Lift Kit Woes

[scumbag]

Just installed an ironman "liftkit" into my mn triton.

So the car is a 2009 mn trion glx-r
no bull bar, single battery
two 170 lightforce lights, 40" light bar and some 3mm underbelly plates - nothing to heavy
on the roof it has an open ended roof rack.

now the before measurements on the front end was 550mm from the center of the rim to the highest part of the guard.
my mates standard 2011 mn triton glx-r has the same measurement - makes sense, same roof rack same lights on both cars.

now after installing the iron man front struts and springs my new measurement is 555mm if your lucky.

now iv been threw this with ironman they were more then happy to explain to me the ins and outs of suspension and im very happy with their customer service.

the car has 60mm droop which is where it meant to be - great

but iv still installed a lift kit which has done nothing basically.

they even had another triton there with a bullbar etc and it was sitting at 570mm, which they said haddent be bed in yet, cool i can appreciate that.

still mines never even been close to 570mm, it was 555mm after drivng it around the block.

i was given some spacers to install to bring it up 10mm in the front but they cautioned me saying its pretty good the way it is, which is fine but still iv shelled out $1200 for a lift kit which has resulted in no lift....

are all tritons like this?
basically you cant lift the front without wrecking the suspension geometry?
what are my options ?

im sick of having the "racked" look with my car because the ass end came up like 80-100mm?
any help would be great even if it means shelling out for different struts or some other suspension compents which would result in not destroying the susepsion geometry.

pretty disappointed with the outcome, surely a lift kit should do what it says on the packed?
seems to be alot of companies these days promise the world, then in reality your left light pocketed and disappointed.

anyhelp would be great cheers
cheers, tom

[ag9111]

Not having much joy are you?

Here is a thread on ride heights

viewtopic.php?f=37&t=505

Then I suggest you make some decisions after reading that

[ag9111]

There is a whole section on suspension in the technical area.

Have a look here and enjoy your reading

viewforum.php?f=37

P.S. try the search function or add any questions here to be lead in the correct direction

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17299

[scumbag]

yeah cheers mate iv been doing alot of reading!
but any input to my problem/problems atm is great thanks.

[sthnbelle]

I fitted an ironman kit two weeks ago on a 09 MN GLX (no flares). It has an ironman bar and lightbar. The dual battery is in the left rear with drawers and arb canopy.

From memory it was a 40mm lift.

FR 610
FL 605
RR 660
LR 655

Chris

[scumbag]

the kit for the bullbar is different heavier springs or something i was told they wouldnt fit?
i dont see how you can sell a product as a lift kit when it doesnt, then claim well its how it should be?

[NowForThe5th]

The problem is that you're thinking of it as a 2" lift.

Tritons can have standard front heights varying from 520mm to 580mm, depending on year and model and age (because the standard suspension does drop after use). So, a given set of coils on one vehicle could provide a 70mm increase in front ride height while the same coils on another Triton might result in no increase at all.

That's on a standard vehicle, once you start to add in the complications of the weight of accessories the equations become even more complex. Then there are the differences between what one manufacturer calls "comfort" and the definitions from another manufacturer which might or might not have variable rate coils or constant load.

It is a real minefield and one of the reasons why, on this forum, most will recommend that members talk to a suspension specialist who has proven their ability to tailor a kit to suit the needs and uses that the vehicle will be put to. Buying "off the shelf" or on price has, time after time, resulted in disappointments.

The best suggestion I could offer you is to go back to your supplier and discuss your concerns. They may have a different set of coils that will suit what you want and might be able to offer you some kind of deal on swapping them over.

In terms of maximum lift possible there have been members on here who've gone up around 630mm although that limits droop significantly and it's generally agreed that around 595mm is the ideal where you still have droop but CV angles aren't pushed to their limits. Lift helps in an offroad situation but it isn't the only factor. Tyres, technique and other things like locking diffs have seen lots of Tritons with fairly ordinary ride heights make it through when others can't.

[kxboss]

I believe the later MNs do have a higher suspemsion, I measured mine sometim ago and found it is 35mm higher than the standard earlier models hence no lift kit, I am sure I seen some6thing on this asite not long after i bought mine its 2013 MN.
Put more rubber on for the lift maybee>
Please corr4ecvt me if I am wrong.

[Cowboy Dave]

You're correct the latest ones ride a bit higher in the front. There's a whole thread on it somewhere started by Brendan from ultimate.

[scumbag]

The problem is that you're thinking of it as a 2" lift.

Tritons can have standard front heights varying from 520mm to 580mm, depending on year and model and age (because the standard suspension does drop after use). So, a given set of coils on one vehicle could provide a 70mm increase in front ride height while the same coils on another Triton might result in no increase at all.

That's on a standard vehicle, once you start to add in the complications of the weight of accessories the equations become even more complex. Then there are the differences between what one manufacturer calls "comfort" and the definitions from another manufacturer which might or might not have variable rate coils or constant load.

It is a real minefield and one of the reasons why, on this forum, most will recommend that members talk to a suspension specialist who has proven their ability to tailor a kit to suit the needs and uses that the vehicle will be put to. Buying "off the shelf" or on price has, time after time, resulted in disappointments.

The best suggestion I could offer you is to go back to your supplier and discuss your concerns. They may have a different set of coils that will suit what you want and might be able to offer you some kind of deal on swapping them over.

In terms of maximum lift possible there have been members on here who've gone up around 630mm although that limits droop significantly and it's generally agreed that around 595mm is the ideal where you still have droop but CV angles aren't pushed to their limits. Lift helps in an offroad situation but it isn't the only factor. Tyres, technique and other things like locking diffs have seen lots of Tritons with fairly ordinary ride heights make it through when others can't.

appreciate your response, most helpful
i did grab some 5mm spacers that go under the spring, but they told me that 60mm of droop is what i wanted and where its at... i just want a car that doesnt drive nose down all the bloody time, im not massively hung up on ride heights i just want it too not look so stupid or feel so weird to drive.

they did mention that there was 15mm spacers which in effect would add 30mm to the front
they were concerned about chamber angles and such though?

if i knew that this kit was going to be such a pain i would have not even considered it.

pretty disappointed with the ironman kit, $1200 isnt pocket change to anyone i know.

locking diffs are on the cards for sure in the future !

once again thanks to everyone for their input - it is a massive mine field out there in terms of everything 4x4 from what i can tell, honestly coming from dirtbikes, and fast cars it seems so much more clear cut - guess its just what you know which makes it seem easy.

cheers.

[Cowboy Dave]

Keep in mind that the triton is supposed to be nose down. Yours might be worse though having lifted the rear more than the front.

[srb]

I've found suspension hight to be very much a compromise. For example mine atm is only sitting at 555 and previously it was at 585. I've found that my suspension performes better at the lower hight in most situations. Reason I've been told is lower centre gravity and more usable suspension travel.

Now the only compromise I've found is doing a considerable amount more underbody damage, although I do push the boundaries on where you should take a Triton. Haha.

[mattyk87]

I have a different brand and my front is the same height even though 2 inch was what they said. I'm taking mine back for its check tomorrow so I'll ask them what they think, but seems it may be a standard height with the lift. I do have more weight in the front than you but, still expected and 15-20mm, does seem quite nose down.

[mattz]

Try the spacers that they are recommending.
A 5mm spacer under the seat of the coil could raise it anywhere from 10-20mm depending on your coils.
Same goes for the 15mm one. That could raise it more than 30mm
Id try the 15mm one first and see how it goes.
I reckon 580mm is about as high as you want to go. That's if you have wheel flares.

[scumbag]

yeah, well try the 15mm spacers once the car runs again atm its suffered a rather interesting engine failure which im sure is going to test me.

but yeah id like to get around 570-580 would be great
its a glxr so yeah i guess it has flares?

thanks for the advice guys, nice to get some real advise rather then be told that its fine when clearly its not what i was after.

[Cowboy Dave]

Try the spacers that go underneath. If the other spacers are the ones that go on top don't go there.

But yeah sounds like you have bigger problems on your plate with that motor.

[scumbag]

yeah they do

5mm, 10mm and 15mm spacers and the triton runs a 1.2 ratio or something which results in double the spacers size in height increase or so iv been told.

yeah not interested in doing spacers on top of the coils, rubbish idea.

[L200Shogun]

viewtopic.php?f=37&t=13993

from the center of the rim to the highest part of the guard.

The convention for measurements seems to be centre of rim to bottom of flare.