“What you always wanted to know about lift kits”
Delta4x4, the off-road vehicle specialist from the Bavarian south, has been building chassis sets for all types of off-road vehicles, SUVs and pickups for almost 40 years. And the Swedish motorsport photographer and hobby racing driver James Holm had his VW Amarok upgraded at delta4x4 and is now putting it in the limelight – this creates impressive photo documents that document the main advantages of a chassis kit.
The Odelzhausen off-road vehicle tuner distinguishes between three fundamentally different systems of lifts:
The Suspension Distance Kit consists of a set of spacers (so-called “spacers”) and is used for discreet lifts up to 40 mm. After assembly, larger wheels can be fitted and the ground clearance of the vehicle increases – but without improving the axle articulation. Such a lift using the Suspension Distance Kit is inexpensive and is also used on some SUVs (Skoda Yeti + Kodiaq, Seat Ateca, Ford Kuga, VW Tiguan, Mini Countyman etc.).
The Suspension Spring Kit, on the other hand, is a suspension kit with longer replacement springs and matching shock absorbers. For the latter, delta4x4 usually relies on products from Bilstein, which combine legendary robustness with a sporty image. In addition to the plus in ground clearance, the suspension sets from delta4x4 ensure better axle articulation and thus more traction in difficult terrain. The southern Bavarian off-road vehicle tuner mainly assembles suspension spring kits for pickups.
The body lift kit is the supreme discipline for delta4x4, which is often used as a supplement to the two chassis elevations. With it, the body is also raised using spacers, which creates even more space in the wheel arches. With this technology even the largest wheels can be mounted, which is why it is also used in the impressive Beast conversions of delta4x4. Because of the complex installation, a body lift kit is the most expensive and can only be used in vehicles with a ladder frame, which is usually the case with pickups.
Delta4x4 offers the Suspension Distance Kit – depending on the vehicle in combination with extended shock absorbers from Bilstein – at prices from 550 euros for the VW Tiguan, Skoda Yeti and Seat Ateca; Pickups start at 1,600 euros. For the suspension spring kit with four longer springs plus Bilstein damper, delta4x4 charges from 2,200 euros, while the body lift kit by 40 mm for delta4x4 is available from 800 euros.
For all trolleys, the installation of the parts must also be added.
James Holm in his VW Amarok with chassis and tuning from delta4x4
Here you can see how extremely the VW Amarok is twisted with the aid of the chassis.
