lift kit 3rd gen

[TAF]

any body fitted a 2 inch lift kit to the third gen ?

if so how did it affect the handling

would I be right in thinking the adjustable dampers would no longer work ?

[Steadi]

Surf's Up

Hi Taf

My Surfs been lifted quite a bit... looks in proportion so diddnt notice when I baught it!

To kind of answer your questions;

The adjustable suspension does not work as longer shocks have been put in and the electrics have been ripped out.

I cant really comment on the ride as I've not spent much time in a street level surf. I am aware of a little side to side buffeting and overall the suspension seems a little soft.

Not sure I would recommend lifting;


In the pro side the view is great as you can see over the whole line of cars ahead of you, and the truck does not seem out of proportion in any way.

On the con side there are constant worries about car park headroom, my grab handles are at 1.9m. Cars can disappear below the rear side windows and reversing is really scarey. I also get a bit nervous about cornering fast as the centre of gravity must now be quite high.

Finally, this is going to sound really odd... I cant get used to the flying sensation of being so high and tend to feel a little detatched from the road. My last car was a tarmac hugging sportscar so this may simply be a result of a new seating position and those great big marshmallow tyres.

On the whole I am seriously considering getting my surf lowered, but there again I'm 6'4 and can stand up under the raised tailgate!

Mike

[Linda]

any body fitted a 2 inch lift kit to the third gen ?

if so how did it affect the handling

would I be right in thinking the adjustable dampers would no longer work ?

Tony fitted a 2" susp lift to Rob's 3rd gen a while ago - he was really pleased with the handling.

Details on this thread
http://www.yotasurf-online.co.uk/pub...ead.php?t=8968

Da Slug Man also has a 2"susp lift and a body lift on his 3rd gen - again - very happy with it - there is a thread about that too if you search.

[Steadi]

Surf's Up

Looks like I'm going to have to get a tape measure out to my surf! Really dont know how far the Japanese owner went... and now the huge bull bars are off the front I expect the rear end has popped up even further!

My handling worries may simply be a result of the last owner lifting the car too high.

I'll measure from the centre of each wheel arch to the deck (may have different tyres) and post the reading. If a couple of other non lifted gen 3 owners could do the same I would be very grateful.

Sorry if I appear to have Hijacked Taff's listing a little, diddnt seem to warrant a separate thread.

Thanks

Mike

[Morr]

.........I'll measure from the centre of each wheel arch to the deck (may have different tyres) and post the reading.....

If you measure from underside of arch to centre of wheel you'll get the most accurate measurement which will not be affected by wheel/tyre sizes.

[da SLUG man]

hadling's pretty good with mine, but that's more likely down to having new, stiffer shocks and driving a boat all day.... before i found that it was a bit wallowy with people in the back but it's alright now.

[Steadi]

Surfs Up

Hello Again

Heres those measurements... to the centre of the hub of course!

Front 21inches

Rear 24 inches

Any measurements for unmodified surfs would be very useful.

If I do come back down will I need to change my tyres... I'm on 265/75 Dueller AT's at the moment

Regards

Mike

[miketilley]

Hi Mike

I've just put new tyres on my un-modified surf today which are 265/75 R16's and they dont rub so you should be fine.

Will measure the height of my surf tomorrow and let you know what I find.

Cheers

[miketilley]

Right, just been out and measured, and this is from the centre of the wheel to the bottom of the wheel arch....

Front: 20"
Rear: 21"

Thats for an unmodified 3rd gen Surf.

Cheers

[Steadi]

Surfs Up

Thanks Mike

Looks Like mines not been excessively lifted, only 3 inches at the back end, and strangely 1 inch at the front so maybe only the back was done. Could be that 2 inch lift modification and the car was riding an inch higher to start with.

May consider going back to normal height if only to have the option of harder suspension from that annoying switch I've got that only lights the indicator on the dashboard now!!! Nice to know the tyres wont rub if I do drop the suspension (thanks miketilly)

I wish the car had come with normal suspension as I chose the surf mainly because it did so well in the reviews regarding handling. Not having had the chance to drive mine on the original suspension I cant tell if I have a bad problem!

With the mother in law on the back seat my rear suspension bottoms out and knocks on our local speed humps. Maybe Its just all too soft at the moment hence the swaying we are feeling.

If you are reading this mike could you let me know the tyre pressure you've been recommended for your 265/75's.... I'm at 32PSI but that was a guess as when I picked the car up it only had 15 PSI in all tyres and I almost stacked it !


Many thanks to all

Mike

[miketilley]

Hi Mike

I don't know what the recomended pressure is for my tyres are but I've just checked them and they're running at 32psi all round.

Handling wise, I have to say mines great. It seems very tight, doesn't wander or roll and sticks to the road like a really sticky thing....

Cheers

[InfraRed]

I can't fault the handling on my 3rd Gen although I do find that the rear suspention does seem to bottom out easily when 5 up or when loaded up with beer on the way back from France. I think the second Gen is capable of carrying greater loads as I didn't have the same problem with my 4Runner, could be to do with the fact that the 2nd Gens were based on the pickup chassis and the 3rd Gens on the Colorado car chassis.

[TAF]

2 inch lift kit

thanks to all fore that i think i will go fore the 2 inch lift kit after all

[laser_jock99]

Not entirley related to your 3rd gen question- but can you picture a 3rd gen with a 3" body lift? I found this Surf at a local garage today. It has a 3" body lift and no suspension lift to speak of. Also it's a rare two door manual. Sadly he's asking £5995 for it- too much really for the general condition of the car(and it's a 2.4L) he had one other 2.4L and newer 3.0L


Nevillef