LX570 AHC height modifications (lift it!) (28 Viewers)

[ARKginger]

How much sensor lift are you running in front?

If you're in the extents of a normal sensor lift, that should be less than <1.75". Which doesn't require UCAs to get caster and camber in spec. I'm 30k miles into my tires and they've worn very evenly.

Can you take pics of your tires or describe more what you mean by cupping. Or find a pic online that has similar wear?

It can be alignment or air pressure creating the cupping so it helps to clarify exactly what wear you're seeing.

I'll need to double check, but I don't believe I maxed it out.

By cupping I mean the outside of the tire is wearing more than the inside causing it to 'cup' similar to this image. It's pretty noticeable when it starts because at lower speeds the tires make an unusual noise.

I've had it aligned by two separate shops and had issues cupping with both. I need to see if I still have a print out from the last one.

I typically keep my tires at 30-35 psi.

 

[bigezvol]

I'll need to double check, but I don't believe I maxed it out.

By cupping I mean the outside of the tire is wearing more than the inside causing it to 'cup' similar to this image. It's pretty noticeable when it starts because at lower speeds the tires make an unusual noise.
View attachment 3475888

I've had it aligned by two separate shops and had issues cupping with both. I need to see if I still have a print out from the last one.

I typically keep my tires at 30-35 psi.

What tires are you running and size? Are they e rated?

 

[ARKginger]

What tires are you running and size? Are they e rated?

Kenda Klever R/T Load D

35*10.50R17LT

D

121

R

 

[bigezvol]

Kenda Klever R/T Load D

35*10.50R17LT

D

121

R

Seems like a very low tire pressure for that tire. Your max PSI should be somewhere around 80 at Max load. I would think 40 to 42 would be a more optimal everyday pressure. I run 33 inch LT wild peaks in keep 40 to 42 in mine on both my GX 460 and LX 570 and have never had an issue out of either of those sets hand have over 50,000 miles on the set on the gx.

 

[TeCKis300]

I'll need to double check, but I don't believe I maxed it out.

By cupping I mean the outside of the tire is wearing more than the inside causing it to 'cup' similar to this image. It's pretty noticeable when it starts because at lower speeds the tires make an unusual noise.
View attachment 3475888

I've had it aligned by two separate shops and had issues cupping with both. I need to see if I still have a print out from the last one.

I typically keep my tires at 30-35 psi.

That helps. What wheel offset are you running?

I tend to agree with @bigevol that tire pressure does seem a bit low for that fitment. The sidewall is possibly rolling over in turns enough that its scrubbing the shoulder lugs. I would aim for closer to 38-42PSI for that tire.

UCAs won't like fix this as they are used to adjust caster which doesn't really play into cupping type wear. It's usually toe out of alignment that creates cupping issues.

Could also be suspension or bearing issues, but being that this is a 200-series, they are robust as they come and not likely.

 

[ARKginger]

That helps. What wheel offset are you running?

I tend to agree with @bigevol that tire pressure does seem a bit low for that fitment. The sidewall is possibly rolling over in turns enough that its scrubbing the shoulder lugs. I would aim for closer to 38-42PSI for that tire.

UCAs won't like fix this as they are used to adjust caster which doesn't really play into cupping type wear. It's usually toe out of alignment that creates cupping issues.

Could also be suspension or bearing issues, but being that this is a 200-series, they are robust as they come and not likely.

I'm running 1" spacer and rock warriors.

That's interesting on the pressure, I got the recommendation here that the RCTIP should be 33psi.

That's good to know.

The LCAs were replaced (OEM complete unit) last year when I added the wheels/tires. I replaced the front shocks a few years ago.

I'll take some hub to fender measurements and relook at my front AHC adjustments to determine how much I lifted it. Couldn't be much though since I didn't adjust the rear and I don't really have a negative rake.

 

[grinchy]

I run that exact tire between 36 and 39. Was thinking it felt a bit vague yesterday and pressures were 35, 35, 36 , 36. Will be putting in a couple pounds to 38 all around this weekend.

 

[TeCKis300]

I'm running 1" spacer and rock warriors.

That's interesting on the pressure, I got the recommendation here that the RCTIP should be 33psi.

That's good to know.

The LCAs were replaced (OEM complete unit) last year when I added the wheels/tires. I replaced the front shocks a few years ago.

I'll take some hub to fender measurements and relook at my front AHC adjustments to determine how much I lifted it. Couldn't be much though since I didn't adjust the rear and I don't really have a negative rake.

Take @grinchy s lead for pressures as he's successfully running those tires.

Offset may play into this. With a 1" spacer, you're at a net offset of ~25mm which is not too bad for 35s but can create some scrubbing in turns, and maybe its this combined with the lower pressures.

 

[oilNgasrespektr]

tons of info in this thread I'm getting close to finally pulling the trigger on 34's. what are the agreed upon '' best practices'' for doing the sensor lift?

for context: I don't plan on towing or adding permanent mods like armor or a fuel tank. *yet*

 

[tbisaacs]

tons of info in this thread I'm getting close to finally pulling the trigger on 34's. what are the agreed upon '' best practices'' for doing the sensor lift?

for context: I don't plan on towing or adding permanent mods like armor or a fuel tank. *yet*

Park on level ground
Press “off” button on AHC
Slide sensors to get desired amt of lift. Maxing them out normally yields 1-1.5”.
Get an alignment after

 

[ikoinu]

I've found that maxing out the sensor lift will cause the vehicle to not achieve the high lift position notification on the dash. It does appear to lift over the N position, so it seems that it doesn't see the difference in the positions accurately after the sensor lift.
Net result: the vehicle has a higher lift in the H position, and the dash indicates it is in the N position, lift having been achieved.
Does inserting the coil spacers to return AHC pump pressures to normal change this at all?

 

[nwfl4runner]

I've found that maxing out the sensor lift will cause the vehicle to not achieve the high lift position notification on the dash. It does appear to lift over the N position, so it seems that it doesn't see the difference in the positions accurately after the sensor lift.
Net result: the vehicle has a higher lift in the H position, and the dash indicates it is in the N position, lift having been achieved.
Does inserting the coil spacers to return AHC pump pressures to normal change this at all?

If you've already maxed out the sensors, your high position will essentially be like driving around in full droop. You can relieve some AHC pressure with a coil spacer in the rear, or a pre-load kit like Wescott in the front. I'd suggest, however, that if you max out your sensor lift just don't bother to use high.

 

[Everlong]

Park on level ground
Press “off” button on AHC
Slide sensors to get desired amt of lift. Maxing them out normally yields 1-1.5”.
Get an alignment after

What position of AHC should the vehicle be in when doing this? Normal?

 

[tbisaacs]

What position of AHC should the vehicle be in when doing this? Normal?

Correct

 

[Everlong]

Took all 3 minutes and two 10mm wrenches. Thanks!

 

[Iamgroot]

Did the AHC lift yesterday.
before lift, my car was about
Normal AHC: 19.5inch front and 20 5/8" rear. (this is the average between left and right wheels, there was a >0.5inch lean towards the driver's side)

I tried many combinations of front and rear lift changes as well as the offset utility, (listing everything would be confusing, so sharing the final results)
it took a while to find the settings that i liked. My new numbers are:

Normal AHC: 20 5/8" front and ~21" rear. There is a still a small lean on the driver's side, but MUCH MUCH better than before, after repeated cycling and driving I'd say the lean is less than 0.25" based on my measurements.

So in a nutshell, Front: 1.125" lift and rear 0.25" static lift.
At AHC high mode i get: front +1.8375" (46.7mm) and 2.5" rear (63.5mm) which is well aligned with the AHC manual numbers. I've driven extensively and am quite happy with how the vehicle is behaving, I'd almost say the AHC system is performing better than before now.

i monitored my AHC system pressures during lifts and they peak around ~13MPa. Before I changed anything, it was around 11.5MPa, so it increased a bit.

Bought a Mini VCI 2.0.4 cable, and setup a win10 64bit laptop and installed Techstream V18 as well to monitor everything.
Also note these measurements were made in my garage with a tape, so these measurements will have some error.

I will put 34" tires 285/75r17 (32' right now 275/55r20) and do alignment next week.

 

[Heckraiser]

Is the general consensus that 19.5" hub to fender in front is "stock" for the LX?

One of the first mods I did when I got my LX 3+ years ago is a front sensor lift, but it didn't seem to yield the 1" to 1.5" most people are getting. Like a dumbass, I didn't measure my "before" numbers. It also sits higher on the passenger side than driver, has never been level. It's also kind of inconsistent--I park in the garage one day and I have 4-finger fender gap, another day I might have 2-finger fender gap (on the driver's side--I can't really squeeze around the passenger side in the garage).

I'm at a crossroads where I need to do something with the suspension. I like the functionality of AHC and I use the ride modes for highway/canyon/town driving, but at 164k miles, it's probably time for a globe replacement, I've bought some parts for "AHC long travel" setup, but still need more parts to complete the upgrade. I would like more static lift than the standard sensor lift (I admit, partially for aesthetics). I've also got a 1" body lift (not yet installed) and I'd like to ditch the AHC hardware on the frame rails and run some Budbuilt sliders designed for the BL to get the rockers out of the rocks (I've already pretty well buggered my slee step sliders). I told myself when I bought the LX that if I ever needed to start dumping money and time into the AHC, I would just delete and get some high-end adjustable traditional suspension (Kings or Dob MRA). Now I find myself second-guessing whether I'll regret not being able to use the ride modes on the fly. Not that anything in this paragraph matters--these are just my personal struggles

 

[TeCKis300]

Is the general consensus that 19.5" hub to fender in front is "stock" for the LX?

One of the first mods I did when I got my LX 3+ years ago is a front sensor lift, but it didn't seem to yield the 1" to 1.5" most people are getting. Like a dumbass, I didn't measure my "before" numbers. It also sits higher on the passenger side than driver, has never been level. It's also kind of inconsistent--I park in the garage one day and I have 4-finger fender gap, another day I might have 2-finger fender gap (on the driver's side--I can't really squeeze around the passenger side in the garage).

I'm at a crossroads where I need to do something with the suspension. I like the functionality of AHC and I use the ride modes for highway/canyon/town driving, but at 164k miles, it's probably time for a globe replacement, I've bought some parts for "AHC long travel" setup, but still need more parts to complete the upgrade. I would like more static lift than the standard sensor lift (I admit, partially for aesthetics). I've also got a 1" body lift (not yet installed) and I'd like to ditch the AHC hardware on the frame rails and run some Budbuilt sliders designed for the BL to get the rockers out of the rocks (I've already pretty well buggered my slee step sliders). I told myself when I bought the LX that if I ever needed to start dumping money and time into the AHC, I would just delete and get some high-end adjustable traditional suspension (Kings or Dob MRA). Now I find myself second-guessing whether I'll regret not being able to use the ride modes on the fly. Not that anything in this paragraph matters--these are just my personal struggles

Stock LX should see front hub to fender ~19" (see quoted reference below).

You know I'm a die hard proponent of AHC. For both its height but perhaps more importantly the active damping. Taking that apart more and you know this, selectable drive modes and damping aggressiveness is one thing. But it's the active part that's money. Ford advertises Live Valve in its Raptors, circa 2019. The AVS part of AHC is essentially remote damper Live Vavle and we've had it 10 years earlier. It's more sophisticated than Live Valve as it's not only per corner, but it's cross linking and can control front to rear axle damping. That's voodoo level capabilities. Long way to say the breadth of body control, for both ride quality, and aggressive driving is incomparable by other simple shock based dampers.

I bring up Raptors because I wheel with a buddy that's gone through 3 Raptors. One with top shelf Kings. He was going to do the same immediately once he got his new Raptor but I told him to give Live Valve a chance - to leave its goodness and just add a simple spacer lift for clearance. After come wheeling time, he now understands the Kings don't come close. Don't get me wrong, Kings are great in its element running 80mph over the desert, but it's always a bit off for day to day, towing, or anything else because it's statically setup.

There's another local LX guy I trade notes with. He's built buggies and races them with top shelf race suspensions. He's seen and experience tons of stuff. For his off-road/overlanding rig, he equally praises just how good AHC is and has invested the time to build AHC long travel. AHC on steroids is an incredible thing.

Few more notes. The BL will do wonders for aesthetic height. I would also recommend to change the upper body mount bushings that are under compression as that'll bring back some height too while you're in there. If you haven't done the height offset tool via techstream, that can squeak a bit more sensor lift.

You might also seriously consider 37s. No better "suspension" than more sidewall. And it's real lift for everything including the rear axle, if you're needing more clearance.

I'm on 37s now, and I'm so glad AHC can squat. My car is so friggen tall that ergonomics suck trying to car camp on 37s. It towers over everything. I've got so much clearance now that sidehills is where I really want improvement so again, glad AHC can go to normal height for those off-camber situations.

Only you know your use case best and I'll just leave these as food for thought.

Been meaning to do this to get some objective numbers to compare ride height versus droop travel versus compression travel. What better to do on a rainy day.

Hope is that others may contribute and I'll update my table. We've known for awhile that some aftermarket suspensions increase what is already excellent droop travel. OEM spacer added to an otherwise stock LC or LX suspension increases travel at the front. Even though LC and LX differ in suspension fitted, the overall geometry and travel should be very similar or exactly the same.

All measurements are from wheel center to fender lip so they are comparable without tire variables

	Front Measured Ride Height	Front Measured Max Compression	Front Measured Max Droop	Front Compression /Droop Travel	Front Total Travel	Rear Measured Ride Height	Rear Measured Max Compression	Rear Measured Max Droop	Rear Compression /Droop Travel	Rear Total Travel
LX stock	N-19" H-21"	*16"	24.5"	N-3.5"/5.5" H-5.5"/3.5"	*8.5" or ~9"	N-20.75" H-23.1"	-	26.63"	N-4.12"/5.88" H-6.5"/3.5"	~10"
LX - .75F/.5R Sensor Lift, OEM Front Spacer @TeCKis300	N-19.8" H-21.8"	*16"	25.375"	N-4.4"/5.6" H-6.4"/3.6"	*9.4" or ~10"	N-21.25" H-23.63"	*17.5"	26.63"	N-4.6"/5.4" H-7"/3.0"	*9.1" or ~10"
LX AHC Long Travel - 1.5F/1R Sensor Lift, LC OEM Spacer (10mm) + stacked 6.5mm spacer, 1" extended AHC shocks	N-20.75" H-22.75"	*16"	25.75"	N-5"/5.5" H-7"/3.5"	10.5"	N-22" H-24.35"	*17.5"	27.375"	N-5.12"/5.88" H-7.5"/3.4"	11"
LX, AHC delete, Tundra arms, Kings suspension @turbo8	23"	14.5"	26"	8.5"/3"	~11.5"	23.5"		27.5"	5.5"/4"	~10.5"
LC, Tundra arms, Stock shocks, OME 440lb spring @WesSiler	-				~11"					~10"
LX AHC, 30mm shock spacer, Long Travel Camburg arms @1UZJ80N60			29"		12"

*Measured, Not Maxed Out​

Cross checking my measurements, it's reported that that the 200 chassis has 9" front and 10" wheel travel. About right given that I could mostly bottom things out but not hard bottom out. Particularly the rear as the chassis is just so slinky that my jack wasn't able to fully flex it out.

Looking at the numbers, the OEM setup has ride height dialed in with relatively little compressing travel. Compared to the stupendous droop travel. Stock ride height has 3" compression and 5.5" droop at the front. In general chassis tuning guides, it's recommended to always leave a good amount of droop travel. Doesn't seem like the 200 chassis is going to have that problem even lifted high.

Stuffed the fronts pretty good. Using AHC low to make the suspension as slinky as possible. Fingers gap clearances, but stuffing 35s she does.
View attachment 2489912
Was on the stops but not hard so and there's a bit more travel.
View attachment 2489913

Rear, wasn't able to fully peg it out with my floor jack.View attachment 2489905
Looks like another 1"++ travel here to the bump stop that I couldn't tap out
View attachment 2489906


The interesting measurements should come front aftermarket suspensions and Tundra swaps. @bloc @WesSiler @mcgaskins I'm going to keep a tape measure in the rig so next time I'm out and have opportunities to bottom things out to take a measurement.

 

[Heckraiser]

Thanks for the reply, That's pretty much what I thought you would say I think you're right in that nothing will quite compare to being able to flip a switch from the driver's seat for city streets, twisties, off-road or pothole hell local roads. I actually don't use the height adjustment all that much and try to run most of the trails in N as far as I can go (and my undercarriage has the scars to prove it), but the ride modes I use a lot and would miss. I'm also concerned about body roll with traditional suspension, upgrading swaybars and then needing to figure out a front disconnect (if even possible).

Mine measures 19.5" driver and 20.5" passenger as it sits now (though hard to say for sure due to tire bulge). Sounds like HOU is really the only way to get me to a good baseline. The learning curve, software/laptop requirements of techstream seem really unattractive to me as an old-school toyota guy. :/ I prefer mechanical solutions to software and that's part of what's giving me this sour feeling regarding the AHC. Maybe a sensor bracket mod on just one side?

 

[TeCKis300]

Thanks for the reply, That's pretty much what I thought you would say I think you're right in that nothing will quite compare to being able to flip a switch from the driver's seat for city streets, twisties, off-road or pothole hell local roads. I actually don't use the height adjustment all that much and try to run most of the trails in N as far as I can go (and my undercarriage has the scars to prove it), but the ride modes I use a lot and would miss. I'm also concerned about body roll with traditional suspension, upgrading swaybars and then needing to figure out a front disconnect (if even possible).

Mine measures 19.5" driver and 20.5" passenger as it sits now (though hard to say for sure due to tire bulge). Sounds like HOU is really the only way to get me to a good baseline. The learning curve, software/laptop requirements of techstream seem really unattractive to me as an old-school toyota guy. :/ I prefer mechanical solutions to software and that's part of what's giving me this sour feeling regarding the AHC. Maybe a sensor bracket mod on just one side?

Gotcha, makes sense. Sounds like you're wheeling without some much needed lift. I get you on the mechanical/software. Once you get over the hurdle of dialing in, you can ignore all the SW and just enjoy.

I'd imagine you're not using AHC H off-roading as it feels stiff legged with compromised articulation? That was my impression before AHC long travel which brings much needed droop travel in that mode. I think you can find your happy place following through with some more tweaks.

In regards to leveling, look at adding a 10mm trim packer to the low side. I had to. Even though AHC is height adjustable, it can't completely compensate for worn springs and where trim packers have utility Even on normal suspensions.