BODY LIFT AND SUSPENSION

[hippo]

Had a 3inch body lift done on my 97 swb mav [round headlights-not sure model name] by LA and cannot recommend them to anyone. Got work put right by local garage at a cost of £250. Got refund of £200 from them but as i was about to leave for Tunisia to play in the sand i took it no further! Mav was superb in the dunes - humiliated 110's as the mav is lightweight just like a proper beach buggy.
It now sports 16inch alloys with 265x75x16 BFG AT's
I have learnt from this forum that by swapping the springs for lwb ones and winding up the front torsion bar that this will achieve a lift[hope this is right] BUT i would also like a more comfortable ride [and better] off road ANY THOUGHTS
HIPPO

 

[jace]

theres quite a few on here now whove said la supertrux no good and not happy with there standards.

 

[Terranosaurus]

I have learnt from this forum that by swapping the springs for lwb ones and winding up the front torsion bar that this will achieve a lift[hope this is right] BUT i would also like a more comfortable ride [and better] off road

Yes the LWB springs will give you a lift but it will be at the expense of ride quality slightly as they are stiffer. I intend having some lift springs made up to my spec as all the ones available are heavy duty and thus stiffer and I'd prefer them softer if anything (not by too much though) for more compliance and articulation. By the same reasoning I'm not even considering the HD torsion bars available from LA supacrooks from Calmini.

I've taken the anti roll bars off and this makes the offroad performance better and the ride too. No more wnaging side to side all the time, the body stays still whilst the suspension is left to do its thing, with the ARBs its always trying to counter the axle movement relative to the body and drags the body with it on ever bump and hole.

How's your clearance on those tyres?

Out of interest if you don't mind what did LA charge for the lift?

 

[hippo]

they charged £850 for the privilage!!
anti-roll bars eh,,,,,thanks will try that
let me know about your suspension antics as we seem to be after the same results

 

[Terranosaurus]

they charged £850 for the privilage!!

Best not tell you how much it cost me to do a 60mm lift on a DIY basis. :lol:

 

[hippo]

oh yes
tyre from 28 to 32 inch so 2 inch more ground clearance
had to trim mud flaps to front otherwise full articulation intact

 

[BlueBull]

Hiya folks I also got ripped off by supertrux, they fitted the 3 inch calmini kit to mine plus the body lift and added the 33 inch tires. They fitted wheel arch extensions which dont cover the tires and the t2 is covered in mud, the steering was awfull and also had to take it to a local garage to have it worked on.I bought 5 tires from them and they only supplied me with 4 and I can not get the 5th one from them as they keep fobbing me off and on the suspension kit they left out the new ball joints that were to replace the old ones. I am going to take this matter further and going public with it, I would not recomend them to anybody, please be warned. I have learnt the hard way and I am now in debt trying to rectify there mistakes.

 

[jace]

nnman wasnt happy either you should all link up more involved better your chances

 

[Deleted Member D]

Lifting

Im wanting to lift my SWB Patrol both suspension and body (3inch each) but both funds and knowledge restrict my progress at the moment. Sorry to hear about the let downs. Theres too many companies out there lacking in quality and interest. :?

 

[bambam]

are there any problems associated with winding up the torsion bars up?
also how much can you wind it up by?

was off roading at the weekend and found ground clearance to be a real problem.

HB, did you remove the torsion bar and turn it round a notch or just wind the adjusters.

I've wound mind as far as they seem to go but still think it should be higher.

Thanks

 

[Terranosaurus]

I just wound mine up, I didn't re-index them (apparently thats the technical term) My truck sits about level with LWB springs in, about a 1½" lift, what springs have you got in the back? Going too far is counter productive IMHO as you run out of droop travel and increase the risk of breaking CV joints.

Have you got any picture of your truck bambam?

I think the fact that Calminis kits are a basic 2" lift kit and a much more comprehensive 3" kit which includes replacement wishbones etc gives a good pointer to the fact that really 2" is the most you can expect to lift with the standard arms etc.

TBH if you're looking for clearance then a body lift is the way to go, that will allow you to fit larger tyres which will give you more real clearance under both the rear diff and the outboard end of the wishbones which is one place I have noticed I've suffered in the past. Of course if you're just after "the look" for street use then 3" is probably ok without changing arms etc.

 

[bambam]

the rear of mine does seem quite high already - maybe something to do with it being a van so nothing in the back? or perhaps already has LWB springs fitted as standard to deal with potentially heavy loads being carried/towed?

Fronts seem to be wound as far as they will go - will have a double check when I get some dry weather though.

 

[Terranosaurus]

Have you got a photo where we can see the truck :lol:

The torsion bar adjuster on mine seemed to have an awful lot of thread through but it still kept turning and winding the suspension up.

 

[Deleted Member]

Does look high already at the back Bambam,think you need to wind the torsion bars up a little to level it out. :lol:
HB will keep you right,looking good though :lol: :lol:

 

[bambam]

yeah rubbish picture hey!!!

Will take some now and try and get a bit of light there!

 

[Deleted Member D]

Torsion bar

Where is this torsion bar ? Can it be wound up at the front on a patrol ? :?

 

[Terranosaurus]

Re: Torsion bar

Where is this torsion bar ? Can it be wound up at the front on a patrol ? :?

No - you'll have coil springs on a live axle won't you? Torsion bars only on IFS models like T2/Mav, Pjero etc

 

[Deleted Member D]

Re: Torsion bar

Where is this torsion bar ? Can it be wound up at the front on a patrol ? :?

No - you'll have coil springs on a live axle won't you? Torsion bars only on IFS models like T2/Mav, Pjero etc

Yes its got coil springs. -cheers-

 

[bambam]

just to jog my memory as it's too early for it to work which way do I turn the bolts to wind it up, clockwise?

thanks

 

[JonathanM]

Not lifted my wagon yet, but I did adjust the torsion bars to eliminate the sag that had developed, and if you are under the car you are tightening the lower nut on the torsion bar thread to lift it, so you are turning the nut anti-clockwise, as viewed from below.