3" vs 3.5" RC Lift, is the juice worth the squeeze???

Like I said I'm trying to decide between a 3/2 spacer lift, or the 3.5" RC lift that is also a spacer but includes new UCAs and rear shocks. I look at it this way.

3/2 PRO: budget ($300ish from Readylift, the RC one looks kinda sketchy), pretty close to the height I would like
3/2 CON: more to buy if we're not happy with it, I feel like I see some trucks with this setup and can barely tell they have a lift

3.5" PRO: new UCAs to assist with alignment, the height I like, has the option of buying 3.5" coilovers from RC if I find the spacer rides too rough
3.5" CON: mainly just cost ($675ish)

One thing I'm trying to figure out is if the 3.5" spacer lift has preload spacers. If it does then it's between the full coilover version ($1000) or the 3"/2" (I don't feel like buying/messing with a spring compressor). The truck is a 2016 Limited that rides on decently maintained ranches/forest service roads, but primarily pavement. I would like for this to be a "one and done" endeavor, I don't have any interest and upgrading later on or anything like that. Thanks in advance

 

Crystal ball says your CV axles are more likely to explode caused by the extreme angles of the 3.5” lift.

 

Doesn't Bilstein have any good options for you? I feel like you have narrowed it down to two bad choices even if you only were to drive pavement.

 

Is that a guess? Or based off experience. I only ask because I've seen it with a number of different lift options, people talk about how bad the angles will be but then when someone shows a picture the response is "oh those angles don't look that bad." Not trying to sound like a turd because I know asked for opinions

 

From what I've seen? Not that I can tell. It seems like the most I can get is 2.5" from a Bilstein setup. But why say they're two BAD options? Yes I know they're not the best. But I think we can all agree we've seen more than a few people with 3/1 or 3/2 or even 4/2 spacer lifts that say that they feel like riding stock.

 

You are right about the 2.5 or less on Billies or similar. I was curious because I have an older truck so I looked it up. It's pretty much the same with my gen - 2.5 and under is fairly easy, over that is upper control arms, and over 3" adds more issues like @Cruzer mentioned. I took note that you don't want to upgrade later, and you were already considering an extra 1K if needed for coilovers. IMO, spacers can ride great from what I've read. But they come with their own issues that you may or may not encounter, depending on what you do with your truck.

 

Oh okay I understand. But yeah I was saying that I could upgrade the coils but I meant to the RC 3.5" coilover overs which are like $399, bringing the TOTAL cost to around $1k. But that's what I'm trying to figure out, is that extra 0.5"/UCAs really worth the extra cost

 

I would skip RC products. There are much better alternatives which are about the same coin. Eibach pro truck, OME, Dobinsons suspensions will all be around a grand and are all quality products, much better than RC coilovers and shocks.

 

Dobinsons seem to be the only ones that over a 3” but even still I’m looking at $1200. $1k is a stretch lol

 

Why are you hung up on 3 inches of lift?
You can fit 34/35s with a level/2 inch lift. Most of the lifted coilovers are 2-2.5 inches and using one of them will save you some $. If you go 2.75 or 3 inch lift, you will need new adjustable UCAs, maybe a diff drop and that extra lift will increase the harshness of the ride as you will have less suspension travel/no droop.

 

To be perfectly honest it’s mainly aesthetics

 

So I did a test for shits & giggles to get a definitive answer.

I took out one of my spare front diffs. Leveled it.


I then measured the angle of the inner OEM CV axle cup, which was at 2.3 degrees:


I also measured what the maximum angle was before the inner joint binded, which was 32.5 degrees (maximum droop was ~34 degrees)


I stuck this same axle into my truck. Adjusted the height of the truck until I got 2.3 degrees at the inner cup, which tells me the shaft going into the diff is level:


I then raised the LCA until I got the CV intermediate shaft leveled, and took a base measurement of 25" to the top of the axle at 0 degrees:




I then lowered the LCA down an inch and measured the angle.




Another inch:




Another inch:




Another inch:




Another inch:




Another inch:




And last one:




So this is what I got:
Level: 0 degrees
(LCA lowered by) : (axle angle)
1 inch: 3.8 degrees (3.8 degrees difference from previous)
2 inch: 7.4 degrees (3.6 degrees difference from previous)
3 inch: 11.1 degrees (3.8 degrees difference from previous)
4 inch: 15.2 degrees (3.7 degrees difference from previous)
5 inch: 18.8 degrees (3.6 degrees difference from previous)
6 inch: 22.8 degrees (4.0 degrees difference from previous)
7 inch: 27.9 degrees (5.1 degrees difference from previous)
(My) suspension travel maxed out to 7.25"
Axle binds at >32.5 degrees

For every inch the LCA decreased, the angle of the CV axle increased by an average of 4 degrees.

What's the takeaway here?
A stock suspension at full droop prevents the CV axle from binding. When you lift the truck by adding a puck or longer coilovers, it pushes down on the LCA and extends the point at which the suspension, when at full droop, prevents the CV axle from binding. For example, if I added a 1" puck, then my LCA would drop down another inch and my CV angle would be in the 31.9 - 32.9 range.

OP - go measure your inner cup angle and current CV angle so we know exactly where you stand.

 

Holy science Batman. Now THAT’S an answer if I’ve even seen lol so if I understand correctly with a 3” lift you’re basically losing 12* (approximately) of LCA travel? And if so then it seems that the difference between 3-3.5” is pretty minimal. I guess then the question is this, what’s minimum recommended LCA travel for a pavement truck and slow ranch roads? When I get home I’ll take some measurements of my angles to compare

 

My takeaway from all that is I bought a damn good angle finder (I have the same one).

 

You retain the same amount of travel, you're just basically moving the upper and lower limits further down. The more lift you add, the closer you get to the max CV angle.