2" body lift or 20mm suspension lift?

[tony2002]

For off road use what do you think would work best ie produce best off road performance, the 2" inch body lift or go for 20mm suspension lift which would involve new springs and dampers. Not sure about body roll on the lift see and thought you guys would be able to help,
Thanks again Tony
oh sorry 2000 SWB Terrano II 2.4

 

[jace]

hummingbirds yer man hes done it to his 2.4 petrol aswell

 

[t-jay]

i would have thought that a body lift would give you better off road performance as you can then fit bigger tyres giving you better ground clearance under your diffs. on the other hand a body lift is a bit more complicated than a suspension lift. i'm sure the other members will give you more info.

 

[NNMan]

Body lift does allow bigger tyres and the following but suspenion kit allows greater articulation, 20mm is not a lot though, why not 2" body or 2" suspenion lift?

 

[NNMan]

why not do em both!?

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

It is my beleif that a body lift would involve less problems with setting up camber caster etc, and maintain the original handeling of the vehicle better! and at the end of the day, both ways only make any difference if you fit bigger tyres! as that is the only way to increase ground clearance under the diff!

 

[Guest]

Both if you can afford them, if not then suspension lift will give you better articulation and more travel off road.

Not sure how you'd do the suspension, back would be relativley easy, but front is torsion bars so its a wind up job.

Humingbird has done both to his, if you do a search you will find the details of what he did.

 

[Terranosaurus]

Sorry folks been away.

For a cheap suspension lift on a SWB just get some LWB spings gives about 1½" and the std shocks are long enough to just allow the springs to unweight but not dislocate. I'm not a fan of off the shelf "lift kits" they seem over priced for not a lot to me. Springs is springs is springs all you need to know is what length and rate you need and you're away. I'm planning to get some longer pro-comp shocks but with my own length and rating springs to give me max articulation without dislocating. I worries me that no one specifies SWB or LWB on their lift kits but I promise you it makes a difference.

As for body lift, it was relatively straight forward on mine but I had my own unique reason to do it (no one else has a petrol tank where mine is). Ultimately its a better way to fit bigger tires and gives better handling ion the road due to lower C of G and correct suspension geometry but doesn't help approach/depart and break over angles in the same way as a suspension lift.

Really its all down to personal preference and how handy you are with the spanners.

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

just out of interest i wonder if the torsion bars from a LWB have a higher load rating than those from a SWB? could this be another upgrade?

 

[Terranosaurus]

just out of interest i wonder if the torsion bars from a LWB have a higher load rating than those from a SWB? could this be another upgrade?

Could be, should be easy to check, just measure em with verniers, stiffer will be thicker. Personally I'd prefere some softer ones not stiffer ones, even with the front anti roll bar off its really hard to get the front to articulate cos the bars are so stiff compared to the rear.

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

could they just be stiffer through tempering (or whatever its called :lol: ) and be the same relative size?

I know transit front coil springs a re rated by colour codes as they look and measure the same but are rated different for different models, so maybe this is simmilar?

I just though when winding them higher to get greater articulation would the extra strenght help?

 

[Terranosaurus]

Have you tried counting the coils or measuring the wire diameter on the transit springs? Steel from a given manufacturer for a given application is usually the same grade, a quite small increase in dia makes quite a big difference in torsion bar strength. With coils its the spring with the fewer coils that will be higher rated which is opposite to what many people think.

I'll try to remember to get under mine and put the calipers on the torsion bars, perhaps someone with a LWB and/or a diesel could do the same. I suspect the diesels could also be higher rated.
Even when crossing really un even ground I find the body follows the front wheels whereas the rear axle moves independently of the body really well. Softer torsion bars would allow more movement for a given force which should help keep the body leveler off road, wobble more on the road but if I wasn't prepared to put up with that I wouldn't have taken the anti roll bars off.

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

I must admit never having tested the diameter but they do look (well some do) the same amount of coils. Wouldnt the treatment to harden or temper them be done after they were coiled, and could some of the differtence be there?

I see oyur poit about the diesels springs and bars as the engine is probably heavier,

would stiffer bars help absorb impacts of off roading at a bit off speed and taking a few jumps etc. without bottoming out as hard?

 

[Terranosaurus]

When jumping yes but I try to avoid that leave that to the Paris-Dakar types, otherwise you're aiming for the wheels being able to move as freely as possible so as to absorb the terrain whilst the body stays still above them. No ARBs goes someway towards this as the body doesn't try to follow the angle of the axle but fronts too stiff to absorb largish bumps. The suspension rates are set up for the road really a they are on all vehicles realy. In all seriousness, Dakar trucks will using progressive springs and have massive travel so they can have the first so many inches of travel quite soft and then the springs will get harder which will stop them bottoming out after jumps. Of course you need well matched dampers for this to work properly. For normal UK type green laning and off roading speed isn't an issue you won't be doing more than about 15mph anyway - or at least you shouldn't be.

IIRC coils are hot rolled and tempered as they are formed. I don't think they'll make much difference to them by altering the tempering otherwise the steel will be incorrectly tempered to be a spring n the first place. I plan to get some made up for mine so I'll ask more when I do - the joys of living/working near Sheffield.

 

[tony2002]

Hi hunningbird so changing to long wheel base springs alround will give me a 1 1/2" lift??

What a great way to get some more clearance, if this is the case purchasing some off the shelf springs for the LWB and fitting them to mine would be the way to go agreed??

 

[Terranosaurus]

Yes, I got mine from a member who had replaced his with new as he towed a lot and had had a rear shock fail so did springs at the same time.

 

[Deleted Member S]

Hi HB :smile: when i'm feeling a bit better i'll go under mine & try & get the measurement of my TDI ones for you so you can compare them againest yours :smile:

 

[Guest]

Hi hunningbird so changing to long wheel base springs alround will give me a 1 1/2" lift??

What a great way to get some more clearance, if this is the case purchasing some off the shelf springs for the LWB and fitting them to mine would be the way to go agreed??

Try some from a scrappy first, they may be perfectly Ok for what your after. I believe that HBs were second hand from a member on here.

 

[tommo]

tony2002

I have fitted 20mm extended LASupertrux springs, although when sat next to the old springs thay where the same length but lifted the back 1.5" when fitted, Ive also fitted Discovery dislocating cones these where 3mm to big to go in the spring so had to be ground down to fit.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l97/TOMLINA/Picture007-1.jpg
My shocks are pro comp es9000 29.8" extended 17.3" collapsed with 12.5" of travel see link in my signature
The front has just had its torsion bars wound up to level it with the back.

 

[tony2002]

sweet that looks well ace, good job. I'm looking at the TBR stuff off the shelf for the 20mm kit good price too