Rangie Suspension / Tyre Ideas

[Wilweld]

Hi everyone. First post so here goes.

I have an 85 hiline that I am doing up and we are up to the dreaded suspension and tyre phase. I'm trying to keep it fairly cheap and fairly tame to use as a daily, but I don't want to get left too far behind on the weekends either. All things to all men eh?
I'm across all the "lift doesnt mean more tyre clearance" stuff, and I don't want wide tyres as I don't want to cut the guards but a bit bigger diameter would be good. I read on the lra website you need an inch body lift to clear 31s, but then you are looking at all the stuffing around that goes with that.
So... after all that...
How about a 2" spring lift, lower the bumpstops by 1" and maybe 235/85r16s on standard rims?

[Rick1970]

Lowered bumpstops would be a good idea. 31x10.5R15's on +13 offset rims rub on rear guard lips on mine. 1 inch bumpstop extension fixed that.

235/85's on std rims rub on the rear of the front wheel arch on a mates RRC. Minor trimming would fix this i think.

[MR LR]

2" lift and 235/85-16's on standard offset works really well.

No need to do a body lift of extend bump stops unless you change the shocks.

The tyres will rub on the rear door jambs but that's about it.

That combo works really well in my experience...

[PSI250]

For what is worth this was my old mans classic.
2" lift
31x10.5 on 0 or +10 ( was a while ago) sunnies.

Only had to fold the lip over on the rear doors.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/06/269.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/PSI250/media/2012_11030007.jpg.html)

[Baggy]

PSI250 ... your old man's Rangie is sweet

Agree with Rick1970 ....I had 31x 10.5 on my 2 Door classic with. 2in lift and had no issues with rubbing on guards ...tyres are reasonably cheap ther're equilivent to std 16 rims so no issues with speedo error.

Ive put them on a recently purchased 92 Classic which has had the guards cut.
92 had 16 inch alloys which I've put on the 2 dr while it's parked up awaiting engine transplant / rebuild as they were worn.

I'll post photos of both later

Baggy

[Mercguy]

OK experts, answer me this...

Why would you raise the suspension height by 2", if you could install a 2" body lift and achieve the same result, without significantly increasing the issues of CofG change and the subsequent change in diff pinion angles, caster etc...

I can only think of one reason, $.

Possibly 'easier' though I doubt it, as the additional work req'd with a suspension lift to maintain correct driveline operating angles is arguably more of a pita than lifting a body off a chassis.....

I'm just wanting to understand what people's logic is.

For me it would be pertinent to understand the reasoning for a decision, than to blindly follow without understanding what that reasoning is.

[jezza89]

Much easier to fit lifted springs than a body lift. Springs are very easy to change on a RR
Body lift requires a hoist and you need to change quite a few bushes.

Should also factor in that if the car is still on original springs, they would be sagging big time.

[Rick1970]

OK experts, answer me this...

Why would you raise the suspension height by 2", if you could install a 2" body lift and achieve the same result, without significantly increasing the issues of CofG change and the subsequent change in diff pinion angles, caster etc...

I can only think of one reason, $.

Possibly 'easier' though I doubt it, as the additional work req'd with a suspension lift to maintain correct driveline operating angles is arguably more of a pita than lifting a body off a chassis.....

I'm just wanting to understand what people's logic is.

For me it would be pertinent to understand the reasoning for a decision, than to blindly follow without understanding what that reasoning is.

They don't achieve the same result. Pro's and con's for both i guess.

Suspension lift can give some more compression room before it hits the bumpstops, if thats desirable. But may also loose some suspension droop, exp in the front of a landy. Also won't allow extra space for larger dia tyres without bumpstop spacing.

Body lift alone may gain you some extra tyre room, but not much else.If suspension if left as is, your stuck with the factory stuff, which may or may not suit.

Moderate sized tyres.....spring/shock/suspension to suit needs.
Larger sized tyres.....suspension to suit + bodylift / guard cut to fit tyres at full compression without fouling.

Make it as low as you can get away with, rather than as tall as you possibly can....

[MR LR]

OK experts, answer me this...

Why would you raise the suspension height by 2", if you could install a 2" body lift and achieve the same result, without significantly increasing the issues of CofG change and the subsequent change in diff pinion angles, caster etc...

I can only think of one reason, $.

Possibly 'easier' though I doubt it, as the additional work req'd with a suspension lift to maintain correct driveline operating angles is arguably more of a pita than lifting a body off a chassis.....

I'm just wanting to understand what people's logic is.

For me it would be pertinent to understand the reasoning for a decision, than to blindly follow without understanding what that reasoning is.
So when I hit speed bumps at 80km/h it doesn't bottom out!

2" works quite nicely on these things, castor is only just becoming an issue.

Chassis clearance doesn't hurt either, helps with approach and departure.

Truth be told you don't need the lift, I ran mine stock height on 235/85's for several months.

[Mercguy]

Truth be told you don't need the lift, I ran mine stock height on 235/85's for several months.

That is interesting.

Can you extrapolate a little? I'm curious about this, and what you had to do to the sheetmetal....

I have a set of KM2's sitting under my house, and not used, mostly because a) they are on 16x8 ET-11 (so flares & cut req'd) I have the LRA bodylift waiting to be put in. I also have another set of standard 16x7 RRC rims, which I could fit the KM2's to - but haven't gone that way yet.

I had plans to do a 3" spring lift, long travel dampers, and the body lift.
I am reconsidering some of those available options.

Being able to use the KM2's on standard suspension in the interim would be a good thing until I finally decide which way to go.

[RRover89]

How do you find out what the suspension/height on your vehicle is?
Is there a measurement you can do?
Followed Grimace thread awhile ago but still confused.

[Pacemaker]

With your car on level ground measure the height of your coils. Standard front should be about 250mm. Standard rear should be about 300mm.

[dungarover]

I've always had a simple philosophy with suspension- keep it simple. If you want to do a 3 inch plus lift, do it properly. Too many people cut corners and wonder why it handles like a pile of **** :mad:

I have a Terra-firma 2 inch medium duty lift and the castor is manageable, you do notice it a bit but it's not uncomfortable to drive in a straight line. I have heard a lot of negatives about the Terra Firma gear and I'm on my second kit from them (had one on a previous Rover) so far it's been good. I don't expect it to last as long as Koni/Bilstein stuff but it's less than half the price too :)

On the tyre issue, on a daily driver 31-32 inch is manageable but 33 inch and above with a 3.5 is horrible to drive with the stock gearing, the 3.9 is better but it's still a battle and the fuel economy goes from bad to horrendous :eek:.

Overall it's a compromise on comfort vs off-road ability, how far do you want to go :confused:

Trav

[MR LR]

That is interesting.

Can you extrapolate a little? I'm curious about this, and what you had to do to the sheetmetal....

I have a set of KM2's sitting under my house, and not used, mostly because a) they are on 16x8 ET-11 (so flares & cut req'd) I have the LRA bodylift waiting to be put in. I also have another set of standard 16x7 RRC rims, which I could fit the KM2's to - but haven't gone that way yet.

I had plans to do a 3" spring lift, long travel dampers, and the body lift.
I am reconsidering some of those available options.

Being able to use the KM2's on standard suspension in the interim would be a good thing until I finally decide which way to go.
235/85-16 KM2's should be ok as they're a narrow carcasse.

You'll need to fold the lip on the inner rear guard (door jamb), it is 90* to the door jamb, you need to fold it over on itself (U-shape), this stops the tyres catching.

They will rub slightly in places, but a suspension lift won't change that, only a body lift will. You may need to roll parts of the aluminium guards, but you'll work that out as you go.

Also trim the seat belt bolts down so they don't stick into the tyres.

[MR LR]

do it properly.

Terra-firma



That's an oxymoron if ever there was one... :twisted:

[Wilweld]

Thanks for the help everyone.

[superquag]

. . . If you're rolling in money, try out your car with good quality 'OEM' - sized tyres, either the 205/R-16 (205 wide, 82% aspect ratio) or their nearest "identical" rolling radius equivalent... 235/75 - R16 and on standard suspension...

- See how far and how well you can go, find your limits with the set-up that made the car famous... You will be surprised.:D

THEN you will have a better idea as to which way to go... bigger diameter wheels for more air under the diffs or more air between axles and the car...
Or both.

Spencer-King's original theory that 'Equal weight on all tyres at the same time...yields the best grip on the ground', difficult to achieve when the vehicle is listing heavily to one side...

Just remember that lifted 'Hiluxes' on Bigg Wheels are also known as 'Roll-luxes' for a Good Reason. :eek:

[Meccles]

I've used Dobsons standard height up to plus 1" with Bilsteins got them from Famous Four in UK those plus other bits including freight was same as just shocks in OZ :o and am going either 225 75 R 16 or 235 70 R16. Am leaning toward 235 as we live so near North Shore. As ultimate off road ability is not my goal am sticking with as near as practicable OEM heights etc