Hey awesome forum lots of great info on here but I'm wondering if anyone knows if the ml strut spacer and extended shackles will fit the mq?
Thanks, Josh
ultimate wrote:The spacers do raise the vehicle but are not recommended. The strut spacers which go on top of the assembly still produce too much downwards pressure and limit compression. The coil compression is not changed but the strut will bottom out before it reaches the bump stop meaning you will not have the same up travel as normal. Because the strut spacer is pushing down on the strut assembly, it is trying to force too much down travel. On most vehicles this will cause drive line and CV failure as the droop is pushed beyond the vehicle's limits.
Because the L200 Triton has a bump stop restricting droop, the CVs are somewhat protected. This has other affects though with the spacers as the bump stop clearance is significantly reduced and in most case the vehicle is continually riding on the top bump stop. This will cause bump steer and is dangerous and uncomfortable for the driver.
For a vehicle's suspension to work properly, you need adequate travel in both directions. This allows the suspension to react to the changing road surface for steering, absorbing bumps and keeping the tyres in contact with the ground. Without adequate down travel, the suspension cannot work properly and the ride quality and handling characteristics of the vehicle are compromised.
Pictures tell a thousand words so here are a few photos from the Hilux forum of damage caused to struts and ball joints as a result of strut spacers. Some of the spacers are a bit extreme but the principles and risks are still the same. In my opinion, stick to longer struts and coils customised to suit your vehicle and application. It may be a bit more expensive in the beginning but is far better for the reliability and safety of the vehicle.
These images were taken off a Hilux at static height on flat ground. As you can see, the coil spacer is raising the vehicle too high and pushing the top control arm down. This control arm is continually contacting the coil when in motion which is incredibly dangerous and will eventually cause major damage.
ultimate wrote:Hi Bruno,
The coil spacers do actually affect the properties of the strut and coils. It's a pretty complicated aspect to explain so I’ve included these diagrams to try and make it a bit easier to understand. The use of Coil Spacer Kits (shown in yellow) limits the amount of up-travel achieved in a vehicle with IFS. For example if the vehicle is fitted with 2” coil spacers between the top coil seat and the body mount the shock assembly is now compressed an extra 2”, as a result the shock will now bottom out sooner resulting in a significant 2” decrease in up-travel. This compression of the coil assembly is also theoretically increasing the coil rate, which means the shock absorber is working outside of it’s specifications and the ride is harder than if an aftermarket shock and coil is used.
maximum uptravel
A lot of IFS vehicles like the Hilux do not have a bottom bump stop to limit the droop. That’s why coil spacers present a problem with overextending the droop as it leaves CV’s, ball joints and steering linkages vulnerable to fouling. You are correct in that the bump stop on the Triton will restrict this droop and it isn’t as much of a concern on the Triton. However as a result of this restriction, you do gain the height from the spacer, but lose a considerable amount of wheel travel now in both directions.
Maximum droop
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests