beefing up the suspension

[ashh]

Okay.
My hilux suffers badly from body roll (high centre of gravity) and I do suspect the shocks are all but stuffed, it carrys a lot of gear as stated in my other post. 2.7 tonne and the poor suspension is what I think is attributing to wearing out my rubber too quick as well.
Its an 02 single cab hilux 2.7 petrol stock everything, ally tray back.

I dont know enough about this suspension stuff to walk into a shop and know if im being bullshitted too, or whats good or not, so hopefully I can gain some knowledge here and better prepare myself and have some idea of what Im looking at and talking about.

I dont want to/ cant lift it any higher otherwise I wont be able to get my planks on and off, its high enough as it is allready.
Im pretty sure it is independent front suspension...


What can I do and what am I looking at $$$ wise to get this thing handling better and save some tyre wear at the same time ?
Do i just ask for stiffer springs and heavy duty shocks? What brands etc?

I can post pics of setup if necessary....

cheers

[BenDover]

I doubt it has a high centre of gravity. Just feels like it because of all the weight ontop .

If you walk into a suspension shop they will have your credit card maxed out in about 10 minutes flat. They will tell you to change to old man emu torsions etc etc.

If you can put up with an extra 40mm higher. Then you can wind up your front torsion bars a little. Makes it stiffer and handle the bump/ride much nicer. Just have to go to a tyre place and get your heel and tow corrected after.

For your rears get some airbag helper springs. They bolt to your leaf springs and to your chassi. Very simple with a joined airline mounted to your tray. $450ish but a world of difference.



Dont worry about the onboard air systems. You just want manual valves and pump them up at the servo.

Or if your leafs springs are completely shot go to carrollsprings in rocklea.

Apart from that get some bigger dia shocks oil shocks.

[GBC]

I had the '03 lux, and like you had trouble keeping it in rubber.
They are extremely sensitive to fore and aft trim with regards front end alignment. ie if she has a bit of a sag carrying your day to day stuff it'll eat tyres.
Plenty of suspension joints around which will fix her up (assuming it's not overloaded).
I ended up with new shocks all round, h.d. springs in the rear and airbags as well since the loads I carry vary all the time.
It made a decent saving in tyres.
There are overrider springs available for the rear as well (got them on the new ute) and they also do the job.
Stick to the better known places, spend a morning getting a few quotes and a pattern wil start to form with regards price etc.
One hint - get it aligned with all your tools etc ON the vehicle, if that is how you drive it most of the time.

Good luck.

[ashh]

thanks for the info, its a starting point

cheers

[sagair]

If you are carring that weight constantly you are better off to get an extra leaf put into your back springs. rather than overload springs or airbags.

[ashh]

can anyone recommend anyone down here on the gold coast to go and see about this?

[deefa66]

I'm with Bendover, fitted probag air bags on new hilux '07 before trip to Darwin towing boat and with slideon camper. Made a heap of difference.
Recommend if you only load up every now and then, drop the pressure down to 15-20 psi with no load
Cheers Dale

[BenDover]

http://www.airide.com.au/product_inf...roducts_id/381
Add another $50 for pipe, fittings intake and release valve.

[Kero]

G'day ashh,
I just bought a BT-50 single cab, and I carry a lot of weight.
There is a product that is very simple and works.
It is a called a "Load Lift" and is basically a heavy half leaf spring that is adjustable. It lifts the rear of the leaf springs, prevents sagging, maximises load capacity, improves steering/tyre wear and helps prevent body roll... blah, blah, blah! The rear of the ute will sit at the same height as if it were unloaded.
I got it fitted to my ute after seeing it installed on another. I think his name is John (business owner), he comes to you and fits them on the spot. Cost was $380 all up. He also has Big Bore shocks to compliment the springs, but they wearn't needed on mine. His business is called CVSS (Commercial Vehicle Suspension Specialists).
Ph.0412 592 333 or 1300 780 874
www.cvss.com.au

I don't work for this guy or stand in line to receive any spotters fees. I am just really impressed with the products and service. Hope this helps in some way.

[BenDover]

Kero, Just be careful mate. As it still transfers all the weight to your main millitary wrap leaf. And thats the first place leaf springs break (at the eyelet). If ash still has stock leafs on it (they are never very good). Ive seen some that where recurved (worse than dead flat) from the sales yard.

[ashh]

yes everything is stock standard, the rear suspension doesn't have much of a curve in the leafs at all
& the front either tops or bottoms out on the odd occasion as well
this load is constantly carried on the truck

[oldboot]

Firtsly, I have come to realise that toyotas are very dependent on having good shocks.......their suspension designers realy seem to rely on their shocks to get the results.

Toyotas are notorious for sagging springs too, and hiluxes are notorius for a rough ride..the 4wd's ride better than the 2wd.

oh...how are you running your tyres.....check the manual.....you need to run the rear tyres much harder than the fronts under load

Hiluxes also are heavy on shocks........they wear them out quite well.

First port of call new shocks.

Now being a 4WD...and a common one there are heaps of suspension packages out there for them......choices of spring rate and ride height, and choices of shock absorber.

You would be wise to buy a few 4wd mags and lurk on a couple of 4WD forums and get yourself educated, before you spend your hard earned.

EFS suspension seem to have a very good reputationas a suspension manufacturer and they mostly deal thru independed stores.

All the $wd places will have their own range of stuff.
there are planty of adds in the magasines.

the minimum lift is generaly 30 to40mm... but mostly that will settle down to stock ride height with wear.

If you just wat some reasonably priced shocks.....try QLD diesel spares......you should get a better eeal there than at the usual retail parts shops.

someone mentioned how you are loading it...all vehickles like to be loaded a certain way.....have a look at the owners manual...it will tell you what your axle loads should be.

look at the truck side on......single cab with a full tray...you will note the rear wheels are in the middle of the tray....there is a clue there..................the majority of the load is designed to be within the tray.....

look at the truck....think about how you are loading it......read the figures in the manual..

No go for a drive to the dump...(they all have weigh bridges)......and weigh the front axle, the whole car and the rear axle....with you and your mate in the car.

thisshould cost you nothing...and will tell you many things......Um....hope you are prepared for a surprise.

cheers

[oldboot]

now if you are a tight ###E......it is worth knowing that the 2wd rear spring pack is harder than the 4wd one.....the 2wd will actulay carry more in the tray than the 4wd.
and the 4wd is softer to allow off road articulation.

Both have the same GVM 2730...... but the 4wd carries a few hundred extra KG of mechanicals.
check the back of your owners manual..withe the towing information
Now I'm talking 98 to 04... but the earlier ones will be similar.

how do i know this... I now own one of each.

if you want to talk hiluxes, send me a pm.

OH.. if you have managed to get your hilux to sit down in the ass......um.......take a cool drink of water....... to the weigh bridge........you'll need it.

I spoke to a bloke who told his apprentice to load some bricks into the hilux.....the young fella is a good worker no doubt..... he loaded all the bricks........the boss comes over to se his hilux...sagging in the ass badly......
he drove it to the dump nayway... not far.....weighed in and weighed out........1.8 tonnes of bricks


cheers

cheers

[GBC]

G'day ashh,
I just bought a BT-50 single cab, and I carry a lot of weight.
There is a product that is very simple and works.
It is a called a "Load Lift" and is basically a heavy half leaf spring that is adjustable. It lifts the rear of the leaf springs, prevents sagging, maximises load capacity, improves steering/tyre wear and helps prevent body roll... blah, blah, blah! The rear of the ute will sit at the same height as if it were unloaded.
I got it fitted to my ute after seeing it installed on another. I think his name is John (business owner), he comes to you and fits them on the spot. Cost was $380 all up. He also has Big Bore shocks to compliment the springs, but they wearn't needed on mine. His business is called CVSS (Commercial Vehicle Suspension Specialists).
Ph.0412 592 333 or 1300 780 874
www.cvss.com.au

I don't work for this guy or stand in line to receive any spotters fees. I am just really impressed with the products and service. Hope this helps in some way.

CVSS are the guys that do our fleet stuff - my colorado got h.d. 2" lifted H.D. rears, the adjustable over riders, and new shocks all round for about $1300 odd. They generally use ironman components, and for the price I highly recommend them. Like kero cruisecraft said, they'll come to you.

Get your pitman and idlers checked at the same time - ifs lux's eat them for brekky.

I do get a spotters fee though, so if you go tell them I sent you. I need a new drag chain.

[Steeler]

Ironman Load Handlers

Cheers

Steve