AHC 5 extra inch's clearance on the Lexus 200

[patrickfinley]

One of the bummers about the 200 series is that they dropped the clearance and inch from the 100's which is down an inch from the 80's.

I don't believe the Toyota 200 has AHC yet, but the Lexus lx570 is amazing. It has 2 inches front, plus and additional 3 inches when in crawl mode. 5 inches front and 5.4 inches rear, that's huge, you almost don't need a lift.

It's a shame Toyota plays the "feature" thing with the Lexus. Both models should have all the off-road features.

From Lexus website:

Active Height Control automatically adjusts the vehicle's ride height to help provide optimal vehicle performance, regardless of speed or terrain. To help improve aerodynamics at higher speeds, the LX lowers 2.4 inches in front and 1.6 inches in back. For increased traction in off-road situations, the system engages once the 4WD shifts into low range, raising the vehicle 2.0 inches in front and 2.4 inches in the rear for better ground clearance. This helps control roll and pitch for added security. When Crawl Control [1] is enabled, the LX can be raised an additional three inches to prevent bottoming out in extremely rocky conditions.

 

[matt60/80]

AHC doesn't give you more ground clearance. It give the body more clearance but not more axle clearance. To get the clearance you're talking about you need bigger tires.

 

[patrickfinley]

A lift kit wouldn't affect the axles either? Am I wrong or is this the same as putting on a 5" lift kit that you use only when needed. Well, without the beefed up parts of course.

This leads me to my next question, I wonder if the AHC would play well with a beefed up suspension.

 

[pman]

What your getting confused about is the way most guys who really wheel alot measure clearance. Using AHC to raise a LX570 5 inches does not actually increase your clearance by 5 inches, because you are not getting any "true" lift. Neither does adding a traditional 2 inch lift to a 100 series or 80 series or even a Jeep. The reason is these lift move the body up, but it does not change the clearance at the lowest point. On all of these vehicles, the clearance is lowest under the rear diff. The only way to increase the clearance under the rear diff is put on bigger tires, or get portal axles which is stupid expensive

For example, I have a LX470, if I put AHC in high, i get a 2 inch lift, but I have not increased the clearance at the lowest point. I have not gotten any "true"

However, if I leave AHC in Normal, but bolt on a set of 33 inch tires, I gain a true lift of 1 inch at the lowest point.

 

[patrickfinley]

Ok, in the purest sense, the lift really has nothing to do with raising the vehicle for ground clearance directly. The lift allows more room for bigger tires which in turn raise the ground clearance.

However there must be something beneficial to increased body clearance. Your lowest point may not go up, but your body is higher and your front and rear departure angles have improved. It seems like there are plenty of people that put on a 2.5" lift when they have 33" tires. A hundy can fit 33's just fine without lift. Do they just get the lift so they have more wheel travel room, I'm sure half the reason they do it is for body clearance as well?

I'm new to all this just trying to educate myself.

 

[pman]

Yeah there is an advantage to moving the body up.....it improves the approach, departure, and breakover angles. The approach and departure angles can also be improved by changing your bumpers.

Lifting does nothing to increase wheel travel, it only changes the starting point in the suspension cycle.