Fabtech makes it - Outlaw is offering it! 4" SUSPENSION LIFT (WHAT?! RUCRAZEE?!)

[Aaron]

If you two want a lift kit go buy a lift kit. There's plenty of in depth technical expertise here to listen to but it's not going to come out on a lift kit thread. 'Well why not?" You ask. Because the guys who have technical knowledge think a lift kit is the wrong way to go and are all working on pushing their raptors in a totally different direction. Lift kits are seen around here as an "all show no go" item.

 

[jaylord]

I see. Well then maybe there should be a sticky outlining how everything is perceived by everyone so that we don't get confused. No matter I took this off topic a bit. It's all good and lesson learned.

 

[Aaron]

So I explain why this thread is the way it is and you get more upset?

People don't think it be like it is...but it do...

 

[Rookie]

When you oppress people, they rise up in a fiery anger!!!

 

[jaylord]

Im not upset. Just didn't seem right. You've educated me on how it is. No sarcasm intended.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Interesting discussion boys...

So is this the first aftermarket steering knuckle for the Raptor? It would be nice if a high strength steel option existed.

Obviously guys like to lift their trucks, even if it is only a perch mod. Ford advises against it, but yet it is acceptable FRF practice.

For the type of wheeling that I like to do, more ground clearance typically means you can keep going down a trail that gets more rugged with less under body damage.

Some like the lifted look for their street queens, hell there are guys who put on Stage 4 on street queens. It's what they want in the look they are going for.

For the non street queens, Wonder if Outlaw or Fabtech have truely tested this product? Will it fail on the first jump? How well does the 4x4 system hold up?

We'll see where the first real world review shows up, FRF or da Z...



Yukon Joe
GLRE Support Raptor
WWW.RUNRAPTORRUN.COM

 

[Fred]

When you oppress people, they rise up in a fiery anger!!!

Yes, sir they do...

 

[Madcowranch]

 

[Canuck714]

There are clearly two trains of thought here.

1. Lift Kit. Generally a lift kit does zero for your suspension, but offers more tire clearance and thats why you see them on F150's Rams, Nissans, Tundras, FJ's, etc etc....

2. Long Travel and bigger tires. Marginal "lift" but more capable suspension. Low CG with real drop out and up travel numbers.

I personally will not "Lift" my truck. I may end up with a truck that gains a little height from taller tires and MORE suspension travel, but I will only do that through better suspension...not a puck and shim approach.

Like they say..."too each their own"

 

[Kytann]

Interesting discussion boys...

So is this the first aftermarket steering knuckle for the Raptor? It would be nice if a high strength steel option existed.

Obviously guys like to lift their trucks, even if it is only a perch mod. Ford advises against it, but yet it is acceptable FRF practice.

For the type of wheeling that I like to do, more ground clearance typically means you can keep going down a trail that gets more rugged with less under body damage.

Some like the lifted look for their street queens, hell there are guys who put on Stage 4 on street queens. It's what they want in the look they are going for.

For the non street queens, Wonder if Outlaw or Fabtech have truely tested this product? Will it fail on the first jump? How well does the 4x4 system hold up?

We'll see where the first real world review shows up, FRF or da Z...


Yukon Joe
GLRE Support Raptor
GREAT LAKES RAPTOR EXCURSIONS

IIRC it looks beefier than the stock part. But it's also longer, so there is more leverage on the upper control arm mount. Also the materials may be different, stronger or weaker. I'm not a material strength engineer, but I do know that high strength steel is more brittle. Maybe that's why it's not offered in high strength steel.

As far as I know, I've never read of a failure of a lift kit due to off-roading.
And I just did a quick google search taht still came up with nothing (Fabtech specific). Installation problems all over the place, but that's another story.
In the F150 world, lift kits are the way to go if you actually use the vehicle off-road, Versus "leveling kits". So there are alot of guys who use lift kits and off-road the trucks.

There are clearly two trains of thought here.

1. Lift Kit. Generally a lift kit does zero for your suspension, but offers more tire clearance and thats why you see them on F150's Rams, Nissans, Tundras, FJ's, etc etc....

2. Long Travel and bigger tires. Marginal "lift" but more capable suspension. Low CG with real drop out and up travel numbers.

I personally will not "Lift" my truck. I may end up with a truck that gains a little height from taller tires and MORE suspension travel, but I will only do that through better suspension...not a puck and shim approach.

Like they say..."too each their own"

There are two trains of thought. But I think you simplified things a bit.

1. A lift kit allows you to run larger tires without reducing your wheel travel. Usually if you want to run larger tires, you'll have to either do alot of fender trimming, or limit front wheel up-travel, or both. A lift kit give you the lift and ground clearance while keeping the suspension geometry and fenders stock, so it should still ride and handle just like stock. But with the added ground clearance for water crossings, mudding, or just trail-driving some gnarly trails while keeping the undercarriage off of the rocks.

Myself? I just limited front wheel uptravel and have lots of fender trimming to fit my large tires. It's not the best solution, but it fits in my limited budget right now (non-existent), and keeps my Center Of Gravity low.

2. There are long travel kits. But the Raptor already has long travel. Unless you're suggesting something like this
http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f208/hm-racing-design-ford-raptor-long-travel-suspension-22201/
Or This
Brenthel Industries Ford Raptor 4WD Long Travel Race Kit
Which replaces all of the parts that make a Raptor unique versus an F150, so it can just as easily be installed on an F150.
Not to mention it's WAY more expensive than a "lift kit". $5000 versus $1600. I doubt many people are going to be cross shopping these types of kits.
These types of "lifts" also increase the width even further. Which if the width is already a problem for you (it is for me), this makes it worse.

If you just mean extra travel through replacing the upper A-Arm, there is absolutely nothing preventing you from combining this with a lift kit. So it's not really an "either or" situation, it's just one of a set of options you can combine or not depending on your budget.
In fact, you could combine long travel with a lift kit. At 94" track width, you're so wide I doubt stability will be an issue.

And as to your "not a puck and shim approach" comment. Pucks and shims are leveling kits, not lift kits, so that makes it sound like you don't understand the product.



And really, if you retain the stock A-Arms, how do you get more suspension travel? Any gains you make are going to be incremental at best, because you're limited by the simple geometry of the suspension (A-Arm length) and so forth. There's alot of talk about upgrading strength and shock valving, but I don't remember seeing anything about getting more travel from stock A-Arms.

---------- Post added at 10:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:18 AM ----------

Also, just to add to the materials discussion, I looked up Ductile Iron

Ductile iron, also known as ductile cast iron, nodular cast iron, spheroidal graphite iron, spherulitic graphite cast iron[1] and SG iron, is a type of cast iron invented in 1943 by Keith Millis.[2] While most varieties of cast iron are brittle, ductile iron has much more impact and fatigue resistance, due to its nodular graphite inclusions.

.......

Ductile iron is specifically useful in many automotive components, where strength needs surpass that of aluminum but do not necessarily require steel. Other major industrial applications include off-highway diesel trucks, Class 8 trucks, agricultural tractors, and oil well pumps.

Emphasis mine. That last part I found most interesting.

And here is a talk about Ductile Iron versus Forged Steel for crankshaft applications, specifically fatigue strength, which I would think would be very applicable to a truck suspension component (Steering knuckles)

I'm too green on the subject to draw conclusions, but it's interesting.