 

[JTBros]

I wouldn't swap just springs unless you can find the actual spring rates and know that they are close. Ford spent a lot of time making sure the valving matches the springs. You may wind up hurting ride quality or tire life using a Squatch spring on a base shock. Buy the whole strut assembly.

Yeah I reread the chart and realized I was reading the spring as the same part number and not the coilover. Thus I’ll have to get those if I want the full Sasquatch capability. Also waiting to see if a cheaper solution (such as .46” spacer) is fine and doesn’t compromise the Badlands too much or is even viable.

Planning on taking a later delivery anyway and don’t even know if I’ll want to up to 35s soon. Plenty of other people to do research for me first lol.

 

[the poacher]

Yeah. Good point...

The spindle on the Sas shocks is longer than the BL... which would decrease compression (and prevent rubbing on the 35")... but you would probably also have to decrease length of travel but a commensurate amount to prevent CV binding?

The fact it's a a longer spindle helps explain why early on sometimes people said it was a 10mm bump stop and others said it was a 10mm lift... truth was it was both.

So to get a Sas look out of BL, you would need a 10mm spacer, but then you would need to limit downward travel, so you could do straps or something?

That is if you want maximum usage... if you aren't ever going to hang a wheel out off the ground, then you'd probably be fine cheating it a little.

Interesting insight on the difference of spindle lengths. I was not aware of this. I have replaced spindles before and that may be a very easy upgrade, providing it is just a simple swap (fingers crossed). As to limiting the droop, I will definitely have to look into this more closely in regards to adding a 35" wheel. I know that moving to a 37" would entail considerable changes. I appreciate your insights.

 

[the poacher]

great info, THANK YOU

Q: to get the least amount of stress on any/all relative components connected to the wheels, isn't it better to get as close to ZERO offset as possible? I mean a ZERO offset is that point where all the forces on the wheels and tires are directly downwards and there are no tangential forces on lets say the wheel bearings.

can anyone who was involved with these tables comment on this plz.

(I don't understand why Ford went with +55 offset from the factory)

The idea behind the +55 offset was to bring the wheel/tire underneath the body as much as possible, without the tire sticking way out beyond the fenders. Moving to a +35 offset will allow a wider tire without it rubbing on the inside suspension components.
A zero offset would make the tire protrude further out beyond the fender flares, but you are correct in that it would also better balance the forces on the spindle/bearings.

 

[ZackDanger]

Interesting insight on the difference of spindle lengths. I was not aware of this. I have replaced spindles before and that may be a very easy upgrade, providing it is just a simple swap (fingers crossed). As to limiting the droop, I will definitely have to look into this more closely in regards to adding a 35" wheel. I know that moving to a 37" would entail considerable changes. I appreciate your insights.

When I said “spindle” I really meant shaft… or whatever. My brain is fried man. Give me a break, would ya?!

 

[buzpro]

The idea behind the +55 offset was to bring the wheel/tire underneath the body as much as possible, without the tire sticking way out beyond the fenders. Moving to a +35 offset will allow a wider tire without it rubbing on the inside suspension components.
A zero offset would make the tire protrude further out beyond the fender flares, but you are correct in that it would also better balance the forces on the spindle/bearings.

I dont understand how the factory would not consider this!!
Anyway, I plan to stick with the stock 32's but intend to change a +12 offset wheel .... do you think i will still rub the flares in offroad situations?

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