Law Lifted Trucks and Modified Vehicles

[nicapica]

Didn’t you just make another thread about your lifted truck???

Strange topic to bring up 2 times on a karate forum.

he needs a girlfriend. or his truck is his gf.

 

[grizzard2bid]

Sounds like TS still feels inadequate after his modest lift

There will always be a higher truck out there!

Frankly, I rarely see a taller truck then mine. At most once maybe twice a week . My modest lift is 5'' on a tall stock heavy duty truck and bigger tires bring it about 6'' over stock and it's about as tall as I can make it without making it dangerous. It is exactly 7ft tall bare roof height.

What the jabronies do who lift higher is they customize the frame that was designed by high-level engineers and elevate center of gravity where resistance to rollover is way outside the already tippy parameters.

Do you know what an offset is? Basically it's how far wheel rims deviate from factory specs where the wheel is meant to contact rotors. Positive offset is when you got a wheel "hidden" in the wheel well and negative offset is when you got wheels/rims sticking out typically. Well, the higher you lift the more negative offset you have to get- so you end up with this eventually:

Problem with what you see above is that it becomes much more difficult to control, even with added shock absorbers. All suspension components are stressed to the max, there are massive vibrations, and not to mention you're tossing rocks all the way behind you. So a vehicle with compromised steering and stressed suspension components, while having an unsafe center of gravity is just not something that anyone should be able to do. And trucks like you see above constantly tow big things by people who know very little about proper towing.

So that's where the issues arise.

 

[grizzard2bid]

he needs a girlfriend. or his truck is his gf.

My trucks looks better than my last girlfriend, for sure.

 

[Ripskater]

Can someone explain the practical benefit of a lifted truck vs a non lifted truck?

I'll let my friends explain it to you.

This one goes out to @zebby

 

[TeTe]

California laws make it difficult to mod my Camaro, but I find ways around it.

 

[grizzard2bid]

California laws make it difficult to mod my Camaro, but I find ways around it.

A Camero isn't likely to flip on a highway and weighs 1/2 of what these trucks weigh. Sports/Muscle cars mainly pose noise nuisance, but never a real safety issue.

 

[7437]

A Camero isn't likely to flip on a highway and weighs 1/2 of what these trucks weigh. Sports/Muscle cars mainly pose noise nuisance, but never a real safety issue.

as a sportbike person, lifted trucks arent that dangerous.

 

[grizzard2bid]

as a sportbike person, lifted trucks arent that dangerous.

All depends on lift height. 2-3'' will be no real difference to stock.
4-6'', requires wider stance with negative offset for stability
7-12'' requires very wide stance and updated steering box/shock absorbers.
12" plus lifts have no business on any highway. They are no longer safe and best way to describe driving one is like driving a boat- it floats from side to side and you sway.

I don't want to see 1/2 tons and 3/4 ton trucks lifted to 8-9ft at the expense of everyone else on the road.

 

[7437]

All depends on lift height. 2-3'' will be no real difference to stock.
4-6'', requires wider stance with negative offset for stability
7-12'' requires very wide stance and updated steering box/shock absorbers.
12" plus lifts have no business on any highway. They are no longer safe and best way to describe driving one is like driving a boat- it floats from side to side and you sway.

I don't want to see 1/2 tons and 3/4 ton trucks lifted to 8-9ft at the expense of everyone else on the road.

eh, if people are paying attention, its no more dangeros. If people arent paying attention.... then those people are dangerous anyways.

 

[Ruprecht]

Can someone explain the practical benefit of a lifted truck vs a non lifted truck?

It can increase ground clearance and suspension articulation for serious off-roading if it's done right.
If it's done poorly it can actually decrease articulation (as well as causing poor handling, driveline and steering issues).
In Australia the term for people that do poorly engineered, aesthetic lifts on their 4WD which they never offroad anyway is, "wankers".

 

[Legumes]

You should probably be more concerned with poorly maintained shitboxes on the road than lifted trucks as there's a hell of a lot more of those out there.

 

[ThaiSexPills]

My two lifted trucks are both engineer certified to be safe for the road. Yes - that’s an actual thing.

I’d be more concerned with poorly maintained vehicles, improper tires and reckless/inattentive driving over someone with a lifted truck.

 

[Ultra O’Dia]

i think you make a good point, ts. ive been thinking lately that its shocking that a person can pass a simple drivers exam and then be licenced to drive a car or bike that goes 300km/hr. Just like you, ive had my share of fast vehicles, too. The world is cracking down on safety at work and everywhere, yet people die on the road more than by cancer or workplace accidents, or getting shot, or any form of terrorism.

 

[grizzard2bid]

eh, if people are paying attention, its no more dangeros. If people arent paying attention.... then those people are dangerous anyways.

I've driven 14 inch lift. It was done "right", tons of money put into it, but the truck was so out of spec in terms of CG and levers on steering that you could only safely drive it at 30-35mph, and slow way down on turns. If you've ever steered/driven a vessel/boat the experience was very similar.
This is when I knew 12" plus lift is not something that can be a street-safe vehicle. Smaller 8-12" lifts were borderline unsafe, but nothing like a 14 inch lift.

 

[grizzard2bid]

My two lifted trucks are both engineer certified to be safe for the road. Yes - that’s an actual thing.

I’d be more concerned with poorly maintained vehicles, improper tires and reckless/inattentive driving over someone with a lifted truck.

You're definitely in the minority of lifters. What's your lift brand and are you in the US?

 

[Seano]

Douchebagmobiles, is what I have always called those things.

 

[wufabufa]

You should probably be more concerned with poorly maintained shitboxes on the road than lifted trucks as there's a hell of a lot more of those out there.

A quick drive through a rust belt state with no safety inspection like Ohio is quite a trip. Half the cars are Chrysler mini vans that look like they belong marauding on the Fury Road. Cars with rust all the way through the floor boards, 4 mismatched tires, and bumpers attached to the car with coat hangers.

You are right, when you dump a shit ton of money into your vehicle in order to achieve a certain look, you're more than likely going to be anal about the mechanical state of the vehicle too.

 

[ObamaPhoneLady]

My main issue with lifted truck is the people who drive them tend to be overly aggressive drivers.

 

[MMAViewer]

I'm a huge hypocrite on this one.
I own an f350 twin turbo to pull my drag/street car.
I own a 4 runner too.
The 4runner will go anywhere on a 3 inch lift. Pass any lifted full size on the trail easily. It doesn't need much more lift than the 3inch to be a damn rock crawler.
No need to lift the f350. But had to remove the egr system to get the power I need. The exhaust emission is horrible same with the race car. I leave a huge footprint on race days.

In Colorado and Wyoming the cops and hp can pull you over for unsafe vehicle so if it looks sketchythey will pull you over....

 

[ThaiSexPills]

You're definitely in the minority of lifters. What's your lift brand and are you in the US?

No - Canada. It’s kind of law here. Not sure the exact law but I got two separate letters saying my trucks needed to be engineer certified. It cost $700 each and neither found any problems.

I have a 2017 f-350 platinum with a BDS lift, 4”. 37” tires. I also have a 93 dodge w250 diesel with a 6” skyjacker and 37’s. Both are around 7.5 feet tall roughly