Thread: To much lift! (Is there any such thing?)

Originally Posted by Pat The Rat

Wayne,
Thanks for another legendary-ily (new word?) helpful post.
In answer to your queries:
Coils are same diameter. They just have the closer windings at one end.
Mine is a 1994 300 TDI – so I’d be in a worse boat than you regarding driveshafts.
I agree with you 100% on unstable vehicles, I have seen plenty of the Niss-ota brigade driving around with their arse permanently clenched in a 6” lifted truck, which always seems to want to fall over... Stuff that for a joke.
I recon your 110 looks the bee’s knees, and I do appreciate (even more over the last few days) the work and research you have put into it. I can see that 3” is not a record breaking lift for a 110, but getting a lift that height that works is well worth mentioning.
My 110 either sits in the drive (99% of the time it seems ), goes for a boys weekend (ewww - I’ll say ‘camping and 4WD weekend’ in future), or drives for 6-7 hours in any given direction to visit someone. It does not get used every day, but it does get used on longer trips – so having something good on road is still important to me.

I realise now that my initial thought of getting a ‘really soft’ 3” lift (expecting 2 and a bit inches – as opposed to asking for 2” and getting 1” or 3” rock hard) was very silly – I should have been more clear with what I wanted.. In a way getting the wrong coils sold to me (yes – I am saying that now ) has been a good and timely eye-opener.
I have air lockers - and with them, nearly std height suspension, the worlds skinniest tyres and 8” travel shocks I haven’t really missed out on anything. So I figure my money is better spent on a setup that can cycle through, say, a 10” shock (common size), and gives me clearance for some larger tyres down the track. This means a lower ride height, picking some better lines, but still being able to articulate the wheels enough to get some good stability. The lower height (say 2” or 2.5” above std) will mean I can save the radius /rear arm and bushes $$ for other bits and bobs (and my upcoming trip north) later on.
I know this had been the ‘traditional’ line of thought forever – I’m slow OK!

I notice Rick130 has a front BSC of about 120mm (down a bit on that now), and seems to think this is a good compromise. I have just jacked my front up to this height, and it sits level, looks good, and will work fine I believe. This is about 2.3” above factory. If I can get my front clearance to this, or even100mm, I will be happy. Researching the coils that will do this for me now (LRA purple I think?)
Just sweating on British Offroad ‘s (yes I will say it now ) response, to see what my options are.

I know you are moving away from this now but remember using a soft 3 inch lift would be bad news, it would be unstable. Shock length if you want long travel, Wayne and I run 11inch, Wayne runs OME Sports I think and I run Terrafirma +5.

I have a friend in QLD he runs standard height with -2 mounts and it is very good, and can get away with just retaining your coils. With the 11 inch shocks you would want to have relocation cones.

I am surprised British offroad would supply the wrong coil but they are made by Dobinson from memory. My coils are Dobinson but were custom made for my 110county and taper ground progressive rate (progressive like Wayne's).

Well it sounds like you have now formulated a plan any way. Good luck

Originally Posted by lambrover

I know you are moving away from this now but remember using a soft 3 inch lift would be bad news, it would be unstable. Shock length if you want long travel, Wayne and I run 11inch, Wayne runs OME Sports I think and I run Terrafirma +5.

I have a friend in QLD he runs standard height with -2 mounts and it is very good, and can get away with just retaining your coils. With the 11 inch shocks you would want to have relocation cones.

I am surprised British offroad would supply the wrong coil but they are made by Dobinson from memory. My coils are Dobinson but were custom made for my 110county and taper ground progressive rate (progressive like Wayne's).

Well it sounds like you have now formulated a plan any way. Good luck

Yes - I think I have a better idea about how to move forward now (bit of extra flex and not so much height) thanks largely to both you guys. I gotta say getting these 'too tall' coils confused the absolute s**t out of me, it was great to hear both your experiences to have something to work off.
I will be sure to finish this thread off with what I end up with, and how it goes.
Cheers guys.

Originally Posted by Pat The Rat

Wayne,
Thanks for another legendary-ily (new word?) helpful post.
In answer to your queries:
Coils are same diameter. They just have the closer windings at one end.
Mine is a 1994 300 TDI – so I’d be in a worse boat than you regarding driveshafts.
I agree with you 100% on unstable vehicles, I have seen plenty of the Niss-ota brigade driving around with their arse permanently clenched in a 6” lifted truck, which always seems to want to fall over... Stuff that for a joke.
I recon your 110 looks the bee’s knees, and I do appreciate (even more over the last few days) the work and research you have put into it. I can see that 3” is not a record breaking lift for a 110, but getting a lift that height that works is well worth mentioning.
My 110 either sits in the drive (99% of the time it seems ), goes for a boys weekend (ewww - I’ll say ‘camping and 4WD weekend’ in future), or drives for 6-7 hours in any given direction to visit someone. It does not get used every day, but it does get used on longer trips – so having something good on road is still important to me.

I realise now that my initial thought of getting a ‘really soft’ 3” lift (expecting 2 and a bit inches – as opposed to asking for 2” and getting 1” or 3” rock hard) was very silly – I should have been more clear with what I wanted.. In a way getting the wrong coils sold to me (yes – I am saying that now ) has been a good and timely eye-opener.
I have air lockers - and with them, nearly std height suspension, the worlds skinniest tyres and 8” travel shocks I haven’t really missed out on anything. So I figure my money is better spent on a setup that can cycle through, say, a 10” shock (common size), and gives me clearance for some larger tyres down the track. This means a lower ride height, picking some better lines, but still being able to articulate the wheels enough to get some good stability. The lower height (say 2” or 2.5” above std) will mean I can save the radius /rear arm and bushes $$ for other bits and bobs (and my upcoming trip north) later on.
I know this had been the ‘traditional’ line of thought forever – I’m slow OK!

I notice Rick130 has a front BSC of about 120mm (down a bit on that now), and seems to think this is a good compromise. I have just jacked my front up to this height, and it sits level, looks good, and will work fine I believe. This is about 2.3” above factory. If I can get my front clearance to this, or even100mm, I will be happy. Researching the coils that will do this for me now (LRA purple I think?)
Just sweating on British Offroad ‘s (yes I will say it now ) response, to see what my options are.

Pat
It sounds like you are working out a plan of attack,which is good.
Bump stop clearance is very subjective,and depends on where it is measured from.Everyone seems to measure from a different point,so be careful when doing comparisons.
My one big suggestion would be to take the truck,packed with what you would normally take on a day/weekend away,and get it weighed at both ends,preferably at all 4 corners.This will give you a starting point for the springs that are required.When you have the springs,then you can fit them,and cycle the suspension through its full travel with the shocks disconnected.You can then measure the required open and closed lengths required for the shocks,relative to whatever shock mounts you want to run.This way you can avoid another pitfall of many ie Topping and bottoming out of shock absorbers.
I think you are on the right track,looking at 2"-2.5" genuine lift,this will give you the required clearance needed if you want to run 35's in the future,and keeping the lift down,may enable you to avoid having to slot your front swivels.
But regardless of the lift,I suggest that you either strengthen or replace the standard rear arms,as they are spaghetti,and will let you down eventually,and usually in a very inopportune place.
One last thing is,that the place you purchased your springs from,is different to where I got my initial set from.
Good luck with the rest of the build up,and keep us informed how you go,I always like to see how other peoples plans work out
Any further questions,don't hesitate to ask.