Lift Kit for2008 H2

[H2sRock]

I'm looking at getting a 6" lift kit for my 2008 H2. I'm looking at Bulletproof, Fabtech, and Rancho but I'm looking for the best out there. I plan on doing a lot of city driving and off road stuff but reliability is a priority and driveability is right up there as well. I'm looking for a well built kit that has all the bells and whistles. My budget is around $13K for the lift kit (installed) tires and rims. And if anyone knows a good shop in the SLC area that would be good info as well.

First off what are the differences between these kits?

What other things will I need to get and what is the best out there, ie control arms, shocks, shock loops, tie rods, ect.

What tire/ rim combos would work without rubbing? Pics would be nice

How high would it be with the lift kit and say 38" tires? It needs to fit in my garage (7' 11") and I would like to put a rack on the roof and I can see that being an issue with a 6" lift and 38" tires so I may need to go with 37" if need be.

 

[alrock]

Not too many lifted H2s here but there are a few members, some a bit dormant. Try a PM to D.Kinsey, he might have some input. Also RuggedH2 may have some ideas and he's in SLC.

 

[Renagade132]

I'm considering the Fabtech myself, as far as heavy duty components, I suggest Kryptonite heavy duty tie rods and Kryptonite heavy upper control arms for starters.

 

[Mb30sdl]

I have one for sale. (FABTECH 6" with Tripple shocks front, top of the line what FABTECH sells.)

 

[citiboy]

I stuffed 38" MT tires with just a body lift and spacers. Check my signature for info.

 

[H2sRock]

That's a sweet rig CitiBoy. I like the looks of those 38" I was thinking of going with 37" but since I will be doing a lift I think I will need to go with 38" now. Do you get a lot of rubbing off road? Did you have to do a lot of trimming?

If you had to do it again is there anything you would have changed?

What kind of fuel milage are you getting?

 

[citiboy]

I used to get a lot of rubbing when off road but that's been eliminated by the 1" body lift. The only thing that rubs now are the two front tires at full steering lock on the frame (doesn't really bother me). That also can be eliminated by goin' with the less wheel offset. I went with the 0 offset (5.00 back spacing) for off road and to save also the wheel bearings. I only trimmed the front inner fender liner.

If the funds permits, i would go with Rancho 4" suspension lift with 40" MT tires.

Right now, my overall fuel mileage was not so great at 10mpg compares to 14-15mpg when i bought it stock. Planning to re-gear (4.88) soon to bring back some of it.

 

[Big2dabank]

Off the shelf lift kits like the ones you mentioned have their pros and cons. The biggest issue is that very few kits for the H2 avoid having to lower the torsion bars below the frame rails. So it does not improve ground clearance considerably. You can adapt some of the non-torsion bar drop kit components to the H2 to keep the torsion bars tucked into, but none of the lift kit manufacturers will warrant that. I personally prefer to do as much as possible without a lift kit, I've been wheeling pretty hard since the day I've owned mine and all I have are torsion keys and 2" coil spacers in the rear along with some 37s. If you want to dump 13K, I would spent it elsewhere like, torsion keys, coil spacers, tie-rods, center link, front upper control arms, shocks, rear upper/lower control arms, winch, gears, front locker, roof rack, on board air or power tank, tow straps, etc.. probably about 10K in parts right there, throw in some good 37s or 38s, there is another $2,500 or so.

My next mod will be to ditch my 4.56 gears and go with 5.12 gears and 40s. Then lots of trimming, 2" body lift, and more trimming with the goal of having the largest tire size possible with out a lift kit and keeping the CG as low as possible. I think 4.56 is perfect for 37s. But once you go to larger tires you need to step up the gears to keep it at or slightly above stock performance. If you want a noticeable bump in performance and don't need to tow things for long distances, then you can go with the next size up from what I have noted below.

For stock tires and gears;
(4.10 x 60mph x 336)/ 33.6 inches = 2460 rpm 3rd gear
2460 x 0.696 (overdrive) = 1712 rpm


For 37s
(4.56 x 60 mph x 336)/ 37 inches = 2485 rpm 3rd gear
2485 x 0.696 (overdrive) = 1729 rpm

For 38s
(4.88 x 60 mph x 336)/ 38 inches = 2589 rpm 3rd gear
2589 X 0.696 (overdrive) = 1802 rpm

For 40s with 5.12s
(5.12 x 60 mph x 336)/ 40 inches = 2580 rpm 3rd gear
2580 x 0.696 (overdrive) = 1796 rpm

For 40s with 5.38s
(5.38 x 60 mph x 336)/ 40 inches = 2711 rpm 3rd gear
2711 x 0.696 (overdrive) = 1887 rpm

 

[HummerBeast]

Is it required to regear to put on 37s? I too want to bump up a bit. Never considered having to regear and the costs associated with that adjustment. Thanks.

 

[Big2dabank]

Not a necessity, but run the numbers above with 37s and factory gears and you will find the rpms drop pretty low.

(4.10 x 60 x 336)/37 = 2234 rpm 3rd gear and 1554 rpm in overdrive, this is much lower than the OEM setup and the truck will feel sluggish and even shift much later.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ADOR]

I have a Rancho Lift kit on my 2005 H2, 4.88 gear, 38 inch Toyo MT tires. I have never taken the H2 off-roading. But I have towed a 5K lbs Travel Trailer with 4 adults, 2 kids and some gears inside the H2 and inside the Trailer. Pulled the trailer just fine on flat land. Uphill, speed dropped to about 35mph. The off-road shop who did the lift kit suggested that I re-gear if I want to go to 38 inch tires. Also bought a programmer to reprogram the computer to the correct gears and tire size.

 

[mudbug]

I agree with Big2b. If I sold my 2 and bought another one I would do what citiboy did plus add 1" spacer in the rear and a slight t-bar crank for front.
But...
I do love the way my 2 rides and Looks with the fabtech kit. I never had any problems with it and it has been offroad a few times. I do have the dirt logic shocks and they ride smooth but the finished has peeled off of them.
I run 37s with 4.88 gears with a programmer and the power is still nice. We have made numerous of trips in it to and from TX to CA.

I was originally going to buy rancho but they was on back order so I went with fabtech but both kits are about the same far as parts and function.

 

[Big2dabank]

Don't get me wrong, I love the look of the H2 with a lift kit. I just don't think its practical for what I do and that money can certainly go to lots of other places to improve the H2. Lets face it, the H2 is huge as it sits, in fact, the top of my rack is actually several inches higher than almost all the lifted jeeps I have ever run with and I have enough problems squeezing through tight ass trails as and under limbs as it is. Both mudbug and citiboy have great looking rigs, just two different approaches. My biggest problem has always been high centering my self and losing traction, and a lift doesn't help that much in that department because the torsion bars have to drop down proportional with the lift. Sure there are torsion bar relocation kits, that will help with that issue, but they do nothing to improve the suspension and in fact I think they may actually do more harm than good. You could replace the shocks with good coil overs and ditch the torsion bars, but by the time you weld on a bracket strong enough to support coil overs and upgrade to better UCAs, your nearly $3,000 right there, so your nearly halfway into a good DIY solid axle swap.

I worked with airbagit to adapted a kit to put airbags at all for corners of my H2. It replaces the shock tower and UCA with a beefier UCA and a stout airbag mount where the shock tower is located. This would give me some adjustability on the trail which may help to solve my high centering problem when I need the extra lift, but its all custom stuff, so its pure DIY and has been sitting on the shelf in my garage waiting for me to find the time. I'll get to it one of these days.

 

[Cajun_Tiger_Hummer]

I had the Fabtech on my black 2006 H2t, loved it. Make sure you upgrade the tie rods.

I'm currently running a 15" cognito lift on my desert sand metallic H2t and also love it.

 

[Big2dabank]

Dayum, you must be getting ready for mudfest up the road in Colfax, La. :thumbs:

 

[carlossi]

Fabtech is a popular choice but if you don't like the idea of cutting/trimming, go with Bulletproof.

 

[H2sRock]

35" vs 37"

Thinking about the lower center of gravity and the cost made me think that I should hold off on the lift kit for now and just try and stuff the biggest tires I can fit under the H2 without rubbing or changing out too much of the suspension. I would like to put 37" tires on with 20" rims but I have read so many things from some people who says it's fine and others say they get a lot of rubbing. So the question is should I stick with 35"s or go up to 37"s? The next question is if I go with 35"s or 37" on 20" rims what rims and tires sizes will work without rubbing on anything or wear things out too fast.

If i had to do something small to fit the 37"s on there I may do it... I'm just on a BUDGET because I blew the money that I was going to spend on the lift kit on a lower milage H2.

As a side note I will also be putting on Road Armor front and rear bumpers so that will be a little extra weight. Do you think I would need to beef up the suspension for that if I went with the 37"s??

Thanks in advance.

 

[Fish]

Get 37's or you will totally regret it. I have 37's and they only rub a little when the wheels are fully turned. I just have a t-bar crank and they fit fine and look great. As for rim sizes I can't help you, I stuck with 17's and they still take a beating off road. You may have to adjust the t-bars a little for the road armor but I doubt it.

 

[H2sRock]

Nice H2

Get 37's or you will totally regret it. I have 37's and they only rub a little when the wheels are fully turned. I just have a t-bar crank and they fit fine and look great. As for rim sizes I can't help you, I stuck with 17's and they still take a beating off road. You may have to adjust the t-bars a little for the road armor but I doubt it.

What size tires do you have?

Did you regear?

 

[Fish]

Tires are 37-12.50-17. I feel there is absolutely no need to re-gear, I tow my toy hauler with quads, firewood,70+ gal of water plus all the food and gear for a weeks worth of camping no problem. Regearing would always help but with 37's I feel the H2 does just fine :thumbs:

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[H2sRock]

Sweet!

Tires are 37-12.50-17. I feel there is absolutely no need to re-gear, I tow my toy hauler with quads, firewood,70+ gal of water plus all the food and gear for a weeks worth of camping no problem. Regearing would always help but with 37's I feel the H2 does just fine :thumbs:

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How much does all that weigh?

How does it do on steep hills pulling all that?

What backspacing and offset do you have?

 

[H2sRock]

Spa

With them no longer making H2's are there any parts I should hoard?


If I was to put the lift kit on the H2 do you think I should upgrade the suspension right away or is that something that could wait for 30K miles?


What are the best off road suspension parts I should get and a ballpark of the cost?


Thanks

 

[H2sRock]

37s

Did you have to do any trimming?

 

[Fish]

How much does all that weigh?

How does it do on steep hills pulling all that?

What backspacing and offset do you have?

I am guessing I'm around 7000 lbs fully loaded and it tows just fine going up hills. I do slow down but I'm definetly not "that guy"

To save wear and tear and going even slower I always fill my water tank once I get close to my destination so that saves around 500 lbs. As for backspacing and offset I will have to check. I got my wheels and tires from 4wheelparts so I trusted them and they got it right.

I did no trimming.

 

[H2sRock]

Thanks Fish,

That's great you didn't have to do any trimming.

Did you notice a big change in the ride quality when you adjusted the t-bars?

Did you upgrade any of your suspension?

Did the stock tires also rub for you?