Uberoo Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 Im planning on putting a 3" lift on my brat. would thick wall(.25) 2X3" square tubing be strong enough or is it overkill?At $196 be 20 ft stick its spendy. I plan to use my brat to go offroad,which may include longitudutinal loads on suspension from logs and whatnot,some high speed running could also happen. thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75subie Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 if you spend that much on supplies, why don`t you just buy one from AA or BYB?? you will also need a londer steering shaft, and brake lines. .25 square tubing would be plenty strong in my opinion. good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott in Bellingham Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 Im planning on putting a 3" lift on my brat. would thick wall(.25) 2X3" square tubing be strong enough or is it overkill?At $196 be 20 ft stick its spendy.I plan to use my brat to go offroad,which may include longitudutinal loads on suspension from logs and whatnot,some high speed running could also happen. thanks in advance. 3/16 wall will do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88HatchMonster Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 If you're NOT planning on connecting each of the lift blocks with 2x2 tubing, then 1/4" is definitely the thickness you want to go with. If you are going to tie it all together then you can go with as thin as 1/8" thick for a 3" lift. BTW, you should only need about 4 feet of tubing to make the 14 to 18 (depending on how you build it) lift blocks. Should be well under $80 for all necessary steel even if you buy 2x2 to tie it all together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstaru Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 If you're NOT planning on connecting each of the lift blocks with 2x2 tubing, then 1/4" is definitely the thickness you want to go with. If you are going to tie it all together then you can go with as thin as 1/8" thick for a 3" lift. BTW, you should only need about 4 feet of tubing to make the 14 to 18 (depending on how you build it) lift blocks. Should be well under $80 for all necessary steel even if you buy 2x2 to tie it all together. maybe if you live near the steel capitol of the world:grin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uberoo Posted May 26, 2006 Author Share Posted May 26, 2006 I plan on conecting it with 2x2 tubing.I can get away with 1/8 wall?wont it bend? BTW about much 2x2 do I need to buy?theres the connectors between the pieces of 2x3 and then theirs the bits that move the rear diff down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soobmater Posted May 26, 2006 Share Posted May 26, 2006 my lift is made out of 1/4 inch steel, but it is not connected. If you connect the blocks, then i would say use 3/16, just to be save, because 1/8 just seems wimpy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrap487 Posted May 26, 2006 Share Posted May 26, 2006 1/4" is a must, 1/8" is dangerous, and you will bend the crap out of 3/16" as far as to tie them together, I'm not sure but I'd use at least 3/16" for that... and yes you have to tie them together cause you will shear bolts off and such if you dont. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted May 26, 2006 Share Posted May 26, 2006 Bolts arent cheap either... Steel + bolts + time and effort = more than it would cost to just get a PK or BYB lift. -Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrap487 Posted May 26, 2006 Share Posted May 26, 2006 Bolts arent cheap either... Steel + bolts + time and effort = more than it would cost to just get a PK or BYB lift. -Brian but then you also get something built specifically to your specifications, and probably stronger and better since you're able to actually do some welding yourself, such as tying the engine and tranny crossmember lift blocks together and such(which would be a LOT harder to ship if anyone who made lifts did that... but what do I know, I did 6" with 3/16" and didnt tie anything together at all untill recently, and that caused me plenty of problems... and really if you can get the exact amount of metal you need and not have to buy whole 20ft sticks of it, I really doubt its more expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted May 26, 2006 Share Posted May 26, 2006 No thats cool and all... wanting to do it yourself. Thats what this board is all about. But for a 3" kit, a subframe is way overkill. If your gonna do all that, why stop at 3"? Do a 6 or 8" lift. -Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88HatchMonster Posted May 26, 2006 Share Posted May 26, 2006 Bolts arent cheap either... Steel + bolts + time and effort = more than it would cost to just get a PK or BYB lift. -Brian If he's tying the lift blocks together, then he will be able to reuse the stock bolts to bolt it up into the body, and the only bolts he will have to buy will be 1 1/2" long bolts to bolt the subframe to the lift. These will be much cheaper than the long bolts that come with a PK or AA lift. As far as the thickness debate goes, here's why I say 1/8" will be fine. First, it's only 3" of lift. Second, all blocks will be joined together. Once the blocks are welded together, even with 1/8" wall you'll end up with a framework many times stronger than any other peice on your rig. I just took some measurements off of my kit. You will need 18 2" long 2x3" blocks. That is 36" of 2x3" For connectors you will need about 116" of 2x2" box (this includes a long piece to run across the rear over the torsion bar). So just to be safe, lets call that about 4 feet of 2x3 and about 12 feet of 2x2. http://www.metalsdepot.com has that in 1/8" wall for $73.36 total + shipping. Usually my local steel yard runs about 40% cheaper than them, yours should too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phizinza Posted May 26, 2006 Share Posted May 26, 2006 Do a 6 or 8" lift. -Brian I have this problem. If you remember the FAQ sticky, it said why do a 6 when you could do an 8? And then why stay at 8 when you can goto 12? ... So, if I want to do a 2" lift, I may as well do a 4... and then I may as well do a 6", then a 8" then a 10, then a 12inch.... so my little Brat turns into MONSTER BRAT.... lol, sorry, just had to say it. (prolly the most confusing thing you have every read, will every read, and you are still going...? huh?) For my 2" lift "upgrade" I am going to put in all solid alloy lift blocks and new hi tensile bolts... It is amazing how cheap the alloy was ($42AUD/$32USD a meter) and it only takes 1300mm to do the whole car. I prefer the solid alloy lifts, but the steel tubing is ok, don't forget to put the round tube in the lift blocks for the bolts to go through.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uberoo Posted May 26, 2006 Author Share Posted May 26, 2006 round tube? id be using 2 bolts at each attachment point.one for body to lift blocks,one for lift blocks to crossmemers and such.Im gonna go with 3/16 2x3 tubing and 3/16 2x2 tubing.then just buying the front strut extensions from byb or something. why do I need 36" of 2x3? 14 2x2x3 blocks = 28" plus 1.75 for cutting losses.so 29.75 or 30" to be on the safe side. all this should take place somethime next month,im thinking glue lift blocks together, then remove complete lift blocks until I wear out the set of 205/60/15 snowtires(decent traction in mud) then i'll get 27X9.5X15 super swamper SSR's...yaaaa.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrap487 Posted May 26, 2006 Share Posted May 26, 2006 round tube? id be using 2 bolts at each attachment point.one for body to lift blocks,one for lift blocks to crossmemers and such.Im gonna go with 3/16 2x3 tubing and 3/16 2x2 tubing.then just buying the front strut extensions from byb or something. why do I need 36" of 2x3? 14 2x2x3 blocks = 28" plus 1.75 for cutting losses.so 29.75 or 30" to be on the safe side. 36" because either you need 18 blocks, or you have to fab something up for the rear diff hanger. If you are going to use 3/16" at least box them in, take the extra step now so you can avoid problems later. And really, you want the lift to NOT break before any other parts on the car. As the parts for your lift weren't originally incorperated into the cars design you want to overengineer them so they DONT fail and are strong and rigid. You'd rather not be introducing another weak point by cutting corners, dont be like Jeep. I recomend against long bolts, since bolts are designed to stretch(which is what generates the clamping force that makes them usefull). As far as lifting goes, I dont see any amount of lift higher than 6-8" being any more useful for a subaru, especially body lift because it doesnt really improve your approach/departure angles by much(more can be achieved by triming, dry sump and relocating the radiator) and break over angle wont get any better because of your driveline or tcase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phizinza Posted May 26, 2006 Share Posted May 26, 2006 round tube? id be using 2 bolts at each attachment point. Ahh, ok, sounds good. The round tube is for when only using 1 bolt, and not doubling up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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