kzn185 2" lift questions

[_cj_]

at the last service it was noted that both my front shocks are leaking like the proverbial.

so i'm thinking about the roughtrax 2" lift kit. does anyone have experience with this - especially what the ride was like afterards?

Regrads,

alex

[_cj_]

sorry to bump this but anyone got any advice - i would like to give the old girl a lift but sort of thinking maybe i should just change the shocks.

regards,

alex

[stormforce]

sorry to bump this but anyone got any advice - i would like to give the old girl a lift but sort of thinking maybe i should just change the shocks.

regards,

alex

i think a few of them on here use the roughtrax lift kits without any probs
but it comes down to what you want to spend

[Rob]

I don't have the Roughtrax kit but I do have the LA Supertrux one. Its been fitted for a year now.
The front struts are Procomp ES3000, as are the rear shocks. The springs had Beldon on the label, although they came in an Offroad Australia box.

The whole ride is now firmer than the firm setting on the adjustable shocks that i used to have. I don't mind it most of the time as I can take corners better now, but it can be annoyingly hard sometimes.

The new rear springs are shorter than the original Toyota springs, but a heck of a lot stronger. Only problem is that they sort of dislocate occasionally when offroading! They don't fall out but i do have to jack the car up and belt them back into place slightly when I get home (or 4 months later when I remember).
Cheers
Rob

[da SLUG man]

i've got the roughtrax one... it's es3000 front and es9000 rear (gas)
sounds pretty much the same, but the springs were about the same length at the toyota ones so no dislocating.

firmer ride too, but that would be expected from changing 8 yr old suspension to brand new!

[_cj_]

thanks guys - a firm ride sounds good to me, i was worried that a suspension lift might give more body roll - mind you she is a bit like a large ship under braking at the moment

regards,

alex

[_cj_]

jus a quick update ...

i had the procomp es3000 2" lift kit fitted today and what a difference - ride height is now 2.5" above this morning and much much stiffer - she's stitting proud on her BFG 275 /75 's only drove her 2 miles home in the dark today but will get a better run tomorrow.

Regards,

alex

[HYPERMONKEY]

jus a quick update ...

i had the procomp es3000 2" lift kit fitted today and what a difference - ride height is now 2.5" above this morning and much much stiffer - she's stitting proud on her BFG 275 /75 's only drove her 2 miles home in the dark today but will get a better run tomorrow.

Regards,

alex

hi alex have you noticed apart from the obvious firmer ride any difference in the trucks feel steering etc cos i often wondered if raising the ride height affects the steering geometry,cast camber and all that,changes inthose can drastically change the way a vehicle handles

[LuckyBstd]

jus a quick update ...

i had the procomp es3000 2" lift kit fitted today and what a difference - ride height is now 2.5" above this morning and much much stiffer - she's stitting proud on her BFG 275 /75 's only drove her 2 miles home in the dark today but will get a better run tomorrow.

Regards,

alex

Hi Alex, I want to change the springs on my newly purchased Surf. Could you tell where/how much you bought yours for? How much did they charge to fit them?

Are you happy with 2" or do you wish you (just a little bit) that you`d gone a bit more. See I don`t wanna get the 2" set and then regret not spending the extra on the 4"`s. I don`t know whether 4" would be too much without the ability to compare vehicles side by side. Did you have to put bigger tyres on her? I expect with a 4" lift normal size wheels/tyres look a bit dainty?
Has anyone else had a 4" kit? If so what are your thoughts?

Many thanks

[_cj_]

hi alex have you noticed apart from the obvious firmer ride any difference in the trucks feel steering etc cos i often wondered if raising the ride height affects the steering geometry,cast camber and all that,changes inthose can drastically change the way a vehicle handles

i have driven her 250 miles today

cornering and breaking were much better - much flatter
motorway driving there was more feel through the steering wheel so you felt more lumps and bumps - dont know whether this was because my existing was so bad ? soon got used to it though ! i can only recommend it overe my old springs and shocks though - feels much better- much safer !

i dont know what effect it has had on the steering geometry because i havent had it tested but it doesnt feel drastically changed - more the same but better - i am however glad i didint go for the gas socks on the rear - i had all my tools in the back today and it still felt very firm - as has been said before the rear springs are shorter than stock but the stiffness makes them 2" taller on the road.

i can only recommend it - i hope this helps

Regards,

alex

[_cj_]

[QUOTE=LuckyBstd]Hi Alex, I want to change the springs on my newly purchased Surf. Could you tell where/how much you bought yours for? How much did they charge to fit them?

Are you happy with 2" or do you wish you (just a little bit) that you`d gone a bit more. See I don`t wanna get the 2" set and then regret not spending the extra on the 4"`s. I don`t know whether 4" would be too much without the ability to compare vehicles side by side. Did you have to put bigger tyres on her? I expect with a 4" lift normal size wheels/tyres look a bit dainty?
Has anyone else had a 4" kit? If so what are your thoughts?

Many thanks[/QUO

hi,

mines a third gen - you cant go any bigger than a 2" suspension lift for a bolt on kit (i beleive) it cost me a little over £400 inc vat from roughtrax and £200 from a local garage to fit. i run 275/75 R16 tyres which are pretty big anyway so they look fine - going bigger i'm not sure - still neeed to measure the roof height to see if i can still get on the channel tunnel with a 1 1/2" body lift :o)

Regards,

a;ex

[da SLUG man]

the caster/camber angles shouldn't change as it's double wishbone on the front, but you'll need the toe in/out adjusted.
on the back you'll need either a longer panhard rod or a drop bracket... although with 2" it doesn't make a huge difference...

[da SLUG man]

i've got 5" total lift and it fits in most multi storeys... not sure on channel tunnel height but anything under 2m i avoid... fitted on isle of wight ferry (just)(top deck) without roofrack

sometimes worrying under low roofs..

it's bigger than my mates transit van!

[andy]

My SSRG measures 1.82mtrs to the top of the spoiler, and they say that the max is 1.85mtrs, but they will allow vehicles higher than that, they will just put you on a single deck carriage with no extra charge.

[Morr]

.....mines a third gen - you cant go any bigger than a 2" suspension lift for a bolt on kit (i beleive) ....

You can get spacers from the US to give up to 3", but in the UK around 2" lift springs is the max normally available. I've fitted 2.5" spacers on mine.

.......i run 275/75 R16 tyres which are pretty big anyway so they look fine .....

Thats as big as you can go even with the 2" lift, any wider will require changing the wheels or fitting spacers as the tyre will foul the upper wishbone on the slightest droop.

the caster/camber angles shouldn't change as it's double wishbone on the front, but you'll need the toe in/out adjusted.
on the back you'll need either a longer panhard rod or a drop bracket... although with 2" it doesn't make a huge difference...

Despite the double wishbones the camber can be affected, think of the wishbones as two opposed sides of a parallelogram, as one size is moved down (ie the outer vertical of the box due to longer spring) the top of that side will tilt in towards the centre of the vehicle.

Altough the handling may not appear adversely affected the wear on your tyres could be greatly increased. After fitting my lift I did not immediately have the camber checked (wasn't overly concerned as was planning new tyres anyway) I destroyed the front tyres in under 1500kms, they has about 3 to 4mm of thread left at the time the lift was fitted and fairly even wear, ended up thru the outer casing on the inner edges by the time I had the camber reset and replaced them.