To lift or not to lift 2wd compact suv?

[CamoDeafie]

I'm not seeing any 205/75 or 215/75 R15s on craigslist.... a lot of 235s and 30-31×9.5-10.5 tires though looks like I need to go check out the latino tire shops and junkyards to see what they have.
@Camelfilter , I have a 10-15 year old set of Les Schwab chains

 

[Camelfilter]

Yah, bad timing to be looking for studded snows. Easier to find them after season...

 

[CamoDeafie]

Indeed. Well. We shall see. I had comitted to buying the stock tj rear springs at $15 for the pair..... likely I will just squirrel them away until I replace the 2wd Kia with a 4wd Kia... or acquire a 4wd Kia as a project to transfer things over... sure wish it was simple and cheap to just find a rolling 4 door 4wd Kia Sportage chassis with complete transfercase and both axles already on it.....

Edit in case y'all wondering why not just get the 4wd Kia Sportage front driveline and transfer case.. the 2wd 4 door frame does not have the 3 mounts for the transfer case and axle parts which makes it the ideal candidate for a silly high lift, solid axle, rock crawling cutesy bruiser and good suspension engineering would be required for such a rig... probably a lot of measuring, welding, cutting stock suspension tabs, welding new ones for new ideal angles, and so on...

 

[Jonnyuma]

My .02 (admittedly, without having read every post) and what I would do:
Nevermind the lift. On IFS vehicles (independent front suspension) getting everything from the transfer case forward into spec, or even close, takes money, and lots of it. A simple spring swap is easy enough, but the odd angles will cause steering issues, driveshaft vibrations, and premature wear... it'd be cheaper in the long run to buy a 4wd vehicle. That doesn't even address the added weight of the larger tires and the possibility of larger (heavier) rims w less backspacing.

Since you said early-on that the Kia had a live rear axle I would look into a locking differential. A selective locker (like an ARB air-locker) should be available for your rig. Old Man Emu would be a good place to start... they're out of Australia and carry lots of parts imports that aren't Toyotas.

A decent set of all terrain tires and a locked-up diff will get you out of most situations. A set of chains for the rest. The selective lockers aren't cheap, but neither are winches and professional off-road recovery

Don't forget a shovel, jack, snatch-strap, gloves, etc.

FWIW, I also like "oddball" 4x4s... my favorite being the boxy 80s Isuzu Trooper lls and the Mitsu Montero/Dodge Raider twins. They're as close to the shape/style of a Land Rover Defender as my bank account will let me get. A boxy Cherokee (XJ) with a 4.0l is about as basic as you can get... easy to work on, tons of parts, cheap to get into and maintain. Tax time is coming, buy a Jeep

 

[CamoDeafie]

The Up Your Kia lift kit... its been around since at least 2008... (oldest posts on 4x4 wire) BUT here's the fascinating factoid. Kia KMC used to offer lift spacers for the Sportage/Retona series straight from the factory... lift was around 40mm, for both front and rear spacers.. front spacers went into the top, rear spacers on the bottom underneath the coil springs.. however they sold a shock extension bit as well.. this was back in 2007. For the last 10 or so years, theres been enough real world results and research in a manner of speaking on what works for this specific generation Kia Sportage... so it seems way back when they were new... Kia foresaw a small aftermarket for them and apparently engineered the Kia Sportage/Retona/KM131/420 models to be able to take a lift, nothing as major as Jeep Wranglers, but a lift nonetheless. Not exactly sure if the "40mm lift" referred to how much lift, or the spacer size, as i see on Ebay that there are 30mm spacers available... according to Everet from Upyourkia, the front strut spacers works out to give twice the real lift per size of spacer.. 1"/25mm=2"/50mm, 1.5"=3", 2"=4", and the 2" is the largest size he offers, because beyond that, things get dicey on the IFS clearances and angles (says after 4", need to go custom solid axle swap, if not combined with body mount lift)

 

[CamoDeafie]

Edit. Apparently only the front differentials are the same as used on Mazda rears.. supposedly there are lockers for those.
Also, it seems like some 1st gen Sportages came with rear LSD axles... this is the model to look for... not sure how to confirm if i have open rear or not, other than "jack it up and turn the rear wheels and see"
1995-2002 Kia Sportage Differential Assembly 0K048-27200A | discountkiaparts.com

 

[DirectDrive]

Edit. Apparently only the front differentials are the same as used on Mazda rears.. supposedly there are lockers for those.
Also, it seems like some 1st gen Sportages came with rear LSD axles... this is the model to look for... not sure how to confirm if i have open rear or not, other than "jack it up and turn the rear wheels and see"
1995-2002 Kia Sportage Differential Assembly 0K048-27200A | discountkiaparts.com

You might be able to tell from the VIN
Or just get that Rubicon and call it a day.

 

[notazombie]

Borrow a trailer...
2002 Kia Sportage
1996 Kia Sportage

 

[308]

Uber to work when it snows.

Haa! Yeah put your life in the hands of a Prius driving Somalian with a green card.

 

[308]

I'm less worried about beating them up off road than I would be with a much newer vehicle for all the crap... it has been reliable to me. Granted, it's only got 135k miles on it right now with regular maintenance.... Then again, I haven't quite abused it off road anyhow (it pays to know my limitations)

I can't justify a Subaru, even after selling the Kia Not when I can get a Blazer, a Cherokee, a CJ-5, or really, any other 4x4 pickup/truck/SUV......

I'm a car guy and have owned everything from a VW Bug to a 500hp Porsche Turbo and I have to say no car or truck ever owned by me has gone through snow and ice like my last two Subarus. I owned a 2009 Outback and it was awesome and now a 2016 Crosstrek. Add some Blizacks or Michelin X-Ice studless tires and they stick like glue. The only problemo is those tires are soft and will wear quickly with extended dry pavement/dirt/gravel use, plus they are about $800 a set mounted on steel rims from America's Tire.

 

[CamoDeafie]

I'm a car guy and have owned everything from a VW Bug to a 500hp Porsche Turbo and I have to say no car or truck ever owned by me has gone through snow and ice like my last two Subarus. I owned a 2009 Outback and it was awesome and now a 2016 Crosstrek. Add some Blizacks or Michelin X-Ice studless tires and they stick like glue. The only problemo is those tires are soft and will wear quickly with extended dry pavement/dirt/gravel use, plus they are about $800 a set mounted on steel rims from America's Tire.

I get that they're awesome in the snow. But not $3,000+ for 200k+ miles abused Outback awesome at least, from what I could find, people are stupidly proud of their Subarus in Oregon/Washington... similar to the Wrangler and Toyota cultists
Yes I am cheap, I don't have money/credit to plop down for much newer vehicles.
@notazombie I've been eyeing those two... thinking if I could convince my family mechanic to bring one of them down for me to convert my 2wd over to a 4wd.... it might be as simple as swap frames and carry forth front drivetrain, it may not, depending on the condition of the parts.
Edit; it might be cheaper to replace the head gasket on the $500 one along with timing belt and clutch... not sure of the $450 one

 

[notazombie]

I wouldn't even consider trying to do a 4wd conversion or a frame swap. I was thinking more like swap your engine in to a 4wd and use the best of the interior and other parts to make a nicer car. Then either save your 2wd for parts or sell it with the bad engine as a "mechanic's special". If you don't count labor, it really wouldn't cost that much.

 

[Jonnyuma]

I wouldn't even consider trying to do a 4wd conversion or a frame swap

^^^This^^^
Nobody who's been around cars and trucks for awhile will ever endorse a 2wd to 4wd conversion under normal circumstances.

I'd go after the 96 4x4. As long as it wasn't run hot, a head gasket failure isn't a death sentence. Use the best bits on the 4x4... pretty much exactly what @notazombie said. Get a better price... if it's nice ('cept for the head gasket) it won't be getting any nicer as it sits. Offer a couple hundo, the seller will have to pay to have it extricated from its mudhole and dragged-off next spring anyway. Let him keep the harmonica.

 

[41mag]

By my observation the fever to accomplish such a project is stimulated regardless of the costs, serviceability or practical results. The difficulty encountered simulates a kind of spirit journey from prior times. The only cure is to endure the journey and survive having gained intangibles from the process. Good luck

 

[CamoDeafie]

Saving up some money... instead of a lift kit, I'm looking at just getting slightly larger A/T tires.. if I can't find 205/75R15-225/75R15 All Terrain (triple peak symbol as in good for snow amd ice and mud) tires locally,
Here is what I run currently
205/75R15 All Season street tires
15" stock Kia Sportage steel wheels; 5 on 5.5" bolt pattern, 5.5" back spacing (pretty deep backspace! )

So from what I could read up, the very common 235/75R15 tires are 9.3" section width with outside diameter of 28.9" versus stock 205/75r15's 8.1" section width and 27.1" outside diameter... and on the stock Sportage wheels, the 235s would rub on the suspension components up front only at full lock either way... but since the back space is 5.5", I suppose finding a set of 15" wheels with a smaller back spacing would do a lot to alleviate the clearance issues, and I could just cut or bash in the fender and wheel well parts up front to accommodate the wider tires? Unless I find a set with like 5" backspacing... does anyone know exactly which wheel i should look at? My center bore is 94.3mm I think so center bore bigger would be OK.
I see that there are steel wheels with 3.75"-4.5" back spacing.. may stick the tires out a bit and require some surgery on the inner fenders/wheel wells to clear

 

[Joe13]

Call discount tires and ask.

Most tire places have programs that will tell you exactly what you need and can get away with.

FYI - no tire is going to help you with ice (unless your running studs and even then it's minimal help)

 

[CamoDeafie]

The triple snowpeak tires should be better than a/s streets right? I do have chains for both stock n bigger tiresb (from parents old 08 caravan)

 

[cigars]

The triple snowpeak tires should be better than a/s streets right? I do have chains for both stock n bigger tiresb (from parents old 08 caravan)

The triple peak stamping on the tire indicates that it's rated for snow. Regular tires marked A/S and M+S (mud and snow) are not the same as they are designed for average weather throughout the year. Here's some info from tirerack...
https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=125

 

[Kruel J]

Threads merged.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Right; I don't currently live in a place where studded/dedicated snow tires are a requirement; but I would like something better for some snow than the A/S tires I have... as I've mentioned, I do have a few sets of tire chains to use if I need to chain up for ice, primary set for the 205/75s and a couple sets thats for larger tires (supposed to fit 235/75R15s) from my parents' old vans... if we do move out to say, Idaho or Montana, pending a job offer, then i would just get dedicated snow/ice winter tires.