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What is the best way (not cheapest way) to lift your Bronco?

RG7

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There are a few very good companies that design lift kits. They will not be first to market. In fact they’ll probably be some of the last to market. To do 37’s right you’ll need all the bracketry outlined in Maverick Man’s post, though you’ll probably be buying this in a kit that is pre-fabbed, then coilovers specced for the amount of lift and to work with the weight and suspension geometry of the vehicle.

The shock tuning as well as a complimentary spring pairing is where the money is in a good lift kit. Anybody can buy King coilovers on eBay that are the right size and throw them on a truck to get that trick light blue sticker. This route won’t ride well and probably won’t perform well either, despite being several thousand worth of shocks. The money (time) is in tuning the shock valving and figuring out spring rates, spring types etc that work best for this application. That takes time and real world testing to figure out the best setup.

These kits will be out there, would imagine we’ll see a few really well-developed kits by the time you see your mod top Bronco. Probably 10k to do it the right way.

Honestly though if you don’t plan to wheel it hard, I’d start with true 35’s and go from there. Should be fine on anything sasquatched, not sure about 0 offset but I think there’s a thread for that somewhere. 37’s are BIG.
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HoosierDaddy

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TL,DR : Since money is no object and you want to swing the biggest cock at the mall ....buy a Raptor Bronco on 37's. It will have been designed and tested properly by the best in the business.

_______________________________

To be honest, I kinda laugh every time somebody says "true 35's".
Yep, they exist. The vast majority, though labeled as 35 X 12.5 will not measure out true 35".
They'll be somewhere between 34.4 and up....

In the end, your sasquatch tires are a whopping .6" smaller. So you'll needlessly spend 10k+ in 2" lift suspension work to add a whopping .3" in tire radius.
I say needlessly because the "true 35" will fit a bone stock Badlands or any Sasquatch.

Now if you just want the look and taller stance of a lift, that's fine, hook it up. But you don't need it for 35's ....37's, yes.

So now, looking at fitting 37's, it is actually cheaper to start with a Base suspension Bronco because you'll have to throw all the Squatch parts away anyways ...except that M210 differential, that'll be nice.
The Sasquatch suspension , from the factory nets you as much articulation as the half shafts will allow without binding.

There is no adding a 2" coilover spacer to a sasquatch or Badlands rig, it has already been determined doing that will put the CV in a bind at full droop. So you'll have to, at the cheapest end, put limiting straps on which is NOT the best way to do it.
Orrr, you have to re-engineer all the suspension bracketry and design coilovers to work in conjunction with all of that.
Just be sure to do better than the MILLIONS of dollars in design work Ford did to get the 35's under and perform to an astounding amount of accolades from the press...which is just unreal.

Best way to run 37's then? Buy that new "Warthog" Raptor Bronco beast they're coming out with ... on factory 37's.
 

HoosierDaddy

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2) Didn't someone already report their SAS with 37's installed ?
I've seen two of those posted up. Both cases stated you have to be careful even on the street or the tires will eat sheet metal. The wheel wells are designed to fit 35's max, so you have to get above the 37s.
Lol, NOT the best way to do it!
 
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Raptor911

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taller springs will change the travel of the oem shock and put it at a different height. If money is not a concern then aftermarket coil overs is the best way to go. Aftermarket coil overs will allow you to set whatever height you want … most likely from 1-3 inches

I’d wait for the first replacement coil springs to start showing up. The Sasquatch bilsteins are really good, all you need is a spring or spacer to pick up about 1-2” to clear 37’s . None of the aftermarket shocks so far have the top out/bottom out damping stiffening like the bilsteins or raptor bypass shocks.
 

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So now, looking at fitting 37's, it is actually cheaper to start with a Base suspension Bronco because you'll have to throw all the Squatch parts away anyways ...except that M210 differential, that'll be nice.
I just wanted to point out the smaller front differential again as people starting out may underestimate its importance. And gearing. So, I think by the time you swap out the gearing and front differential on a base (assuming you are paying labor) then you probably should have just bought a Squatch as your platform. Sure you don't have to upgrades gears and differentials but she will be a dog and I would think twice about traversing those curbs at the mall.

For me, I think the best beginning platform for 37's is a manual BL. It already has the M210 and 4.7 gearing, while a bit taller gearing would be ideal, those will do fine in a manual. Plus, you can sell your Bilstein's to a lesser model looking to run 33's. YMMV
 

HoosierDaddy

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I just wanted to point out the smaller front differential again as people starting out may underestimate its importance. And gearing. So, I think by the time you swap out the gearing and front differential on a base (assuming you are paying labor) then you probably should have just bought a Squatch as your platform. Sure you don't have to upgrades gears and differentials but she will be a dog and I would think twice about traversing those curbs at the mall.

For me, I think the best beginning platform for 37's is a manual BL. It already has the M210 and 4.7 gearing, while a bit taller gearing would be ideal, those will do fine in a manual. Plus, you can sell your Bilstein's to a lesser model looking to run 33's. YMMV
Solid point.
What a rabbit hole this becomes! Lol
Because .... forget it, I'm just stopping here. Lol.

I think MOST everybody can agree, money not an object, BEST way to run 37's .... Raptor/Warthog .... it's all there.... with a warranty.

Same for 35's and Sasquatch.

Peace. Out.
 
OP
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MJJ

MJJ

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Solid point.
What a rabbit hole this becomes! Lol
Because .... forget it, I'm just stopping here. Lol.

I think MOST everybody can agree, money not an object, BEST way to run 37's .... Raptor/Warthog .... it's all there.... with a warranty.

Same for 35's and Sasquatch.

Peace. Out.
Good point on the warthog. that would make the most sense to have a proven 37 solution. Problem I might run into then would be the height of my garage door opening….nothing is ever simple
 

BigMeatsBronco

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Washers. Stack em. Weld em. Bolt em on!

But for real. Just move the coilover brackets higher up on the rear axle housing and relocate any other brackets necessary and extend the control arms and drop and beef their frame mounts. Probably tie them together left to right aswell. Then for the front just fabricate new tubular upper and lower control arms. Pretty straight forward. Should cost about $500 in steel and consumables and ride just like stock only a little higher.
Also redesign and raise the shock towers at all 4 corners, this will allow a MUCH longer coilover, that therefore can have more dampening and control and wheel travel.
 

BigMeatsBronco

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I've seen two of those posted up. Both cases stated you have to be careful even on the street or the tires will eat sheet metal. The wheel wells are designed to fit 35's max, so you have to get above the 37s.
Lol, NOT the best way to do it!
I have 37s and virtually no lift... they don't rub on the fenders or body...they did touch the crash bars and I trimmed them back...37s actually fit very well. And I certainly don't worry about them touching around town or even off road....kinda exaggerated statement, mabey you should go for a ride with me..

20211227_153041.jpg
 

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HoosierDaddy

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I have 37s and virtually no lift... they don't rub on the fenders or body...they did touch the crash bars and I trimmed them back...37s actually fit very well. And I certainly don't worry about them touching around town or even off road....kinda exaggerated statement, mabey you should go for a ride with me..

20211227_153041.jpg
Lol, back in July , I was just posting up what I read here by others who had done it.

Hell, I remember we were shocked back then to learn the 35's would actually fit pretty well on the standard suspension !!
 

MaverickMan

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Also redesign and raise the shock towers at all 4 corners, this will allow a MUCH longer coilover, that therefore can have more dampening and control and wheel travel.
Makes me wonder if the old super duty shock towers would work :unsure:.

Would be nice to be sble to tell people that you and Ford made your huge lift kit.
 

contented

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OP, I spent some time perusing Jeep forums re: lifting. There are a fair number of horror stories. This is what I've learned. It's not all that difficult to get a Jeep or a Bronco up. After lifting, first issue becomes alignment possibly requiring new control arms (A arms from my generation). Second is gearing - is gearing matched to tire size? Driveline angles and components (one never hears of this being addressed on Broncos). Longer driveshafts or a different type of driveshaft are needed if lift goes over a certain amount. Stronger U-joints may be required. Vibration is an issue. If the lift is substantial, sometimes the differentials needs to be angled up to reduce those angles. In our case, we also have cv joints changing angles to worry about. The main thing I carried away from Jeep forums is that lifting causes things to wear out much quicker. They seem to accept that and move on.

After the above, I personally decided to change my order from an Outer Banks to a Sas Badlands. Its as high as I can fit in the garage and everything is design to work together from ABS, gearing, driveline components, safety systems, etc. Just didn't want the hassle.
 

King_Bronco0327

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I’d wait for the first replacement coil springs to start showing up. The Sasquatch bilsteins are really good, all you need is a spring or spacer to pick up about 1-2” to clear 37’s . None of the aftermarket shocks so far have the top out/bottom out damping stiffening like the bilsteins or raptor bypass shocks.
Any updates on coil springs? I really like this idea
 

da_jokker

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After the above, I personally decided to change my order from an Outer Banks to a Sas Badlands. Its as high as I can fit in the garage and everything is design to work together from ABS, gearing, driveline components, safety systems, etc. Just didn't want the hassle.
This.... Is exactly why I opted for the Bronco instead of the Jeep. 35-in tires are plenty, and the Bronco came from the factory around 35.

By the time I lifted my wrangler (even semi-properly) to accommodate 35-in tires, And of course purchase the tires itself, replace the front drive line, dealt with the exhaust...I was within $10k of my brand new Bronco.

It was an easy choice after that. IMO, buying a Bronco without Sasq is a silly choice.
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