SOA vs. SUA

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Mace said:
The more you cut the better off you are.
Click to expand...

Yup, within reason and needs. I would have been better off keeping my lift lower (2.5"-3" to minimize driveline/steering issues), doing a moderate body lift, then some trimming when finalizing tire size, then do protection to fit the mods. Would not have been near as frustrating or fun though! :D

GLTHFJ60. Will this be your daily driver, or a weekend warrier? Sounds like you are going to be driving this vehicle in the winter when you will need 4wd (at least the front locked in so you can engage when needed) at highway speed. If you are, make sure all your driveline angles and caster are correct. If you go SOA, do the cut and turn, go highsteer, etc...If you keep SUA do a moderate lift of 2.5" and do the body lift/cut the body to fit tires routine. If your driveline angles are not right, you are on the road at highway speed, locked in because it's snowy, and you have vibs, you will wear everything prematurely and save no money at the end of the day. You also don't want any caster wander at highway speed when towing that weight...winter or not.

hth's and my 2 cdn cents anyway...

gb
 
Ive done a soa conversion on my 60 , and wow it articulates great ,
although the rig still isnt finished , finish one mod and then sit back have a beer and think of 20 more mods that need to be done :o , never ending but it will be finished in about 2 months :flipoff2:

but to confirm you do get at least 6" of lift with flat springs, and i took out about 4 leafs from my packs in the rear to flatten them out and i think it still sits too high.

so what my problem is that i will be running 38.5" and then the rig will be way to tall :o

So what i am about to do is a shakle reversal on the front , and whilst doing this fabricate the pivot points for the fixed end and swinging shackle end of the leafs up high in the chassis rail so they are no longer sitting below the rail ,
this will lower the rig back down about 5" basically back to stock with 32's.

then finish it off with some nice new wheel wells in the rear and some nice trimming of the front fenders , then it will sit at the right height and will have plenty of room to articulate the 38.5" meats.

I was not planning to do this mod but its the only way i can think of lowering the rig back down .

Basically my point is height is a defenite factor to consider , and just a tip , through in a roll bar if you going a bit more hard core :flipoff2: :flipoff2:

Cheers
Hey Charger.
 
I have some great news guys. Yesterday was my first day taking the LC offroading.

The short version of the story is that behind the campsite where I stayed on Saturday night is an old logging road that the locals turned into a 4WD / quad trail. I decided that it was necessary to cristen the LC in with a bit of mud, and possibly some damage. I took my uncle, his son, my uncle's friend and his kid way out back into the woods. We did some powerslides into huge flipping mud pits, where I came within two inches of owning a tree. We came up to a bridge and couldn't tell if we could fit, so I decided to take the more interesting trail through the river. The only thing that stopped me was a boulder that I bounced onto in the middle of the stream. I got out to evaluate whether or not I would be able to get the truck out w/o a rope or a winch, and I noticed a muffler sitting in the river right next to my truck. I said to myself, "Geeze, I hate people that leave their s*** out in the woods." Then it occurred to me that my truck sounded different, so I looked under the truck and there was a gap in the exhaust system where the muffler should be. s***!!! HELL YEAHH!!!!! My first trail damage by a boulder in the middle of "Muffler River."

After going over the previous bridge, after I backed out of the river, we encountered a huge muddy hill that the trail went up, definately going there. Went up, slowly at first, but after going through a ditch in the middle of the trail, I needed to gun it to keep from going back down, ALL FOUR TIRES SPINNING!!!! 2F POWER!!! I went up to the second ditch and stopped to evaluate whether or not I could clear it. While I was walking around, my uncle jumped in and pinned the throttle, breaking ALl FOUR TIRES's traction again!! This time though, he overheated the clutch, so we had to let it cool down.

After another couple of miles of good trails and mud pits, and much thought, I have decided that keeping a low center of gravity, therefore mucho flex with minimum lift. I have pretty much decided that keeping the rig SUA is the thing to do. Im going to have Alcan make me some heavy duty, but flexy springs that give me 4-6 inches of lift, after which I'm going to install some 36" tires, possibly 38's, and some Superior shackles. This will give me alot more trail capability with good looks and street drivability. Can I get 6" of lift with springs?

By the way, my LandCruiser is the best overall vehicle that I have ever driven. It's off-road capability is comparable to that of the H1, and not too many mods need to be made to make the LC the master of the trail. I love it!!! Thanks guys!!

What do you think of my plan?

:beer:
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
Im going to have Alcan make me some heavy duty, but flexy springs that give me 4-6 inches of lift, after which I'm going to install some 36" tires, possibly 38's, and some Superior shackles. This will give me alot more trail capability with good looks and street drivability. Can I get 6" of lift with springs? :beer:
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Have fun!

Some advice from someone who has walked that road: Your caster, and/or your pinion angles will be all wrong with 6" SUA lift SUA depending on which one you want correct. You will destroy something, or have incredible steering wander. You will have to do a cut and turn to correct things. You will be better off doing a 2.5" lift, and then a body lift, and cut if needed. It's that, or go SOA imo...

Yes, I know there are 4" lifts that are running around out there. I do not like the compromise between caster and diff angle. Your relay rod will be at quite the angle too. Remember, the larger the tire the more positive caster you want...Anything above 4" and issues just become too great and you will be forced to deal with them...

Glad you had fun wheeling it!

gb
 
Maybe that isn't the way to go. Can you get springs made that are -1 or 2" below stock? Maybe this is the way to go when I am to get a lift.

:beer:
 
i suppose you could maybe remove a leaf or two? ive never done that.
would it weaken the susupension?
 
No no no... I'm talking about having Alcan make a set of springs that are 2 inches shorter than the stockers. Has anyone ever done that?

:beer:
 
ooooohhhhhh. got it.
sorry no
 
That's ok. I don't even know whether or not it can be done, or if they'll be too stiff. I need new springs, because I think I broke a couple of mine this weekend.

:beer:
 
Alcan?

My advice: Stay away from Alcan, stay very far. They suck. I was afraid of going spring over with my 60 so I went with custom 4" lift springs from Alcan. they rode awesome for about 2 weeks and then they lost 2.5" of lift. Since the springs are longer, they pushed my shackles against the frame rails, locking them in place. I now have a nice dent in the bottom of my oil pan on my Cummins 4BT.
Do a search on Alcan. It was about a month ago when I posted all this.
I would highly suggest going SOA, FWIW.
 
I haven't heard that. All that I've heard is good about Alcan. I forget who, but someone said that Alcan was the best. Where could I have some stock springs made that are heavier duty?

:beer:
 
Alcan made my new top leaf. I am very happy.

why do you want less lift now??
 
No, what I think I want is to go SOA, but I need new springs. If I get stock height springs, then they will be too high in an SOA setup, so I have to get less than stock height springs.

:beer:
 
I would still go SOA cause it articulates so much better , and nothing drags , but with your springs you do what i have done and remove the leafs till there
sitting quite flat ,
although i am never going to be loading the truck up that much to need heavy duty springs.

And to stiffen up the ride get some adjustable shocks to firm up the ride around town , then soften them up in the bush .


The other thing to remember is that you must make a anti-wrap bar or you will break pinions :mad:
 
Unfortunately my springs are shot. Just sitting in a parking lot, the truck has a nasty "Cruiser Lean" of about 10-15 degrees to the driver's side. The springs on that side are not sitting flat anymore, they are inverted, not much, but past flat. I need new springs, and I need to have them made so that they are flat, right? Has anyone else had bad experience with Alcan? I can't find anyone else who will make springs for me.


:beer:
 
If you do as set of springs "less than" a stock lift they will be neg arched all the time.


Stock springs go flat on a SO config..
 
"If I get stock height springs, then they will be too high in an SOA setup, so I have to get less than stock height springs."


If SO with stock springs is too high, then maybe you should just get some OME or BDS and skip the SO. Because I think you should go with OEM springs on the SO. Shouldn't be too high. How many inches are you thinking you want it lifted?
 
I want to fit 38" tires with mucho flex. I didn't think of this, but what if I buy a set of stock springs off of someone and then use those? I might just do that.

:beer:
 
BTW, I can't use the springs that are on my rig right now because they are cracked. In other words, I don't want to use them. Alcan anyone?

:beer:
 
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