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

[Gamecock]

...all that's to say: My brain tells me standard Sas is the smartest, but my heart says that if I get the standard I'll wish it was a little taller, and if I sas I'll wish it was a little lower... and between the two, the latter will cause less angst...

Have you ever met a Wrangler/Gen1 Bronco/FJ etc owner who wished their vehicle was a "little lower"? I never have....everyone I have come across seems to always wish it were "a little taller"....so I'd hedge in that direction....

Sponsored

 

[BroncoStorm]

That's a great question. I'm never planning on rock climbing in a way that the added articulation of the standard is going to make the difference, so it really is just an aesthetic decision for me.

I got to see a standard BL and Sas side-by-side in person, but the *only* other person there was a highly autistic but highly functioning 20 year old (with his mother), and he would get very upset if the hood or doors were closed... so I didn't actually get to see what the vehicles looked like side-by-side...

...all that's to say: My brain tells me standard Sas is the smartest, but my heart says that if I get the standard I'll wish it was a little taller, and if I sas I'll wish it was a little lower... and between the two, the latter will cause less angst...

And all THAT'S to say: I haven't added sas to my order, but I'm holding out for a MY22 anyway, so I'm hoping that once I start seeing them in the wild I'll be able to make up my mind.

So basically we are in the same boat. Haha

I know it looks a bit better but then I used to work for BILSTEIN and I know travel is king when off road. So then it's a matter of sacrificing badass looks and 1.5" ground clearance for the standard BL 4do. It's such a big decision when we are spending this much on a vehicle we want it to be right the first time. I'll have this vehicle for years as well. Thanks for the input.

 

[ZackDanger]

Have you ever met a Wrangler/Gen1 Bronco/FJ etc owner who wished their vehcile was a "little lower"? I never have....everyone I have come across seems to always wish it were "a little taller"....so I'd hedge in that direction....

So basically we are in the same boat. Haha

I know it looks a bit better but then I used to work for BILSTEIN and I know travel is king when off road. So then it's a matter of sacrificing badass looks and 1.5" ground clearance for the standard BL 4do. It's such a big decision when we are spending this much on a vehicle we want it to be right the first time. I'll have this vehicle for years as well. Thanks for the input.

Mind you, my ideal tire would be a 35x11.5... but they just don't exist. I have 285/75r17s on my wrangler now, but there's only a couple to choose from and they are all like Load E.

Really, the only reason why I don't like the Sas, and haven't gone 315s on my Jeep, is because they are so wide, and with the wider flares, kind of make me think the vehicles look a little goofy...

But yeah, I'm trying to decide whether I'd be happier with a good width but wishing they were taller, or having a good height and wishing their were narrower... and I think I'm leaning towards the latter.

 

[BroncoStorm]

Mind you, my ideal tire would be a 35x11.5... but they just don't exist. I have 285/75r17s on my wrangler now, but there's only a couple to choose from and they are all like Load E.

Really, the only reason why I don't like the Sas, and haven't gone 315s on my Jeep, is because they are so wide, and with the wider flares, kind of make me think the vehicles look a little goofy...

But yeah, I'm trying to decide whether I'd be happier with a good width but wishing they were taller, or having a good height and wishing their were narrower... and I think I'm leaning towards the latter.

Plus the 35's will weigh about 110LBS each with wheel vs 81LBS with the 33's. Gotta think about rolling resistance and strain on all other components. Sheesh, we should just send it and get all fat and sassy with the SAS.

 

[RunninRiot]

Mind you, my ideal tire would be a 35x11.5... but they just don't exist. I have 285/75r17s on my wrangler now, but there's only a couple to choose from and they are all like Load E.

Really, the only reason why I don't like the Sas, and haven't gone 315s on my Jeep, is because they are so wide, and with the wider flares, kind of make me think the vehicles look a little goofy...

But yeah, I'm trying to decide whether I'd be happier with a good width but wishing they were taller, or having a good height and wishing their were narrower... and I think I'm leaning towards the latter.

I saw you say this awhile ago and I am thinking the same thing. For me it’s keep the stock BL wheels and tires for winter here in Colorado and find more aggressive 34s for April–Oct and buy wheels I like (vs stock BL wheels). That is if I can find 34s I like, the 34s can fully articulate on a stock BL, and I can live with the stock wheels 5 months a year.

 

[BAUS67]

Okay, I think I've recalibrated to what you are speaking about, after rereading your posts and reviewing the Bronco Technical Specification (snippet below) I'm now understanding what you were trying to say, I built the new table below to explain it to everyone else.

What threw things off was when you mentioned "Special suspension has more travel (0.79" in the front and 0.4" in the rear)." since your numbers were similar to the lift dimensions I immediately started thinking that and conflated my FIXED dimensions of Lift with your VARIABLE dimensions of travel, of course, two completely different things.

But now that I understand what you were trying to say, that maybe the Standard Suspension will not rub because of the reduced travel. I'll leave it to @BAUS67 to comment on that?

From 2021 FORD BRONCO TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS.pdf

so this...........


The point I was trying to make is that 33" tires with the Standard suspension may not rub (despite having 0.67" less height), since the travel is less than that of the Special suspension with 33" tires.


in theory is correct it may hit the bump stop before rubbing. And as I always say this is all speculation.

I can say the one person that would know for sure is Ryan from 4WP he has had one in his clutches to rip into and try stuff. Problem there is ....... he is not saying.

 

[Richtor]

Wow that looked like a lot of work. Thanks @North7! A while ago Ford marketing made it sound like Sas and BL had the same suspension, but Sas sat higher and had less travel. There was all kinds of discussion about this and how it was achieved. Can we now mark this down as yet another Rockstar moment for them and put the whole discussion to bed?

So the badlands w/ mt is .18 inch lower than the sas with 35 inch mt. I can live with that. Also verifies true 35 can fit under the Oem badlands.

 

[North7]

So the badlands w/ mt is .18 inch lower than the sas with 35 inch mt. I can live with that. Also verifies true 35 can fit under the Oem badlands.

I may not be following how your calculating 0.18", here are my calculations, how do they differ from yours?

The Badlands w/ MT tires is 1.28" inches lower than the SAS with 35 inch MT tires.
SAS Radius Lift vs BL MT - 0.85"
SAS Coilover Lift vs BL - 0.43"
SAS Total Lift vs BL - 1.28"

 

[Richtor]

I may not be following how your calculating 0.18", here are my calculations, how do they differ from yours?

The Badlands w/ MT tires is 1.28" inches lower than the SAS with 35 inch MT tires.
SAS Radius Lift vs BL MT - 0.85"
SAS Coilover Lift vs BL - 0.43"
SAS Total Lift vs BL - 1.28"

Total lift from base:
Sas 2.10
BL w/MT 1.92

I should be more clear. With 35 on the badlands it will be .18 lower than the sas badlands.

 

[AISuperBot]

Mind you, my ideal tire would be a 35x11.5... but they just don't exist. I have 285/75r17s on my wrangler now, but there's only a couple to choose from and they are all like Load E.

Really, the only reason why I don't like the Sas, and haven't gone 315s on my Jeep, is because they are so wide, and with the wider flares, kind of make me think the vehicles look a little goofy...

But yeah, I'm trying to decide whether I'd be happier with a good width but wishing they were taller, or having a good height and wishing their were narrower... and I think I'm leaning towards the latter.

 

[Dads_bronze_bronco]

Hey @North7 — was it you or someone else who talked to the Bilstein engineer and found out about the planned 6112 based upgrades that would require Squatch springs? I can find that little tidbit in search.

 

[TXNavy]

No worries. I wasn’t criticizing. @North may have gotten that idea from my speculation via PM a few nights ago, but when I finally found the video that I thought was the source, I did not hear what I remembered.

I am pretty sure it was a comment made by either Vaughn Gittin, Jr. or Loren Healy, and I am trying to find the video, but I keep running into dead ends.

If anyone else can find the source video, I would greatly appreciate it.

In fact, I’ll toss in a cool, 3D patch and sticker to whoever finds it as a reward (photo below).

Just to recap, the two slightly different versions of our small group recollections are:

1. @North7 and @Razorbak86: “Vaughn Gittin Jr. or Loren Healy (both Bronco racers) said something to the effect, to put 37" tires on the Sasquatch you need to go up 2 inches and out 2 inches.”
2. @ZackDanger: “… Loren Healy’s position on running 37”s, which can be summarized as (and I’m paraphrasing here): “2 inches up, 2 inches out, and f*ckin send it!”

Show us that mighty B6G crowd-sourcing power, fellow Bronco lovers!

Let the contest begin!

Loren Healy in the Lite Brite video where they wheel with him in a BL. Around the 3:00 mark.

 

[Razorbak86]

Loren Healy in the Lite Brite video where they wheel with him in a BL. Around the 3:00 mark.

Winner winner, chicken dinner! Thanks, Christopher.

The B6G crowd-sourcing capability never ceases to amaze me.

Please send me your mailing address via PM here on the forum (i.e., click my Profile and then Start Conversation), and I will mail out your patch and sticker.

 

[North7]

Hey @North7 — was it you or someone else who talked to the Bilstein engineer and found out about the planned 6112 based upgrades that would require Squatch springs? I can find that little tidbit in search.

It was I...

More intel on the upcoming Ford Performance shocks I learned about at last weekends Bridgeport event. While at the 4WP show in Dallas yesterday I spoke with the Bilstein rep and he told me he was working with Ford on a "new project". He said they will be available though Ford Performance, as I heard from the Ford Performance rep last week.

It involves their model 6112 unit and it will be a drop in replacement for use with the Sasquatch springs as these springs are "Barrel design spring" that work well off-road. The Badlands springs or the standard model springs will not work with this part number. You have to imagine they may also make a second part number available with the springs for those coming from a non Sasquatch model.

I told him I had heard about them from the Ford Performance rep who said they would be ready by Q3 but he said more like Christmas (North7 connects the dots).

Further, I asked if the Bilstein ESCV design they are making for Ford is the same as the 8112 models and he said only in concept as the ESCV's are tailored for a production price point.

 

[ChrisD]

Loren Healy in the Lite Brite video where they wheel with him in a BL. Around the 3:00 mark.

Neat! Some of that was where they took us on the ride alongs in Moab, but some of it was other parts of Moab! Thanks for sharing!

Sponsored