I know there are hundreds of threads on suspensions but my question is, in your opinion which suspension flexes the best??? I have narrowed it down to....well I am looking at BDS/Cepeck(I think the same) Tough Country or Rancho. I Skyjacker is ok but seems to be a little out of my range. I will be getting the stage II with radious arms

 

what height?

 

Rancho is a good quality lift, I personally like skyjacker.

 

Whats wrong with Superlift?

 

Nothing is wrong with superlift, I would say they are the same quality as skyjaker, but I'm going with skyjaker because they're red and my truck is red and black, superlift is yellow.
The colors don't change the performance any, but they're about the same price and I don't want to change colors of all my parts after I buy them.

 

All my superlift stuff came black except the shocks which are white.
If I had it do do again I would like to try the tuff country adjustable pivot brackets.

 

If you put the pivot brackets and radius arm brackets etc. from Skyjacker, Superlift, Rancho, Rough Country, and Trailmaster side my side, the ONLY difference you will be able to SEE other than the different colors would be the extra two holes in the one axle pivot bracket that Superlift drills in it so that IF you buy their Superunner Steering system, there is a place to mouth the idler arm. Some of the manufacturers even use the same machining facility to build their components. I found this out when researching my own lift and the sales guy at one of our local 4x4 shops laid a Skyjacker, Superlift, and Rancho axle pivot bracket out on the counter side by side. He said he had never really looked at it until he got a notice one time about a bad batch (drilled slightly off) and he got the notice from two or three different manufacturers so he decided it had to be more than coincidence.

Now springs are a different matter and the spring-shock marriage is what will make or break your articulation (flex, wheel travel, whatever) capabilities and the quality of your ride. Its something to keep in mind when you are buying. IF you are pushing the envelope on unsprung weight, i.e. tires at the max. allowable size for the lift and/or steel wheels instead of some aluminum alloy, then you might consider a beefier shock the help control that additional unsprung weight. If the truck is going to be carrying anything heavy, like a winch on the front or a lot of gear out back, then make sure your springs are of high enough quality to retain their ride height after a few years of bouncing around on them.

If you are looking to customize your lift even further than just a kit from one manufacturer, consider talking to the guys over at Jack-It. They basically taylor the lift kits they sell based on what you tell them your intended use of the truck will be. You may get Tuff Country axle pivots and Superlift radius arms with a set of Skyjacker springs. They basically have researched the snot out of the lift kits that are available and they mix and match to suit their customers' needs.

 

Awesome,
thank for all the info.

 

I had rancho and wouldn't buy it again, well made yes but my camber was way off becasue their radius brackets don't drop down enough and you can't install a superlift steering kit on them. So I ordered superlift dropdown brackets, which fixed my camber problem (yes I could have gotten an alignment) and was able to instrall a superlift steering kit.