Lift and drivability (1 Viewer)

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PKP80

PKP80

Joined
Nov 15, 2004
Threads
336
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2,733
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Website
www.phipsi.net
So,
all I get is flak and rolled eyes when I talk to non 80 /Landcruiser people about getting a lift and tires, etc, etc. I know that with most any lift in my case a 6" you loose stabiliity as far as your center of gravity is concerned and all the technical things around it(i've read all the tech threads on caster, etc), but for those who have lifts and do drive them on the freeway or just as a daily driver. Do you feel "safe" and confortable at that height? Family safe in it? my 80 is my daily until another car comes my way. Trying to do the "responsible thing" I don't know why, but I am.

-Sam-
 
2.5" with 20mm packing and rides fine on the highway, corners, backroads, etc.............................

Feel completely safe in it, just have to remember its a big truck and not a sports car.
 
You'll notice crosswinds more etc, but with std OME lift I think the handling is better than stock.
 
Junk said:
You'll notice crosswinds more etc, but with std OME lift I think the handling is better than stock.
Click to expand...


Do try to remember this is coming from a man whose trucks has a permanent list to the passenger side from hauling around his momma's fat ass. :flipoff2: Although its really good at making right turns. :D
 
I own a 97 with Christo's 6" heavy duty lift, ARB bumper with winch, rear Kaymar with 35" tire and High lift jack. As Junk stated, I do feel cross winds a bit more when at speed on the highway. I travelled from Fort Drum in Upstate New York to Mid Mass, about 350 miles, about once a month and was very happy with the ride. The springs don't let the vehicle wallow like the old stock springs. I was very happy after having to do a very abrupt evasive manuver to miss running into the back end of a car and the vehicle was very stable. Very little lean with the heavy springs. I can't say enough good things about Slee's system. And just having a LC up on 35's gets respect from other drivers.
 
Sam,
I certainly don't disagree with the other's posts at all. But I would say that if you are a bit hesitant to completely jump into a bunch of modifications that can add up to some serious bank I would do the relatively straight-forward 850/863 OME springs with the L shocks, front caster bushings and sway bar drop blocks - all from Christo. That setup will go soooooo far in terms of driveability on and off road and without compromising your safety. It will easily clear 33's too. That's just my opinion based on my experience. I put that setup on my truck when I bought it in 2001 and it has been perfect for what I wanted while still keeping the truck capable as a family wagon, commuter and work truck. With that combo on your truck and some sliders and it will do amazing things while still being streetable in a safe, controlled manner.

Personally (again), that's what I'd do if in the same boat (and I was) instead of diving right into 6" springs and dealing with the laundry list on Christo's site of what you need to address to stay safe on the highway at speed. Like MSGGrunt though I think Christo's stuff definitely lives up to the hype but you're talking about a lot more scratch to do your fr/rr panhards, rr uppers, fr lowers, fr driveshaft, maybe rr lowers, bumpstops, blah, blah, blah. While you can have the lift I mention above on you truck by next week for under $750 - that's amazing, just ask folks with leaf spring lifts!

Anyway, that's my input. Good luck and let me know if you ever need help installing one.
Mike
 
Clwnmidget and Others,
thnx so much for the info and tips thus far...What's been holding me up is that a bunch of the guys Ii've spoken to say "do it once and do it right," so I know that I want that 6" so i have been saving up, but I guess to part it up slowly is not too bad an Idea. Any takes on which theory to go with? all in one shot or gradually over time?

Also, MIike think it would be possible for me to check out your 80 sometime? I don't know where u are at but I'm in the L.A. area and have the next week or so off. If it's not too much trouble.

-Sam-
 
The 6" kit from Slee is not cheap I give you that, but it is of high quality. I bought the do it yourself kit to save a few bucks. I cut my own panhard bars and control arms myself with a chop saw and then had a local welder do all the welding.

Make sure to measure the stock length before cutting. The only thing I didn't buy in the original kit was Christo's front double cardan drive shaft (it wasn't available then). I have since installed it and all of my drive line vibrations have gone away. This kit is an easy do it yourself job. Other than the time to do all the welding I installed the lift in two days by myself.

The problems with lifts are this, IMO, 33's look great for a while then you want to go bigger, my 35's looked enormous compared to the stock height of the truck, but now after living with it and seeing it on a daily basis even my 35's look like they should be bigger. Now I am considering a 2" body lift and stepping up to 37's. I'd love some 9.00 x 16 Michelin XCZ's, but I guess they are no longer available to the public. Where does it end.... Maybe a custom subframe, duel transfer cases, a hopped-up 4.7 conversion, and IROC 49's.......... Probably wouldn't be very road worthy, but it sure would turn some heads.
 
Responsible smonsible! :) I have slee's 6" lift and the truck handles beautifully. I have had 2.5", Js, Js with spacers and the 6" springs. The 6" springs are easily the most stable pulling a 3500lb boat on mountain roads and highways (electric brakes of course). Where the signs say slow to 35mph, I can go around at up to 70mph (without the boat). I was very impressed. The only problem is I have a slight vibration out of the front driveshaft at 40-70mph. Not much, but enough to bug me. Since all of our cruisers have slightly different caster fom the factory I am still working on this. I think I have a solution :), but need some time to tinker. One important note with the 6" lift, adding 1 1/4" wheel spacers greatly helped handling and stability. OTOH the 2 1/2" lift from belton was easily the best on washboards and very rough roads at high speed. That was before winch, rearbumper, 315s etc. Although the 6" work about the same running 15lbs psi :). Depends on what you want. Still anything over Js will be more topheavy. I would say the 2 1/2", set up right, is safer than stock.
Cheers,
Sean.
 
PKP80 said:
Also, MIike think it would be possible for me to check out your 80 sometime? I don't know where u are at but I'm in the L.A. area and have the next week or so off. If it's not too much trouble.

-Sam-
Click to expand...

Sam, sorry I missed this reply - I was in Costa Mesa yesterday!

But yeah, I've got from now until the 28th to goof off sort of. I have the 6" springs and all the "do it yourself" weld ins from Christo so it can get you thinking about all the things other than a set of springs and shocks that you'll need to address.

I stick with my original advice and agree with Sean's, that for now you can drop the $750 for the 2.5" HD kit, not have to worry about anything else really, and be able to be what most consider "safer" due to the stiffer springs and get through most trails.

Oh, and you can get wheel spacers like Sean says from a "local" place in Redlands for $65/pr any thickness you want. I run the 1.5" ones and have no complaints.

Mike
 
Since you brought up the issue of axle strength with larger tires how about swapping the stock axles for either Volvo or Unimog portals? Better under axle clearance and more gawk factor. I'm talking unlimited funds of course. And the very low gearing would be an issue.

Back to reality. I am very happy with my 6" lift and do not feel I gave up all that much as far as on road safety. A lift to accomodate 33's probably would have been easier and less expensive, but I just think 315's look perfect. If you go with 6" don't forget the small details like extended brake lines, extended axle breathers, and adjusting the rear brake proportioning valve.

MTNRAT,
I had the same vibration you are experiencing and Slee's double cardan front shaft cured the problem.
 
to add that it would probably be reasonably easy to sell a decent used 2.5" lift kit when you want to upgrade to 6"
Heck, I'm looking for one. Anybody?
:D
E
 
Eric V., if you're running J's and any spacers on the springs then you're probably already in need of the adjustable panhards, rear upper control arms and something more than just caster bushing in the front lowers. Probably front driveshaft, at least L-shocks, etc that gets you essentially at Christo's 6" lift setup without the 6" springs right?

This is one reason I kind of liked doing my lift in increments over a couple of years. It lets you get used to a certain amount of lift, try it out, find out what you like about it, what you don't, and the limits of what it will do for you on the trail. Then you address those points by maybe adding some spring spacers, then dealing with caster, dropping the bumpstops, etc. Yes, at some point you'll just want taller springs and longer shocks but I agree that at 35"-37" tires range it doesn't seem practical anymore unless you truggy it or make it a trailer queen.

So Sam if you are really going to go directly to 6" I'd say just do it right the first time and address everything mentioned on Christo's site, that way you won't be disappointed or un-safe.

Eric9999 - yeah, that's the reasoning I employed but you save yourself a bit if you go directly to the L-shocks at the start. And if you're looking S. Jackson is selling his J's if they're still available (http://actionjackson.com/cruiser/forsale/)

Mike
 
In my opinion, any lift you get from slee will perform flawlessly. I think the biggest thing that relates to driving performance is tires. If you lift the truck 6 inches, no biggy. But if you lift it 6 inches and put some nasty swampers on it then it's not going to ride very well or track well. If you lift it 6 inches and put some AT or highway tread tires i think you should be just fine.
 
concretejungle said:
In my opinion, any lift you get from slee will perform flawlessly. I think the biggest thing that relates to driving performance is tires.
Click to expand...

There is probably some truth in this statement............................ :flipoff2:

concretejungle said:
If you lift the truck 6 inches, no biggy. But if you lift it 6 inches and put some nasty swampers on it then it's not going to ride very well or track well.
Click to expand...

There is probably some truth and false in this statement................ :flipoff2:

Does depend on driver and set-up I've owned some nasty ass tires that tracked well on asphalt as well as off road. All depends on set up and configuration. :D

Course just slammin the gas to it don't hurt either........... :bounce:
 
clownmidget said:
Eric V., if you're running J's and any spacers on the springs then you're probably already in need of the adjustable panhards, rear upper control arms and something more than just caster bushing in the front lowers. Probably front driveshaft, at least L-shocks, etc that gets you essentially at Christo's 6" lift setup without the 6" springs right?



Mike
Click to expand...

No spacers on the springs. I'm currently running caster bushings but will be putting in Slee's caster plates. I'm going to make new rear control arms. No driveshaft mod. I have L shocks. I'm not anywhere close to the 6" lift. My truck looks like a little toy compared to folks with the 6" lift. Seriously, 37s and a 6" lift is night and day different than Js and 35s. Also, this is on my 91. I think it behaves a little bit differently than an FZJ to lift, weight in front is a little different. On my 94 I've already determined I'm going with the 2.5" lift and 33s or so. That will allow me to keep a nice highway ride and still run moderate trails without problems. One thing to consider is that pushing big tires down the interstate consumes a ton of fuel. If you are running big meats 365 days a year not only is the tire store going to be your best friend so is the gas station.
 
mtrs

I had 30k miles on a set of mtrs before, and they were still at about 70%. Mainly commuting miles.
 
I have done the incrimental change thing like Clownmidget. First a 2.5 inch lift with 33's, then J's with 33's, then J's with 35s and new gears, just this weekend I added 1 inch spacers to the tops of the J's. For the first time, caster is an issue, so if you are going higher than J's you WILL need more than the caster bushings. Even J's with the caster bushings was barely acceptable, with 1 inch spacers it demands your full attention under hard braking. Also, until this weekend, I had never added the adjusters in the panhards. This mod makes a suprising difference, the truck tracks better and doesn't tend to do that weird sideways motion over bumps that it used to.

So my advice is to go to 2.5 inch heavy duty springs, stay with 33's and stock gearing. Add the caster bushings. Only when this no longer meets your needs, then go to the 6 inch Slee lift and all the mods needed for this much lift. J's allow you to fit 35's, but to do well requires most if not all of the modifications of the 6 inch lift like caster correction, pan hards, front CV shaft etc. Medium lift = inexpensive and functional. Anything else is $$$$.

As others have mentioned, used OME 2.5 inch lifts are easy to sell for about half your initial investment.
 
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