Lifts & Hwy Driving

[Tony_SS]

I'm thinking about a lift, but want to see how it's going to affect my hwy driving... I do a fair share of it so I'd like to hear some first hand exp.. thanks

 

[Tempted]

3" suspension is pretty comfortable on the highway. 6" is fine for most solid axle trucks. You will get lower fuel economy and accelerated engine/driveline wear by using larger tires without a gear swap. My 99 Z71 has the 3" keys and 3" blocks, rides exactly like stock and looks nice with the 285 70 16 Nitto Trail Grapplers.

 

[blackknight1992]

probably depends on height of the lift and tire size. mine is lifted 6 in with 35s and 3.73 gears it rides fine on highway just revs a little higher and is much slower to get up to speed. cruise control doesnt work well anymore but who needs that. alignment will probably have the most effect

 

[dirtyhick42]

3" suspension is pretty comfortable on the highway. 6" is fine for most solid axle trucks. You will get lower fuel economy and accelerated engine/driveline wear by using larger tires without a gear swap. My 99 Z71 has the 3" keys and 3" blocks, rides exactly like stock and looks nice with the 285 70 16 Nitto Trail Grapplers.

There is absolutely no way your truck rides like stock with 3 inch keys in there.

To the op:
Everything about how a lifted truck will do on the highway has to do with the amount of work you are willing to do.

 

[Tony_SS]

I'm looking at a 4" RCX and am wondering how it will ride on the HWY with just that...

33" tires, 3.73

 

[Tempted]

There is absolutely no way your truck rides like stock with 3 inch keys in there.

It indeed rides excellent. Much better than my completely stock 94 2wd. I have to say though that honestly I can't remember exactly how the 99 rode, the lift has been on it for a long time. It rides better than all of my previously lifted vehicles. Far better than all of my twin I beam Fords. Since I only use it to pull my ATVs to the hunting property(60 miles one way) I wanted a good ride.

And yeah, getting a smooth ride does depend a ton on how much money/work you are willing to spend on it. And TIRES. Most of the time the ride isn't as bad as you think, but when you lifted it you used some knobby mudders that ride like squares. My Nittos have always ridden excellent. The 99 is getting the Dune Grapplers next time though. The Trail Grapplers wore out kinda quick. 35k. My Dunes have about 40k on them of heavy towing and still look 50%+ and ride nice.

 

[Blue95]

3" suspension is pretty comfortable on the highway. 6" is fine for most solid axle trucks. You will get lower fuel economy and accelerated engine/driveline wear by using larger tires without a gear swap. My 99 Z71 has the 3" keys and 3" blocks, rides exactly like stock and looks nice with the 285 70 16 Nitto Trail Grapplers.

No it does not ride like stock, a 3" lift will wear everything out even faster then cranking only T bars because that is all that a 3" is with some different control arms.

 

[Blue95]

I'm looking at a 4" RCX and am wondering how it will ride on the HWY with just that...

33" tires, 3.73

You will have more sway, body roll, less MPG. Depending on tires it will be louder and ride different depending on compound.

It indeed rides excellent. Much better than my completely stock 94 2wd. I have to say though that honestly I can't remember exactly how the 99 rode, the lift has been on it for a long time. It rides better than all of my previously lifted vehicles. Far better than all of my twin I beam Fords. Since I only use it to pull my ATVs to the hunting property(60 miles one way) I wanted a good ride.

And yeah, getting a smooth ride does depend a ton on how much money/work you are willing to spend on it. And TIRES. Most of the time the ride isn't as bad as you think, but when you lifted it you used some knobby mudders that ride like squares. My Nittos have always ridden excellent. The 99 is getting the Dune Grapplers next time though. The Trail Grapplers wore out kinda quick. 35k. My Dunes have about 40k on them of heavy towing and still look 50%+ and ride nice.

To you it rides that well, he may think differently so what is good for you may not be for him. If you drove the 99 stock then did that work you would know it does not ride like stock or better, plus your 94 could have worn parts, bushings, etc, so not a comparison.

 

[withoutfear33]

like these guys are saying man its not going to ride like a stock truck.. i have 3 lifted ones and my 96 i have spent a ton trying to get an awesome ride and it still doesnt compare to a stock truck at all. it has a 4in fabtech with 1in of crank, plus blisten 5100 shocks. it use to have deep dish 20s and 35s in which rode like crap because of the lower profile mud tire i could feel all the bumps/cracks in the rode.. i have now went to a 17in wheel and 35s which give you a bigger side wall and they ride great.. anyway like i said ive tried alot of different things on this truck as i use it to travel with and the set up right now rides great for me but at times its still is stiff when hitting bumps and what not but it doesnt bother me, id rather have a lifted truck that rode like crap vs. a stock one anyday...

 

[Tempted]

To you it rides that well, he may think differently so what is good for you may not be for him. If you drove the 99 stock then did that work you would know it does not ride like stock or better, plus your 94 could have worn parts, bushings, etc, so not a comparison.

I did own it stock, and it didn't change a great deal in ride quality with nice tires and the geometry corrected. The 94 is as stock with as stock suspension. I replace worn parts with new ones, I don't ride around with crap falling off so it is a comparison. I'm actually a little irritated by that comment. I have both of the trucks sitting in my driveway and work on the trucks(all vehicles for that matter) for a living. My comparison is based on first hand experience with dozens of lifted trucks with different set ups. As for wearing out front end parts, are you actually an owner of an IFS Chevy 4x4 or is that picture your Dad's truck? Do you know what geometry means? Are you aware that cranking torsion bars is a horrible thing to do to your truck if it is street driven routinely?

To the OP. A 4" lift, when done correctly, isn't horrible on the highway. You will catch a little more wind and sway a little more but it is manageable. Get your front end aligned or you will be eating tires.