I bought a 97' Sportage last month and I want to raise it atleast 2.5" but I have yet to find a place online that will actually post a price for a kit. What has everyone else paid for their kits and where did they get them? Any other good sites with Sportage parts on them too would be great.

hit up dave at rocksport gear. there is a link in the vendor section.

thanks so much, I will make sure to drop him a line.

Denny Thompson also has a lift kit here to purchase. Think this one out carefully cause I spent (wasted $700.00) on the wrong lift system <Eibach spring 2.2"> which continued to destroy my front struts!!!!!!!!!!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> And later purchased Rocksport product <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />. I Did the body lift 1.5" from 4crawler (Mr.Brown ----not a member of this forum) also <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> .The phrase " haste makes waste" certainly applies to me boy I'll tell u that much. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

You really don't want to lift the suspension more than 2.5". More than that will cause your continous joints to rub against the lower plate when fully stretched and thus stop your forward motion quite a bit. I have the Eibacs plus a 1" spacer and I'm ready to remove the 1" spacers. The Brown body spacers were easy to add and gives a nice lift. Choose a 2.5" susp in the front and some either Mazda MPV or better yest, Ford Aerostar springsa for the rear and it will look awesome. Kia has a pretty high chasis, so you'll get a lot of ground clearance. I feel it's better to go with spacers up front. Dave has some well proven ones and I saw his Kia when it still had the IFS with 32's and it looked really good.

If you just want to go 2.5. Dennis's UP You're Kia is easy and the rig still handles great! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

If you want info on my UPYOURKAI spacers email me at (upyourkia@yahoo.com) I have a few 2 1/2" kit left and a few that add 1 1/2" to 2 1/2" lift springs or 1" to 1 1/4" to stock springs.
Thanks Dennis

It still can be done (without suffering much rub). I have discovered that many configurations will work without causing compromise to the suspension. The supplied front strut adapters (From rocksport) will work with the Rocksportgear setup. I also thought about using the Eibach front spring placement with a different rear suspension and believe me, it would look good and work also. But the point is that one must really look into the probability that the problems could just be stemming from like regular maintinence and replacement of common parts. I really liked the idea of Ford's A-star springs for the rear/backside <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

The problem with more than 2.5" is something that I learned recently while trying to go over a ditch, the left wheel dropped so much it locked over the metal. I have never broken a CV, but had a hard time even winching the Kia with my other vehicle because it was locked. Now I know the importance of lowering the diff when lifting too much.

I have never had any CV axle problems with my 4" lift off road and I have had it in some pretty tight situations. On the highway I get a little vibration with the hubs locked over 40 MPH but I am still on my origanal CV axles and have never even torn a boot. I have over 145,000 miles on it now and did the lift at 60,000. I think the trick is to leave your sway bar conected to limit down travel. I would not sale the spacers to go with the Eibach springs if they did'nt work for me.
Dennis