Off-roading is the act of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, dirt, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, or other natural terrain. Off-roading ranges from casual drives with regular vehicles to competitive events with customized vehicles and skilled drivers.
A Land Rover Defender 90 off-roading
A Unimog U1600 off-roading
4WDs at Fraser Island beach, Australia
A 5th-generation Ford Bronco dune bashing
A suspension lift is a modification to a vehicle to raise the ride height. It is done for the purpose of improving the off road performance of SUVs or trucks and other off-road vehicles, or for cosmetic purposes. Suspension lifts can enable steeper approach, departure, and breakover angles, higher ground clearance, and helps accommodate larger wheels and tires. Due to the raised center of gravity, maximum safe operating angles can be reduced and roadholding is often significantly impaired. Sensors, transmitters and cameras may need to be recalibrated, physically relocated or modified to maintain normal functioning of features like AEB, ACC or FSD. Suspension lifts are also found on a number of high performance sports cars, in which a very low ground clearance is used to improve handling, using an aerodynamic effect known as downforce; examples include the Ferrari 488, Lamborghini Huracan, McLaren 720S, and the second generation Ford GT. Such vehicles activate the suspension lift while traversing road bumps and ramps to avoid damaging the front underbody of the vehicle when driving on public roads; the suspension lift is deactivated on race tracks and level roads.
A 2001 GMC Sierra Stepside with a 6" suspension lift
Jeep Cherokee with 2 in (51 mm) suspension lift on 31 in (790 mm) diameter BFG all-terrain tires, using add-a-leaf and coil spring spacers
The Jeep CJ vehicles had leaf spring suspension on both axles, which rendered the lifting process relatively simple. In this case, an inherent disadvantage of extreme lifting becomes obvious – the owner had to install a step below the door to be able to enter the car.