2-2.5" AHC Lift Using King Coils & Shock Spacers

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Just wanted to update y'all with some real-world data. I spent the last week in the woods of Tennessee and North Carolina hiking and wheeling. I can state that the sway bars will not prevent the front control-arms from contacting the front shock bodies, nor does the rear swaybar prevent contact with the rear shock bodies. I'm still not totally sure what I'm going to do about it - the cheapest solution is to remove the AHC spacers but I kinda like the extra downtravel they provide. Other options are aftermarket front control arms + longer rear sway bar links, but I'm not sure if the rear sway bar links actually will prevent the contact issue in the rear. I could just remove the rear sway bar entirely, but that might impact the on-road manners more than I like.

I've got a bit to ponder as I have no wheeling trips planned in the next several months, but definitely something I want to get sorted before getting all crossed-up in the mountains again!
 
For the front you can just remove the shocks dust shield, i did that on mine but you then need to add a down travel bump stop to prevent over extension.

i made my whole setup as on recieving the japanese kit i was so disapointed by the quality, design ( contact cv joint boot/ jap braket on full drop full steer). I only made the front so far since it was where it was lcling for me. Only 25mm lift up front, oem rear, but time will come and the rear will be done too but definitely not the jap way.

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Holy. Crap.

I'm impressed!

Edit: so why do you need the droop stop? I know the droop is longer than OEM but does it take the CVs beyond a safe angle or something? Is there interference with other components? My lift is in the 1-1.5 inch range, and the spacers should only be adding about 1 inch more droop than OEM - I think that's probably okay but I'm definitely not sure.
 
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You will bind the cv, boot will contact the lower arm and top ball joint will bind if you do not limit the drop, plus the tab on which the front sensor connecting rod connects on the top arm will come in contact with the frame for any mor edrop than 25mm at the shock mount.

brackets offset by 40mm, so way more than 25mm
 
syche said:
You will bind the cv, boot will contact the lower arm and top ball joint will bind if you do not limit the drop, plus the tab on which the front sensor connecting rod connects on the top arm will come in contact with the frame for any mor edrop than 25mm at the shock mount.

brackets offset by 40mm, so way more than 25mm
Click to expand...

I'm hoping some aftermarket upper control arms would take care of the ball joint binding as well as the shock interference. I didn't want to put in the work to remove the dust shield as I'm lazy, but I like your soft bellows replacement, that's great.

Wonder if a diff drop would solve the CV problems - I know my cv boot doesn't hit the control arm right now, but does interfere with the ahc lift brackets at full lock. Didn't notice the issue with the sensor either. Guess it's time to try climb under the truck and look around again. I went ahead and ordered extended rear endlinks and will report if that removes the clearance issues at the rear.

Thanks for the info!
 
the front sway bar is disconnected on my lc100, if you keep it, it will be the first thing binding a believe and eventually you will snap the connecting rods.

I have a custom made high clearance diff drop, not the usual crossmember type which make you loose almost 20mm of ground clearance, i have 20mm diff drop, and factory ground clearance.
 
syche said:
the front sway bar is disconnected on my lc100, if you keep it, it will be the first thing binding a believe and eventually you will snap the connecting rods.

I have a custom made high clearance diff drop, not the usual crossmember type which make you loose almost 20mm of ground clearance, i have 20mm diff drop, and factory ground clearance.
Click to expand...

Any chance you've got some sort of description of that custom diff drop? That sounds like a really good thing.
 
I 3d modeled the left hand front diff support, then redesigned it for 2 types, 20 and 25mm diff drop, got the parts lazer cut out of 10mm thick steel and welded all together. 25mm is as far as you can go before the front diff comes too close to the frame hanger, where the removable crossmember attach to.

you then need2 simple spacers and lknger bolts as in regular crossmemberdrop kit.

i have a cutout And drop in my armor plate of about 12/15mm only on one side for the diff housing to stay protected. It is on par with the front arm attachment point hardly any loss in ground clearance there.
On 32 inch tires, front suspension fully compressed ( shocks removed and torsion bars loosened, i have a good 12/14cm ground clearance if i remember right.
 
Hi!
Just upgrading my suspension with King springs KTRS-79 and spacers and AHC spacers.
Rear shocks: cannot turn the loop!! Not able to put the AHC spacer! Anyone had same problem?
Edit: the eyelet of the rear shock(actuator) won't move/turn.
Thank!
 
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I didn't have that issue. Might be too much pressure in the system, however. You could try bleeding some pressure out of the rear strut then try spinning it.
 
In other news, in an attempt to avoid some of the issues with the AHC lift, I removed the front blocks but left my ride height the same. When going over the largeish speedbumps here in florida at 'high' speed (around 20-25 mph) I could feel/hear the shock topping out. So, I came up with a new solution:

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I cut the upper and lower brackets apart, then trimmed down the upper bracked to decrease the amount of lift it adds by around half an inch, then welded them onto the shock moutns on the control arm side. I'm comfortable with this since new control arms are only about $100 each. I then added the bolt standoff back to the lower bolt hole and bolted it in. Result is slightly less shock travel than the AHC brackets provide to minimize interpherence with CV and shock, but also helps avoid the shock topping out issue I noticed without the brackets. I'll likely tack the rear brackets as well to help them avoid twisting the s**t out of the lower bushings. Pretty happy with this solution for now.
 
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