To lift or not to lift 2wd compact suv?

[CamoDeafie]

Curious. I'm considering replacing the P All Season tires on my 2001 Kia Sportage with a set of snow tires, LT, or M/T tires for studlesswinter/mountain duties, but it seems I would need to a slight lift if I want to go bigger than what I am running (205/75s on 15" wheels)..

Since the Kia is a 2wd model and not the 4x4 model, does it make sense to do a 3"-4" lift on it for larger traction tires?

I am able to get the following pieces that works;
2003 TJ 4 cyl Wrangler rear coil springs unsure of which specific model the springs are... they came with following numbers on their sticker tags; 104AA,105AA,106AA; the last being Rubicon specific I believe..
Pair of 1999ish RAV4 rear shocks

And www.upyourkia.com 's front lift kit with rear spring support components


Overall cost will be between $255 and $300 depending on the expense of the RAV4 shocks.
Of course a set of 4-5 traction/snow/m/t tires would set me back quite a bit... thinking either 235/75/15s, or 30x9.5s, probably on steel wheels with 3.75" back spacing (5 lug 5.5" bolt pattern)
Edited; to clarify the type of tires I'm looking at

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[Certaindeaf]

Truck nutz and call er good.

 

[benchmark]

Curious. I'm considering replacing the P All Season tires on my 2001 Kia Sportage with a set of snow tires, LT, or M/T tires for winter/mountain duties, but it seems I would need to a slight lift if I want to go bigger than what I am running (205/75s on 15" wheels)..

Since the Kia is a 2wd model and not the 4x4 model, does it make sense to do a 3"-4" lift on it for larger traction tires?

I am able to get the following pieces that works;
2003 TJ 4 cyl Wrangler rear coil springs unsure of which specific model the springs are... they came with following numbers on their sticker tags; 104AA,105AA,106AA; the last being Rubicon specific I believe..
Pair of 1999ish RAV4 rear shocks

And www.upyourkia.com 's front lift kit with rear spring support components


Overall cost will be between $255 and $300 depending on the expense of the RAV4 shocks.
Of course a set of 4-5 traction/snow/m/t tires would set me back quite a bit... thinking either 235/75/15s, or 30x9.5s, probably on steel wheels with 3.75" back spacing (5 lug 5.5" bolt pattern)

Don't waste your money. Snow chains on that and call it good.

 

[Flymph]

Probably no point to any of that, but it will look cool! If you can do it cheaply, go for it.
Why not?

 

[CamoDeafie]

Lol @Certaindeaf . I dont need truck nutz. Mine does enough

And preemptive strike for those who are gonna say "just get a pick up/jeep"... its my only vehicle and I aint got the moolah or credit history to finance another one... besides... the basic specs of this one is pretty good for a 2wd SUV.
Mazda engine
5 speed manual
Solid rear axle
1,000lb tow capacity (same as 4cyl TJ Wranglers and CJs!)
Full box ladder frame

Don't waste your money. Snow chains on that and call it good.

I have chains, but i hate how they drive with the chains on, especially when on pavement only used snow chains once on the Kia, when it had the wrong tires (ST trailer tires!? What the heck....) and they didnt inspire confidence... got the A/S the next spring.. this was back in 2017 though.
But that is why I am considering snow/mountain tires, possibly in the Light Truck size class instead of huge knobbies...

Purposes? Some snow, mostly going off forest service roads and onto beaches for camping and fun stuff.

But I have yet to find a set of snows or mountain tires in sizes smaller than 235/75R15s for a good price

 

[Flymph]

It's probably more of a hassle than it's worth...
You'll have to have them removed 7 months of the year.

 

[41mag]

Friendly inquiry: do you want to be talked INTO or OUT of this?

Has anyone you know ever done this or seen it work?

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Hell no!

 

[benchmark]

Buy these and call it good....or chains

 

[slimmer13]

Bigger snow tires are a bad idea. Surface area is your enemy in snow.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Friendly inquiry: do you want to be talked INTO or OUT of this?

Has anyone you know ever done this or seen it work?

Nobody I know around here owns a Kia sportage. however, theres an entire subforum just for that generation Kia Sportage on 4x4wire with a lot of people running the same lift kits and TJ spring/rav4 shock combos on their 4x4 sportages... and then theres the guys in Thailand who went and did a 6"+ solid axle suspension lift... seems theres also a Sportage club in Russia or Ukraine... and a bunch in the Phillipines and Australia who flog theirs... I have been watching youtube videos...
What got me seriously thinking of lifting it... the video that showed that winter tires/snow tires on a 2wd always does better than a set of summer tires on a 4wd in the snow. Granted the All Seasons I have are a little better than summer tires but.... after driving them around the forest service roads and campgrounds... I really think actual traction tires would do me better.

Bigger snow tires are a bad idea. Surface area is your enemy in snow.

Find me a snow or traction tire set that fits 15" rims that arent 235/75s and costs less than the 235/75s

Did consider going bias ply mil style but their prices are way too high and I seriously dont think the steering system is meant for bias plies

 

[Flymph]

Yeah... wouldn't a lift kit in sand just sink further?

Bigger snow tires are a bad idea. Surface area is your enemy in snow.

depends on the depth and pack really...
Also, I can't imagine the advantage of studs on sand.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Thats why i'm focusing on studless snow tires, or the M/T tires which probably would be better traction tires.

 

[slimmer13]

"CamoDeafie, post: 2118760, member: 16459"]Find me a snow or traction tire set that fits 15" rims that arent 235/75s and costs less than the 235/75s

No idea but I feel like you want snow tires, and went to the tire store, they would have some that would fit without having to get a freaking lift kit.

If you want to do it anyway, and want an excuse, knock yourself out, but do keep in mind, bigger isn't better for snow.

 

[Camelfilter]

Not worth it, IMO.

The winter tires for my truck are not as tall as the summers I run, simply because I bought them for a decent deal. Craigslist back East. Studded snows. One size smaller than OEM. Where the summer tires for that truck are +1, or one size taller than OEM.

Do I lose some offhighway clearance? Yes, but it's not enough to offset the savings. Just pick a better line, plus the traction far than makes up for lost clearance. That's us though.

The on road traction running the shorter tires is well worth it, again though, for us.

Depends of course how much off highway driving you'll be doing, and wether that little bit of extra clearance will offset the price of the new tires (...and the headaches that can go along with trying to lift).

For the speed, and fuel estimation in my truck, I have a tuner which I can adjust to the size of the tire set. So that speed is adjusted correctly (checked it with GPS, it's spot on). Handy, so trip fuel usage isn't a guesstimate, and nether is speed-most important so as not to get speeding tickets.

Edit, adding: possible freeze coming on down here ATM, and I've yet to swap over the to the studs...ugh...only so much time in a day.

 

[USMC1911]

On such a small and lightweight vehicle stay away from a LT tire as no need and will be tuff to air down for the sand. The ride quality on a LT will also suffer. BFG offers a 215/75/15 ($150ish per tire) in their all terrain that is exceptional in the snow. Have that tire on both my trucks and have used them on several others over the years with great success. As for the lift it really depends. Not sure how the sportage is setup suspension wise so no opinion.

 

[cigars]

I have a 02 Rav4 that's front wheel drive only and a five speed manual. It is worthless in the snow until I put chains on it. Then it's unstoppable. If I were to lift it and put bigger tires on it wouldn't help one bit. Even just Blizzaks wouldn't be much help.
Chains rule the day on these short wheel base SUV's.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Stock, the Kia has 6" of ground clearance between ground and bottom of frame @cigars; the 2wd Kia is a RWD vehicle; body on frame, much like the old Samurai/Sidekick/Troopers, and similar to the Jeep CJs and Wranglers.

@USMC1911 ; it's like this.
Front; Struts with double A arms
Rear; Solid axle, coil springs and shocks; trailing arms and a tranverse rod (panhard rod)

for front lift, requires spacers where struts mount to body. However, it also require sway bar extensions, and a few other small things... Upyourkia kit comes with those, as well as bushings and bump stops for the rear shocks and springs. spacer sizes are 1" for 2" lift, 1.5" for 3" lift, 2" for 4" lift... Stock Jeep Wrangler TJ springs gives between 3" to 5" lift. the RAV4 shocks are long enough to use the Jeep TJ springs in place of stock Kia springs.

 

[cigars]

Stock, the Kia has 6" of ground clearance between ground and bottom of frame @cigars; the 2wd Kia is a RWD vehicle; body on frame, much like the old Samurai/Sidekick/Troopers, and similar to the Jeep CJs and Wranglers.

@USMC1911 ; it's like this.
Front; Struts with double A arms
Rear; Solid axle, coil springs and shocks; trailing arms and a tranverse rod (panhard rod)

for front lift, requires spacers where struts mount to body. However, it also require sway bar extensions, and a few other small things... Upyourkia kit comes with those, as well as bushings and bump stops for the rear shocks and springs. spacer sizes are 1" for 2" lift, 1.5" for 3" lift, 2" for 4" lift... Stock Jeep Wrangler TJ springs gives between 3" to 5" lift. the RAV4 shocks are long enough to use the Jeep TJ springs in place of stock Kia springs.

RWD makes a difference. There's some nice looking Kia's on that website. I can see where a lift might help but it's a lot of hassle. Being it's still 2WD, wouldn't a good set of off winter rated tires (not M+S) get the job done?

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Lift and tires would cost ore than that sled is worth.