Kevin McNulty
Former Editor, Mud Life
Beefing up a late-model four-wheel-drive family wagon for on-and off-highway adventure and performance doesn't have to be expensive or extreme. Adhering to a budget doesn't necessarily mean you have to accept poor quality products either. ReadyLift Suspension has quality suspension components at a reasonable price, and Mickey Thompson Tires offers a number off-road performance tires that can be had without sacrificing a chunk of the retirement fund.
We had the chance to play around with an '07 GMC 4x4 Yukon, which by no means is any kind of hardcore rockcrawler. However, the vehicle does have its place off road as a family trail runner, and it's a great hunting rig for hauling gear, dogs, and shot critters. The major problem with the vehicle is that at factory ride height it can get hung up on the trail and in the fields.
The ReadyLift 2 1/2-inch suspension system (1 1/2 inches on the rear) consists of front strut spacers and rear coil spacers. The GM SUV mild lift system SST Hybrid Mild Lift Kit is a complete front-rear suspension system with 2 1/2-inch aluminum front strut spacers. The rear is lifted with 1 1/2-inch 6061-T6 billet aluminum rear coil spring spacers. The lift works without affecting the factory ride quality or suspension geometry and comes complete with all hardware and instructions.
To overhaul our mall crawler, we contacted Ready Lift Suspension for its 2 1/2-inch lift and Mickey Thompson Tires for a set of Baja ATZ radial tires. Once the goods arrived we headed to T&J Performance Center in Orange, California, to have the lift installed by Mike and Tom Barnett's experienced technicians.
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