spring lift

[dieselboy]

just quickly, i got to leave in a sec.
whats the general rule on spring lifts? will they mess up the cars handling? will i get more tyre wear?
will i need to get beefier tyres to make it look alright?
cheers

[Sancho]

Yes, they will mess up your handling a bit but it's a surf so it's not like you were going fast anyway.

Why would they increase tyre wear? The thing still weighs the same.

I would get bigger tyres myself. Most suspension lifts are only done to manage to fit bigger tyres on. There, I said it.....

[Apache]

Depends what springs you fit.

The LC springs give you around 3" lift but IMO the handling is better because they are much stiffer. The only thing is when you wind the torsion bars up to suit, the front end does get a bit bouncy (mine is OK, but I wouldn't go any higher than the +2" I've done on the standard bars)

I reckon if I change my front shocks for 9000's, it will improve as with the standard shocks on the front on the hard setting its better.

I have 3000's on the back, which seems to balance the hard springs well, though others with future spinal damage use 9000's with the LC springs on the back.

(Sancho, it could increase tyre wear as it will change your geometry unless you have it reset)

[chrisinflight]

Lifted surf looks better- beefier and more like a truck! A lift will give you loads more offroad ability in the form of more ground clearance, more suspension travel etc. Less likely to get offroad damage. Also a much better driving view. The downside is slight loss of power, more wind resistance and increased fuel usage.
cheers,
chris

[Sancho]

(Sancho, it could increase tyre wear as it will change your geometry unless you have it reset)

But why wouldn't you reset....ah, forget it.

[dieselboy]

i thought may be more tyre wear due to different pressures acting on the new ride height. eg pivot points, but i havnt really thought about it that much so i could be talking out my behind.
and may be more body roll because your higher up.
see this picture i took of a truck on the way home earlier,
i think this looks really good, but i only have a 2.4, is it really worth me doing it, i dont have that much power as it is (although it is 10 times better now i run diesel & reddex 50/50 haha)

[BUSHWHACKER]

just quickly, i got to leave in a sec.
whats the general rule on spring lifts? will they mess up the cars handling? will i get more tyre wear?
will i need to get beefier tyres to make it look alright?
cheers

With a body lift you're doing just that, raising the body, so it won't affect the tyres.
With a suspension lift, it's only the fronts that will be affected, but then it is only when the front is raised to 'stupid' heights, but then it would be obvious that the camber settings will need re-setting.

[MattF]

(Sancho, it could increase tyre wear as it will change your geometry unless you have it reset)

Nope. A *spring* lift on a 2nd gen wouldn't affect bugger all tyre wise. Torsion bars ain't springs, as such, so it only applies to the rear.

[Apache]

Nope. A *spring* lift on a 2nd gen wouldn't affect bugger all tyre wise. Torsion bars ain't springs, as such, so it only applies to the rear.

Pedant alert! You knew damn well I meant a suspension lift!

Torsion bars are springs too BTW, just not COIL springs so

[MattF]

Pedant alert! You knew damn well I meant a suspension lift!

Torsion bars are springs too BTW, just not COIL springs so

Who? Me? Sprung metal bars under torsion and affixed in position, to be precise.

[M35A2]

I think you will find that jacking up the torsion bars WILL affect tyre wear!!

As you jack the torsion bar up, it will tend to drag the bottom of the tyre inwards due to the pivot.

I went to Froggs Island 4x4 to ask the guy there about a steering geometry check as my fronts wear on the inside. He came out and had a look at the truck and asked if I had jacked up the torsion bars. I said i have never touched them and that's what they were like when I bought the truck. He said that it looked pretty high to him and that may be the reason that they are wearing. I have since lowered the ride height so that the fronts match the rears in height from the top of the wheel rim to the bottom of the wheel arch. I used to get a band of about 3/4s of an inch on the outermost part of the tyre tread that, when driving, you could tell wasn't properly in contact with the road as there was dust around this band, where the rest of the tread was pure black from road contact. Since lowering the torsion bars I no longer get this band which is telling me that the whole of the tyre tread in now in contact with the road surface.

When I get new tyres, I am still going to get the steering done though.