Hi All,

I know this may not go down well with some of the marshals as they have an aversion for us rookies to go for lifts and rightly so.

However, when we do indeed feel we are ready (at least 50 quality drives to know your ride and how you handle it after reading different sand conditions correctly for me) we should have a compiled list - ready reckoner ensuring we will have chosen the best or most suitable at the right price.

Hope the above is making sense.

So, I am hoping all of us can contribute our experience in preparing this list. Its a request to put it in the following way making it easier.

1] Car make and model

2] Lift make and type (adjustible, fixed) and model eg ICON stg 5

3] Purchased from and installed by (this sometimes get separate)

4] Experience of the ride in as many words as possible

5] Miscellaneous - Anything else that needs to be added which is not covered above.

I am hopeful this helps others as well in making the right choice for their respective car when they are ready.

Request to the moderators, please allow this post

I'm often the odd one out here, but I have a bit of an aversion to lifts, as I'm more worried about rollovers than I am about damage to the undercarriage. Wouldn't even consider a lift without either wheel spacers, or at least much wider tyres.

Fairly sure I'm the only 'Senior' or up that hasn't got a lift yet

Codger wrote:I'm often the odd one out here, but I have a bit of an aversion to lifts, as I'm more worried about rollovers than I am about damage to the undercarriage. Wouldn't even consider a lift without either wheel spacers, or at least much wider tyres.

Fairly sure I'm the only 'Senior' or up that hasn't got a lift yet

Hi Andrew, I guess spacers are a good point which I missed. This could become a sticky for the uninitiated with a red underlined note saying lift only after such and such experience.

I am driving since Sept 2012 and my vehicle is still stock and intend to keep that way at least till I reach Advance or Sr off roader. Once you reach that level, it's obvious that you have now understood the trials of Sand and respect it and are completely aware of your capabilities and that of your car.

The idea behind the above thread is to give people a chance with this ready reckoner to make a educated choice.

Sand dunning is not without its pitfalls and its most apparent on the wallet.

Guys, having a lift isn't a necessity. Yes it comes in handy sometimes, but it's not something that you MUST have. I drove my old grand cherokee with no lift for around 3 years before upgrading the shocks and adding coil spacers to gain about 1.75" lift. Six months after that I realized that the tires were too big for the wheel arches (they arches kept cutting into the tires when fully compressed) so I ended up going to a 3.5" lift and never once felt like it was going to roll, and I did some crazy stuff in that beast!

A lift is a matter of preference rather than a matter of requirement. If you feel you need it then get it, but if you have gone so long and on so many trips without one then it might not be needed. The sand is very forgiving on the undercarraige of our rigs, but if we were rock crawling it would be another issue, which a lift alone wouldn't solve anyway!

The only reason I'd lift my new Xterra (and to be fair I probably will eventually), is to stop the suspension bottoming out - which it has a habit of doing.

Will spill the beans today when free. Till then.

Ok here we go, as tin tin says it isnt really necessary if you already have good stock height clearance. If you choose to go for a lift, you have to go wider (spacers). And i recommend that you dont even consider about increasing more than 2.5 inches. Not needed.

For My Jeep Wrangler I Increased Tire Size So Had To Lift, Have A Mopar 2.5inch Lift Kit With Bilstein Shocks With 2yrs Warrantry From Jeep Dealer Ad Since September 2011. Cost Me A Pretty Penny With Installation 9k But Main Thing With Warranty. Very Comfortable Both On Off Road And Very Durable, Even With My Lift Kit, I Can Actually Take Corner Faster Than Alot Of stock 4x4.

For Fj, I See Alot Install Lovels, bilstein And King Suspension Kits And Spacers.
Btw - Ive Been Cruising In Desert With My Nissan patrol Lwb So Far At Stock Height. So Far So Good.

Ok here we go, as tin tin says it isnt really necessary if you already have good stock height clearance. If you choose to go for a lift, you have to go wider (spacers). And i recommend that you dont even consider about increasing more than 2.5 inches. Not needed.

For My Jeep Wrangler I Increased Tire Size So Had To Lift, Have A Mopar 2.5inch Lift Kit With Bilstein Shocks With 2yrs Warrantry From Jeep Dealer Ad Since September 2011. Cost Me A Pretty Penny With Installation 9k But Main Thing With Warranty. Very Comfortable Both On Off Road And Very Durable, Even With My Lift Kit, I Can Actually Take Corner Faster Than Alot Of stock 4x4.

For Fj, I See Alot Install Lovels, bilstein And King Suspension Kits And Spacers.
Btw - Ive Been Cruising In Desert With My Nissan patrol Lwb So Far At Stock Height. So Far So Good.

Well you don't necessarily need wheel spacers either. You can also just use wider wheels with less back spacing, this will give you the same effect as wheel spacers with less parts to fail. Granted it is more expensive that way, but typically is the right way.

I had a long discussion with some guys on jeepforum.com ages ago regarding wheel spacers/wider wheels to negate a higher centre of gravity once lifted and was told that wheel spacers/wider wheels will do very little to lower your centre of gravity, but will widen your stance to give a wider footprint. This means that there is still a chance that you will roll easier, but you should have more flat ground/road stability.

In the end it's owner preference and whatever you decide should be best for your needs. Some people prefer not to lift, some lift for the looks only, others lift due to metal bumpers and winches which drop the suspension, others do it because they are serious rock crawlers and need a lot of clearance. It's all up to you at the end of the day.

Try to make sure though, that you get the right balance between suspension and tires hight as the tires will raise the axels, whereas the suspension will only raise the body. If you ride crests then taller tires would be better, if you only cross crest/straight line over them then you would be fine with not so tall tires and just a lift.

Either way, enjoy and be safe!

tintin wrote:I had a long discussion with some guys on jeepforum.com ages ago regarding wheel spacers/wider wheels to negate a higher centre of gravity once lifted and was told that wheel spacers/wider wheels will do very little to lower your centre of gravity, but will widen your stance to give a wider footprint. This means that there is still a chance that you will roll easier, but you should have more flat ground/road stability.

In the end it's owner preference and whatever you decide should be best for your needs. Some people prefer not to lift, some lift for the looks only, others lift due to metal bumpers and winches which drop the suspension, others do it because they are serious rock crawlers and need a lot of clearance. It's all up to you at the end of the day.

Try to make sure though, that you get the right balance between suspension and tires hight as the tires will raise the axels, whereas the suspension will only raise the body. If you ride crests then taller tires would be better, if you only cross crest/straight line over them then you would be fine with not so tall tires and just a lift.

Indeed. I fancy mounting larger tyres one day, to give my axles some additional clearance - so a lift will eventually be needed.

I'd rather avoid spacers though, as it'll also increase the unsprung weight ... wider tyres will increase the lateral footprint more effectively, and with less to fail as you said.