At a loss for what to do...

First, my husband has lifted dozens of trucks, both for himself and others, old and new. However, he's never dealt with a 79 Bronco.

We're at a loss... we continuously go back and forth between a four inch standard flex kit, and a six inch superflex kit. If the prices were way different, that would help with our decision, but since they're both within $50.00 of each other, that's not enough to sway us either way.

Our dilemma stems from the recommended tire size with each kit, and what we've actually seen people run. We've heard people say that their bronco on a 6 inch superflex kit sits as high as some eight inch kits. They're running 37 and 38s. Recommended tire size is 36. We've heard of people running 35's with the four inch kit, and it recommends a 34.

We've seen pictures of a 4 inch kit on 35's that has perfect wheel well clearance. We've also seen 4 inch kits that look like the 35 is just crammed under there. We've seen six inch kits with 35's that look perfect. We've also seen six inch kits with 37's that look perfect. We've also seen six inch kits with 37's that look tight.

We were originally going to go with a 6 inch superflex kit with 37"s... problem is there's not a great selection of 37x12.50 or 13.50 x 15 tires out there for reasonable prices. We like the MT Baja Claw, and the Goodyear MTR. Thing is, with that size tire, we'd probably need to run 4.56 gears. The truck is set up stock with 4.09 front and 4.10's or 4.11's in the rear. (It has 33's on it right now, and there's just not enough wheel well clearance for our taste) However, if we went with 35's, we'd be comfortable leaving the gears for now.

The truck is a daily driver right now, but will soon become our second vehicle. I'll still drive it around town, but he'll have a commuter vehicle.

Basically what we want to accomplish is a good general off road rig, capable in the mud/snow/rough and rocky trails here in AZ. We're not going to do any really ********* rock crawling with it, but we do want something that can get out there and hold it's own in really rough terrain.

Every time we make up our mind, something changes it. I know that most tire sizes aren't true sizes (like the ones on it are 33's but measure 31.5). I also know the baja claw is fairly true (I believe the 35 actually measures 34.9). We were set on a four inch kit on 35's but then thought it might not be enough clearance. We decided we could add a body lift to it, but then why not get a 6" kit to start with. We decided on a 6" kit, with 35" Baja Claws (since the recommended size was 36, and most 36" tires actually measure around 35) then we saw a truck on a 6" Superlift kit sporting 37's and it looked PERFECT.

Anyway, sorry this was long (Yeah, we women talk a lot...) but we want some other opinions. What would you do? Does anyone out there have the superflex kit from Bronco Graveyard? Does it sit higher than normal kits? Any insight would be helpful.

What I've found over the years when installing lift kits on trucks and SUV's like the Bronco is that the actual height of a specific kit can vary by as much as 2 inches after it's installed on a vehicle. So a 6" supsension kit may gain you 5" over stock, average of 6", but now and then closer to 7". Part of this is from not replacing the entire suspension, including springs, bushings, ball joints, etc. If any of those parts are worn, you usually get a little less lift from the same kit than you would with new parts. You also hit the nail on the head by stating the wide difference in actual tire size between brands and rim widths for a mounted tire.

I think you will be very pleased witht the 6" Superlift kit and 35's or 36's on a 10" rim. A 4" kit will almost certainly fit those same tires, but you'll have a tad more clearance in the fenders.

I've been debating this same issue with my 78 Bronco and 79 F-150 4x4. The 79 F-150 has a 3" Skyjacker sups kit + 3" body kit, and the 35" BFG's fit just right. The 78 Bronco has stock suspension and 3" trimmed out of the front fenders, running 38" TSL Super Swampers. the previous owner removed the 3" body lift before selling it to me, so I either had to cut the fenders or install a lift kit. I'll see if I have a sidexside pic of the two, JSM84



Something else on the body lifts. The rag joint on the steering shaft was totally shot on both rigs, due to the increased angle from the body lift. Also, there is no pre-made kit to re-locate the bumpers, since the front frame horns make it hard to do. I fabbed my own kit for the 79 F-150 to raise the front bumper up to match the body lines.

I would have to say go for the 6 inch, it will fit both the 35's and the 37's nicely. If you go 4 inch your limited to the 35's, from my experience in the past you will regret the 4 and wish you had the 6

Thanks guys. After reading your replies and taking into consideration that a body lift would require some fabricating (which wouldn't be out of the question, but too time consuming for our tastes... we're rather impatient) and that with a 6" lift we have more options of tire sizes, we decided to go with a 6" on 35" Mickey Thompson Baja Claws. We're not going to go with a superflex kit, just the super deluxe Superlift kit from JBG. We've seen quite a few trucks with Superlifts on them and they seem to sit just right.

And we do have plenty of things worn out on the front end... but it's all getting fixed with the lift. New ball joints and all. Plus a new steering gear box. (Don't think any of that has been replaced in 30 years, so we're good to go for another 30 years...) We're also going to a dual steering stabilizer.

Thanks again for the input!

One other thing to add, with the 6inch lift try to get 6 inch lift springs for the rear, alot of the cheaper kits have like a 3 inch lift with springs and make up the difference with blocks. Blocks are dangerous, I know a guy that was almost killed when his blocks fell out on the highway and there a few guys on this site with some carnage pictures from the same thing. it costs a bit more for the springs but its well worth the safety and piece of mind that your lift kit is done properly.

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Hi Ruger,

My son and I put a 4" Rough Country lift on our 79 Bronco this summer. When we put the new springs in, the caster was Extremely negative. We decided to put a set of radius arm drop brackets to relieve some of the caster and the springs were really torqued/twisted, too. I measured from the ground to the fender well before and after bracket installation because I thought straightening out the springs and reducing the caster would add some lift to the front. Sure enough, we got just under 2" of lift! So you have to be careful when comparing 4 and 6" lifts. I believe mine is closer to a 6" lift in the front now. I have a nose up stance now, which i like, but we may replace the 3" blocks this summer w 4" blocks because sometimes she looks a little "squatty" in the back. Anyway we are just weekend warriors, but if ya'll have any questions when doing the install, maybe we can help. The pic of the spring was before we added the brackets. Good Luck! James and Billy

I put a 4 inch rough country lift and they say on the website that you can run 35's with the 4 inch. On Broncograveyard.com they tell you the recommended tire size for the lift that you are looking at. They recommend only going 36's with the 6.5 inch lift. The nice thing about the fords is that they have bigger wheel wells than the chevys. I have 33's on with my 4 inch and have plenty, plenty of room but i know someone that put 9 inches of lift on their chevy and they could only get 36s without cutting the wheel wells. As for me I am actually looking to upgrade to 35 inch tires from the 33s with a more aggressive tread