For those with HRG .... a few questions

[CallMeBill]

Before I get one for my upcoming Badlands order coming in I have a few questions for those who have already installed the HRG kit.
1. Any issues with your suspension since install?
2. Did it affect your MPG?
3. How is the ride?
4. Would you recommend them?

Appreciate any feedback

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[dakman]

Before I get one for my upcoming Badlands order coming in I have a few questions for those who have already installed the HRG kit.
1. Any issues with your suspension since install?
2. Did it affect your MPG?
3. How is the ride?
4. Would you recommend them?

Appreciate any feedback

Mine is a BB and not a BL. I love the kit so far and wouldn't take it off except to replace with CO's when the shocks wear.
1. installed 6k miles ago. Haven't touched or adjusted anything since alignment. No problems or noises or rubbing.
2. No clue but I'm very happy with what I'm getting.
3. I like the ride and have no issues with it in any situations. I noticed more difference when installing wheels and bigger tires than I did with the lift. May be a little stiffer but I didn't notice much, feels very well-mannered for what the BS is.
4. Yes. parts are well made with the bonus of the real front swaylinks. Added ground clearance is worth it and it just looks really good.

 

[Tug Wildwood]

I just had HRG Lift Kit installed this week. No suspension issues yet, but it's still early. My MPG is down a few MPGs, but I think that's more related to the larger more aggressive tires and not the lift itself. I don't notice a significant difference in the ride. Again, the tires are impacting the ride more than the lift. So far, I am very happy with the HRG Lift Kit and would recommend it. It looks great too. I have included a few pics. I went with the BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A KO2s 245/65 R17.

 

[CallMeBill]

I just had HRG Lift Kit installed this week. No suspension issues yet, but it's still early. My MPG is down a few MPGs, but I think that's more related to the larger more aggressive tires and not the lift itself. I don't notice a significant difference in the ride. Again, the tires are impacting the ride more than the lift. So far, I am very happy with the HRG Lift Kit and would recommend it. It looks great too. I have included a few pics. I went with the BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A KO2s 245/65 R17.

Thanks for the info & pics. Are those the Bushwacker fender flares? Looking to possibly get some for my BL

 

[tburner]

Before I get one for my upcoming Badlands order coming in I have a few questions for those who have already installed the HRG kit.
1. Any issues with your suspension since install?
2. Did it affect your MPG?
3. How is the ride?
4. Would you recommend them?

Appreciate any feedback

I installed mine around March of this year, then put on 245/65 R17 Wildpeak AT3Ws, then spent a week in Big Bend Natl Park with some mild offroading.

1. Nope.
2. Nope.
3. Negligible change.
4. If you have a need for a small bump in ground clearance, yes. If you have no intention of going off road, no.

 

[Tug Wildwood]

Thanks for the info & pics. Are those the Bushwacker fender flares? Looking to possibly get some for my BL

Not sure. I chose "Fender Flare Kit 1" as an exterior option when I ordered my Bronco and the dealership installed them before I picked it up.

 

[rmreid22]

Before I get one for my upcoming Badlands order coming in I have a few questions for those who have already installed the HRG kit.
1. Any issues with your suspension since install?
2. Did it affect your MPG?
3. How is the ride?
4. Would you recommend them?

Appreciate any feedback

1. 2,000+ miles on my Outerbanks and zero issues, and tires are wearing evenly
2. I'm sure the lift had some effect but the bigger/heavier AT tires (245/60/18) probably were the biggest factor dropping MPG's down slightly from 28 to 26.5
3. No change in ride
4. Highly recommend, for the quality, service when I had questions and price compared to others out there

 

[Mark S.]

I just had HRG Lift Kit installed this week. No suspension issues yet, but it's still early. My MPG is down a few MPGs, but I think that's more related to the larger more aggressive tires and not the lift itself.

Looks great! Did you happen to measure ride height before & after?

I suspect your hit on mileage is a combination of the tires and the change in height. The higher you stick something up into the wind the more drag you get. Drag is by far the biggest factor affecting fuel mileage for most vehicles. I would think it would be even more of a factor for a vehicle with a high drag coefficient. It's almost a certainty that an aerodynamicist would determine a Bronco Sport to be a "blunt" or "bluff" body as opposed to a "streamlined" body, which is literally defined as "brick" shaped.

 

[tburner]

Looks great! Did you happen to measure ride height before & after?

I suspect your hit on mileage is a combination of the tires and the change in height. The higher you stick something up into the wind the more drag you get. Drag is by far the biggest factor affecting fuel mileage for most vehicles. I would think it would be even more of a factor for a vehicle with a high drag coefficient. It's almost a certainty that an aerodynamicist would determine a Bronco Sport to be a "blunt" or "bluff" body as opposed to a "streamlined" body, which is literally defined as "brick" shaped.

Being down a few MPGs is almost certainly due to not correcting the computer for the larger tire. When I changed tire sizes, I lost several MPGs before I mathed out the correct circumference to plug in. Now I think I'm close to where I was before (I haven't been paying very close attention lately).

I don't think we're lifting our cars enough (relative to the factory ride height) to take a noticable hit in fuel economy. Frontal area is unchanged, except for a little more tire showing, so losses would be largely due to changes in ground effect. The underbody air flow is probably turbulent enough from the factory due to our ride height and rough undercarriage that an inch of added height would have minimal impact on drag. Changes in ride height will have the biggest impact when you're riding very low. The farther you get from the ground, the more you have to change ride height to notice a change in drag.

Disclaimer: obviously I haven't tested this in a wind tunnel. This is my armchair engineer, thumb-in-the-wind "analysis". Fluid dynamics can be wacky.

 

[Mark S.]

Being down a few MPGs is almost certainly due to not correcting the computer for the larger tire.

I agree if we're talking about the indicated mpg only. My assumption was OP measured fuel mileage before and after, and that number decreased with the larger tires.

I don't think we're lifting our cars enough (relative to the factory ride height) to take a noticable hit in fuel economy. Frontal area is unchanged, except for a little more tire showing, so losses would be largely due to changes in ground effect.

I think ride height makes a bigger difference than you think. Increasing the space under the car by even a little bit invites more air under it. The underside of these cars is not aerodynamic by any means, so I think it's safe to assume the air underneath is turbulent rather than laminar. If that's the case then any increase in ride height adds to the frontal area, because the turbulent air trapped under the car is essentially a wall to air trying to get past it. But I agree it would have to be measured to know for sure.

It would be interesting to see some before and after fuel efficiency testing by someone installing a lift only.

 

[RiotfunK]

I’m all about the smiles per gallon over the miles per gallon. Have no idea what my mpg is. Also the tires will affect the mpg more than a mild lift. Have the HRG on my badlands with 245/65/17. If I did it again, I wouldn’t do the spacer. I’d wait for actual springs. It rides like a spacer lift lol. I’ve built enough vehicles will full suspension changes that its noticeable to me. No one else will probably notice the change as much.
You’re decreasing the travel in the shocks. And also pulling the wheels in since you can only change the lift angle on one axis. I’m not knocking the kit, is well built and does what it says. But I feel it hinders more than it helps since these things have no flex to begin with.

 

[Tug Wildwood]

Looks great! Did you happen to measure ride height before & after?

I suspect your hit on mileage is a combination of the tires and the change in height. The higher you stick something up into the wind the more drag you get. Drag is by far the biggest factor affecting fuel mileage for most vehicles. I would think it would be even more of a factor for a vehicle with a high drag coefficient. It's almost a certainty that an aerodynamicist would determine a Bronco Sport to be a "blunt" or "bluff" body as opposed to a "streamlined" body, which is literally defined as "brick" shaped.

Thanks Mark. The clearance measured about 9" before and about 12" after (combination of lift and bigger tires). I love my "brick shaped" vehicle! Took it off-road this past weekend and it performed amazingly well. The extra clearance (and new tires) seemed to make a significant difference.

 

[tburner]

I agree if we're talking about the indicated mpg only. My assumption was OP measured fuel mileage before and after, and that number decreased with the larger tires.

You'd still need to correct your circumference so your odometer is accurate(ish). Or are you thinking of some other measurement I'm not considering?

If that's the case then any increase in ride height adds to the frontal area, because the turbulent air trapped under the car is essentially a wall to air trying to get past it.

Underbody turbulence doesn't add to the frontal area, it adds to the drag coefficient. The area between the object and its surroundings is a compressible flow region, unlike the object itself which is neither compressible nor a flow region. Though at our mach numbers the air would be considered incompressible - but the logic remains.

The turbulence DOES disrupt the flow of air, so it certainly does affect fuel economy. I just don't think our modest increase in height results in a meaningful increase in underbody turbulence (and thus a measurable decrease in fuel economy) because the region is already quite turbulent. I'm not saying it has zero effect, just that I think the drop in economy is so small it gets lost in daily variability like driving habits, tire pressure, measurement accuracy, and the like.

BUT some modern trucks do lower themselves at certain speeds as part of their active aero, so you might be right about me underestimating the effect of our lifts, at least at certain speeds.

I enjoy these types of thought experiments! Now someone needs to record real world before and afters. We'd need several tanks of gas under consistent driving conditions.

 

[GoatsyBanks]

I’m all about the smiles per gallon over the miles per gallon. Have no idea what my mpg is. Also the tires will affect the mpg more than a mild lift. Have the HRG on my badlands with 245/65/17. If I did it again, I wouldn’t do the spacer. I’d wait for actual springs. It rides like a spacer lift lol. I’ve built enough vehicles will full suspension changes that its noticeable to me. No one else will probably notice the change as much.
You’re decreasing the travel in the shocks. And also pulling the wheels in since you can only change the lift angle on one axis. I’m not knocking the kit, is well built and does what it says. But I feel it hinders more than it helps since these things have no flex to begin with.

I guess in the rear but how would spacers decrease shock travel on the struts?

 

[GoatsyBanks]

I've had the lift in for 3k miles, been off road multiple times with no problems. I would not have been able to travel these trails without it. 1.5" goes a long way.
Here's full articulation...or lack there of

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