it has been brought to my attention that there may be some of you out there that would rather have a suspension lift kit in the same vein of the original Eibach kit, or, in other words, about 2.5" up front and about 1.5" out back. this means that it is not necessary to alter anything else in the suspension, except getting an alignment after the install. it would lift your vehicle enough to run a 30" tire and with the body lift from 4crawler, enough to run a wide 31" tire or a really skinny 33" tire.

if i can get a set of Eibachs (one each, front and rear) i can have this option made to be very similar to them, maybe tweak it just a little for a tiny bit more height, stiffness, etc. i can't say what the price might be just yet because the price of steel has gone up considerably since i started having the 4" coils made and i am getting a damn good deal on those, as far as i can tell. i am shooting for a $300-350 range, and again, this would include coils only. you will have to get new rear shocks in order to see the benefits of the added droop and it is still recommended you get new front struts so that any sort of wear pattern your current struts may have developed will not cause your seals to leak, thus leaking any gas charge those struts may have.

this leaves the option open for anyone who may want to add Dennis Thompson's UpYourKia spacers later for the full 4" lift.

this kit will be designed more for budget than anything else, while the RSG 4" kit is designed with maximum articulation in mid for rock-crawling.

so, who wants this? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/zombie.gif" alt="" />

I will be considering a 2" lift for my two-door in a few months, or sooner.

ok, there's one........

After the 5.38 gears are available, I'm considering putting on 32" tires. I would prefer to trim fenders as much as possible and do a lift as a last resort, but would do a 2" lift if absolutely necessary. I feel that the added ground clearance is not worth the increase in center of gravity and reduction of suspension travel. If I just put taller springs in front, it seems to me that the suspension is already so close to the limit of the downward travel, that a front tire will constantly be off the ground. With an open front diff, one tire off the ground is as good as RWD only. Can you explain to me how you get more flex in front by putting in taller springs?

because the 4" kit also spaces the strut downward. when the strut is spaced downward, the lever action of the a-arm allows the extra 1" of downtravel to translate to around 2" while only hindering uptravel by about a 1/2". it's all in the placement of the strut travel. now, this measurement also includes trimming the front bumpstops from about 1-1/4" down to about 1/2-3/4" and disconnecting the sway-bar.

now, with a 2" lift, one would not alter the stock spacing of the strut and would therefore retain stock travel numbers, not hindering or lengthening it. due to the new spring rates, it may take more pressure to compress the spring completely, but the available travel is still there.

the main increase in any suspension alterations made will be in the rear. with either a 2" or 4" kit, one should also include longer rear shocks and as such, will immediately add travel to the rear suspension, albeit, altering the arc of that travel, yet still increasing it. also, with my rear shock relocation kit, one could expect to at least double the amount of suspension travel available from the rear suspension.

in any IFS system, when equipped with a straight rear axle, one can expect that the IFS will always end up with less travel than the rear and that the rear will be easier to create more travel with minimal mods.

and just for your information, neither the 2" nor 4" kit raises the COG enough to be worried about in terms of road stability. i ran the 4" of lift with no sway-bar for 3 years, 2 of those years being the 4" kit i now sell. i also ran my rear shock relocation kit for those 2 years and even though they mount in an "A" shape above the rear axle, the body roll was not significantly increased to such a point i thought i should need my sway-bar back on. unless you take corners at 50+ mph, you shouldn't be worried about body roll much.

one last thing- you can't cut the fenders enough to run a 32" tire with no rubbing on only 2" of suspension lift, believe me, i ran this set-up. the rear fenderwells will have to be cut so much that you'll cut into the cargo area of the passenger compartment and the firewall in front is just too damn close to the tires, not to mention, the turn signal placement. a 31" tire may be ok, and i know a 30" tire is fine with no lift as long as you run stock rims, but even they still rub up inside the fenders a bit.

man... that information should be stickied cause it's asked sooo many times. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Yeah, it's too bad we all don't have a nickel for every time it's been asked... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

If it's not possible to cut the fenders enough to fit 32" tires without a lift, than you are implying that limiting upward suspension travel is required. You can compensate for this in the back by increasing downward travel, but in front, in my opinion, the only way to increase downward travel is to drop the differential or find CV joints that are designed to operate at more severe angles. No wonder you were breaking CV joints when you had IFS! Thanks for your input; you definitely saved me a lot of trouble. You are a gold mine of Sportage info. I'll go with 31" tires and no lift. 31 is a better match to the 5.38 gears anyway.

i broke one CV..... ever. and it was due to that side being at full droop and at full-lock turn and having a lot of wheel-spin stopped immediately upon the tire touching the ground. yes, the extra down-travel was a factor, but a small factor. the CV's are plenty strong enough to handle most off-road situations and will last a long time when used with either suspension lift mentioned above.

just so you know, i suggested tire sizes to you as maximums, not options. 30's are really the max you can run on a stock rim with no lift. if you actually get a shop to mount a 31 on the stock rim (not common), they will rub more than i think you estimate. you will need to trim A LOT and it still may not be enough. i understand you concerns about center of gravity and body roll, but if these were concerns at all at the time of purchase, why buy a Sportage, it comes equipped with a certain amount of body roll from the factory and it's COG is already something like 20" off the ground. my suggestion to you if you truly plan on going this route, is to get a 1-1.375" body lift from 4crawler (roger brown) found elsewhere here on 4x4wire. this will lessen the amount the COG is raised and offer what should be enough room to run a 31 with the same sort of fender trimming you are looking at right now. and it's easy to do and cheap.

good luck whatever you do, and now back to WHO ACTUALLY WANTS A 2" OR 2.5/1.5" SUSPENSION LIFT KIT?

thank you

I would be interested in a small lift, what struts and shocks would you recommend? I like the idea of coils over spacers.