How high is too high

[yaki]

Seems like a strange question but have been giving it some serious thought today

Just got hold of a set of 3" body lift spacers and the various other bits to do the job.

Reasons for the mod

Even with a 2" body lift and at least +2" on the suspension my 33" tyres still catch on the front when articulating This is gonna get worse when the front arb is removed.

Reasons not to do it

Doing the lift is not a problem in itself but am beginning to think that it might be a problem for laning. Have done a few recce's recently around Abergavenny/Hereford and the Wye valley, just me and my m8 with the Lada Niva. Quite a few of the lanes were very tight and some I couldn't get the Fronty down at all cos its just too big while the Niva had no problem at all. Its not just width on some of these lanes but height as well and with the addition of a roof rack its gonna get worse

Car parks, its already a challenge to find a multi storey that I can get into and the Fronty is my everyday drive

TBH I don't think the 3" lift is gonna be enough when the front anti-roll bar comes off and I'm guessing some surgey on the arches is gonna be needed as well

So do I give up and go back to a smaller tyre or perservere (sp) with the 33's and lift it

[Drift]

Ive thought long and hard about this and Ive come to the conclusion Im happy not going above a 32" with just my suspension lift though if I go the body lift I will only go an inch or inch and half max, just bringing it just over stock as they settle I reckon on the old mounts.

My reason is the flex issues and keeping my diffs alive, I personally am not after a knock em dead pay and play monster, though I do see the attraction, but Im wanting a reliable comfortable capable Greenlaner that wont be a drag driving 130 miles each way like yesterday so economy is an issue to, plus the fact it has to to the 5 mile each way work trip

One good think about going really high is your wing mirrors can get over the gate posts though

I think you also have to be aware the braking issues and when flexing keeping enough pressure on the ground to make the flexed wheel actually move you.

Well Chris .. you asked

[yaki]

Yep I did and wanted honest answers so keep them coming

Good points there m8, some I hadn't thought of

Not too sure about the sag on the mounts, if mine had sagged badly I'd rather replace the rubber mounts than fit the body lift

If I'm gonna do it then it will need to happen next week cos the rubbing needs to be sorted by the 31st Jan, if I do go ahead it is quite easy to reverse the changes if I don't like it.

Mmmm, more thinking needed

Anyone else

[Road Hog]

Also remember that ARB`s are an MOT requirement

[priestinthejeep]

im not a 100% but i think someone said they have seen motors get true mot as testers wern sere what they were look for???

[Trugga]

A good post there by Drift.

I too thought about a body lift (I even bought the 1½" Milners kit with the bolts) but decided against it, although I'm only running 31'2 on 8x15 rims (and a 3" Calmini kit)

My LWB handles really well on and off road and the only real benefit to me of a body lift was to fit bigger tyres thus getting more diff clearance - an expense and a bonus I can manage without.

The point about keeping traction during articulation is an often overlooked important one and has a lot to do with springs - the calculations to which I won't even pretend to understand.

If you already have a suspension lift, do you actually need to add 3" to the body - would not 1½" do instead ?

Just my two penneth

Lawrence

[yaki]

[Drift]

Andysd1 LWB with SWB front wings, I like it

[Road Hog]

Same car different angle ...........

[alex]

Is it the upwards travel it fouls on? I put a 10mm spacer on the upwards travel bump stop to reduce the upwards travel of the whole suspension by around 1.5 inch. Never had a problem with 33's catching since.

[Sir-Doris]

Since fitting the +2 springs on the rear in conjunction with the +2 spacers and a 1.5" bodylift I am now happy. Thats with tires that come in at a tad under 32".

I very much doubt that i will go any higher as the limiting factor is now the front end and short of doing some major surgery it aint going to improve much. My reasoning was that the extra flex in the rear would help overcome any limitations in the front but I havent had a proper chance to check that theory out yet. Some fettling of the front bump stops is required to increase the downtravel a bit more.

With regards to height though it still sits lower then many Disco's and Land Rovers and since the camber has been sorted it sits level when cornering so handling isnt an issue.

I personally would go back to a smaller tyre. at the end of the day you would only be talking 1/2" less clearance for the diff.

[bobbinsjob]

plus, going over a +2" body lift will mean extending things like brake lines, steering coupler and possiby prop shafts

[yaki]

Yep going to 3" does mean more work, still undecided on this

Potential issues

brake pipes - should be OK, replaced them with copper ones last year and made sure there was enough length for a body lift
radiator pipes - have a 6" ally extension for the bottom hose
servo vac pipe - needs a few inches adding
starter cable - have a longer one ready
earth cable - relocate to higher point on the chassis
power steering hoses - might get away with these
fuel tank - this will need lifting, pipes are on the limit with the 2" lift
steering linkage - this will need extending
gear lever - will need some tweaking
transfer lever - will need some tweaking
wiring loom - should be ok
bumper brackets - will need reworking
intercooler pipes - not sure

One of the girls at work brings here boyfriends very muddy lawn rover 110 in occasionally and its roof line is a good 6" higher than my Fronty

[Drift]

The body on the 90 is taller if thats any consolation, got by the hight of the sills though the 90 should still be higher.

[yaki]

[Drift]

Its like the old hi lux surfs they have very narrow bodies but sit high at the sills once you remove the side steps.
Great for keeping your centre of gravity low when you lift it.

But for laning, how high do you really need to go, look at the suki Jimny's kitted out they are still low even after a lift but they will still go most places your Frontera will.

Its mainly just getting over deep ruts when laning and just with a 2" and bigger tyres Ive never had a problem but if your getting into rock crawling you would be better investing in terra low gearing .

Its inevitable you will get beached now and then at pay and break days but every LWB will even a 110.

It just is the work worth the effort for the perceived result ?

[Sir-Doris]

Im kinda with Drift on this one. After a year of fiddling and fettling Iv got the truck set up as an extremely capable green laning machine. Fair enough it does sit lower then disco's and 90's/110's etc but thats what attracted me to the frontera in the first place, the sleeker, more streamlined look. And with all the lift bits added the ground clearance is equal to one of those vehicles while maintaining good stability on road. As mentioned an added bonus is the extra couple of inches of headroom you get with low branches etc.

I would stick with the body lift you have already. In my opinion its high enough. Perhaps something else could be done to clear the tyres, like alex has done, pack out the upper bump stops. Or add wheel spacers or wider offset wheels etc. We know 33's will fit, its just a matter of finding out why they are rubbing.

Above all else you dont want to compare it to other makes of vehicle, we all know they can hold their own offroad. I just wanted to make mine stand out amongst other frontera's so people would stop and look and beside a standard one mine is a good 5 or 6 inches taller.

Question is: What do you want from yours?

[alex]