AHC delete or not to delete on 100 series overlanding build (5 Viewers)

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At 250lbs, non-AHC bars would improve high speed emergency handling, reduce bottoming out on higher speed desert terrain. So the choice depends on the individuals driving style and terrain.

I suppose if flying through the desert as fast as one can in the comfort setting is someones idea of a good time then heavier TB's would be the ticket. At those speeds I'll be on pavement with the dial turned closer to sport.
 
I was under the impression that the Sway-A-Way bars were a good bit thicker than the non-AHC OE bars.

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Ah, not sure why I thought they were weaker. My post has been corrected. Thanks!
 
Figured I'd add my AHC experience for others to consider....

We're now on our 3rd LX470. First was a 2000 LX470 we had for 3 years, then upgraded to a 2005 LX470 we've now had for 6 years, and I just picked up a lower mileage 2006 LX470 a month ago. The LXs have been the wife's grocery-getter/kid-duty/family-vacation vehicle for the last 9 years and we've always had a 2nd vehicle that I primarily used for daily and trail use.

Being the primary vehicle, the 2000 LX was left stock other than a Slee AHC over-ride switch and 285s. When I'd switch from driving my OME equipped Tacoma or GX470 into driving the LX on family trips and outings, I could barely tolerate how s***ty the AHC rode on the LX. But being my wife's primary vehicle, and her never complaining about the way it rode, I never touched it. After 3 years of my wife absolutely loving the LX, she got a bit jealous of the "newer feeling" interior my GX470 had, so we got a 2005 LX470 and I sold the 2000 to a buddy. That buddy promptly had me help him tear out the AHC and install an OME kit. I LOVED the way it rode with the OME kit and felt I shoulda done it sooner.

So I planned to do that at some point on the new 2005 LX470, which my wife also loved and never complained about how it rode. So after about a year of owning the 2005, I tore out the AHC and put in the same OME kit I did in the 2000 for my buddy. I loved it on this one too. My wife said it felt more stiff, but she was fine with it and I've never heard a single complaint. We've taken it a few times out on dirt roads from time to time and it has been great.

Fast forward 80k miles and 5 years, and we've relegated the 2005 to trail duty for me, and bought her the lower mileage 2006 LX470. I traveled by shuttle 4 hours away to pick up the new 2006 LX and then drove it home. The thing absolutely drove like a DREAM. I've never driven an AHC equipped rig that drove this nice. (I have even driven a handful of stock LX570s that were for sale and they did not drive this nice suspension-wise.) There is NO WAY I will be swapping out the AHC on this one any time soon. (And lucky for me, I kept all the AHC stuff I ripped out of the 2005 so I have lots of spare parts now. :) )

I used to be quite argumentative AGAINST the AHC (mostly in the FB groups) but not in terms of reliability, in terms of ride quality. But I have to say, I have DEFINITELY changed my tune a bit. I now believe that our first two LXs just must not have been maintained as well as our 2006 has been, because they definitely did not ride anywhere near as well as this 2006 does.

And also this:



My 4-day trip into the Arizona Strip this past weekend was turned upside-down when my alternator died in the 2005 LX after 2 hours and about 20 miles of off-highway. Lucky for me I was with a small group and we were only 30 miles from my house so we were able to get me pulled back to my house and throw my gear into one of the other vehicles and continue the trip. Had it happened a day further into the trip though, it would have been a MUCH bigger ordeal getting me pulled back home. But I can def say I woulda rather have had AHC fail and still been able to drive myself back home instead of having to get towed.

Me in the rear-view getting pulled back home after the dead alternator:

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That's a great story and speaks to what we see often. People have AHC and it's completely trashed. Dead globes, pressures way off. Those people then assume that's just AHC and that it's silly and over-hyped.

Anyone you see that says ride comfort improved after an AHC delete simply had a broken AHC system - bar none.

The kicker there is that normally the fix for that broken AHC system is sometimes free and almost always simple. Globes and pressures. That solves almost all the issues. Glad you finally got to experience it the way it was designed to work! I can relate to the alternator failure. Had it happen to me twice - both a state away from home.
 
Once, a 10mm bolt fell off a front AHC sensor. The ride home from work was perilous (fortunately, only paved city road and highway (+/-20 miles)). The front was very bouncy and the TBs seemed to offer no decent support to my 100 equipped with an ARB front bumper.
You were bouncing on your bumpstops. You would need to crank your t-bars up to get a height closer to 19.5" I know it can be done because those AHC elimination kits do exactly that. Obviously, I'm not suggesting this as a permanent fix.
 
Hello , first time posting and hoping someone may have some part numbers available for LC rear coils.
my LX470 has a lot of weight added and some more coming. The AHC pressure is too high and from the form I see some LC 100 non AHC rear springs will help this. Does anyone know the part numbers or the length, i Would need to order for the Lh and Rh rear coils.
 
Hello , first time posting and hoping someone may have some part numbers available for LC rear coils.
my LX470 has a lot of weight added and some more coming. The AHC pressure is too high and from the form I see some LC 100 non AHC rear springs will help this. Does anyone know the part numbers or the length, i Would need to order for the Lh and Rh rear coils.
What are your pressures? Non-AHC springs might do the trick, but there's also the King Springs which are a middle ground and quite popular.
 
The front is 6.9 rear is 8.3
Nice. King lowers around 3.0 and 30mm spacers lower another .5 or so. Adding just the King would get you to around 5.3, I bet. Below spec. Add in the spacers and you're probably under 5.

Assuming you're not adding more than a few hundred pounds in the future:

If you value on-road comfort I'd stick with Kings. If you plan on some remote safari usage or a Denali trail trip or something, then I'd look at non-AHC coils. The non-AHC coils would be good for reliability, but will be too much spring for highway comfort.
 
I'd avoid the non AHC springs unless you're putting a lot of weight back there constantly. Pogo stick like otherwise which can be an adventure on CA roads; not sure how your roads are, but if they have any of the "test" sections or weird potholes combined with a turn.... Ask me how I know :) More is NOT better, and not just on this system, but on any. See it all the time with people taking a street car or a desert car and putting too much spring on it. You want rebound so the car settles quickly for the next bump.
 
Nice. King lowers around 3.0 and 30mm spacers lower another .5 or so. Adding just the King would get you to around 5.3, I bet. Below spec. Add in the spacers and you're probably under 5.

Assuming you're not adding more than a few hundred pounds in the future:

If you value on-road comfort I'd stick with Kings. If you plan on some remote safari usage or a Denali trail trip or something, then I'd look at non-AHC coils. The non-AHC coils would be good for reliability, but will be too much spring for highway comfort.
I appreciate this, it is on the highways more than off road and even then, it’s logging roads for the most part, I will look at kings
thanks
 
I appreciate this, it is on the highways more than off road and even then, it’s logging roads for the most part, I will look at kings
thanks
What additional weight do you currently have and how much are you adding? I would hate for you to buy the King springs and be in spec then add more weight and your out of spec again. AHC is a balancing act.
 
What additional weight do you currently have and how much are you adding? I would hate for you to buy the King springs and be in spec then add more weight and your out of spec again. AHC is a balancing act.
I have about 250lbs of bumper and adventure carrier swing outs with dual Jerry cans, adding about 200 lbs in the form of a full draw system, so somewhere close to 400ish lbs constant
 
I have this post bookmarked for future reference:


In a nutshell, that person has a metal front bumper, winch, sliders, roof rack, metal rear bumper and King springs and their pressures are 6.9 front and 5.9 rear.

I can't find the post here on mud but someone posted how much rear pressure raises for each 100lbs added behind the rear axle. If I remember right I think @suprarx7nut is getting close to reaching the limit's of the King springs.
 
I have this post bookmarked for future reference:


In a nutshell, that person has a metal front bumper, winch, sliders, roof rack, metal rear bumper and King springs and their pressures are 6.9 front and 5.9 rear.

I can't find the post here on mud but someone posted how much rear pressure raises for each 100lbs added behind the rear axle. If I remember right I think @suprarx7nut is getting close to reaching the limit's of the King springs.
I run Kings plus 30mm spacers in the rear and AHC torsion bars up front. Factory heights, AHC in H is all the lift I need/want.

Slee slider steps, Dissent aluminum rear bumper, front bumper and skids. Battery, ARB Jack, Dual compressor and spare tire all hanging off the bumper. ADGU SS1 drawer system in place of the third row seats. If I had a heavy steel rear bumper with big steel swingouts I'd probably need to up the spring rate, but I think the Kings do great with my setup.

Last year I measured my pressures at 6.4 up front and 5.2 in back in N.

If you start toying with the height sensors to give yourself a sensor lift you also screw with the dynamic spring rate and flex unless you go for those shock links. But then you introduce basic geometry limitations and it's just a cascading waterfall of compromises and diminishing ROI, IMO. Factory heights and reliable AHC is just right for me.
 
I run Kings plus 30mm spacers in the rear and AHC torsion bars up front. Factory heights, AHC in H is all the lift I need/want.































































































































































































































































Slee slider steps, Dissent aluminum rear bumper, front bumper and skids. Battery, ARB Jack, Dual compressor and spare tire all hanging off the bumper. ADGU SS1 drawer system in place of the third row seats. If I had a heavy steel rear bumper with big steel swingouts I'd probably need to up the spring rate, but I think the Kings do great with my setup.































































































































































































































































Last year I measured my pressures at 6.4 up front and 5.2 in back in N.































































































































































































































































If you start toying with the height sensors to give yourself a sensor lift you also screw with the dynamic spring rate and flex unless you go for those shock links. But then you introduce basic geometry limitations and it's just a cascading waterfall of compromises and diminishing ROI, IMO. Factory heights an















I run Kings plus 30mm spacers in the rear and AHC torsion bars up front. Factory heights, AHC in H is all the lift I need/want.































Slee slider steps, Dissent aluminum rear bumper, front bumper and skids. Battery, ARB Jack, Dual compressor and spare tire all hanging off the bumper. ADGU SS1 drawer system in place of the third row seats. If I had a heavy steel rear bumper with big steel swingouts I'd probably need to up the spring rate, but I think the Kings do great with my setup.































Last year I measured my pressures at 6.4 up front and 5.2 in back in N.































If you start toying with the height sensors to give yourself a sensor lift you also screw with the dynamic spring rate and flex unl



I run Kings plus 30mm spacers in the rear and AHC torsion bars up front. Factory heights, AHC in H is all the lift I need/want.







Slee slider steps, Dissent aluminum rear bumper, front bumper and skids. Battery, ARB Jack, Dual compressor and spare tire all hanging off the bumper. ADGU SS1 drawer system in place of the third row seats. If I had a heavy steel rear bumper with big steel swingouts I'd probably need to up the spring rate, but I think the Kings do great with my setup.







Last year I measured my pressures at 6.4 up front and 5.2 in back in N.







If you start toying with the height sensors to give yourself a sensor lift you also screw with the dynamic spring rate and flex unless you go for those shock links. But then you introduce baI agreesic geometry limitations and it's just a cascading waterfall of compromises and diminishing ROI, IMO. Factory heights and reliable AHC is just right for me.







ess you go for those shock links. But then you introduce basic geometry limitations and it's just a cascadiIng waterfall of compromises and diminishing ROI, IMO. Factory heights and reliable AHC is just right for me.



I run Kings plus 30mm spacers in the rear and AHC torsion bars up front. Factory heights, AHC in H is all the lift I need/want.



Slee slider steps, Dissent aluminum rear bumper, front bumper and skids. Battery, ARB Jack, Dual compressor and spare tire all hanging off the bumper. ADGU SS1 drawer system in place of the third row seats. If I had a heavy steel rear bumper with big steel swingouts I'd probably need to up the spring rate, but I think the Kings do great with my setup.



Last year I measured my pressures at 6.4 up front and 5.2 in back in N.



If you start toying with the height sensors to give yourself a sensor lift you also screw with the dynamic spring rate and flex unless you go for those shock links. But then you introduce basic geometry limitations and it's just a cascading waterfall of compromises and diminishing ROI, IMO. Factory heights and reliable AHC is just right for me.
I run Kings plus 30mm spacers in the rear and AHC torsion bars up front. Factory heights, AHC in H is all the lift I need/want.

Slee slider steps, Dissent aluminum rear bumper, front bumper and skids. Battery, ARB Jack, Dual compressor and spare tire all hanging off the bumper. ADGU SS1 drawer system in place of the third row seats. If I had a heavy steel rear bumper with big steel swingouts I'd probably need to up the spring rate, but I think the Kings do great with my setup.

Last year I measured my pressures at 6.4 up front and 5.2 in back in N.

If you start toying with the height sensors to give yourself a sensor lift you also screw with the dynamic spring rate and flex unless you go for those shock links. But then you introduce basic geometry limitations and it's just a cascading waterfall of compromises and diminishing ROI, IMO. Factory heights and reliable AHC is just right for me.
I have this post bookmarked for future reference:


In a nutshell, that person has a metal front bumper, winch, sliders, roof rack, metal rear bumper and King springs and their pressures are 6.9 front and 5.9 rear.

I can't find the post here on mud but someone posted how much rear pressure raises for each 100lbs added behind the rear axle. If I remember right I think @suprarx7nut is getting close to reaching the limit's of the King springs.
I am concerned I will reach the limits of the king since it will be about 400lbs of constant weight then add gas to two jerrycan load up my fridge and freezer it’s gonna be heavy I have all steel bumper, the drawers will have camping and recovery repair gear, part of my dual batteries set up as well, no roof top tent on the victory roof rack, sleeping in the rig on the drawers.
so still not sure which way I should go.
 
Every application is slightly different and comfort is subjective so accept the fact that this might take some trial and error. Used LC coils can be had for cheap, it's a reasonably good place to start.
 
Every application is slightly different and comfort is subjective so accept the fact that this might take some trial and error. Used LC coils can be had for cheap, it's a reasonably good place to start.
This is a great point. Spring swaps are not crazy hard or time consuming. Non-AHC LC springs are easier to find used than shipping Kings from Australia via eBay or an overseas retailer.

Kings are perfect for my setup, and likely for most moderate builds, but if you have concerns grab a set of junkyard LC coils and try them out first.
 
Thinking out loud here… LX570 AHC coils would theoretically fit and be heavier than 100 series AHC coils, no?
 
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Thinking out loud here… LX570 AHC coils would theoretically fit and be heavier than 100 series AHC coils, no?
How much weight does the 200 AHC system hold up? A minor difference in that hydraulic/mechanical ratio could throw that off quite a bit, but you ask a good question. I'm curious as well.
 

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