[XCAPE]

@Wrecker quick update, I was just quoted $650 for 5 hours of labor from my local tire shop. Would you say it took you 5 hours?

 

[needliftnow]

@XCAPE I can't speak for Wrecker, but it seems the $ seems a bit high, even if it includes a 4 wheel alignment. I strongly urge you to not use a tire shop, but instead go to a trusted local mechanic near you. When I first asked around at local places, I asked some Midas or Meineke place about their labor costs and it was high. I really got a "low confidence" take away after meeting them and found myself a good local mechanic instead. If you don't normally go to a local mechanic and just go to "big box mechanics", it might be time for a change...for the better! As far as time goes, being that you have the parts in your possession, you'd probably need 3-4 hours of labor to get it done, maybe 5 if your mechanic is carefully checking/testing the fitment of everything. The time might be less though for the right mechanic. In the front, you'll need to disassemble the upper and lower ball joints to fit the lengthened strut assemblies into place. That's where the bulk of the labor time will be. By the way, if your Escape has more than 50,000 miles, you might as well have the strut assemblies took apart and replace the struts. It'll save you in labor and $ down the road. Don't worry about having the shim the wheels outward. Things will look like normal when you are done. Just be sure to get the 4 wheel alignment afterwards...and mechanics usually do a better job with correct alignments than a big box tire shop. I can tell you horror stories, LOL!!! I hope this helps. Please keep us posted and good luck with the install

 

[Wrecker]

@XCAPE I agree with needliftnow. It sounds a bit expensive. It might have taken me about 5 hours to do the lift on my Escape, but that included the rear spacers, sway bar end links and shocks. Plus the front spacers. Remember, I was working in my driveway with hand tools. And I am not a trained mechanic.

 

[jmactacular]

I literally did this on the side of the road in my neighborhood. The only issue I ran into with the TEMA 30mm spacer kit in the rear is the strut connection bolt that came with the kit (that connects the strut to the underside of the body under the wheel well) does not work as there is a stud in the wheel well and the kit comes with a bolt so I wasn't able to install the strut spacer. However, with all the weight jacked up off the vehicle and wheels dangling, the strut extends past the lowest highest point in travel, therefore the strut won't 'top out' when fully extended and the strut extender isn't totally necessary. I was expecting more lift in the front however, a little disappointed in that. Next project is a replacement skid plate for more ground clearance and ability to slide over snow better than the stock fabric splash guard.

 

[jmactacular]

No, this took me a few hours on the side of the road with little jacks that had to be blocked up and traffic driving by. Not 5 hours

 

[SpringyDesklamps]

Hey All,

I've lurked this thread since 2016 when I bought a 2013 Escape Titanium 2.0 AWD and wished for an OTS lift kit. At the time I was too broke and too scared to have anything custom made like @needliftnow, but what he did is awesome! You guys are like pioneers to me. Thanks so much for all of the knowledge you've provided!!!

Now that a few of you have tested the 30-40mm lifts and bigger tires, I decided to go for it. I bought the 40mm Rising Tuning kit before it was a faux pas.

I installed the front spacers and will do the backs this coming weekend. I put 235/70/R16 WildPeak AT3Ws on some new Sparco terra wheels. Overall, I like the look and feel when driving, though there is a lot of rubbing in the front when doing quicker sharp turns or 3-point turns to back into my driveway. I knew these mods would affect its daily driverness, but they were done in preparation for an upcoming, increasingly expensive western US national park & BLM car camping adventure. I still have the stock wheel/tire setup that I'm planning to keep and put back on for long non-adventure driving.

Here's the thing about the new lift & tires- the TCS is not happy with the new setup when cornering at speed. I noticed going through a few roundabouts that the steering felt funny and the TCS light was appearing. Something about the increased CG & new squishy tires is making the computer think I've lost traction. It seems to even pump the brakes when this happens, though I haven't confirmed this. I have not yet gotten an alignment, but it is tracking straight with no abnormal vibration in the steering wheel.

Have any of the other lift/bigger tire people experienced a traction control issue after install? I'm thinking the tuner that @Messw/stuff posted about could help solve the problem if I could program new tire dimensions (as an aside, I would love to be displaying the correct speedometer, odometer, etc readings). However, I'm hesitant to drop another $500 on a tuner for this project knowing that less stock = more problems.

Thanks everyone

Glamour shots:

 

[Wrecker]

I put 235/70/R16 WildPeak AT3Ws on some new Sparco terra wheels.

OK, I read on another post that a 29 inch tall tire is the biggest size that will fit our Escapes. However, they were mounted on stock 18 inch wheels. @shanvhere mounted 255/55R18 on his 2014 Titanium, but he does not give a review of how they might rub (or not). As his is a 255 width (10 inches) versus your 235 width (9.3 inches), he should have more issues than you. Maybe, if shanvhere is still around, he could give us some idea of his tire situation i.e. rubbing.
Or, have you compared the backspacing of the Sparco wheels to the stock wheels?
BTW, the tires and wheels look awesome.

I am not really the person that would know. I am still running with the stock size tires that were on the vehicle when I bought it. Looks kind of silly, but I can't afford to replace them now. Just had to get a newer engine installed in my daughter's Subaru Forester.

 

[SpringyDesklamps]

Or, have you compared the backspacing of the Sparco wheels to the stock wheels?

I believe the stock wheels are 52.5mm offset compared to these Sparco Terras which are 40mm offset. So the tires are 1/2" further out from the hub than stock, which does not help the rub any but I am at peace with that. Hopefully an alignment can fix the TCS issue given all of the geometry changes.

The Sparcos were ultimately chosen because they are on clearance at Tire Rack for $123 a piece. They're also only 19 lb which is really light compared to everything else I was seeing. This helps offset all the unsprung weight added with the Falkens. Overall, I added about 5lb per corner.

Also, thank you for the compliment! They look decent and feel nice and cushy on the road.

 

[needliftnow]

@SpringyDesklamps Your rig looks good. Enjoy it and make the most of it. A lift is so much cheaper than a new vehicle, especially these days! All people need is an extra couple of inches and it literally is a WORLD of difference for every day, real world situations like most of us would encounter. Sorry about the tire pressure sensors problem. I don't have the answers as it never happened to me. All I know is the sensors worked as the dash light came on quick when I popped a stock Continental tire after just a few miles on the first dirt road, LOL! I like you more aggressive Falkan Wildpeak tires compared to my more mundane Wildpeaks. I live in the snow belt and the Falkans I use have more sipes (which are supposed to be good in snow traction) but don't have the bite in the deeper snow as it is not as aggressive, especially going up steeper hills. I miss the Cooper Discoverers but I will say the mundane Falkans are wearing reasonably slow. You should get some good life out of yours too.

 

[SpringyDesklamps]

Thanks @needliftnow ! I was looking at Bronco Sports and Tacomas but just cant justify 40k+ on something that has the same options as my 2013 Escape (albeit much more off road capable).

This escape, in its stock form, has taken some serious beatings in various national forests around the country and hasn't let me down yet! Excited to get it in some sand and rocks next month.

Regarding the sensor, it was actually my Traction Control system lighting up, not the Tire Pressure Sensors, when I was cornering left at speed. And I found out the reason: I didn't tighten the axle nut fully when reinstalling. It probably had 1.5 turns left in it. As a result, the hub was a little loose on the axle and so as I cornered, the wheel wobbled on the axle and probably applied a large moment load to the driver side hub bearing. This probably took some life out of the bearing, but after tightening things down the bearing doesn't feel sloppy and there is no noise or vibration, so all seems well. Just have to get it in an alignment shop now!

 

[ProEscape]

I’ve been fallowing these posts for a while now and done a lot of digging. This will be my first post. My wife has a 2017 Ford Escape SE. She asked if there was any way to “lift” her ride a bit and possibly get better ride quality. So I searched hi and low, read these posts and acted. I ordered the 30mm front strut spacer from eBay and it took about a month to arrive. After thinking the spacer was never coming, I bought the H&R springs but sent them back because after reading so many so so reviews... it just wasn’t worth the hassle and extra money it might cost to make them work. Had the 30mm spacer installed along with new wheels and tires. I didn’t do anything to the rear. The ride originally had 19” wheels on 235/45 tires. I down sized the wheels to 17” and went with 235/65 AT tires. More rubber between the wheel and pavement is always better in my opinion. They did have a slight rub but a small amount of trimming took care of it. The Escape turned out great and think it definitely improved the ride quality tremendously! View attachment 79115

@LiftedLife I have very similar, if not the same wheels (Platinum Retribution? If yes, do you like them?) and for sure the same 235/65/17 Wildpeak A/T Trail I've been looking to put on my FE. I like how they look and am excited to get the OEM wheels and tires off. I've been debating for several months about getting a lift and just haven't pulled the trigger yet because of various mechanical/speedometer concerns.

Couple questions for your specific mod, and open to advice/insight from anyone else.
-Did you use the 30mm TEMA front spacers from ebay or another one? A link would be helpful if you still remember.
-Where did you have to trim the most after everything was installed?
-What kind of problems have you encountered bottoming out in the wheel wells over bumps?
-Gas mileage heavily affected?

-Has anyone done anything to adjust their speedometer/electronics? I've called most of the local shops and can't find anyone who takes care of it.

Honestly was very pleasantly surprised when I saw your post because that's exactly what my vision is for my rig!

Thanks in advance.

 

[Wrecker]

@ProEscape

front lift kit from "Universal Car Lifts"

TEMA 20mm rear spacer

The bolts are M8 x 1.25, 75mm long.

The bolts are for the front spacers.
And honestly, I am thinking of getting the 30mm kit from TEMA.

 

[GCrimson]

Hi, I have a 2.0 AWD titanium (2015). I do my fair of light off-roaring (love it) and my biggest challenge are big rocks on the way.

Could I traditionally lift my escape with hard rubber between the springs on the shock absorvers (as I did with my 97 Tercel lol).

All help is welcome!

Thanks!!

any other tip for light off-roading? I'm looking at the forums to see if I miss a pinned post.

Thanks again!

 

[Gryffindor101]

Hi, I have a 2.0 AWD titanium (2015). I do my fair of light off-roaring (love it) and my biggest challenge are big rocks on the way.

Could I traditionally lift my escape with hard rubber between the springs on the shock absorvers (as I did with my 97 Tercel lol).

All help is welcome!

Thanks!!

any other tip for light off-roading? I'm looking at the forums to see if I miss a pinned post.

Thanks again!

I merged your thread with an existing thread. Have a look at the other posts to get help on this.

 

[jrpresso]

So finally it is on. This is with general grabber m&s tires 245/60-18, a better fit would be 235/60 to keep most of the height with less shoulder when turning. However I am a maximum type of guy so I did some trimming mods to keep things free! View attachment 78455 View attachment 78456 View attachment 78457

I’ve been eyeing this forum for many years now. Upsized my tires to 235/55/18 years ago, asked Phat Matt about the price of his lift, but chickened out. I think now I’d be game to tackle the 40mm Tema. Do you have any tips for installation other than the longer bolts? I’ve never touched a suspension but I’m getting braver as the years go on. Also, do you have any tips for wheel well trimming or what you went about cutting (and sealing back up after changing length/shape)? Again completely out of my wheelhouse, but I’ve got an angle grinder now that I’m not afraid to use

 

[APEscape]

@Wrecker

Hey I know this is an old post, but did your rear lift ever settle down? I just installed the Tema 20mm rear spacer with Bilstein B6 shocks and it’s way higher than 20mm. It’s sitting roughly an inch and a half higher than stock right now. I’m hoping the new shocks just need to be broken in. Otherwise they may have sent me the wrong spacer.

 

[murcod]

@Wrecker

Hey I know this is an old post, but did your rear lift ever settle down? I just installed the Tema 20mm rear spacer with Bilstein B6 shocks and it’s way higher than 20mm. It’s sitting roughly an inch and a half higher than stock right now. I’m hoping the new shocks just need to be broken in. Otherwise they may have sent me the wrong spacer.

The spring(/spacer) controls the ride height- the shock will not affect it.

 

[APEscape]

Well I went ahead and got my tires while I try to figure out why the rear is higher than expected. 235/60r18 Falken A/T Trails.
Here’s a before and after pic:

And some close ups:

 

[Wrecker]

The rear did settle down after a while driving it. I guess the KYB gas-a-just shocks needed to learn the proper height. And then it almost looked like stock height.

 

[Orefed]

I had H & R springs from Tire Rack installed by my local mechanic. I purchased them on Ebay for $204 for the set of 4 springs. The front spring average lift is 1.4 inch, the rear spring average lift is .8 inch.
I also put on a set of BF GoodRich Trail-Terrain T/A 235/ 65/ 17 tires. For a grand total of 3.5 inch lift in front and 2.75 inch lift in the rear. So far I am happy with the $2200 investment.