Offroad Trailblazers and Envoys

Your issues after lifting

BDS, ReadyLift, Smaxx... You name it, we know about it here.

by sicklife17 » Fri Feb 13, 2015 1:01 am

Ok so Finally I need new tires this has been long awaited! I have done lots of research on the fourms of how I want to lift my tb. I finally no how I want to do it and am about to order the parts. But I now have skeptic freinds who are sayin ipfs Doesent like big tires and I am going to have lots of steering problems. I have never seen anyone post there issues after lifting so I would like to no your issues or to be steered in the right place to read about them. I will be doing marks 2.5 front lift and the z71 rear coils with possibly a 1" spacer. 1.5" wheel spacers and cooper discovery at3 265/75/16 tires. Also at what speeds does problems start acuring such as woobles?
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by Anthony Hernandez » Fri Feb 13, 2015 3:31 am

Every single light on my dash lit up when I lifted my tb... That been said, everything functions properly and I give it hell on, and off road everyday brother
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by v7guy » Fri Feb 13, 2015 6:39 am

I kept blowing up front shocks and ripping CV boots with 89 springs and a 3" lift, but it was an ill advised combo from the get go. Neoprene boots seemed to fix the ripping boot issue.
Lifting it caused me to spend a lot of money building bumpers, getting a winch, bigger tires, bigger wheels, bigger welder etc that's been a real issue.

My envoy with 33s has been dead nuts reliable, even airborne, full throttle bouncing into a tree.

Moots on 33s has also been airborne wide open throttle bouncing up stuff with no issues.

Fishsticks had some issues on 35s with a locked front, blowing up everything in the front when he would go wide open throttle and full lock on the steering.

Moots did just replace his rack and pinion, but it seems to be a pretty rare occurrence with us.


You may have some problems with the tie rods if you get real ham fisted with the steering wheel as ErikSS discovered at TECORE, but it's usually an issue of user error. There's still debate on the 2500 TRE end conversion being worth it.



Hardtrailz and Regulator is on 35s, not locked in the front and seem to be just fine. They get after it pretty good.

ErikSS is on 35s with somewhere around 500hp and unlocked and seems to be fine and he likes to use the throttle as well.
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by Trail X » Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:20 am

Hey, at least we don't have to deal with the death wobble like the jeeps do.
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by sicklife17 » Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:22 am

How does it handle on the street as the trucks my daily. Do you get any speed woobles or death woobles? How fast can you still go before you start to have problems
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by sicklife17 » Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:24 am

A lot of my freinds have lifted jeeps with dual steerin. Stabilizers and have death woobles and that's one of my main conserns. I love life in the fast lane so I have to be able to go really fast still lol
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by Trail X » Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:28 am

Lifted IFS actually handles better than stock, inherently less body roll, which is counter-intuitive but true.

Death wobbles are very rare for us, only possible if your steering rack is crap and your caster is all messed up.

You can still go fast, but just keep in mind its a lifted truck, not a sports car. Lifting any vehicle will make it more top heavy. Luckily the center of mass of the TB is very low for an SUV to begin with, so you're starting in a better position than many vehicles.
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by maricard » Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:29 am

I have the same setup as you and no issue.
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by sicklife17 » Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:33 am

Yes I understand it's not a sports car but if I need to race one I'm not backing out! what are the most foreseen issues afterwards? I can't wait to prove my freinds wrong!!
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by TBYODA » Fri Feb 13, 2015 11:16 am

sicklife17 wrote:I can't wait to prove my friends wrong!!
Way do you need to prove it to your friends on the street. Just go build it and show them how capable these truck are off road.

I agree with James, when I was stock with 83 front springs the TB seems to float down the road, ride was very soft. I am very happy with the purchases of the radflo's. IMO even with no front steel bumper they have made the TB very responsive on and off the street. They suck up the bumps and keep you stable. IMHO they the best options going for the front stock IFS. :flex dirty:
Last edited by TBYODA on Fri Feb 13, 2015 5:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by sicklife17 » Fri Feb 13, 2015 12:01 pm

My freinds think its a waste of time and money to lift it because it Doesent have a solid front Axle
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by Grimor » Fri Feb 13, 2015 2:27 pm

It is a waste of time and money, but so are most hobbies. It only matters if it's worth it to you. Only issue I have is some rubbing, part of that is from an accident and pretty big tires. I don't think I would have any problems running 33" though.

I broke a strut climbing snow piles, but looks like a defect in the strut. Replacing with Radflos
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by Trail X » Fri Feb 13, 2015 2:47 pm

sicklife17 wrote:Yes I understand it's not a sports car but if I need to race one I'm not backing out! what are the most foreseen issues afterwards? I can't wait to prove my freinds wrong!!


Justin, you'll find this to be a fairly mature forum and your responses are coming across very juvenile. Just be careful or you'll lose a lot of respect here very fast.

The most foreseen issues after racing a sports car are you losing or your transmission blowing up.

Plus, you'll never "need" to race anything unless they are shooting at you.
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by sicklife17 » Fri Feb 13, 2015 3:49 pm

Sorry I'm very exicted! I feel like a little kid in the candy store. I have wanted to do this for 2 years now and it's finally going to happen
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by Jrgunn5150 » Fri Feb 13, 2015 5:48 pm

Grimor wrote:It is a waste of time and money, but so are most hobbies


Pretty much lol
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by sicklife17 » Fri Feb 13, 2015 9:33 pm

As long as you enjoy what your doing and what you have done who cares you can't put a price on fun
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by TBYODA » Fri Feb 13, 2015 9:41 pm

sicklife17 wrote:As long as you enjoy what your doing and what you have done who cares you can't put a price on fun

I agree.
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by ErikSS » Fri Feb 13, 2015 9:45 pm

sicklife17 wrote:How does it handle on the street as the trucks my daily. Do you get any speed woobles or death woobles? How fast can you still go before you start to have problems


When my front wheel bearings (one of the most common parts to wear faster after bigger tires) are tight and my tires are well balanced, I don't feel a limit to my speed. I'm currently concerned with the speed rating on my tires for the drag strip, not the handling of the truck.
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by navigator » Fri Feb 13, 2015 11:09 pm

I've owned a couple of jeeps (98XJ, 88 Comanche) and there is no comparison between them and the TB.
The TB is just a much nicer riding vehicle and doesn't seem to have a lot of the death wobble issues that the Jeeps had.
You have picked one of the most common combos out there 2-3" of lift and the 32" tires.
It is very dependable, I expect most here will tell you even at interstate speeds and above with proper maintenance there are no issues.
I'm at about 4.5 inches of lift with no front sway bars. Running down the interstate yesterday evening from a work trip running ~80 most of the way, the wind was really gusty. I realized the wind was there and had to be a little more attentive than usual but there was really no concern.
I think the biggest things you might find is some items like front hub bearings and brakes wear out a little faster.
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by Cable810 » Fri Feb 13, 2015 11:24 pm

Had issues with my disco going out 2 times in a year and shorted out the Transmission Neutral Safety Switch other than that no issues.
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