Definitive Lift Kit Thread

[jamminjim]

Hay Hows It Going,my Name Jim And I Bought The First Leveling Kit From Truxx Just After The Honda Truck Got Thiers. I Only Installed The Frt. To Get That Pre-runner Look The First Set Of Sway Bar Links They Sent Me Were Cut Short And Welded Original Ridgeline Ends Then They Sent Some Made Up After Market Ones That Made Noise Over Every Slight Bump When I Talk To Them I They Said They Were Working On A Solution. Well I Work For Acura As A Tech. And Said To Them That The Mdx Link Is The Same Lenth Why Not Use Oem Links After A Couple More Phone Calls They Rushed Me A Set And Now I Believe They Are Sending New Cust. Those Ones. One Other Thing The Camber Is None Adj. And I Like To Run A Little Neg. And The Align. Was On The Positive Side After The Install And I Ended Up Using An Camber Bolt On The Top Of The Two Strut Bolts Which Made Aligning Alot Better. The Tires Were Hard To Find But I Like The 265/70/17 Yokohama Geolanders With The First Set Of 17x8.5 Centerline Crossfires To Be Made Up For The Ridgeline. I Know The Truxx Leveling Kit Is A Bit More But Thier Quaility Is The Best And The Wrinkle Finish Coating Is Tough And Thier Support Was Right There When I Ask For It The Other Two Would Not Even Work With Me When I First Asked If They Are Building A Lift Kit For The Honda Ridgeline.

[0700]

thanks jamminjim,
your information helps round out the possiblilities some more. i wondered if you had only lifted the front, from the pics that you had posted it looked like the trucks factory rake was considerably less then before.

i have examined both the truxxx and skyjacker kits closely and will decide next week which one i'll go with. i would say that they are of equal quality, truxxx has pressed in bolts, skyjacker does not, but i think that the skyjacker seemed to be better welded (both minor issues imo). of course the truxxx came with the shorter front sway bar links (which justifies the extra kit cost). so i ordered a set of acura mdx front sway links to go with the skyjacker kit if that's what i decide to do.

what is interesting is that the acura links i ordered look identical to the factory ridge links (they even have Honda stickers on the packaging) except they are two inches shorter. the links that came with the truxxx kit are the same length but look very different (and don't have Honda stickers on the packaging, which makes me suspect that they are not original acura mdx links as they said they would be, maybe just old stock?)

anyhow my decision between the two kits (rancho kit was not readily available here in canada yet) comes down to the rear lift amount. truxxx is 1.5" and skyjacker is 2". i load the truck (like you do with bikes) and haul a trailer and i don't like my tail to sag so preserving as much of the rake as possible seems like the best option. i'll decide at the shop at the last minute ... life!

one other question, how did you fit the meaty tires up front? did you have to do some grinding/trimming to overcome the rubbing? i tried 255/70 LTX's (without the lift) and had a pretty good rub againt the mud flaps and frame.

thanks again for your review
cheers

[Lingered_I]

Potential bads news with these lifts guys.
I've been running the SkyJacker lift since June and have found tonight that both front inboard CV boots have problems. One looks to have failed completely based on the amount of grease it's dumped and the other is starting to leak.

Even if the failure is not lift related I don't see this being covered under warranty.

I may be taking my lift off soon.

[geotech]

Originally Posted by Lingered_I

Potential bads news with these lifts guys.
I've been running the SkyJacker lift since June and have found tonight that both front inboard CV boots have problems. One looks to have failed completely based on the amount of grease it's dumped and the other is starting to leak.

Even if the failure is not lift related I don't see this being covered under warranty.

I may be taking my lift off soon.

Crap. I'll monitor mine more closely. I feel your pain.

[jamminjim]

To Me It Seems The Boot Got A Pinch Hole From Being Stricked With A Sharp Or Heavy Objet And The Other One Is Puled Out Of Its Grove Due To Maybe To Much Positve Camber?

[jamminjim]

OH ON THE SUBJECT OF WHAT DID I DO TO THE FENDER & SLASH GUARDS, I DID REMOVE ALL THE GUARDS AND ON THE LEFT SIDE THE METAL ADAPTOR. THE LIP BEHIND THE PLASTIC FENDER LINER I GRINDED DOWN FLUSH ABOUT 6inch.IN LENTH,THEN WELDED A BEAD TO STRENGTHEN THE METAL I ALSO CUT AWAY JUST ENOUGH PLASTIC LINER AND SPAYED UNDER COATING TO FINISH THE JOB. I JUST CAME BACK FROM A LOCAL MOUNTAIN X WITH MY TRUCK AND THE TRAILS WERE LIKE RACING A RALLY CAR, JUMPING, TIGHT HAIR PIN CORNERS ROUGH STUDDER BUMPS JUST PINNING RED LINE WITH THE VSA OFF OF COURSE I DIDNT EVEN RUB ONCE. I EVEN HAD SOME COMP.ON THE UP HILL THE TRUCK WAS A 2005 NISSAN TITAN AND THE GUYS WERE YELLING AT ME AS THEY PASSED BY YOU CALL THAT A TRUCK! AS THEY WENT SPEEDING BYE, I JUMPED IN MY TRUCK AND CAUGHT HIM THEN I STAYED ON HIM TRYING TO FORSE A MISSTAKE OUT OF HIM WE BOTH WERE SLIDING SIDE WAYS IN THE CORNERS BUT HE WENT INTO ONE HAIRPIN TO WIDE AND I GOT UNDER HIM AND STARTED TO PULL AWAY WHEN I GOT TO THE TOP I PULLED OVER AND GOT OUT,ABOUT 4 MINS LATER I CAN HEAR HIS V8 STILL RACING UP. THIS TRUCK REALLY DOES HANDLE GREAT!

[Lingered_I]

Sooooo, $190 + tax + parts (about $30) to replace the boot, assuming that the joint itself hasn't got contaminated. The joint costs $200. The catch is that the dealer has neither part (no surprise there) and cannot confirm contamination until the boot has been removed. I have a feeling that I'm going to be without my truck for a while. They will inspect the vehicle on Monday. I've felt around the boot and it has a 1 inch slit in one of the gulleys. No mention yet of lift kits or warranty.

Some more pics

[0700]

well the skyjacker is in and it great ... no appreciable change in ride or handling ... still sticks through the corners almost like an accord.

it is sooooo nice to have the extra two inches ... its a little more work through the hip into the seat ... but i enjoy riding at the same height as the F150's etc

i also had the tires changed to the Michelin CrossTerrain 265/65R17, they are 30.7" in dia. so about 1" taller

here's a few pics

[0700]

oh,
and all the parts fit great ... just a slight rub on the passenger front tire once in a while.

i went with the skyjacker because it retained the factory rake of the truck, unlike the truxxx where you give up .5" ... both kits seem well built. truxxx has the new shorter front sway bar links, so i went to the local acura dealer and ordered a pair of MDX links, which were 2" shorter then the ridgelines and had them installed with the skyjacker ... fits to a T.

the cost of the skujacker + MDX links = approx the truxxx kit, so for me it came down to looks/function of that .5"

here's a few more pics

[auditude]

Originally Posted by 0700

oh,
and all the parts fit great ... just a slight rub on the passenger front tire once in a while.

i went with the skyjacker because it retained the factory rake of the truck, unlike the truxxx where you give up .5" ... both kits seem well built. truxxx has the new shorter front sway bar links, so i went to the local acura dealer and ordered a pair of MDX links, which were 2" shorter then the ridgelines and had them installed with the skyjacker ... fits to a T.

the cost of the skujacker + MDX links = approx the truxxx kit, so for me it came down to looks/function of that .5"

here's a few more pics

If the control arms are lower with the lift kit, why don't the sway bar links have to be longer instead of shorter?